# 2021–22 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team represented the University of Northern Iowa during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by 16th-year head coach Ben Jacobson, played their home games at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls, Iowa as members of the Missouri Valley Conference.
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 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 where they defeated Saint Louis in the first round before losing in the second round to BYU.

## Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Panthers 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 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 Illinois State in the first round. However, they were forced to forfeit their quarterfinal game against Drake due to a positive COVID test and subsequent contact tracing within the UNI program.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Evan Gauger | 10 | G | 6'2" | 175 | RS Freshman | Indianola, IA | In transfer portal |
| Goanar Mar | 14 | F | 6'7" | 215 | Senior | Minneapolis, MN | Left program for personal reasons |

### 2021 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Michael Duax SF | Dubuque, IA | Hempstead High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Feb 11, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: N/A ||||||
| Chase Courbat C | Cedar Falls, IA | Cedar Falls High School | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | Aug 26, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: N/A ||||||
| Landon Wolf SG | Cedar Falls, IA | Cedar Falls High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Oct 23, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: N/A ||||||
| 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: "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 13, 2021. ||||||

### 2022 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2022 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Trey Campbell PG | Cedar Falls, IA | Cedar Falls High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Nov 10, 2021 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: N/A |||||||
| 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: "2022 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 13, 2021. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 9, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Nicholls | L 58–62 | 0–1 | McLeod Center (2,328) Cedar Falls, IA |
| November 11, 2021* 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Vermont | L 57–71 | 0–2 | McLeod Center (1,773) Cedar Falls, IA |
| November 14, 2021* 5:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Dubuque | W 95–58 | 1–2 | McLeod Center (1,307) Cedar Falls, IA |
| November 17, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at No. 16 Arkansas | L 80–92 | 1–3 | Bud Walton Arena (19,200) Fayetteville, AR |
| November 27, 2021* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at No. 16 St. Bonaventure | W 90–80 | 2–3 | Reilly Center (4,296) Olean, NY |
| December 1, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Bradley | L 69–71 | 2–4 (0–1) | Carver Arena (3,551) Peoria, IL |
| December 5, 2021* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Richmond | L 52–60 | 2–5 | McLeod Center (2,337) Cedar Falls, IA |
| December 14, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Jackson State | W 66–56 | 3–5 | McLeod Center (1,679) Cedar Falls, IA |
| December 18, 2021* 3:00 p.m., Stadium | | at Marshall | W 75–60 | 4–5 | Cam Henderson Center (3,849) Huntington, WV |
| December 22, 2021* 2:00 p.m., ESPNU | | vs. Liberty Diamond Head Classic First Round | L 74–76 | 4–6 | Stan Sheriff Center Honolulu, HI |
| December 23, 2021* 5:30 p.m., ESPNU | | vs. Wyoming Diamond Head Classic Consolation 2nd Round | L 69–71 | 4–7 | Stan Sheriff Center (3,951) Honolulu, HI |
| December 25, 2021* 2:30 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Hawaii Diamond Head Classic 7th place game | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Stan Sheriff Center Honolulu, HI |
| December 29, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Wartburg | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | McLeod Center Cedar Falls, IA |
| January 2, 2022 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Evansville | W 83–61 | 5–7 (1–1) | McLeod Center (1,587) Cedar Falls, IA |
| January 5, 2022 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Valparaiso | W 92–65 | 6–7 (2–1) | McLeod Center (1,387) Cedar Falls, IA |
| January 8, 2022 5:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at Missouri State | W 85–84 | 7–7 (3–1) | JQH Arena (3,352) Springfield, MO |
| January 11, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Indiana State | W 80–74 $^{OT}$ | 8–7 (4–1) | McLeod Center (1,797) Cedar Falls, IA |
| January 15, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Southern Illinois | W 69–68 | 9–7 (5–1) | Banterra Center (4,690) Carbondale, IL |
| January 19, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Valparaiso | L 80–83 $^{OT}$ | 9–8 (5–2) | Athletics–Recreation Center (1,414) Valparaiso, IN |
| January 22, 2022 5:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Drake | L 74–82 $^{OT}$ | 9–9 (5–3) | McLeod Center (4,361) Cedar Falls, IA |
| January 26, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Evansville | W 64–59 | 10–9 (6–3) | Ford Center (2,770) Evansville, IN |
| January 29, 2022 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Illinois State | W 79–64 | 11–9 (7–3) | McLeod Center (2,669) Cedar Falls, IA |
| February 2, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Bradley | W 78–65 | 12–9 (8–3) | McLeod Center (2,655) Cedar Falls, IA |
| February 5, 2022 5:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Drake | W 74–69 $^{OT}$ | 13–9 (9–3) | Knapp Center (5,984) Des Moines, IA |
| February 9, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Southern Illinois | W 53–44 | 14–9 (10–3) | McLeod Center (2,300) Cedar Falls, IA |
| February 13, 2022 3:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at Loyola–Chicago | L 58–85 | 14–10 (10–4) | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (4,019) Chicago, IL |
| February 15, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Illinois State | W 72–70 | 15–10 (11–4) | Redbird Arena (3,039) Normal, IL |
| February 20, 2022 1:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | Missouri State | W 95–75 | 16–10 (12–4) | McLeod Center (3,353) Cedar Falls, IA |
| February 23, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Indiana State | W 88–82 | 17–10 (13–4) | Hulman Center (3,684) Terre Haute, IN |
| February 26, 2022 5:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Loyola–Chicago | W 102–96 $^{OT}$ | 18–10 (14–4) | McLeod Center (6,497) Cedar Falls, IA |
| MVC tournament ||||||
| March 4, 2022 12:00 p.m., MVC TV | (1) | vs. (8) Illinois State Quarterfinals | W 78–65 | 19–10 | Enterprise Center St. Louis, MO |
| March 5, 2022 2:30 p.m., CBSSN | (1) | vs. (4) Loyola–Chicago Semifinals | L 43–66 | 19–11 | Enterprise Center St. Louis, MO |
| NIT ||||||
| March 16, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at (3) Saint Louis First Round – SMU Bracket | W 80–68 | 20–11 | Chaifetz Arena (3,521) St. Louis, MO |
| March 19, 2022* 8:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at (2) BYU Second Round – SMU Bracket | L 71–90 | 20–12 | Marriott Center (7,554) Provo, UT |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||
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