Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball

The Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team represents the University of Northern Iowa located in Cedar Falls, Iowa. UNI is currently a member of the Missouri Valley Conference.

Northern Iowa Panthers
2024–25 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team
UniversityUniversity of Northern Iowa
Head coachBen Jacobson (19th season)
ConferenceMissouri Valley
LocationCedar Falls, Iowa
ArenaMcLeod Center
(capacity: 7,018)
NicknamePanthers
Student sectionPanther Mayhem
ColorsPurple and old gold[1]
   
Uniforms
Home jersey
Team colours
Home
Away jersey
Team colours
Away


NCAA tournament Final Four
1964*
NCAA tournament Elite Eight
1964*
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
1962*, 1964*, 1979*, 2010
NCAA tournament round of 32
1962*, 1964*, 1979*, 1990, 2010, 2015, 2016
NCAA tournament appearances
1962*, 1964*, 1979*, 1990, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2016
*at Division II level
Conference tournament champions
1990, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2016
Conference regular season champions
1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1953, 1962, 1964, 1969, 2009, 2010, 2020, 2022

Postseason results

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NCAA Division I Tournament

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Northern Iowa has made the NCAA tournament eight times. The Panthers have a record of 5–8.

Year Seed Round Opponent Result
1990 #14 First round
Second Round
#3 Missouri
#6 Minnesota
W 74–71
L 78–81
2004 #14 First round #3 Georgia Tech L 60–65
2005 #11 First round #6 Wisconsin L 52–57
2006 #10 First round #7 Georgetown L 49–54
2009 #12 First round #5 Purdue L 56–61
2010 #9 First round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
#8 UNLV
#1 Kansas
#5 Michigan State
W 69–66
W 69–67
L 52–59
2015 #5 First round
Second Round
#12 Wyoming
#4 Louisville
W 71–54
L 53–66
2016 #11 First round
Second Round
#6 Texas
#3 Texas A&M
W 75–72
L 88–92 (2OT)

NCAA Division II Tournament

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Year Round Opponent Result
1962 Regional semifinals
Regional Finals
Hamline
Nebraska Wesleyan
W 81–68
L 77–78
1964 Regional semifinals
Regional Finals
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Third-place game
Washington-St. Louis
Mankato State
Southeast Missouri
Evansville
North Carolina A&T
W 71–56
W 71–64 (OT)
W 93–85
L 67–82
L 72–91
1979 Regional semifinals
Regional Finals
Nebraska-Omaha
Wisconsin-Green Bay
W 84–72
L 50–56

NIT Tournament history

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Northern Iowa has made the NIT twice, with a record of 2-2.

Year Seed Round Opponent Result
2012 #7 First round
Second Round
#2 Saint Joseph's
#3 Drexel
W 67–65
L 63–65
2022 #6 First round
Second Round
#3 Saint Louis
#2 BYU
W 80–68
L 71–90

CIT Tournament history

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Season Eliminated
Round
Teams Defeated Lost to
2011 Quarterfinals Rider SMU
2013 Semifinals North Dakota
UIC
Bradley
Weber State

Other tournaments

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Coaching history

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Ben Jacobson era

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Jacobson's biggest coaching accomplishment to date was in the 2009–10 season, when the Panthers made a run into the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament highlighted by an upset of top national seed Kansas. ESPN.com columnist Pat Forde called the Panthers' win "the biggest tourney upset in years," and called the clinching shot by Panthers guard Ali Farokhmanesh "the gutsiest early-round shot in NCAA tournament history."

Jacobson also coached UNI as it became the first college program ever to represent the United States of America at an international basketball competition. In August 2007, UNI was chosen to be Team USA at the World University Games in Bangkok, Thailand. Donning the Red, White and Blue, UNI went 5–1 in the tournament, losing only to eventual gold medalist Lithuania, while posting wins over Angola, Turkey, China, Finland and Israel.

On November 15, 2014, Jacobson became the all-time win leader for a coach in UNI Men's basketball history. After recording a win over his alma mater University of North Dakota, he notched his 167th UNI victory. Additionally, in the 2014–15 season, Jacobson led the Panthers to their highest ranking in school history (#10) in the AP and (#9) in the Coaches Poll. UNI also in that season achieved the most wins in the school's history with 31. Jacobson has also been awarded the Missouri Valley Conference coach of the year award in 2009, 2010, and 2015.

On November 21, 2015, Jacobson led UNI to a victory over #1 North Carolina. The win was one of the biggest in program history and came in just the first meeting of the two basketball programs. Just four days later the coach hit another career milestone. After defeating the University of Dubuque in convincing fashion, the coach recorded his 200th victory at the university.

In the first round of the MVC tournament, Jacobson notched his 250th Northern Iowa career win against Evansville on March 1, 2018.

On February 27, 2021 he earned his 300th win as coach in the regular season finale against Illinois State.

Notable players

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Rivalries

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The school has several statewide and national rivalries. In Iowa, UNI used to play two, if not three of its Iowa neighbors for the Iowa Big Four men's college basketball mythical championship. The university also used to play either the University of Iowa or Iowa State University in the Hyvee Big Four Classic held at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. UNI’s MVC rivals are UIC, Bradley, Drake, and Missouri State.

References

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  1. ^ University of Northern Iowa Athletics Style Guide (PDF). January 25, 2021. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  2. ^ Katz, Andy (July 10, 2009). "U.S. to play Israel for bronze". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 10, 2009.