Northern Iowa Men's Basketball 2026 NCAA Tournament Capsule

 
Northern Iowa Panthers
 
Missouri Valley (23-12, 11-9)
 
 
Big Wins: 11/22 at UC Irvine (70-69), 3/6 vs Illinois State (74-52)
Bad Losses: 1/17 at Valparaiso (44-54), 2/21 Southern Illinois (57-59)
Coach: Ben Jacobson
 
Probable Starters:
Tristan Smith, Senior, Forward, 9.1 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.9 apg
Will Hornseth, Sophomore, Forward, 11.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.2 apg
Leon Bond III, Junior, Forward, 11.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.5 apg
Max Weisbrod, Senior, Guard, 6.5 ppg, 2.0 apg, 2.5 rpg
Trey Campbell, Senior, Guard, 13.7 ppg, 3.9 apg, 3.8 rpg, 1.6 spg
 
Key Role Players:
Ben Schwieger, Senior, Forward, 9.9 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.9 apg
RJ Taylor, Junior, Guard, 2.7 ppg, 1.2 apg, 1.0 rpg
 
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 69.9 (308th in nation, 10th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 61.3 (1, 1)
Field-Goal Percentage: 47.7 (46, 2)
Field-Goal Defense: 40.7 (30, 1)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 7.8 (184, 8)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 35.5 (99, 3)
Free-Throw Percentage: 69.9 (269, 8)
Rebound Margin: -1.1 (260, 9)
Assists Per Game: 15.0 (114, 3)
Turnovers Per Game: 9.3 (14, 1)
 
Recent Postseason Appearances:
 
2025NITFirst Round loss to SMU
2022NITFirst Round win over Saint Louis
2022NITSecond Round loss to BYU
2016NCAARound of 64 win over Texas
2016NCAARound of 32 loss to Texas A&M
2015NCAARound of 64 win over Wyoming
2015NCAARound of 32 loss to Louisville
2013CITFirst Round win over North Dakota
2013CITSecond Round win over UIC
2013CITQuarterfinal win over Bradley
2013CITSemifinal loss to Weber State
2012NITFirst Round win over St. Joseph's
2012NITSecond Round loss to Drexel
2011CITFirst Round win over Rider
2011CITQuarterfinal loss to Southern Methodist
2010NCAARound of 64 win over UNLV
2010NCAARound of 32 win over Kansas
2010NCAARegional Semifinal loss to Michigan State
2009NCAARound of 64 loss to Purdue
2006NCAARound of 64 loss to Georgetown
2005NCAARound of 64 loss to Wisconsin
 
*all team stats through 3/8