Northern Iowa Panthers
Overall Record: 19-12
Conference Record: 11-7
Conference Standing: 4th/10th
Head Coach: Ben Jacobson
Team MVP: Wes Washpun (14.1 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 5.4 APG, 1.2 SPG, .722 FT %)
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 1990, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2015
Conference Tournament Champions:2004, 2009, 2010, 2015
Regular Season Conference Champions: 2009, 2010
Wes Washpun. Photo via Doug McSchooler/AP Photo.
Northern Iowa can do a lot of damage. It’s simple as that. The Panthers took down the (then) #1 North Carolina Tar Heels early in the season. NIU also beat Iowa State, when the Cyclones were ranked 5th in the nation at the time. Apart from those two big out of conference wins, NIU had brief success in conference play. They took down MVC one seed Wichita State in Wichita while the Shockers were ranked. NIU did have some struggles, losing to Missouri State, Indiana State, and Loyola (twice). But the Panthers won their final regular season game on the road against MVC two seed Evansville. That win gives them huge momentum heading into the tournament. Don’t be surprised if 4th seed NIU sneaks their way to the MVC championship and possibly into the big dance. They play 5 seed Southern Illinois at 2:30pm on Friday.
