- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,263,557
- Reaction score
- 59
Each year at the NCAA Tournament, there's a Cinderella team that comes out of seemingly nowhere to capture the hearts of basketball lovers across the country.
Could UNI (23-12) be that team this year?
The 12-seed Panthers, who are making thier first trip to the Big Dance since 2016, begin their March Madness journey on Friday night against No. 5 St. John's. Tip-off is slated for 6:10 p.m. CT.
While UNI is gearing up for the challenge, many fans nationwide might be asking, how did the Panthers even reach this point?
The Panthers finished sixth in the Missouri Valley Conference standings at the end of the regular season, meaning a bid to the NCAA Tournament seemed like a long shot at the start of the month. Still, UNI made noise in the MVC tournament in St. Louis.
UNI came into Arch Madness with a 6-seed and went on a run. It took down No. 11-seed Evansville in the second round and followed that with a quarterfinal upset of 3-seed Illinois State. The Panthers continued thier hot streak in the semifinals, taking down 2-seed Bradley, 73-69. They finished off thier Cinderella run with an 84-69 win over UIC in the MVC Tournament title game.
The MVC Tournament title earned the Panthers the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, entering the Big Dance on a five game winning streak.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Why did Northern Iowa basketball make it into March Madness bracket?
Continue reading...
Could UNI (23-12) be that team this year?
The 12-seed Panthers, who are making thier first trip to the Big Dance since 2016, begin their March Madness journey on Friday night against No. 5 St. John's. Tip-off is slated for 6:10 p.m. CT.
While UNI is gearing up for the challenge, many fans nationwide might be asking, how did the Panthers even reach this point?
How did UNI basketball make March Madness?
The Panthers finished sixth in the Missouri Valley Conference standings at the end of the regular season, meaning a bid to the NCAA Tournament seemed like a long shot at the start of the month. Still, UNI made noise in the MVC tournament in St. Louis.
UNI came into Arch Madness with a 6-seed and went on a run. It took down No. 11-seed Evansville in the second round and followed that with a quarterfinal upset of 3-seed Illinois State. The Panthers continued thier hot streak in the semifinals, taking down 2-seed Bradley, 73-69. They finished off thier Cinderella run with an 84-69 win over UIC in the MVC Tournament title game.
The MVC Tournament title earned the Panthers the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, entering the Big Dance on a five game winning streak.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Why did Northern Iowa basketball make it into March Madness bracket?
Continue reading...
