2014–15 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team

2014–15 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball
Cancún Challenge champions
Missouri Valley Tournament champions
NCAA tournament, third round
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 14
APNo. 11
Record31–4 (16–2 MVC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Erik Crawford
  • Kyle Green
  • P.J. Hogan
Home arenaMcLeod Center
Seasons
2014–15 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 14 Wichita State 17 1   .944 30 5   .857
No. 11 Northern Iowa 16 2   .889 31 4   .886
Indiana State 11 7   .611 15 16   .484
Illinois State 11 7   .611 22 13   .629
Evansville 9 9   .500 24 12   .667
Loyola Chicago 8 10   .444 24 13   .649
Drake 6 12   .333 9 22   .290
Missouri State 5 13   .278 11 20   .355
Southern Illinois 4 14   .222 12 21   .364
Bradley 3 15   .167 9 24   .273
2015 MVC tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

The 2014–15 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team represented the University of Northern Iowa during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by ninth year head coach Ben Jacobson, played their home games at McLeod Center and were members of the Missouri Valley Conference (The Valley). They finished the season 31–4, 16–2 in MVC play to finish in second place. They defeated Bradley, Loyola–Chicago, and Illinois State to become champions of the Missouri Valley tournament. They received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Wyoming in the second round before losing in the third round to Louisville.

Previous season

The Panthers finished the season 16–15, 10–8 in MVC play to finish in third place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament to Southern Illinois.

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Chip Rank 4 F 6'6" 235 Senior Cedarburg, WI Graduated
Nate Buchheit 15 G 6'4" 190 Junior Pella, IA Graduated
Matt Morrison 21 G 6'0" 180 Senior Solon, IA Graduated

Incoming Transfers

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Kasey Semler 13 G 6'2" 190 Junior Cedar Rapids, IA Junior college transfer from Kirkwood Community College.

Recruiting

College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Wyatt Lohaus
PG
Iowa City, IA West High School 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Aug 9, 2013 
Star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 66
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:

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

Class of 2015 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: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Spencer Haldeman
PG
Epworth, IA Western Dubuque High School 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) N/A May 12, 2014 
Star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/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

2014–15 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 1 Deon Mitchell 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 196 lb (89 kg) Sr Pflugerville Pflugerville, TX
F 2 Klint Carlson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS Fr Waverly-Shell Rock Waverly, IA
C 3 Ted Friedman 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 245 lb (111 kg) So Ankeny Ankeny, IA
G 4 Paul Jesperson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 206 lb (93 kg) RS Jr Virginia
Merrill
Merrill, WI
G 5 Matt Bohannon 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Linn-Mar Marion, IA
F 10 Seth Tuttle 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Sr West Fork Sheffield, IA
G 11 Wes Washpun 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Washington Cedar Rapids, IA
F 12 Marvin Singleton 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 237 lb (108 kg) Sr Hopkins Minneapolis, MN
G 13 Kasey Semler 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Jr Kirkwood CC
Marion
Cedar Rapids, IA
F 14 Nate Buss 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 212 lb (96 kg) Sr Charles City Charles City, IA
G 20 Jeremy Morgan 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 192 lb (87 kg) So Iowa City West Coralville, IA
G 22 Robert Knar 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Fr Mundelein Mundelein, IL
G 23 Taylor Olson Current redshirt 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 193 lb (88 kg) Jr Kirkwood CC
Jefferson
Cedar Rapids, IA
G 24 Max Martino 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Kennedy Cedar Rapids, IA
F 25 Bennett Koch 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 232 lb (105 kg) RS Fr Ashwaubenon Ashwaubenon, WI
G 33 Wyatt Lohaus 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Iowa City West North Liberty, IA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster
Last update: 2014-07-25

Schedule

[1]

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
10/30/2014*
7:00 pm
Upper Iowa W 83–66 
McLeod Center (3,825)
Cedar Falls, IA
11/09/2014*
1:00 pm
Bemidji State W 64–45 
McLeod Center (2,121)
Cedar Falls, IA
Non-Conference Regular season
11/15/2014*
1:00 pm
North Dakota W 64–52  1–0
McLeod Center (3,716)
Cedar Falls, IA
11/18/2014*
8:00 am, ESPN2
at Stephen F. Austin
ESPN Tip-Off Marathon
W 79–77 OT 2–0
William R. Johnson Coliseum (7,096)
Nacogdoches, TX
11/20/2014*
7:00 pm
Morgan State
Cancún Challenge
W 73–53  3–0
McLeod Center (3,127)
Cedar Falls, IA
11/22/2014*
1:00 pm
North Florida
Cancún Challenge
W 66–49[2]  4–0
McLeod Center (3,220)
Cedar Falls, IA
11/25/2014*
6:00 pm, CBSSN
vs. Virginia Tech
Cancún Challenge semifinals
W 73–54[3]  5–0
Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya (650)
Cancún, MX
11/26/2014*
2:00 pm, CBSSN
vs. Northwestern
Cancún Challenge championship[5]
W 61–42[4]  6–0
Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya (650)
Cancún, MX
11/30/2014*
2:00 pm
Richmond W 55–50[6]  7–0
McLeod Center (3,081)
Cedar Falls, IA
12/06/2014*
7:00 pm
George Mason W 71–65 OT[7] 8–0
McLeod Center (4,525)
Cedar Falls, IA
12/10/2014*
8:00 pm
No. 23 at Denver W 65–55[8]  9–0
Magness Arena (1,545)
Denver, CO
12/13/2014*
6:00 pm, NBCSN
No. 23 at VCU L 87–93 2OT 9–1
Siegel Center (7,637)
Richmond, VA
12/20/2014*
6:30 pm, BTN
vs. Iowa
Big Four Classic
W 56–44  10–1
Wells Fargo Arena (15,124)
Des Moines, IA
12/28/2014*
2:00 pm
No. 23 South Dakota State W 74–63  11–1
McLeod Center (6,333)
Cedar Falls, IA
Missouri Valley Conference Regular season
01/01/2015
7:00 pm, ESPN3
No. 23 at Evansville L 49–52  11–2 (0–1)
Ford Center (5,151)
Evansville, IN
01/04/2015
2:30 pm, ESPN3
No. 23 Loyola–Chicago W 67–58  12–2 (1–1)
McLeod Center (5,111)
Cedar Falls, IA
01/07/2015
7:00 pm, KCRG
Southern Illinois W 55–39  13–2 (2–1)
McLeod Center (3,910)
Cedar Falls, IA
01/10/2015
3:00 pm, MVC TV
at Drake W 64–40  14–2 (3–1)
Knapp Center (4,780)
Des Moines, IA
01/13/2015
7:00 pm
No. 23 at Bradley W 63–52  15–2 (4–1)
Carver Arena (5,129)
Peoria, IL
01/18/2015
3:00 pm, ESPNU
No. 23 Missouri State W 60–46  16–2 (5–1)
McLeod Center (4,941)
Cedar Falls, IA
01/21/2015
7:00 pm, ESPN3
No. 20 Indiana State W 66–60  17–2 (6–1)
McLeod Center (6,205)
Cedar Falls, IA
01/25/2015
3:00 pm, ESPNU
No. 20 at Illinois State W 54–53  18–2 (7–1)
Redbird Arena (6,118)
Normal, IL
01/28/2015
7:00 pm
No. 18 at Southern Illinois W 59–52  19–2 (8–1)
SIU Arena (5,267)
Carbondale, IL
01/31/2015
3:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 18 No. 12 Wichita State W 70–54  20–2 (9–1)
McLeod Center (7,050)
Cedar Falls, IA
02/03/2015
6:00 pm
No. 14 at Indiana State W 61–51  21–2 (10–1)
Hulman Center (4,595)
Terre Haute, IN
02/07/2015
7:00 pm, KCRG/CSN Chicago
No. 14 Drake W 69–53  22–2 (11–1)
McLeod Center (6,650)
Cedar Falls, IA
02/11/2015
7:00 pm, ESPN3
No. 13 Illinois State W 83–64  23–2 (12–1)
McLeod Center (6,103)
Cedar Falls, IA
02/15/2015
3:00 pm, ESPNU
No. 13 at Missouri State W 68–57  24–2 (13–1)
JQH Arena (5,452)
Springfield, MO
02/18/2015
7:00 pm, ESPN3
No. 11 at Loyola–Chicago W 58–39  25–2 (14–1)
Joseph J. Gentile Arena (1,725)
Chicago, IL
02/21/2015
3:00 pm, MVC TV
No. 11 Bradley W 56–39  26–2 (15–1)
McLeod Center (6,650)
Cedar Falls, IA
02/25/2015
8:00 pm, MVC TV
No. 10 Evansville W 68–57  27–2 (16–1)
McLeod Center (6,935)
Cedar Falls, IA
02/28/2015
2:00 pm, ESPN
No. 10 at No. 11 Wichita State
ESPN College GameDay
L 60–74  27–3 (16–2)
Charles Koch Arena (10,506)
Wichita, KS
Missouri Valley tournament
03/06/2015
6:05 pm, MVC TV/ESPN3
(2) No. 11 vs. (10) Bradley
Quarterfinals
W 71–46  28–3
Scottrade Center (N/A)
St. Louis, MO
03/07/2015
4:05 pm, MVC TV/ESPN3
(2) No. 11 vs. (6) Loyola–Chicago
Semifinals
W 63–49  29–3
Scottrade Center (13,898)
St. Louis, MO
03/08/2015
1:05 pm, CBS
(2) No. 11 vs. (4) Illinois State
Championship game
W 69–60  30–3
Scottrade Center (13,552)
St. Louis, MO
NCAA tournament
03/20/2015*
12:40 pm, TBS
(5 E) No. 11 vs. (12 E) Wyoming
Second round
W 71–54  31–3
KeyArena (14,509)
Seattle, WA
03/22/2015*
8:40 pm, TBS
(5 E) No. 11 vs. (4 E) No. 17 Louisville
Third round
L 53–66  31–4
KeyArena (14,901)
Seattle, WA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time. (#) during NCAA Tournament is seed with Region E=East.

Rankings

Ranking movement
Legend: ██ Improvement in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██NR = Not Ranked. RV = Receiving Votes.
Poll Pre-
Season
Week
2
Week
3
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4
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5
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7
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8
Week
9
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10
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11
Week
12
Week
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Final
AP NR RV RV RV 23 RV 23 23 RV 23 20 18 14 13 11 10 11 10 11 N/A
Coaches NR NR RV RV 24 RV 24 23 23 22 19 18 15 12 11 10 12 11 9 14
Mid-Major 5[9] 4 4[10] 3[11] 3[12] 4 3 2 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 3 2 -

References

  1. ^ "Men's Basketball - Schedule - Official Site of University of Northern Iowa Athletics". Archived from the original on August 3, 2014. Retrieved July 25, 2014.
  2. ^ "UNI 66, North Florida 49 - Official Site of University of Northern Iowa Athletics". Archived from the original on December 4, 2014. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
  3. ^ "UNI 73, Virginia Tech 54 - Official Site of University of Northern Iowa Athletics". Archived from the original on December 4, 2014. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
  4. ^ "UNI 61, Northwestern 42 - Official Site of University of Northern Iowa Athletics". Archived from the original on December 4, 2014. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
  5. ^ "Bracket - Cancun Challenge". Archived from the original on November 24, 2014. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
  6. ^ "UNI vs. Richmond Final Stats - Official Site of University of Northern Iowa Athletics". Archived from the original on March 10, 2015. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
  7. ^ "UNI 71, George Mason 65 (OT) - Official Site of University of Northern Iowa Athletics". Archived from the original on February 22, 2015. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  8. ^ "UNI 65, Denver 55 - Official Site of University of Northern Iowa Athletics". Archived from the original on December 11, 2014. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
  9. ^ Williams, Carter (November 11, 2014). "BYU women No. 1, BYU men's hoops No. 4 in initial Mid-Major Top 25". Deseret News. Archived from the original on December 1, 2014. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
  10. ^ "Mens Mid Major Top 25 - November 24, 2014". collegeinsider.com. November 24, 2014. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
  11. ^ "Mens Mid Major Top 25 - December 1, 2014". collegeinsider.com. December 1, 2014. Archived from the original on December 2, 2014. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
  12. ^ "Mens Mid Major Top 25 - December 8, 2014". collegeinsider.com. December 8, 2014. Archived from the original on December 11, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2014.