# 2009–10 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team

The 2009–10 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team represented the University of Northern Iowa in the 2009-10 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team, which plays in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC), was led by fourth-year head coach Ben Jacobson and played their home games at the McLeod Center. They went 15–3 during the regular conference season to win the regular season championship. The Panthers also won the 2010 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball tournament to earn the conference's automatic bid to the 2010 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. They earned a 9 seed in the Midwest Region where they defeated 8 seed UNLV in the first round and upset the overall 1 seed Kansas in the second round to advance to the Sweet Sixteen at Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis.
While they lost in their next game to Michigan State, they got a unique parting gift. Because the NCAA has been increasingly using non-traditional basketball venues in recent NCAA tournaments, it has been building new courts for its regional sites and then selling them to schools in need of a court. UNI purchased the court on which the Panthers played in their loss to the Spartans, and installed it at McLeod Center for the 2010–11 season.

## Roster

| # | Name | Height | Weight (lbs.) | Position | Class | Hometown | Previous Team(s) |
| Players ||||||||
| 5 | Ali Farokhmanesh | 6'0" | 190 | G | Sr. | Iowa City, IA, U.S. | Iowa City West HS Indian Hills CC Kirkwood CC |
| 10 | Brian Haak | 6'1" | 175 | G | Sr. | Spencer, IA, U.S. | Spencer HS |
| 11 | Kwadzo Ahelegbe | 6'2" | 200 | G | Jr. | Oakdale, MN, U.S. | Tartan HS |
| 13 | Johnny Moran | 6'1" | 190 | G | So. | Algonquin, IL, U.S. | Jacobs HS |
| 15 | B. J. Ray | 6'3" | 205 | G | Fr. | Waynesville, MO, U.S. | Waynesville HS |
| 20 | Jake Koch | 6'9" | 255 | F | Fr. (RS) | Ashwaubenon, WI, U.S. | Ashwaubenon HS |
| 21 | Matt Morrison | 6'0" | 175 | G | Fr. | Solon, IA, U.S. | Solon HS |
| 22 | Kerwin Dunham | 6'6" | 200 | G | Jr. | Bondurant, IA, U.S. | Bondurant–Farrar HS |
| 23 | Marc Sonnen | 6'3" | 185 | G | Fr. | St. Paul, MN, U.S. | Tartan HS |
| 32 | Lucas O'Rear | 6'6" | 255 | F | Jr. | Nashville, IL, U.S. | Nashville HS |
| 33 | Austin Pehl | 6'10" | 245 | C | Fr. (RS) | Cedar Falls, IA, U.S. | Cedar Falls HS |
| 34 | Adam Koch | 6'8" | 255 | F | Sr. | Ashwaubenon, WI, U.S. | Ashwaubenon HS |
| 40 | Tyler Lange | 6'6" | 210 | F | Fr. | Sac City, IA, U.S. | Urbandale HS |
| 43 | Adam Rodenberg | 6'6" | 245 | C | Sr. | Garnavillo, IA, U.S. | Clayton Ridge HS Kirkwood CC UC Irvine |
| 52 | Anthony James | 6'0" | 175 | G | Fr. (RS) | St. Louis, MO, U.S. | Normandy HS |
| 53 | Jordan Eglseder | 7'0" | 280 | C | Sr. | Bellevue, IA, U.S. | Marquette HS |

## Schedule and results

Source
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| 10/31/2009 12:05pm | | Upper Iowa | W 67–39 | — | McLeod Center (1,525) Cedar Falls, IA |
| 11/07/2009 12:05pm | | UNC Pembroke | W 79–44 | — | McLeod Center (1,528) Cedar Falls, IA |
| Regular Season ||||||
| 11/13/2009* 8:30pm | | at Denver | W 71–65 | 1–0 | Magness Arena (2,082) Denver, CO |
| 11/20/2009* 12:05pm | | vs. DePaul Paradise Jam | L 52–60 | 1–1 | Sports and Fitness Center St. Thomas, VI |
| 11/21/2009* 2:30pm | | vs. East Carolina Paradise Jam | W 74–68 | 2–1 | Sports and Fitness Center St. Thomas, VI |
| 11/23/2009* 2:30pm | | vs. Boston College Paradise Jam | W 81–69 | 3–1 | Sports and Fitness Center (531) St. Thomas, VI |
| 11/28/2009 7:05pm, KWWL/CFU 15 | | Northern Illinois | W 52–45 | 4–1 | McLeod Center (4,083) Cedar Falls, IA |
| 12/2/2009 7:05pm, CFU 15 | | at Iowa State | W 63–60 | 5–1 | Hilton Coliseum (14,376) Ames, IA |
| 12/8/2009 7:05pm, KWWL/CFU 15 | | Iowa | W 67–50 | 6–1 | McLeod Center (6,480) Cedar Falls, IA |
| 12/12/2009 7:05pm, KWWL/CFU 15 | | Siena | W 82–65 | 7–1 | McLeod Center (5,096) Cedar Falls, IA |
| 12/19/2009 1:05pm, FCS | | at North Dakota | W 64–41 | 8–1 | Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,961) Grand Forks, ND |
| 12/23/2009 7:05pm, KWWL/CFU 15 | | Wyoming MWC–MVC Challenge | W 72–54 | 9–1 | McLeod Center (3,102) Cedar Falls, IA |
| 12/29/2009 7:05pm | | at Creighton | W 60–52 | 10–1 (1–0) | Qwest Center (17,152) Omaha, NE |
| 1/1/2010 7:05pm | | Evansville | W 65–46 | 11–1 (2–0) | McLeod Center (4,450) Cedar Falls, IA |
| 1/3/2010 1:05pm, KWWL/CFU 15 | | Missouri State | W 84–76 | 12–1 (3–0) | McLeod Center (4,666) Cedar Falls, IA |
| 1/6/2010 8:00pm, ESPNU | | at Southern Illinois | W 61–49 | 13–1 (4–0) | SIU Arena (4,679) Carbondale, IL |
| 1/9/2010 3:00pm, ESPN2 | | at Illinois State | W 59–44 | 14–1 (5–0) | Redbird Arena (7,755) Normal, IL |
| 1/12/2010 8:05pm, ESPNU | | Bradley | W 52–50 | 15–1 (6–0) | McLeod Center (4,892) Cedar Falls, IA |
| 1/16/2010 7:05pm, KWWL/CFU 15 | | Indiana State | W 62–40 | 16–1 (7–0) | McLeod Center (6,778) Cedar Falls, IA |
| 1/19/2010 8:00pm, ESPNU | No. 20 | at Wichita State | L 51–60 | 16–2 (7–1) | Charles Koch Arena (10,506) Wichita, KS |
| 1/24/2010 2:05pm, MVC TV | No. 20 | at Indiana State | W 67–58 | 17–2 (8–1) | Hulman Center (3,407) Terre Haute, IN |
| 1/27/2010 7:05pm, KWWL/CFU 15 | | Drake | W 67–51 | 18–2 (9–1) | McLeod Center (6,069) Cedar Falls, IA |
| 1/30/2010 2:05pm | | at Missouri State | W 55–54 | 19–2 (10–1) | JQH Arena (9,087) Springfield, MO |
| 2/3/2010 7:05pm, KWWL | No. 24 | Wichita State | W 59–56 | 20–2 (11–1) | McLeod Center (6,723) Cedar Falls, IA |
| 2/6/2010 5:00pm, ESPN2 | No. 24 | Southern Illinois | W 55–51 | 21–2 (12–1) | McLeod Center (6,839) Cedar Falls, IA |
| 2/10/2010 7:05pm, CFU 15 | No. 19 | at Drake | W 57–48 | 22–2 (13–1) | Knapp Center (7,152) Des Moines, IA |
| 2/13/2010 1:05pm, MVC TV | No. 19 | at Bradley | L 59–68 | 22–3 (13–2) | Carver Arena (9,887) Peoria, IL |
| 2/16/2010 7:05pm, MVC TV | | at Creighton | W 70–52 | 23–3 (14–2) | McLeod Center (5,440) Cedar Falls, IA |
| 2/19/2010* 6:00pm, ESPN2 | | Old Dominion ESPN BracketBusters | W 71–62 | 24–3 | McLeod Center (7,031) Cedar Falls, IA |
| 2/23/2010 7:05pm | No. 25 | at Evansville | L 54–55 | 24–4 (14–3) | Roberts Municipal Stadium (4,716) Evansville, IN |
| 2/27/2010 7:05pm, ESPN2 | No. 25 | Illinois State | W 61–55 | 25–4 (15–3) | McLeod Center (7,366) Cedar Falls, IA |
| Missouri Valley tournament ||||||
| 3/5/2010 12:05pm, MVC TV | (1) | vs. (8) Drake MVC Quarterfinals | W 55–40 | 26–4 | Scottrade Center St. Louis, MO |
| 3/6/2010 1:35pm, MVC TV | (1) | vs. (5) Bradley MVC Semifinals | W 57–40 | 27–4 | Scottrade Center St. Louis, MO |
| 3/7/2010 1:05pm, CBS | (1) | vs. (2) Wichita State MVC Championship Game | W 67–52 | 28–4 | Scottrade Center (9,297) St. Louis, MO |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| 3/18/2010* 6:10pm, CBS | (9 MW) | vs. (8 MW) UNLV NCAA First Round | W 69–66 | 29–4 | Ford Center (13,484) Oklahoma City, OK |
| 3/20/2010* 4:40pm, CBS | (9 MW) | vs. (1 MW) No. 1 Kansas NCAA Second Round | W 69–67 | 30–4 | Ford Center (15,587) Oklahoma City, OK |
| 3/26/2010* 8:37pm, CBS | (9 MW) | vs. (5 MW) No. 13 Michigan State NCAA Sweet Sixteen | L 52–59 | 30–5 | Edward Jones Dome (26,377) St. Louis, MO |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=NCAA Midwest Region. All times are in Central Time. ||||||