# 2003–04 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team

The 2003–04 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team represented the University of Northern Iowa during the 2003–04 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by third-year head coach Greg McDermott, played their home games at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa and were members of the Missouri Valley Conference (The Valley). They finished the season 21–10, 12–6 in MVC play to finish in second place. They defeated SW Missouri State in the championship game of the Missouri Valley tournament, and received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Playing as the No. 14 seed in the Midwest region, UNI was defeated by No. 3 seed and eventual National runner-up Georgia Tech in the opening round.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference Regular season ||||||
| Nov 21, 2003* | | Chicago State | W 83–59 | 1–0 | UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, Iowa |
| Nov 25, 2003* | | Butler | L 54–56 | 1–1 | UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, Iowa |
| Nov 30, 2003* | | at Iowa State | L 76–79 | 1–2 | Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa |
| Dec 2, 2003* | | Louisiana Tech | W 75–72 | 2–2 | UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, Iowa |
| Dec 6, 2003* | | Furman | L 55–64 | 2–3 | UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, Iowa |
| Dec 9, 2003* | | No. 24 Iowa | W 77–66 | 3–3 | UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, Iowa |
| Dec 13, 2003* | | Minnesota-Crookston | W 80–58 | 4–3 | UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, Iowa |
| Missouri Valley Conference Regular season ||||||
| Dec 20, 2003 | | at Illinois State | W 64–61 | 5–3 (1–0) | Redbird Arena Normal, Illinois |
| Dec 30, 2003* | | Siena | W 82–70 | 6–3 | UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, Iowa |
| Jan 3, 2004 | | Evansville | W 80–67 | 7–3 (2–0) | UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, Iowa |
| Jan 8, 2004 | | at Wichita State | L 65–82 | 7–4 (2–1) | Charles Koch Arena Wichita, Kansas |
| Jan 11, 2004 | | at SW Missouri State | L 60–62 | 7–5 (2–2) | Hammons Student Center Springfield, Missouri |
| Jan 14, 2004* | | No. 24 Creighton | W 82–73 | 8–5 (3–2) | UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, Iowa |
| Jan 17, 2004* | | Drake | W 76–56 | 9–5 (4–2) | UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, Iowa |
| Jan 21, 2004 | | at Evansville | W 67–53 | 10–5 (5–2) | Roberts Municipal Stadium Evansville, Indiana |
| Jan 24, 2004 | | Bradley | W 78–71 | 11–5 (6–2) | UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, Iowa |
| Jan 28, 2004 | | Illinois State | L 60–68 | 11–6 (6–3) | UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, Iowa |
| Jan 31, 2004 | | at Southern Illinois | L 53–63 | 11–7 (6–4) | SIU Arena Carbondale, Illinois |
| Feb 4, 2004 | | at Creighton | L 47–58 | 11–8 (6–5) | Qwest Center Omaha Omaha, Nebraska |
| Feb 7, 2004 | | Indiana State | W 68–64 | 12–8 (7–5) | UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, Iowa |
| Feb 11, 2004 | | SW Missouri State | W 64–59 | 13–8 (8–5) | UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, Iowa |
| Feb 14, 2004 | | at Bradley | L 64–72 | 13–9 (8–6) | Carver Arena Peoria, Illinois |
| Feb 18, 2004 | | Wichita State | W 85–80 | 14–9 (9–6) | UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, Iowa |
| Feb 21, 2004* | | at Wisconsin–Green Bay | W 82–75 | 15–9 | Resch Center Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin |
| Feb 25, 2004 | | at Drake | W 84–79 $^{OT}$ | 16–9 (10–6) | Knapp Center Des Moines, Iowa |
| Feb 28, 2004 | | at Indiana State | W 48–47 | 17–9 (11–6) | Hulman Center Terre Haute, Indiana |
| Mar 1, 2004 | | No. 15 Southern Illinois | W 68–52 | 18–9 (12–6) | UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, Iowa |
| Missouri Valley tournament ||||||
| Mar 6, 2004* | | vs. Illinois State Quarterfinals | W 68–54 | 19–9 | Savvis Center St. Louis, Missouri |
| Mar 7, 2004* | | vs. Wichita State Semifinals | W 63–56 | 20–9 | Savvis Center St. Louis, Missouri |
| Mar 8, 2004* | | vs. SW Missouri State Championship game | W 79–74 $^{2OT}$ | 21–9 | Savvis Center St. Louis, Missouri |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 19, 2004* | (14 MW) | vs. (3 MW) No. 14 Georgia Tech First round | L 60–65 | 21–10 | Bradley Center Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. All times are in Central Time. ||||||