The college basketball offseason is here, and we decided to have some fun over the next few months, ranking ALL 364 teams in D1. Number 133 is Northern Iowa basketball.
Before you say we’re crazy – or that all of this is up for debate, let’s go over the very intricate process of how we came to this conclusion. We took a very statistical approach – with the help of Chat GPT – taking into consideration everything from March Madness wins and finishes, to AP Poll appearances, to conference players of the year. And then, a good friend of ours, Scott Blanchard, took our approach to the MAX.
Click here to visit the FIRST article, which explains how the formula works!
Here’s the breakdown of Northern Iowa basketball!
NCAA Tournament Success
- Championships: 0
- Finals appearances: 0
- Final Fours: 0
- Elite Eights: 0
- Sweet 16s: 1
- NCAA wins: 5
- Bids: 9
Consistency Over Time
- Wins per season: 16.3
- Bids per season: 0.20
- AP Polls: 20
Player Quality & Talent
- All-Americans: 1
- NBA players drafted & played: 0
- Conference Players of the Year: 5
Conference & Other Success
- Conference regular season titles: 4
- Conference tournament titles: 7
- NIT titles: 0
- Other tournament titles: 0
Overall scoop on Northern Iowa basketball
You should never sleep on Northern Iowa basketball in March! Under Ben Jacobson, they became a constant Cinderella, with multiple upsets in the past couple of decades.
Jacobson got to town in 2006, leading the Panthers to the NCAA Tournament five times in that span. In 2009, they nearly took down Purdue, losing by just five. In 2010, they made some history, going to the Sweet 16 as a 9-seed, defeating UNLV and Kansas. College basketball fans will never forget the three-point dagger from Ali Farokhmanesh.
In 2015, the Panthers entered the big dance as a 5-seed, but lost in the round of 32 to Louisville. The following year, they made it back to the round of 32 as an 11-seed, upsetting Texas to get there. The run of success in March ended this past season, with a blowout loss to St. John’s.
The run with Jacobson also ended, as he took a job at Utah State this offseason. But UNI has had success with other coaches. Right before he got to town, Greg McDermott had coached the program for five seasons. His last three seasons all ended in NCAA Tournaments. In the 1980s and 90s, Eldon Miller was the coach. He had a career record just below .500, but took UNI to one NCAA Tournament, beating 3-seed Missouri for a round of 32 appearance.
UNI has never had a player drafted, but they did have a Consensus All-American in 2015. Seth Tuttle’s numbers won’t blow you away – 15.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game in his senior year. But he was the star on the Panthers squad that got the 5-seed and finished up with a 31-4 record.
After some humble beginnings, the Panthers have been a high-end mid-major program for the last 20-plus years. We’ll see if a coaching change affects that. Kyle Green, the ball is in your court!