2020-21 Finish: 10-15; 7-11 MVC (t-5th)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 14/1
Starters Returning/Lost: 5/0*
*does not include Green who started just 3 games before a season-ending injury
Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and playing nearly an entire season without multiple key contributors, the University of Northern Iowa men’s basketball team still managed to finish in a three-way tie for fifth place in the 2020-21 Missouri Valley Conference standings. The Panthers won four of their final five games overall – including a 65-60 triumph over the Illinois State Redbirds in the opening round of Arch Madness – before their conference quarterfinal contest with the Drake Bulldogs was cancelled due to COVID-19 protocols.
UNI, which has landed in the top half of the league standings in 17 out of the last 18 years, looks for even more success in its upcoming 2021-22 season. The schedule includes the return to a full home and road slate in MVC action along with several nonconference tilts against 2020-21 postseason teams. Some of those highlighted matchups include a road game with NCAA Elite Eight participant Arkansas, a home contest with NIT quarterfinalist Richmond, and a first-round meeting with NCAA qualifier Liberty in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.
The 2021-22 Panthers return virtually the entire roster from the previous season. 2020 Larry Bird MVC Player of the Year honoree AJ Green comes back from a season-ending injury while Antwan Kimmons returns from a leave of absence to support his family in the midst of the pandemic. UNI also brings back 2020-21 leading scorer Trae Berhow, two-time All-MVC selection Austin Phyfe, reigning MVC Freshman of the Year Bowen Born, and fellow MVC All-Freshman Team pick Nate Heise among several other experienced individuals from last season’s squad.
Ben Jacobson, who enters his 16th season as the head coach for the Panthers, adds three talented freshmen to the 2021-22 roster in Chase Courbat, Michael Duax, and Landon Wolf. Courbat and Wolf are local products from Cedar Falls, Iowa, and both were Class 4A state champions during their tenures with the Cedar Falls Tigers. Duax comes to UNI from Dubuque, Iowa and earned Iowa Print Sports Writers Association Class 4A First Team All-State distinction in back-to-back seasons to wrap up his prep career for the Dubuque Hempstead Mustangs.