2018–19 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team represented the University of Northern Iowa during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by 13th-year head coach Ben Jacobson, played their home games at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls, Iowa as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 16–18, 9–9 in MVC play to finish in a three-way tie for fifth place. As the No. 6 seed in the MVC tournament, they beat Southern Illinois and Drake before losing to Bradley in the championship.

2018–19 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
Record16–18 (9–9 MVC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • P.J. Hogan
  • Erik Crawford
  • Kyle Green
Home arenaMcLeod Center
Seasons
2018–19 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Loyola Chicago 12 6   .667 20 14   .588
Drake 12 6   .667 24 10   .706
Southern Illinois 10 8   .556 17 15   .531
Missouri State 10 8   .556 16 16   .500
Bradley 9 9   .500 20 15   .571
Northern Iowa 9 9   .500 16 18   .471
Illinois State 9 9   .500 17 16   .515
Indiana State 7 11   .389 15 16   .484
Valparaiso 7 11   .389 15 18   .455
Evansville 5 13   .278 11 21   .344
2019 MVC tournament winner

Previous season

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The Panthers finished the 2017–18 season 16–16, 7–11 in MVC play to finish three-way tie for seventh place. As the No. 7 seed in the MVC tournament, they defeated Evansville in the first round before losing to Loyola–Chicago in the quarterfinals.[1][2]

Offseason

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Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Adam McDermott 1 G 6'4" 190 RS Sophomore Cedar Rapids, IA Walk-on; transferred to Coe College
Klint Carlson 2 F 6'7" 225 RS Senior Waverly, IA Graduated
Ted Friedman 3 C 6'9" 245 RS Senior Ankeny, IA Graduated
Rafael de Souza 5 G 6'1" 180 Senior Jundiaí, Brazil Walk-on; left the team for personal reasons
Juwan McCloud 13 G 5'11" 173 Sophomore Germantown, WI Graduate transferred to Minnesota State
Hunter Rhodes 21 G 6'0" 175 Senior Canton, IL Graduated
Tanner Lohaus 22 F 6'7" 205 RS Freshman North Liberty, IA Left the team for personal reasons
Bennett Koch 25 F/C 6'10" 235 RS Senior Ashwaubenon, WI Graduated/signed to play professional in Netherlands with Dutch Windmills

Incoming transfers

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Tray Croft 5 G 6'1" 170 Junior Anniston, AL Junior college transferred from Iowa Central Community College
Trae Berhow 11 G 6'5" 195 Sophomore Watertown, MN Transferred from Pepperdine. Under NCAA transfer rules, Berhow will have to sit out for the 2018–19 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility.
Shandon Goldman 20 F 6'9" 220 Junior Evansville, AR Junior college transferred from Panola College

2018 recruiting class

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College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
A. J. Green
#18 PG
Cedar Falls, IA Cedar Falls High School 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Aug 11, 2017 
Star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 84
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:

  • "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 12, 2018.

2019 recruiting class

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College recruiting information (2019)
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
James Betz
PF
Garner, IA Garner-Hayfield High School 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Aug 11, 2017 
Star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: N/A
Cole Henry
SG
Oskaloosa, IA Oskaloosa High School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Aug 13, 2018 
Star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: N/A
Noah Carter
PF
Dubuque, IA Dubuque Senior High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jun 27, 2018 
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:

2020 recruiting class

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College recruiting information (2020)
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Tytan Anderson
PG
Eldridge, IA North Scott Senior High School 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) N/A Aug 14, 2018 
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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2018–19 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 3 Tywhon Pickford 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 202 lb (92 kg) So Maple Grove Minneapolis, MN
G 4 A. J. Green 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Cedar Falls Cedar Falls, IA
G 5 Tray Croft   6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jr Anniston
Iowa Central CC
Anniston, AL
G 10 Miles Wentzien (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Fort Madison
Kirkwood CC
Fort Madison, IA
G 11 Trae Berhow   6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Watertown Mayer
Pepperdine
Watertown, MN
F 12 Lincoln Conrey 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 203 lb (92 kg) RS Jr Waterloo West Waterloo, IA
C 15 Justin Dahl 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 261 lb (118 kg) RS Jr Holy Family Carver, MN
F 20 Shandon Goldman 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Lincoln
Chipola College
Evansville, AR
G 22 Wyatt Lohaus 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 192 lb (87 kg) RS Sr Iowa City West North Liberty, IA
G 24 Isaiah Brown 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Flower Mound Flower Mound, TX
G 30 Spencer Haldeman 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS Jr Western Dubuque Peosta, IA
F 34 Luke McDonnell 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 212 lb (96 kg) RS Jr Dubuque Senior Dubuque, IA
F 50 Austin Phyfe 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) So 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
Exhibition
Oct 28, 2018*
1:00 pm
Wartburg W 110–69 
McLeod Center 
Cedar, Falls, IA
Nov 1, 2018*
7:00 pm
Upper Iowa W 82–63 
McLeod Center (3,054)
Cedar, Falls, IA
Non-conference regular season
Nov 6, 2018*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Bemidji State W 97–51  1–0
McLeod Center (3,233)
Cedar, Falls, IA
Nov 10, 2018*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at UT Arlington L 64–75  1–1
College Park Center (3,789)
Arlington, TX
Nov 16, 2018*
5:00 pm
vs. Penn
Paradise Jam Quarterfinals
L 71–78  1–2
Sports and Fitness Center 
St. Thomas, VI
Nov 17, 2018
4:30 pm
vs. Eastern Kentucky
Paradise Jam
W 90–85  2–2
Sports and Fitness Center (1,253)
St. Thomas, VI
Nov 19, 2018*
2:00pm
vs. Old Dominion
Paradise Jam
W 54–53  3–2
Sports and Fitness Center (886)
St. Thomas, VI
Nov 23, 2018*
6:00 pm
at Old Dominion
Paradise Jam campus game
L 65–72  3–3
Ted Constant Convocation Center (5,529)
Norfolk, VA
Nov 28, 2018*
8:00 pm
at Utah State
MW–MVC Challenge
L 52–71  3–4
Smith Spectrum (5,134)
Logan, UT
Dec 1, 2018*
8:00 pm
vs. South Dakota State
U.S. Bank Basketball Classic
L 50–82  3–5
U.S. Bank Stadium (3,184)
Minneapolis, MN
Dec 8, 2018*
1:00 pm, ESPN+
Dubuque W 75–67  4–5
McLeod Center (3,314)
Cedar, Falls, IA
Dec 15, 2018*
6:00 pm, BTN
vs. No. 22 Iowa
Hy-Vee Classic
L 54–77  4–6
Wells Fargo Arena (12,236)
Des Moines, IA
Dec 19, 2018*
7:30 pm, ESPN+
Grand Canyon L 62–73  4–7
McLeod Center (3,394)
Cedar, Falls, IA
Dec 22, 2018*
1:00 pm, ESPN+
North Dakota W 64–62  5–7
McLeod Center (3,619)
Cedar, Falls, IA
Dec 29, 2018*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Stony Brook L 63–73  5–8
McLeod Center (3,262)
Cedar, Falls, IA
Missouri Valley Conference regular season
Jan 2, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Bradley W 65–47  6–8
(1–0)
Carver Arena (5,252)
Peoria, IL
Jan 5, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Southern Illinois L 51–58  6–9
(1–1)
McLeod Center (3,783)
Cedar Falls, IA
Jan 8, 2019
7:00 pm, NBCSCH
at Illinois State L 69–70  6–10
(1–2)
Redbird Arena (4,107)
Normal, IL
Jan 13, 2019
3:00 pm, FSMW/NBCSCH
Drake W 57–54  7–10
(2–2)
McLeod Center (4,141)
Cedar Falls, IA
Jan 16, 2019
7:00 pm, PSN/ESPN+
Indiana State W 69–64  8–10
(3–2)
McLeod Center (3,457)
Cedar Falls, IA
Jan 19, 2019
3:00 pm, FSMW/NBCSCH
at Valparaiso L 66–75  8–11
(3–3)
Athletics–Recreation Center (3,160)
Valpraiso, IN
Jan 23, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Southern Illinois L 62–70  8–12
(3–4)
SIU Arena (4,419)
Carbondale, IL
Jan 26, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Evansville W 81–74  9–12
(4–4)
McLeod Center (3,677)
Cedar Falls, IA
Jan 30, 2019
6:00 pm, NBCSCH+
at Loyola–Chicago L 60–61  9–13
(4–5)
Joseph J. Gentile Arena (3,011)
Chicago, IL
Feb 2, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Missouri State W 64–59  10–13
(5–5)
McLeod Center (3,882)
Cedar Falls, IA
Feb 6, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Bradley L 71–79  10–14
(5–6)
McLeod Center (3,345)
Cedar, Falls, IA
Feb 9, 2019
5:00 pm, FSMW/NBCSCH
at Drake L 77–83  10–15
(5–7)
Knapp Center (5,632)
Des Moines, IA
Feb 13, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Illinois State W 77-64  11–15
(6–7)
McLeod Center 
Cedar Falls, IA
Feb 17, 2019
1:00 pm, ESPN3
at Evansville W 73-58  12–15
(7–7)
Ford Center 
Evansville, IN
Feb 20, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Missouri State W 63-43  13–15
(8–7)
JQH Arena 
Springfield, MO
Feb 23, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Valparaiso W 64-53  14–15
(9–7)
McLeod Center 
Cedar Falls, IA
Feb 27, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Loyola–Chicago L 55–56  14–16
(9–8)
McLeod Center 
Cedar Falls, IA
Mar 2, 2019
2:00 pm, ESPN+
at Indiana State L 54–71  14–17
(9–9)
Hulman Center 
Terre Haute, IN
Missouri Valley tournament
Mar 8, 2019
9:30 pm, ESPN+
(6) vs. (3) Southern Illinois
Quarterfinals
W 61–58  15–17
Enterprise Center 
St. Louis, MO
Mar 9, 2019
5:05 pm, CBSSN
(6) vs. (2) Drake
Semifinals
W 60–58  16–17
Enterprise Center 
St. Louis, MO
Mar 10, 2019
1:05 pm, CBS
(6) vs. (5) Bradley
Championship Game
L 54–57  16–18
Enterprise Center 
St. Louis, MO
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Source[3][4]

Panther Sports Network (PSN) Cedar Falls Utilities Ch. 15/HD415; KCRG-TV Ch. 9.2; WHO-DT Ch. 13.2; KGCW Ch. 26, (NBC Sports Chicago or NBCSC+)

References

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