2017–18 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team represented the University of Northern Iowa during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by 12th-year head coach Ben Jacobson, played their home games at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls, Iowa as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 16–16, 7–11 in MVC play to finish three-way tie for seventh place. As the No. 7 seed in the MVC tournament, they defeated Evansville in the first round before losing to Loyola–Chicago in the quarterfinals.

2017–18 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Record	16–16 (7–11 MVC)
Head coach	Ben Jacobson (12th season)
Assistant coaches	P.J. Hogan Erik Crawford Kyle Green
Home arena	McLeod Center

2017–18 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Loyola Chicago †	15	–	3		.833			32	–	6		.842
Southern Illinois	11	–	7		.611			20	–	13		.606
Illinois State	10	–	8		.556			18	–	15		.545
Drake	10	–	8		.556			17	–	17		.500
Bradley	9	–	9		.500			20	–	13		.606
Indiana State	8	–	10		.444			13	–	18		.419
Missouri State	7	–	11		.389			18	–	15		.545
Evansville	7	–	11		.389			17	–	15		.531
Northern Iowa	7	–	11		.389			16	–	16		.500
Valparaiso	6	–	12		.333			15	–	17		.469
† 2018 MVC tournament winner

Previous season

The Panthers finished the 2016–17 season 14–16, 9–9 in MVC play to finish in a tie for third place. As the No. 3 seed in the MVC tournament, they lost to Missouri State in the quarterfinals.

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Paul Jesperson	4	G	6'6"	206	RS Senior	Merrill, WI	Graduated
Matt Bohannon	5	G	6'4"	195	Senior	Marion, IA	Graduated
Wes Washpun	11	G	6'1"	175	Senior	Cedar Rapids, IA	Graduated
Jeremy Morgan	20	G	6'5"	195	Senior	Coralville, IA	Graduated
Jordan Ashton	23	G	6'4"	192	RS Senior	Mount Pleasant, IA	Graduated

2017 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Austin Phyfe PF	Waverly, IA	Waverly-Shell Rock High School	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Nov 5, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Tywhon Pickford G/F	Osseo, MN	Maple Grove Rock High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Apr 25, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 2, 2017.

2018 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2018 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
A. J. Green #18 PG	Cedar Falls, IA	Cedar Falls High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	Aug 11, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 84
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 2, 2017.

2019 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2019 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
James Betz PF	Garner, IA	Garner-Hayfield High School	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Aug 11, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 2, 2017.

Preseason

In the conference's preseason poll, the Panthers were picked to finish in second place in the MVC and received eight first place votes. Senior forward Bennet Koch was named to the preseason All-MVC first team while senior forward Klint Carlson was named to the second team.

Roster

2017–18 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 1 Adam McDermott (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS So Xavier Cedar Rapids, IA F 2 Klint Carlson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS Sr Waverly-Shell Rock Waverly, IA C 3 Ted Friedman 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 245 lb (111 kg) RS Sr Ankeny Ankeny, IA G/F 4 Tywhon Pickford 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Maple Grove Minneapolis, MN G 5 Rafael de Souza (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Gulf Coast State College Jundiaí, Brazil G 10 Miles Wentzien (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Fort Madison Kirkwood CC Fort Madison, IA F 12 Lincoln Conrey 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 218 lb (99 kg) RS So Waterloo West Waterloo, IA G 13 Juwan McCloud 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 173 lb (78 kg) So Germantown Germantown, WI C 15 Justin Dahl 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) RS So Holy Family Carver, MN G 21 Hunter Rhodes 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Canton Kirkwood CC Canton, IL F 22 Tanner Lohaus 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS Fr Iowa City West North Liberty, IA G 24 Isaiah Brown 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 172 lb (78 kg) So Flower Mound Flower Mound, TX F/C 25 Bennett Koch 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) RS Sr Ashwaubenon Ashwaubenon, WI G 30 Spencer Haldeman 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 173 lb (78 kg) RS So Western Dubuque Peosta, IA G 33 Wyatt Lohaus 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Jr Iowa City West North Liberty, IA F 34 Luke McDonnell 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 218 lb (99 kg) RS So Dubuque Senior Dubuque, IA F 50 Austin Phyfe 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Fr Waverly-Shell Rock Waverly, IA	Head coach Ben Jacobson (North Dakota) Assistant coach(es) P.J. Hogan (Morningside) Erik Crawford (Iowa State) Kyle Green (Hamline) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
Nov 1, 2017* 7:00 pm, BTN+		at Wisconsin Team Rubicon benefit exhibition	L 38–69	–	Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI
Nov 5, 2017* 1:00 pm, ESPN3		UNC Pembroke	W 72–66	—	McLeod Center (3,090) Cedar Falls, IA
Non-conference regular season
Nov 10, 2017* 6:00 pm, ESPNU		at No. 9 North Carolina	L 69–86	0–1	Dean Smith Center (18,926) Chapel Hill, NC
Nov 13, 2017* 7:00 pm, PSN/ESPN3		Alcorn State	W 73–45	1–1	McLeod Center (3,385) Cedar Falls, IA
Nov 15, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Wartburg	W 72–43	2–1	McLeod Center (3,678) Cedar Falls, IA
Nov 18, 2017* 11:00 am, ESPN3		Chicago State Battle 4 Atlantis campus-site game	W 82–44	3–1	McLeod Center (3,051) Cedar Falls, IA
Nov 22, 2017* 8:30 pm, ESPN3		vs. SMU Battle 4 Atlantis quarterfinals	W 61–58	4–1	Imperial Arena (909) Nassau, BAH
Nov 23, 2017* 2:00 pm, ESPN2		vs. NC State Battle 4 Atlantis semifinals	W 64–60	5–1	Imperial Arena (892) Nassau, BAH
Nov 24, 2017* 11:00 am, ESPN2		vs. No. 5 Villanova Battle 4 Atlantis finals	L 50–64	5–2	Imperial Arena (2,831) Nassau, BAH
Nov 29, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		UNLV MW–MVC Challenge	W 77–68 OT	6–2	Mcleod Center (4,546) Cedar Falls, IA
Dec 7, 2017* 7:00 pm, PSN/ESPN3		Texas–Arlington	W 62–58	7–2	McLeod Center (3,630) Cedar Falls, IA
Dec 10, 2017* 4:00 pm, ESPN3		Dubuque	W 80–47	8–2	McLeod Center  Cedar Falls, IA
Dec 16, 2017* 3:30 pm, MC22		vs. Iowa State Big Four Classic	L 65–76	8–3	Wells Fargo Arena (13,828) Des Moines, IA
Dec 22, 2017* 8:00 pm, CBSSN		No. 9 Xavier	L 67–77	8–4	McLeod Center (6,355) Cedar Falls, IA
Missouri Valley Conference regular season
Dec 28, 2017 7:00 pm, PSN/ESPN3		Southern Illinois	L 53–56	8–5 (0–1)	McLeod Center (4,933) Cedar Falls, IA
Dec 31, 2017 1:00 pm, ESPN3		at Bradley	L 53–72	8–6 (0–2)	Carver Arena (5,684) Peoria, IL
Jan 4, 2018 8:00 pm, CBSSN		at Missouri State	L 55–62	8–7 (0–3)	JQH Arena (4,934) Springfield, MO
Jan 7, 2018 3:00 pm, ESPNU		Loyola–Chicago	L 50–56	8–8 (0–4)	McLeod Center (3,765) Cedar Falls, IA
Jan 10, 2018 6:00 pm, FSMW/NBCSC		at Indiana State	L 67–69	8–9 (0–5)	Hulman Center (3,216) Terre Haute, IN
Jan 13, 2018 6:00 pm, ESPN2		Valparaiso	W 81–76	9–9 (1–5)	McLeod Center (4,707) Cedar Falls, IA
Jan 16, 2018 7:00 pm, PSN/ESPN3		Drake	W 68–54	10–9 (2–5)	McLeod Center (3,880) Cedar Falls, IA
Jan 21, 2018 3:00 pm, ESPN3		at Southern Illinois	L 53–64	10–10 (2–6)	SIU Arena (3,254) Carbondale, IL
Jan 24, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Illinois State	W 83–72	11–10 (3–6)	McLeod Center (3,762) Cedar Falls, IA
Jan 28, 2018 3:00 pm, ESPNU		at Loyola–Chicago	L 47–70	11–11 (3–7)	Joseph J. Gentile Arena (2,658) Chicago, IL
Jan 31, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3		at Evansville	L 49–57	11–12 (3–8)	Ford Center (3,352) Evansville, IN
Feb 3, 2018 3:00 pm, FSMW/NBCSC		Indiana State	L 66–77	11–13 (3–9)	McLeod Center (4,564) Cedar Falls, IA
Feb 7, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Bradley	W 74–65	12–13 (4–9)	McLeod Center (3,794) Cedar Falls, IA
Feb 10, 2018 3:00 pm, FSMW/NBCSC		at Drake	L 64–71	12–14 (4–10)	Knapp Center (5,121) Des Moines, IA
Feb 13, 2018 7:00 pm, PSN/ESPN3		Evansville	W 47–41	13–14 (5–10)	McLeod Center (3,346) Cedar Falls, IA
Feb 17, 2018 5:00 pm, ESPN2		at Illinois State	L 75–79	13–15 (5–11)	Redbird Arena (6,535) Normal, IL
Feb 20, 2018 8:00 pm, CBSSN		at Valparaiso	W 68–63	14–15 (6–11)	Athletics–Recreation Center (2,071) Valparaiso, IN
Feb 24, 2018 3:00 pm, ESPN3		Missouri State	W 71–56	15–15 (7–11)	McLeod Center (4,834) Cedar Falls, IA
Missouri Valley tournament
Mar 1, 2018 6:00 pm, ESPN3	(9)	vs. (8) Evansville First round	W 60–50	16–15	Scottrade Center (4,852) St. Louis, MO
Mar 2, 2018 12:00 pm, ESPN3	(9)	vs. (1) Loyola–Chicago Quarterfinals	L 50–54	16–16	Scottrade Center (6,410) St. Louis, MO
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

Panther Sports Network (PSN) Cedar Falls Utilities Ch. 15/HD415; KCRG-TV Ch. 9.2; WHO-DT Ch. 13.2; KGCW Ch. 26, Time Warner Cable KC Channel 324, (NBC Sports Chicago or NBCSC+)