The 2021–22 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team represented the

University of Northern Iowa The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) is a public university in Cedar Falls, Iowa. UNI offers more than 90 majors across the colleges of Business Administration, Education, Humanities, Arts, and Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences and grad ...

during the

2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 9, 2021 and concluded on March 13, 2022. The 2022 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament culminated the season and began on March 15 and concluded on April 4 with the c ...

. The Panthers, led by 16th-year head coach

Ben Jacobson Ben Scott Jacobson (born December 16, 1970) is an American basketball coach. He is the head men's basketball coach at the University of Northern Iowa, a position he has held since 2006. He served as an assistant at North Dakota, North Dakota Sta ...

, played their home games at the

McLeod Center The McLeod Center is a 7,018-seat multi-purpose arena on the campus of the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) in Cedar Falls, Iowa, USA, currently housing the university's teams in men's and women's basketball, and women's volleyball. The arena ...

Cedar Falls, Iowa Cedar Falls is a city in Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 40,713. It is home to the University of Northern Iowa, a public university. History Cedar Falls was first settled in March 1845 by ...

as members of the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest. History The MVC was established ...

. With a win over Loyola on February 26, 2022, the Panthers won the regular season MVC championship. They finished the regular season 18–10, 14–4 in MVC play to finish in first place. They defeated

Illinois State Illinois State University (ISU) is a Public university, public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is reco ...

in the quarterfinals of the MVC tournament before losing in the semifinals to Loyola. As a No. 1 seed who didn’t win their conference tournament, they received an automatic bid to the

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitational Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played at regional sites and traditionally at Madison Square Garden (Final Four) in New York City ...

where they defeated Saint Louis in the first round before losing in the second round to

BYU Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...

Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the

Panthers Panther may refer to: Large cats *Pantherinae, the cat subfamily that contains the genera ''Panthera'' and ''Neofelis'' **''Panthera'', the cat genus that contains tigers, lions, jaguars and leopards. ***Jaguar (''Panthera onca''), found in Sout ...

finished the 2020–21 season 10–15, 7–11 in MVC play to finish in a three-way tie for fifth place. Former MVC Player of the Year and first-team all-MVC star

A. J. Green Adriel Jeremiah Green (born July 31, 1988) is an American football wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia Bulldogs football, Georgia and was drafted by the Cincinnati ...

played in only three games before he underwent hip surgery and missed the remainder of the season. As the No. 7 seed in the MVC tournament, the Panthers defeated

in the first round. However, they were forced to forfeit their quarterfinal game against

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...

due to a positive COVID test and subsequent contact tracing within the UNI program.

Offseason

Departures

2021 recruiting class

2022 recruiting class

Roster

Schedule and results

, - !colspan=9 style=, Regular season , - !colspan=12 style=, MVC tournament , - !colspan=12 style=, NIT Source

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2021-22 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball seasons

Northern Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball The Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team represents the University of Northern Iowa located in Cedar Falls, Iowa. UNI is currently a member of the Missouri Valley Conference. Postseason results NCAA Division I Tournament Northern Iowa ...