2015–16 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team American college basketball season
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]
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
Incoming Transfers
Incoming recruits
College recruiting information
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
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
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
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
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:
2016 recruiting class
College recruiting information (2016)
Name
Hometown
High school / college
Height
Weight
Commit date
Juwan McCloud PG
Germantown, WI
Germantown High School
5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
150 lb (68 kg)
May 9, 2015
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:
Roster
2015–16 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Name
Height
Weight
Year
Previous school
Hometown
G
1
Aarias Austin
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
Jr
Des Moines Area CC Warren Township
Gurnee, IL
F
2
Klint Carlson
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
225 lb (102 kg)
RS So
Waverly-Shell Rock
Waverly, IA
C
3
Ted Friedman
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
245 lb (111 kg)
RS So
Ankeny
Ankeny, IA
G
4
Paul Jesperson
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
206 lb (93 kg)
RS Sr
Virginia Merrill
Merrill, WI
G
5
Matt Bohannon
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
Sr
Linn-Mar
Marion, IA
G
11
Wes Washpun
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
175 lb (79 kg)
Sr
Washington
Cedar Rapids, IA
F
12
Lincoln Conrey
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
230 lb (104 kg)
Fr
Waterloo West
Waterloo, IA
C
15
Justin Dahl
6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
250 lb (113 kg)
Fr
Holy Family
Carver, MN
G
20
Jeremy Morgan
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
192 lb (87 kg)
Jr
Iowa City West
Coralville, IA
G
22
Robert Knar
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
RS So
Mundelein
Mundelein, IL
F
25
Bennett Koch
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
232 lb (105 kg)
RS So
Ashwaubenon
Ashwaubenon, WI
G
30
Spencer Haldeman
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
170 lb (77 kg)
Fr
Western Dubuque
Peosta, IA
G
33
Wyatt Lohaus
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
So
Iowa City West
North Liberty, IA
F
35
Luke McDonnell
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
Fr
Dubuque 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–MVC 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
(4)
vs. (5) Southern Illinois Quarterfinals
W 66–60
20–12
Scottrade Center (10,560)St. Louis, MO
03/05/2016 2:30 pm, CBSSN
(4)
vs. (1) Wichita State Semifinals
W 57–52 OT
21–12
Scottrade Center (14,299)St. Louis, MO
03/06/2016 1:00 pm, CBS
(4)
vs. (2) 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
Venues Rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons