The Northern Iowa Panthers have rediscovered their March Madness magic.
The Panthers (23-12, 11-9 conference play) beat the UIC Flames (19-15, 12-8 conference play) 84-69 in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Championship Game at Enterprise Center in St. Louis on Sunday. With that victory, Northern Iowa has punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2015-16 season, capping off another unexpected run.
How Northern Iowa made history during MVC Tournament run
The Panthers entered the conference tournament as the sixth seed after losing two of their last three regular-season games. The Southern Illinois Salukis (16-16, 10-10 MVC) beat them 59-57 on Feb. 21, while the Illinois State Redbirds (20-12, 12-8 MVC) outlasted them 71-69 on Feb. 25.
Despite not being a favorite to win the MVC Tournament, Northern Iowa won four games in four days, becoming the first team to do so since the event’s inception in 1977. It also benefited from luck. The top-seeded Belmont Bruins (26-6, 16-4 MVC) lost to the Drake Bulldogs (14-20, 6-14 MVC) 100-79 in the second round on Friday.
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