From 3-4 to 20-11, The Northern Iowa men’s basketball team has put themselves in position to make a deep run in the upcoming Arch Madness Tournament. The Panthers won seven out of nine games to end the regular season and are looking to build on the strong finish. The team dropped their final game of the regular season to a solid Bradley team, but Head Coach Ben Jacobson is looking forward:
“We have to keep the momentum we have built up,” said Jacobson postgame. “We will try to generate some on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday as we prepare for our first game Friday night.”
The Panthers will get a huge boost come tournament time as star sophomore point guard Leon Bond returned Sunday from an ankle injury.
“I thought he did a good job,” said Coach Jacobson. “When you miss that many practices and it’s this late in the year it’s a challenging situation.”
Bond averaged 10 points a game in twenty-two games this season. He will rejoin a lineup that has been Senior driven. Tytan Anderson and Jacob Hutson have been crucial pieces for the Panther offense in their stellar season. Anderson is averaging 15 points a game and has been the Panthers go-to option on offense.
As for Hutson, a “secret weapon” element that’s been added to his game is the three-point shot. The 6’11 center knocked down four three-pointers in the home finale against UIC and has improved upon it approaching Arch Madness Tournament play.
“It’ll be a good weapon moving forward,” said Hutson postgame against UIC. “We’ve been playing well without it but it’s been a good addition.”
Northern Iowa is the 3-seed in the tournament and will play the winner of the 6-seeded UIC Flames versus the 11-seeded Valparaiso Beacons. The team played UIC twice this season and won both matchups by twenty-plus points.
The Panthers lost their only matchup against Valaraiso this season 80-73 on January 4th. On the same side of the bracket is the 2-seeded Bradley Braves, a team the Panthers are very familiar with. If both teams can take care of business in the first round it’ll set up a third matchup between the two teams for a spot in the championship. The Panthers and Braves split the regular season series 1-1.
Looking at the opposite side of the bracket, the 1-seeded Drake Bulldogs have put together a phenomenal season with a record of 27-3. Barring a huge upset, the Bulldogs will very likely find their way to the championship game.
A likely opponent in the second round could be the winner of the 5-seeded Illinois State Redbirds and the 4-seeded Belmont Bruins. The Redbirds may be the under the radar team to watch as they’ve played close games with some of the top teams in the conference. The Bruins also have some good wins and proved they can be a threat in this tournament.
Northern Iowa definitely wants another shot at Drake after a heartbreaking 64-58 overtime loss in the Mcleod Center. Despite the close loss the Panthers proved they can compete with the Bulldogs. The thrill of participating in an Arch Madness tournament is unmatched. Many of the games are close with each team putting all their effort in trying to secure a ticket to the NCAA Tournament. For the incoming freshman and transfers, they haven’t experienced playing in an Arch Madness Tournament yet.
“I’m super excited,” said Panthers point guard Cael Schmitt. “I’ve been down there not playing on the court, but it’s a fun atmosphere and it’ll be fun taking it in from on the court this time.”
