For the first time in 10 years, the Northern Iowa men’s basketball team is dancing.
The Panthers – who spent the season bouncing back from a few impactful injuries – took home the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship, earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
No. 12-seeded UNI is set to face fifth-seed St. John’s on Friday, March 20 at 6:10 p.m. CT in San Diego, Calif.
But leading up to that announcement, there was a week full of peaks and valleys.
In Division I men’s basketball, the Missouri Valley hosts one of the earliest conference tournaments – with a week between the champion being crowned and Selection Sunday kicking off.
So, after becoming the first team in conference history to win four games in four days to claim the trophy, the waiting game began for Northern Iowa. No set seeding; no known opponent; no regional destination.
Just a moment in between the two most important points of the season to get back to the fun of the game.
The Panthers, who were the first 6-seed to win the Valley Tournament, took off the two days following the conference championship game. They returned to the gym on Wednesday, March 11, for some light workouts and a session in the weight room. UNI resumed practice on Thursday, Friday and Saturday before enjoying another day off on Sunday.
"It’s such a great week because you know you’re in the NCAA Tournament,” UNI coach Ben Jacobson said Monday, March 16. “It’s a really neat opportunity for our players and for our program to have, when you’re not playing a game.”
And then Selection Sunday rolled around, and one thing after the other – all out of the team's control – seemed to go wrong.
The Panthers’ public watch party at a local events center flipped to a private event – players, coaches, support staff and their families – at McLeod Center, due to safety concerns surrounding a blizzard warning impacting the state.
UNI was among the first teams revealed on the bracket but – due to an error with the live feed from CBS Sports – the Panthers learned their seeding, opponent and destination after fans watching on TV did.
Did everything go according to plan?
No, but that didn’t take away from the Panthers enjoying the moment – Northern Iowa’s first appearance in March Madness since 2016.
“I talked to the guys … I said, even though (we know) our name’s coming up, it’s (still) an unbelievable feeling,” Jacobson said. “Then they go, and they have the technical difficulty, and our guys are kind of looking around. For a brief moment – two or three seconds – it put a little bit of a different twist on it. But, outside of that, it was great.”
Now, the Panthers’ attention turns to their first-round opponent.
St. John’s will be a unique opponent, bringing a style of play that UNI hasn’t really seen in any of this season’s opponents. Coach Rick Pitino's Red Storm run a full-court press and never hesitate to apply ball pressure.
In teams like UIC and Southern Illinois, Jacobson saw some similarities to St. John’s style of play. The Flames were heavy on ball pressure, and the Salukis were lengthy, versatile, and could make a lot of switches.
But neither team combined everything in the same way as the Red Storm, who walloped UConn 72-52 in the Big East Conference Tournament final.
“The size and versatility, and the length and depth of their roster, (St. John’s) has the ability to switch at all five positions,” Jacobson said. “When you talk about the press, you talk about offensive rebounds, you talk about sideline (or) out of bounds, they’re going to deny it and make it hard to get it in. They’re always on you.
“The roster is filled with really good players. There’s a lot of depth there; there’s a lot of size there. So again, just things that are part of each game, but they’re going to be more a part of this one because of the way St. John’s plays.”
Playing in a Friday game – as opposed to a Thursday matchup – Jacobson’s team can go through a somewhat normal start to the week. The Panthers can fit in a couple of practices – get back into the five-on-five rhythm – before traveling to California.
When the ball is tipped on Friday evening, UNI will focus on playing its game.
Despite missing key players due to injury for parts of the season, a five-game skid in January and entering the conference tournament as a No. 6 seed, Northern Iowa found a way to win its way into March Madness.
The Panthers head to San Diego on a five-game winning streak.
As a 12-seed in the NCAA Tournament, there's not much pressure and UNI has a chance to make headlines nationally with an upset. Jacobson trusts his team to do what’s worked all season.
“(This team) was so good in the Valley Tournament,” Jacobson said. “Not only talking about the way we played in terms of the level we played at and the consistency we played with and the competitive spirit we had in those games. But team meals, film sessions, being around the hotel: This is their team.
“They’ve got themselves in a great place. My job is to feed it and continue to stay out of the way, at times.”
Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Ben Jacobson, UNI basketball gear up for St. John's in March Madness