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. The Panthers have appeared eight times in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, most recently in 2016.
Postseason results
NCAA Division I tournament
Northern Iowa has made the NCAA tournament eight times. The Panthers have a record of 5–8.| 1990 | #14 | First round Second Round | #3 Missouri
| W 74–71L 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
| W 69–66W 69–67 L 52–59 |
| 2015 | #5 | First round Second Round | #12 Wyoming
| W 71–54L 53–66 |
| 2016 | #11 | First round Second Round | #6 Texas #3 Texas A&M | W 75–72 L 88–92 |
NIT history
Northern Iowa has made the NIT three times, with a record of 2-3.| 2012 | #7 | First round Second Round | #2 Saint Joseph's
| W 67–65L 63–65 |
| 2022 | #6 | First round Second Round | #3 Saint Louis
| W 80–68L 71–90 |
| 2025 | #8 | First round | #1 SMU | L 63-73 |
Other tournaments
- NAIA National Tournament appearances: 1946, 1948, 1949, and 1953
- Competed in the 2007 World University Games as Team USA
Ben Jacobson era
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 in the AP and 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
- A. J. Green
- Darian DeVries
- Ali Farokhmanesh
- Jon Godfread
- Paul Jesperson
- Adam Koch
- John Little
- Greg McDermott
- Jeremy Morgan
- Nick Nurse - Coached Toronto Raptors to 2019 NBA Championship and named NBA Coach of the Year in 2020.
- Seth Tuttle
- Wes Washpun