2020–21 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team represented the University of Northern Iowa during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by 15th-year head coach Ben Jacobson, played their home games at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls, Iowa as members of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Panthers finished the season 10–15, 7–11 in MVC play, to finish in a three-way tie for fifth place. As the No. 7 seed in the MVC tournament, they defeated Illinois State in the first round before being forced to forfeit their quarterfinal game against Drake due to positive COVID-19 tests.

2020–21 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
Record10–15 (7–11 MVC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • P. J. Hogan
  • Erik Crawford
  • Kyle Green
Home arenaMcLeod Center
Seasons
2020–21 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 17 Loyola Chicago 16 2   .889 26 5   .839
Drake 15 3   .833 26 5   .839
Missouri State 12 6   .667 17 7   .708
Indiana State 11 7   .611 15 10   .600
Evansville 7 11   .389 9 16   .360
Valparaiso 7 11   .389 10 18   .357
Northern Iowa 7 11   .389 10 15   .400
Bradley 6 12   .333 12 16   .429
Southern Illinois 5 13   .278 12 14   .462
Illinois State 4 14   .222 7 18   .280
2021 MVC tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

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The Panthers finished the 2019–20 season 25–6, 14–4 in MVC play, to win the MVC regular-season championship. They lost in the quarterfinals of the MVC tournament to Drake. As a regular-season conference champion who failed to win their conference tournament, they were set to receive an automatic bid to NIT. However, all postseason tournaments were thereafter canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[1]

Offseason

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Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Logan Wolf 10 G 6'4" 220 Freshman Cedar Falls, IA Walk-on and dual-sport athlete (football); left basketball program to focus on football.
Lincoln Conrey 12 F 6'5" 203 Senior Waterloo, IA Graduated
Justin Dahl 15 C 7'0" 261 RS Senior Carver, MN Graduated
Shandon Goldman 20 F 6'10" 220 Senior Evansville, AR Graduated
Isaiah Brown 24 G 6'7" 180 Senior Flower Mound, TX Graduated
Spencer Haldeman 30 G 6'1" 175 RS Senior Peosta, IA Graduated
Luke McDonnell 34 F 6'9" 212 RS Senior Dubuque, IA Graduated

2020 recruiting class

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Nate Heise
#0 SG
Lake City, MN Lincoln High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 191 lb (87 kg) May 13, 2019 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: N/A
Bowen Born
#13 PG
Norwalk, IA Norwalk High School 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Aug 24, 2019 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: N/A
Tytan Anderson
#32 SF
Eldridge, IA North Scott High School 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Aug 14, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/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:

  • "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved January 2, 2021.

2021 recruiting class

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US college sports recruiting information for 2021 recruits
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Michael Duax
SF
Dubuque, IA Hempstead High School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Feb 11, 2020 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: N/A
Chase Courbat
C
Cedar Falls, IA Cedar Falls High School 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (100 kg) Aug 26, 2020 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: N/A
Landon Wolf
SG
Cedar Falls, IA Cedar Falls High School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Oct 23, 2020 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/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:

Roster

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2020–21 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Nate Heise 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 191 lb (87 kg) Fr Lincoln Lake City, MN
F 1 Cole Henry 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) RS Fr Oskaloosa Oskaloosa, IA
G 2 Evan Gauger (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS Fr Indianola Indianola, IA
G 3 Tywhon Pickford 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Maple Grove Minneapolis, MN
G 4 A. J. Green   6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Cedar Falls Cedar Falls, IA
G 11 Trae Berhow 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 198 lb (90 kg) Sr Watertown Mayer
Pepperdine
Watertown, MN
G 13 Bowen Born 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Norwalk Norwalk, IA
F 14 Goanar Mar 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr DeLaSalle
George Mason
Minneapolis, MN
G 22 Antwan Kimmons 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Tartan Oakdale, MN
F 23 Derek Krogmann (W) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 235 lb (107 kg) RS Fr West Delaware Manchester, IA
F 32 Tytan Anderson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr North Scott Eldridge, IA
F 33 Drew Daniel (W) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Dowling Catholic West Des Moines, IA
F 34 James Betz 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 226 lb (103 kg) So Garner–Hayfield–Ventura Ventura, IA
F 35 Noah Carter 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 229 lb (104 kg) So Dubuque Senior Dubuque, IA
F 50 Austin Phyfe 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) RS Jr Waverly-Shell Rock Waverly, IA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: July 28, 2024

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
November 25, 2020*
3:30 p.m., ESPNU
vs. Western Kentucky
Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic
L 87–93  0–1
Sanford Pentagon (0)
Sioux Falls, SD
November 26, 2020*
4:30 p.m., ESPN
vs. Saint Mary's
Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic
L 64–66  0–2
Sanford Pentagon (0)
Sioux Falls, SD
November 27, 2020*
3:00 p.m., ESPNU
vs. Utah State
Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic
L 71–82  0–3
Sanford Pentagon (0)
Sioux Falls, SD
December 4, 2020*
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
St. Ambrose W 98–53  1–3
McLeod Center (0)
Cedar Falls, IA
December 9, 2020*
5:00 p.m., ESPN+
at No. 19 Richmond L 68–78  1–4
Robins Center (0)
Richmond, VA
December 27, 2020
3:00 p.m., ESPN+
Missouri State L 59–79  1–5
(0–1)
McLeod Center (668)
Cedar Falls, IA
December 28, 2020
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Missouri State W 85–75  2–5
(1–1)
McLeod Center (0)
Cedar Falls, IA
January 2, 2021
3:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Evansville L 61–65  2–6
(1–2)
Ford Center (0)
Evansville, IN
January 3, 2021
3:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Evansville L 64–70  2–7
(1–3)
Ford Center (0)
Evansville, IN
January 10, 2021
3:00 p.m., ESPN+
Bradley W 78–72  3–7
(2–3)
McLeod Center (708)
Cedar Falls, IA
January 11, 2021
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Bradley L 73–75  3–8
(2–4)
McLeod Center (608)
Cedar Falls, IA
January 16, 2021
5:00 p.m., ESPN2
at Loyola L 57–72  3–9
(2–5)
Joseph J. Gentile Arena (0)
Chicago, IL
January 17, 2021
4:00 p.m., ESPN
at Loyola L 46–88  3–10
(2–6)
Joseph J. Gentile Arena (0)
Chicago, IL
January 25, 2021*
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
Coe W 70–60  4–10
McLeod Center (515)
Cedar Falls, IA
January 30, 2021
3:00 p.m., ESPN3
at Southern Illinois W 74–62  5–10
(3–6)
Banterra Center (0)
Carbondale, IL
January 31, 2021
5:00 p.m., ESPN2
at Southern Illinois L 68–71  5–11
(3–7)
Banterra Center (0)
Carbondale, IL
February 6, 2021
5:00 p.m., ESPNU
Indiana State L 57–61  5–12
(3–8)
McLeod Center (0)
Cedar Falls, IA
February 7, 2021
3:00 p.m., ESPN3
Indiana State W 70–67  6–12
(4–8)
McLeod Center (826)
Cedar Falls, IA
February 10, 2021
6:00 p.m., CBSSN
at Drake L 59–80  6–13
(4–9)
Knapp Center (971)
Des Moines, IA
February 13, 2021
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
Valparaiso L 57–70  6–14
(4–10)
McLeod Center (713)
Cedar Falls, IA
February 14, 2021
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
Valparaiso W 74–60  7–14
(5–10)
McLeod Center (953)
Cedar Falls, IA
February 17, 2021
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Drake L 69–77  7–15
(5–11)
McLeod Center (914)
Cedar Falls, IA
February 26, 2021
8:00 p.m., ESPNU
at Illinois State W 70–56  8–15
(6–11)
Redbird Arena 
Normal, IL
February 27, 2021
5:00 p.m., CBSSN
at Illinois State W 94–87 2OT 9–15
(7–11)
Redbird Arena 
Normal, IL
MVC tournament
March 4, 2021
8:00 p.m., ESPN+
(7) vs. (10) Illinois State
First round
W 65–60  10–15
Enterprise Center 
St. Louis, MO
March 5, 2021
5:00 p.m., ESPN+
(7) vs. (2) Drake
Quarterfinals
Forfeit[a] Enterprise Center 
St. Louis, MO
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central.

Source:[3]

Notes

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  1. ^ Prior to the game, the MVC announced that due to a positive COVID-19 test within the Northern Iowa program and subsequent contact tracing, the Panthers would not have enough available players to compete. Therefore, in accordance with policies that had been in place all season, the contest was canceled and the MVC ruled that Drake would advance to the semifinals.[2]

References

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  1. ^ García-Hodges, Ahiza (March 13, 2020). "NCAA cancels March Madness tournaments, all other winter and spring championships". NBC News. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  2. ^ "MVC STATEMENT ON CANCELATION OF UNI-DRAKE MEN'S BASKETBALL GAME". MVC-Sports.com. Missouri Valley Conference. March 5, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2024.
  3. ^ "2020-21 Men's Basketball Schedule". unipanthers.com. Retrieved July 28, 2024.