Northern Iowa Returns to NCAA Tourney for First Time Since 2016

If you're an Iowa men's basketball fan of almost any kind, you were pleased at the fact that Iowa, Iowa State, and even Northern Iowa all qualified to participate in the 2026 NCAA Division I Tournament, set to begin later this week.

Northern Iowa's tournament bid is particularly special, however, being it's their first March Madness appearance since 2016. Prior to this year, the Panthers have qualified in 1962, 1964, 1979, 1990, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2015, and 2016, making it as far as the Elite Eight in 1964.

Who Will Northern Iowa Face in the Tourney?:

The UNI men's basketball team is set to face #5 seed St. John's on Friday, March 20th in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Division I Tournament. The game will be played the Viejas Arena in San Diego, CA with a tip-off time of 6:10pm. TV broadcast details are to be determined.

UNI enters the tourney with a 23-12 record and a 11-9 mark in the Missouri Valley Conference. They enter the tourney a 12-seed, and has an all-time record of 5-8 in the NCAA Tournament games. Their opponent, St. John's Red Storm, is led by Rick Pitino, an all-time great coach whose Louisville team handed UNI an L in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament. Pitino is also the only men's basketball coach to win the NCAA Tournament Championship with two different programs.

Who Will UNI Face if They Beat St. John's?:

Should the Panthers pull off a massive upset against St. John's, they will take on the winner of #4 Kansas and #13 Cal Baptist.

UNI head coach Ben Jacobson, who has been leading the Panthers since 2006 and has an overall record of 397–258, spoke about the team qualifying for the tourney for the first time in a decade:

This is as good as it gets. The feeling of this in experiencing the highest levels of emotion doesn't change. It's fun to be a part of our guys and spend about an hour together and being around one another. Over the next period of time we'll start talking logistics and getting organized for our trip out west and our matchup with St. John's - UNI head coach Ben Jacobson, per UNI's website

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Read more about the Northern Iowa Panthers taking on St. John's Red Storm in the first round of the NCAA Division I Tournament on UNI's website.

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Source: Northern Iowa Returns to NCAA Tournament for First Time Since 2016

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