2015–16 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team

The 2015–16 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team represented the University of Northern Iowa during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by tenth year head coach Ben Jacobson, played their home games at the McLeod Center and were members of the Missouri Valley Conference (The Valley). They finished the 23–13, 11–7 in Missouri Valley play to finish in a tie for fourth place. The Panthers defeated Southern Illinois, Wichita State, and Evansville to win the Missouri Valley Tournament and earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. As a No. 11 seed, they defeated Texas in the first round to advance to the second round where they lost to the Texas A&M Aggies in double overtime after suffering the greatest collapse in NCAA Tournament history, blowing a 12 point lead with 35 seconds left in regulation.[1][2]

2015–16 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball
NCAA Tournament, Second Round
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
2015–16 record23–13 (11–7 MVC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Erik Crawford
  • Kyle Green
  • P.J. Hogan
Home arenaMcLeod Center
2015–16 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Wichita State162 .889  269  .743
Evansville126 .667  259  .735
Illinois State126 .667  1814  .563
Southern Illinois117 .611  2210  .688
Northern Iowa117 .611  2313  .639
Indiana State810 .444  1517  .469
Missouri State810 .444  1319  .406
Loyola (IL)711 .389  1517  .469
Bradley315 .167  527  .156
Drake216 .111  724  .226
2016 MVC Tournament winner

Previous season

The Panthers' starting five huddle during their December 5 game vs. Richmond.

The Panthers finished the 2014–15 season 31–4, 16–2 in MVC play to finish in second place. They defeated Bradley, Loyola–Chicago, and Illinois State to win the Missouri Valley Tournament and received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. In the Tournament, they defeated Wyoming in the Second Round before losing in the Third Round to Louisville.

Departures

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownNotes
Nate Buss14F6'9"212SeniorCharles City, IAGraduated
Max Martino24G6'5"215SeniorCedar Rapids, IAGraduated
Deon Mitchell1G6'1"196SeniorPflugerville, TXGraduated
Marvin Singleton12F6'6"237SeniorMinneapolis, MNGraduated
Seth Tuttle10F6'8"220SeniorSheffield, IAGraduated

Incoming Transfers

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownPrevious School
Aarias Austin1G6'4"180JuniorGurnee, ILJunior college transfer from Des Moines Area Community College.

Incoming recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Luke McDonnell
PF
Dubuque, IA Dubuque Senior High School 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sep 18, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Spencer Haldeman
PG
Epworth, IA Western Dubuque High School 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) May 12, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Justin Dahl
C
Eden Prairie, MN Holy Family Catholic High School 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Aug 8, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Lincoln Conrey
SF
Waterloo, IA Waterloo West High School 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (100 kg) Apr 15, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 25, 2014.

    2016 recruiting class

    Roster

    2015–16 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team
    PlayersCoaches
    Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
    G 1 Aarias Austin 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)180 lb (82 kg) JrDes Moines Area CC
    Warren Township
    Gurnee, IL
    F 2 Klint Carlson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)225 lb (102 kg) RS SoWaverly-Shell Rock Waverly, IA
    C 3 Ted Friedman 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)245 lb (111 kg) RS SoAnkeny Ankeny, IA
    G 4 Paul Jesperson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)206 lb (93 kg) RS SrVirginia
    Merrill
    Merrill, WI
    G 5 Matt Bohannon 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)195 lb (88 kg) SrLinn-Mar Marion, IA
    G 11 Wes Washpun 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)175 lb (79 kg) SrWashington Cedar Rapids, IA
    F 12 Lincoln Conrey 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)230 lb (104 kg) FrWaterloo West Waterloo, IA
    C 15 Justin Dahl 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)250 lb (113 kg) FrHoly Family Carver, MN
    G 20 Jeremy Morgan 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)192 lb (87 kg) JrIowa City West Coralville, IA
    G 22 Robert Knar 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)180 lb (82 kg) RS SoMundelein Mundelein, IL
    F 25 Bennett Koch 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)232 lb (105 kg) RS SoAshwaubenon Ashwaubenon, WI
    G 30 Spencer Haldeman 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)170 lb (77 kg) FrWestern Dubuque Peosta, IA
    G 33 Wyatt Lohaus 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)185 lb (84 kg) SoIowa City West North Liberty, IA
    F 35 Luke McDonnell 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)210 lb (95 kg) FrDubuque Senior Dubuque, IA
    Head coach
    Assistant coach(es)

    Legend
    • (C) Team captain
    • (S) Suspended
    • (I) Ineligible
    • (W) Walk-on

    Roster

    Schedule

    [3]

    Date
    time, TV
    Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
    city, state
    Exhibition
    11/01/2015*
    4:00 pm
    Truman State W 70–50 
    McLeod Center (4,455)
    Cedar Falls, IA
    Non-conference regular season
    11/14/2015*
    11:00 am
    Colorado State
    MW–MWC Challenge
    L 78–84  0–1
    McLeod Center (4,455)
    Cedar Falls, IA
    11/17/2015*
    7:00 am, ESPN2
    Stephen F. Austin
    College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon
    W 70–60  1–1
    McLeod Center (4,720)
    Cedar Falls, IA
    11/21/2015*
    1:00 pm, ESPN3
    No. 1 North Carolina W 71–67  2–1
    McLeod Center (7,018)
    Cedar Falls, IA
    11/25/2015*
    7:00 pm, ESPN3
    Dubuque W 83–63  3–1
    McLeod Center (4,578)
    Cedar Falls, IA
    11/28/2015*
    2:00 pm, MidcoSN
    at North Dakota W 97–51  4–1
    Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (2,302)
    Grand Forks, ND
    11/30/2015*
    7:00 pm, ESPN3
    North Texas W 93–70  5–1
    McLeod Center 
    Cedar Falls, IA
    12/05/2015*
    5:00 pm, CSN
    at Richmond L 67–82  5–2
    Robins Center (6,323)
    Richmond, VA
    12/08/2015*
    6:00 pm, ASN
    at George Mason W 73–65  6–2
    EagleBank Arena (4,102)
    Fairfax, VA
    12/12/2015*
    8:00 pm, ESPN3
    at New Mexico
    Diamond Head Classic mainland round
    L 57–76  6–3
    The Pit (13,154)
    Albuquerque, NM
    12/19/2015*
    6:00 pm, ESPNU
    vs. No. 5 Iowa State
    Big Four Classic
    W 81–79  7–3
    Wells Fargo Arena (15,424)
    Des Moines, IA
    12/22/2015*
    12:30 am, ESPN2
    at Hawaiʻi
    Diamond Head Classic quarterfinals
    L 52–68  7–4
    Stan Sheriff Center (8,463)
    Honolulu, HI
    12/23/2015*
    10:30 pm, ESPNU
    vs. Washington State
    Diamond Head Classic consolation
    W 63–59  8–4
    Stan Sheriff Center (7,365)
    Honolulu, HI
    12/25/2015*
    2:30 pm, ESPNU
    vs. BYU
    Diamond Head Classic 5th place game
    L 76–84  8–5
    Stan Sheriff Center (6,172)
    Honolulu, HI
    Missouri Valley Conference regular season
    12/30/2015
    7:00 pm, ESPN3
    Bradley W 80–44  9–5
    (1–0)
    McLeod Center (5,230)
    Cedar Falls, IA
    01/02/2016
    7:00 pm, ESPN3
    at Southern Illinois L 73–75  9–6
    (1–1)
    SIU Arena (6,106)
    Carbondale, IL
    01/06/2016
    7:00 pm, ESPN3
    at Missouri State L 58–59  9–7
    (1–2)
    JQH Arena (4,297)
    Springfield, MO
    01/09/2016
    7:00 pm, ESPN3
    Drake W 77–44  10–7
    (2–2)
    McLeod Center (5,105)
    Cedar Falls, IA
    01/13/2016
    6:00 pm, ESPN3
    at Indiana State L 60–74  10–8
    (2–3)
    Hulman Center (3,544)
    Terre Haute, IN
    01/16/2016
    3:00 pm, ESPN3
    Loyola–Chicago L 41–51  10–9
    (2–4)
    McLeod Center (6,033)
    Cedar Falls, IA
    01/20/2016
    7:00 pm, ESPN3
    Wichita State L 55–74  10–10
    (2–5)
    McLeod Center (5,425)
    Cedar Falls, IA
    01/23/2016
    3:00 pm
    at Illinois State L 67–76  10–11
    (2–6)
    Redbird Arena (7,103)
    Normal, IL
    01/27/2016
    8:00 pm, ESPN3
    at Bradley W 68–50  11–11
    (3–6)
    Carver Arena (5,334)
    Peoria, IL
    01/31/2016
    3:00 pm, ESPN3
    Southern Illinois W 67–58  12–11
    (4–6)
    McLeod Center (5,275)
    Cedar Falls, IA
    02/03/2016
    6:00 pm, ESPN3
    Evansville W 57–54  13–11
    (5–6)
    McLeod Center (4,805)
    Cedar Falls, IA
    02/06/2016
    1:00 pm, CBSSN
    at Drake W 82–66  14–11
    (6–6)
    Knapp Center (4,724)
    Des Moines, IA
    02/10/2016
    7:00 pm, ESPN3
    Missouri State W 83–69  15–11
    (7–6)
    McLeod Center (5,755)
    Cedar Falls, IA
    02/13/2016
    11:00 am, ESPN2
    at No. 25 Wichita State W 53–50  16–11
    (8–6)
    Charles Koch Arena (10,506)
    Wichita, KS
    02/17/2016
    7:00 pm, ESPN3
    at Loyola–Chicago L 56–59  16–12
    (8–7)
    Joseph J. Gentile Arena (1,690)
    Chicago, IL
    02/20/2016
    3:00 pm, CBSSN
    Illinois State W 75–66  17–12
    (9–7)
    McLeod Center (6,145)
    Cedar Falls, IA
    02/24/2016
    7:00 pm, ESPN3
    Indiana State W 66–44  18–12
    (10–7)
    McLeod Center (5,911)
    Cedar Falls, IA
    02/27/2016
    1:00 pm, ESPN3
    at Evansville W 54–52  19–12
    (11–7)
    Ford Center (6,552)
    Evansville, IN
    Missouri Valley Tournament
    03/04/2016
    2:30 pm, ESPN3
    vs. Southern Illinois
    quarterfinals
    W 66–60  20–12
    Scottrade Center (10,560)
    St. Louis, MO
    03/05/2016
    2:30 pm, CBSSN
    vs. Wichita State
    semifinals
    W 57–52 OT 21–12
    Scottrade Center (14,299)
    St. Louis, MO
    03/06/2016
    1:00 pm, CBS
    vs. Evansville
    championship
    W 56–54  22–12
    Scottrade Center (14,299)
    St. Louis, MO
    NCAA Tournament
    03/18/2016*
    8:50 pm, TBS
    (11 W) vs. (6 W) Texas
    First Round
    W 75–72  23–12
    Chesapeake Energy Arena (15,279)
    Oklahoma City, OK
    03/20/2016*
    6:40 pm, truTV
    (11 W) vs. (3 W) No. 15 Texas A&M
    Second Round
    L 88–92 2OT 23–13
    Chesapeake Energy Arena (15,279)
    Oklahoma City, OK
    *Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West Region.
    All times are in Central Time.

    References

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