March Madness: when teams experience the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. For the UNI Panthers, they experienced both ends of the spectrum within 48 hours.

Friday night, the Panthers knocked off a really good Texas team with a half-court buzzer beater from Paul Jesperson. That is arguably the greatest shot in March Madness history.

Then just two days later, we all know what happened in that tough loss to Texas A&M. All I will say about that game is that both teams fought their tails off. Texas A&M fought hard to make a great comeback.

UNI fought through injuries, foul trouble and adversity until the final buzzer sounded. Both teams fought and never gave up. As college basketball fans, we should all respect that. As for UNI, fighting and toughness were the themes of the season.

With great coaching, great senior leadership and a lot of hard work, the 2015-2016 UNI Panthers had one of the best turnaround seasons anyone could ever ask for.

On Jan. 23, 2016, the Panthers suffered their fourth straight loss and were sitting with a 10-11 record, beginning conference play, 2-6. But everyone knew this team was so much better than their record showed.

This 10-11 team was the same group of guys that beat No. 1 ranked North Carolina and No. 5 ranked Iowa State. The team could’ve easily folded and gave up on the year, but instead they came closer than ever to turn it around.

They finished the regular season by winning nine of their last 10 games (including a road win at Wichita St. snapping their 43-game home win streak).

Then they carried that momentum with them to St. Louis where they beat Southern Illinois, Wichita St. and Evansville to punch their ticket to the big dance. Each of these games came down to the wire, but UNI dug deep and pulled out the win every time.

Wes Washpun hit the game-winner at the buzzer in the MVC Championship game to secure the trophy for the second straight year. Just when you think it can’t get any better, it does.

The Panthers were matched up against the Texas Longhorns in Oklahoma City for the first round of the NCAA Tournament, and we are blessed with another game that come down to the wire.

Right after Texas made a bucket to tie the game up with under five seconds left, Paul Jesperson answered with a game-winning half-court shot at the buzzer.

Talk about a tough, resilient, determined bunch of guys that played their hearts out to get to where nobody thought they could be — winning a NCAA Tournament game on the national stage in dramatic fashion.

Looking at the season as a UNI fan, you have two options. Paul Jesperson said it perfectly in his interview with Russillo & Kanell on “ESPN Radio.”

“I can either look at a terrible 40 seconds that we had,” Jesperson said. “Or I can remember an incredible six- to eight-week journey that we went on, and all the things that we had to overcome and all the things that we went through to get us to the position we were in. A great position to be in the Sweet 16. I chose to remember that six- to eight-week journey.”

So go ahead and take your pick. I know I’m going to remember it for the special season it was, lead by three amazing seniors: Matt Bohannon, Paul Jesperson, and Wes Washpun. Three of the classiest guys you will ever meet.