# 2018–19 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team represented the University of Northern Iowa during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by 13th-year head coach Ben Jacobson, played their home games at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls, Iowa as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 16–18, 9–9 in MVC play to finish in a three-way tie for fifth place. As the No. 6 seed in the MVC tournament, they beat Southern Illinois and Drake before losing to Bradley in the championship.

## Previous season

The Panthers finished the 2017–18 season 16–16, 7–11 in MVC play to finish three-way tie for seventh place. As the No. 7 seed in the MVC tournament, they defeated Evansville in the first round before losing to Loyola–Chicago in the quarterfinals.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Adam McDermott | 1 | G | 6'4" | 190 | RS Sophomore | Cedar Rapids, IA | Walk-on; transferred to Coe College |
| Klint Carlson | 2 | F | 6'7" | 225 | RS Senior | Waverly, IA | Graduated |
| Ted Friedman | 3 | C | 6'9" | 245 | RS Senior | Ankeny, IA | Graduated |
| Rafael de Souza | 5 | G | 6'1" | 180 | Senior | Jundiaí, Brazil | Walk-on; left the team for personal reasons |
| Juwan McCloud | 13 | G | 5'11" | 173 | Sophomore | Germantown, WI | Graduate transferred to Minnesota State |
| Hunter Rhodes | 21 | G | 6'0" | 175 | Senior | Canton, IL | Graduated |
| Tanner Lohaus | 22 | F | 6'7" | 205 | RS Freshman | North Liberty, IA | Left the team for personal reasons |
| Bennett Koch | 25 | F/C | 6'10" | 235 | RS Senior | Ashwaubenon, WI | Graduated/signed to play professional in Netherlands with Dutch Windmills |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Tray Croft | 5 | G | 6'1" | 170 | Junior | Anniston, AL | Junior college transferred from Iowa Central Community College |
| Trae Berhow | 11 | G | 6'5" | 195 | Sophomore | Watertown, MN | Transferred from Pepperdine. Under NCAA transfer rules, Berhow will have to sit out for the 2018–19 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility. |
| Shandon Goldman | 20 | F | 6'9" | 220 | Junior | Evansville, AR | Junior college transferred from Panola College |

### 2018 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| A. J. Green #18 PG | Cedar Falls, IA | Cedar Falls High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | Aug 11, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 84 ||||||
| 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: "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 12, 2018. ||||||

### 2019 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2019 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| James Betz PF | Garner, IA | Garner-Hayfield High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Aug 11, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: N/A |||||||
| Cole Henry SG | Oskaloosa, IA | Oskaloosa High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Aug 13, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: N/A |||||||
| Noah Carter PF | Dubuque, IA | Dubuque Senior High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Jun 27, 2018 |
| 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: "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 12, 2018. |||||||

### 2020 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2020 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Tytan Anderson PG | Eldridge, IA | North Scott Senior High School | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | N/A | Aug 14, 2018 |
| 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: "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 12, 2018. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| Oct 28, 2018* 1:00 pm | | Wartburg | W 110–69 | | McLeod Center Cedar, Falls, IA |
| Nov 1, 2018* 7:00 pm | | Upper Iowa | W 82–63 | | McLeod Center (3,054) Cedar, Falls, IA |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 6, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Bemidji State | W 97–51 | 1–0 | McLeod Center (3,233) Cedar, Falls, IA |
| Nov 10, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at UT Arlington | L 64–75 | 1–1 | College Park Center (3,789) Arlington, TX |
| Nov 16, 2018* 5:00 pm | | vs. Penn Paradise Jam Quarterfinals | L 71–78 | 1–2 | Sports and Fitness Center St. Thomas, VI |
| Nov 17, 2018 4:30 pm | | vs. Eastern Kentucky Paradise Jam | W 90–85 | 2–2 | Sports and Fitness Center (1,253) St. Thomas, VI |
| Nov 19, 2018* 2:00pm | | vs. Old Dominion Paradise Jam | W 54–53 | 3–2 | Sports and Fitness Center (886) St. Thomas, VI |
| Nov 23, 2018* 6:00 pm | | at Old Dominion Paradise Jam campus game | L 65–72 | 3–3 | Ted Constant Convocation Center (5,529) Norfolk, VA |
| Nov 28, 2018* 8:00 pm | | at Utah State MW–MVC Challenge | L 52–71 | 3–4 | Smith Spectrum (5,134) Logan, UT |
| Dec 1, 2018* 8:00 pm | | vs. South Dakota State U.S. Bank Basketball Classic | L 50–82 | 3–5 | U.S. Bank Stadium (3,184) Minneapolis, MN |
| Dec 8, 2018* 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Dubuque | W 75–67 | 4–5 | McLeod Center (3,314) Cedar, Falls, IA |
| Dec 15, 2018* 6:00 pm, BTN | | vs. No. 22 Iowa Hy-Vee Classic | L 54–77 | 4–6 | Wells Fargo Arena (12,236) Des Moines, IA |
| Dec 19, 2018* 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Grand Canyon | L 62–73 | 4–7 | McLeod Center (3,394) Cedar, Falls, IA |
| Dec 22, 2018* 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | North Dakota | W 64–62 | 5–7 | McLeod Center (3,619) Cedar, Falls, IA |
| Dec 29, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Stony Brook | L 63–73 | 5–8 | McLeod Center (3,262) Cedar, Falls, IA |
| Missouri Valley Conference regular season ||||||
| Jan 2, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Bradley | W 65–47 | 6–8 (1–0) | Carver Arena (5,252) Peoria, IL |
| Jan 5, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Southern Illinois | L 51–58 | 6–9 (1–1) | McLeod Center (3,783) Cedar Falls, IA |
| Jan 8, 2019 7:00 pm, NBCSCH | | at Illinois State | L 69–70 | 6–10 (1–2) | Redbird Arena (4,107) Normal, IL |
| Jan 13, 2019 3:00 pm, FSMW/NBCSCH | | Drake | W 57–54 | 7–10 (2–2) | McLeod Center (4,141) Cedar Falls, IA |
| Jan 16, 2019 7:00 pm, PSN/ESPN+ | | Indiana State | W 69–64 | 8–10 (3–2) | McLeod Center (3,457) Cedar Falls, IA |
| Jan 19, 2019 3:00 pm, FSMW/NBCSCH | | at Valparaiso | L 66–75 | 8–11 (3–3) | Athletics–Recreation Center (3,160) Valpraiso, IN |
| Jan 23, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Southern Illinois | L 62–70 | 8–12 (3–4) | SIU Arena (4,419) Carbondale, IL |
| Jan 26, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Evansville | W 81–74 | 9–12 (4–4) | McLeod Center (3,677) Cedar Falls, IA |
| Jan 30, 2019 6:00 pm, NBCSCH+ | | at Loyola–Chicago | L 60–61 | 9–13 (4–5) | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (3,011) Chicago, IL |
| Feb 2, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Missouri State | W 64–59 | 10–13 (5–5) | McLeod Center (3,882) Cedar Falls, IA |
| Feb 6, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Bradley | L 71–79 | 10–14 (5–6) | McLeod Center (3,345) Cedar, Falls, IA |
| Feb 9, 2019 5:00 pm, FSMW/NBCSCH | | at Drake | L 77–83 | 10–15 (5–7) | Knapp Center (5,632) Des Moines, IA |
| Feb 13, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Illinois State | W 77-64 | 11–15 (6–7) | McLeod Center Cedar Falls, IA |
| Feb 17, 2019 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Evansville | W 73-58 | 12–15 (7–7) | Ford Center Evansville, IN |
| Feb 20, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Missouri State | W 63-43 | 13–15 (8–7) | JQH Arena Springfield, MO |
| Feb 23, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Valparaiso | W 64-53 | 14–15 (9–7) | McLeod Center Cedar Falls, IA |
| Feb 27, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Loyola–Chicago | L 55–56 | 14–16 (9–8) | McLeod Center Cedar Falls, IA |
| Mar 2, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Indiana State | L 54–71 | 14–17 (9–9) | Hulman Center Terre Haute, IN |
| Missouri Valley tournament ||||||
| Mar 8, 2019 9:30 pm, ESPN+ | (6) | vs. (3) Southern Illinois Quarterfinals | W 61–58 | 15–17 | Enterprise Center St. Louis, MO |
| Mar 9, 2019 5:05 pm, CBSSN | (6) | vs. (2) Drake Semifinals | W 60–58 | 16–17 | Enterprise Center St. Louis, MO |
| Mar 10, 2019 1:05 pm, CBS | (6) | vs. (5) Bradley Championship Game | L 54–57 | 16–18 | Enterprise Center St. Louis, MO |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||
Source
Panther Sports Network (PSN) Cedar Falls Utilities Ch. 15/HD415; KCRG-TV Ch. 9.2; WHO-DT Ch. 13.2; KGCW Ch. 26, (NBC Sports Chicago or NBCSC+)