2021–22 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team represented the University of Northern Iowa during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by 16th-year head coach Ben Jacobson, played their home games at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls, Iowa as members of the Missouri Valley Conference.

2021–22 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball
Missouri Valley regular season champions
NIT, Second Round
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
Record20–12 (14–4 MVC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaMcLeod Center
Seasons
2021–22 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Northern Iowa 14 4   .778 20 12   .625
Missouri State 13 5   .722 23 11   .676
Drake 13 5   .722 25 11   .694
Loyola Chicago 13 5   .722 25 8   .758
Bradley 11 7   .611 17 14   .548
Southern Illinois 9 9   .500 16 14   .533
Valparaiso 6 12   .333 14 18   .438
Illinois State 5 13   .278 13 20   .394
Indiana State 4 14   .222 11 20   .355
Evansville 2 16   .111 6 24   .200
2022 MVC tournament winner

With a win over Loyola on February 26, 2022, the Panthers won the regular season MVC championship.[1] They finished the regular season 18–10, 14–4 in MVC play to finish in first place. They defeated Illinois State in the quarterfinals of the MVC tournament before losing in the semifinals to Loyola. As a No. 1 seed who didn’t win their conference tournament, they received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Saint Louis in the first round before losing in the second round to BYU.

Previous season

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In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Panthers finished the 2020–21 season 10–15, 7–11 in MVC play to finish in a three-way tie for fifth place. Former MVC Player of the Year and first-team all-MVC star A. J. Green played in only three games before he underwent hip surgery and missed the remainder of the season.[2]

As the No. 7 seed in the MVC tournament, the Panthers defeated Illinois State in the first round. However, they were forced to forfeit their quarterfinal game against Drake due to a positive COVID test and subsequent contact tracing within the UNI program.[3]

Offseason

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Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Evan Gauger 10 G 6'2" 175 RS Freshman Indianola, IA In transfer portal
Goanar Mar 14 F 6'7" 215 Senior Minneapolis, MN Left program for personal reasons[4]

2021 recruiting class

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
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:

  • "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 13, 2021.

2022 recruiting class

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US college sports recruiting information for 2022 recruits
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Trey Campbell
PG
Cedar Falls, IA Cedar Falls High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Nov 10, 2021 
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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2021–22 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) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Lincoln Lake City, MN
F 1 Cole Henry 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) RS Fr Oskaloosa Oskaloosa, IA
G 3 Tywhon Pickford 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Maple Grove Minneapolis, MN
G 4 A. J. Green 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Cedar Falls Cedar Falls, IA
G 5 Landon Wolf   6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Cedar Falls Cedar Falls, IA
G 11 Trae Berhow 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Watertown Mayer
Pepperdine
Watertown, MN
G 13 Bowen Born 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Norwalk Norwalk, IA
F 15 Michael Duax   6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Hempstead Dubuque, IA
F 20 Chase Courbat   6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Fr Cedar Falls Cedar Falls, IA
G 22 Antwan Kimmons 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 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) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr North Scott Eldridge, IA
F 33 Drew Daniel (W) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Dowling Catholic West Des Moines, IA
F 34 James Betz 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg) So Garner–Hayfield–Ventura Ventura, IA
F 35 Noah Carter 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So Dubuque Senior Dubuque, IA
F 50 Austin Phyfe 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 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

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
November 9, 2021*
7:00 p.m., ESPN3
Nicholls L 58–62  0–1
McLeod Center (2,328)
Cedar Falls, IA
November 11, 2021*
5:00 p.m., ESPN+
Vermont L 57–71  0–2
McLeod Center (1,773)
Cedar Falls, IA
November 14, 2021*
5:00 p.m., ESPN3
Dubuque W 95–58  1–2
McLeod Center (1,307)
Cedar Falls, IA
November 17, 2021*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
at No. 16 Arkansas L 80–92  1–3
Bud Walton Arena (19,200)
Fayetteville, AR
November 27, 2021*
1:00 p.m., ESPN+
at No. 16 St. Bonaventure W 90–80  2–3
Reilly Center (4,296)
Olean, NY
December 1, 2021
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Bradley L 69–71  2–4
(0–1)
Carver Arena (3,551)
Peoria, IL
December 5, 2021*
1:00 p.m., ESPN+
Richmond L 52–60  2–5
McLeod Center (2,337)
Cedar Falls, IA
December 14, 2021*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Jackson State W 66–56  3–5
McLeod Center (1,679)
Cedar Falls, IA
December 18, 2021*
3:00 p.m., Stadium
at Marshall W 75–60  4–5
Cam Henderson Center (3,849)
Huntington, WV
December 22, 2021*
2:00 p.m., ESPNU
vs. Liberty
Diamond Head Classic First Round
L 74–76  4–6
Stan Sheriff Center 
Honolulu, HI
December 23, 2021*
5:30 p.m., ESPNU
vs. Wyoming
Diamond Head Classic Consolation 2nd Round
L 69–71  4–7
Stan Sheriff Center (3,951)
Honolulu, HI
December 25, 2021*
2:30 pm, ESPNU
vs. Hawaii
Diamond Head Classic 7th place game
Canceled due to COVID-19 issues Stan Sheriff Center 
Honolulu, HI
December 29, 2021*
7:00 p.m., ESPN3
Wartburg Canceled due to COVID-19 issues McLeod Center 
Cedar Falls, IA
January 2, 2022
1:00 p.m., ESPN+
Evansville W 83–61  5–7
(1–1)
McLeod Center (1,587)
Cedar Falls, IA
January 5, 2022
8:00 p.m., ESPN+
Valparaiso W 92–65  6–7
(2–1)
McLeod Center (1,387)
Cedar Falls, IA
January 8, 2022
5:00 p.m., CBSSN
at Missouri State W 85–84  7–7
(3–1)
JQH Arena (3,352)
Springfield, MO
January 11, 2022
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Indiana State W 80–74 OT 8–7
(4–1)
McLeod Center (1,797)
Cedar Falls, IA
January 15, 2022
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Southern Illinois W 69–68  9–7
(5–1)
Banterra Center (4,690)
Carbondale, IL
January 19, 2022
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Valparaiso L 80–83 OT 9–8
(5–2)
Athletics–Recreation Center (1,414)
Valparaiso, IN
January 22, 2022
5:00 p.m., ESPNU
Drake L 74–82 OT 9–9
(5–3)
McLeod Center (4,361)
Cedar Falls, IA
January 26, 2022
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Evansville W 64–59  10–9
(6–3)
Ford Center (2,770)
Evansville, IN
January 29, 2022
1:00 p.m., ESPN+
Illinois State W 79–64  11–9
(7–3)
McLeod Center (2,669)
Cedar Falls, IA
February 2, 2022
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Bradley W 78–65  12–9
(8–3)
McLeod Center (2,655)
Cedar Falls, IA
February 5, 2022
5:00 p.m., ESPNU
at Drake W 74–69 OT 13–9
(9–3)
Knapp Center (5,984)
Des Moines, IA
February 9, 2022
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Southern Illinois W 53–44  14–9
(10–3)
McLeod Center (2,300)
Cedar Falls, IA
February 13, 2022
3:00 p.m., ESPN2
at Loyola–Chicago L 58–85  14–10
(10–4)
Joseph J. Gentile Arena (4,019)
Chicago, IL
February 15, 2022
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Illinois State W 72–70  15–10
(11–4)
Redbird Arena (3,039)
Normal, IL
February 20, 2022
1:00 p.m., ESPN2
Missouri State W 95–75  16–10
(12–4)
McLeod Center (3,353)
Cedar Falls, IA
February 23, 2022
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Indiana State W 88–82  17–10
(13–4)
Hulman Center (3,684)
Terre Haute, IN
February 26, 2022
5:00 p.m., ESPNU
Loyola–Chicago W 102–96 OT 18–10
(14–4)
McLeod Center (6,497)
Cedar Falls, IA
MVC tournament
March 4, 2022
12:00 p.m., MVC TV
(1) vs. (8) Illinois State
Quarterfinals
W 78–65  19–10
Enterprise Center 
St. Louis, MO
March 5, 2022
2:30 p.m., CBSSN
(1) vs. (4) Loyola–Chicago
Semifinals
L 43–66  19–11
Enterprise Center 
St. Louis, MO
NIT
March 16, 2022*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
at (3) Saint Louis
First Round – SMU Bracket
W 80–68  20–11
Chaifetz Arena (3,521)
St. Louis, MO
March 19, 2022*
8:00 p.m., ESPN2
at (2) BYU
Second Round – SMU Bracket
L 71–90  20–12
Marriott Center (7,554)
Provo, UT
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Source[5]

References

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  1. ^ Southard, Dargan. "Northern Iowa basketball clinches Missouri Valley regular-season title with thrilling win over Loyola". Des Moines Register. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  2. ^ Bain, Matthew (December 13, 2020). "UNI point guard AJ Green will undergo season-ending hip surgery". Des Moines Register. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  3. ^ Southard, Dargan (March 5, 2021). "Arch Madness basketball: Drake advances to semifinals after positive COVID-19 test within UNI program". Des Moines Register. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  4. ^ "UNI men's basketball's Mar stepping away from athletics". unipanthers.com. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  5. ^ "2021–22 Men's Basketball Schedule". Northern Iowa. Retrieved November 13, 2021.