Giant Killers Again?

Northern Iowa Facing Heavyweights

(St. Louis, MO) – Northern Iowa’s NCAA Tournament path is littered with big name programs. Is this the postseason that the Panthers revive their ‘Jake and the Giant Killers’ reputation? UNI opens March Madness against tenth ranked St. John’s and a win could bring them face-to-face with seventeenth ranked Kansas.

Coach Ben Jacobson has led the Panthers to victories over two, number one teams.

Should the Panthers reach the Sweet Sixteen, they would likely meet Duke.

UNI Better be Ready to be Giant Killers

One of the most iconic moments in Northern Iowa history was during the 2010 NCAA Tournament when Ali Farokhmanesh hit the most famous shot in Panther history. The Panthers defeated Kansas and rolled to the Sweet Sixteen.

Guard Leon Bond III says he and his teammates see that highlight clip on a regular basis.

“I’ve definitely watched the clip a few times,” said Bond.”It’s pretty cool. I’m pretty sure it’s in our intro video, so seeing that every time we play it’s been real cool. And honestly being here it just gives us energy and I wouldn’t say hope but just a little extra motivation.”

The Panthers made Arch Madness history when, two weeks ago they became the first Missouri Valley program to win the tournament title from the sixth position.

Forward Will Hornseth says the Panther squad had a high level of belief about what they can accomplish.

“I think it’s just the belief that we can do it,” said Hornseth. “We have high expectations for our team, and we really don’t care what seed we are. So we know what we’ve got and we know who we are and what we’re capable of. We saw it there as a six seed, winning four games in four days, and hopefully you see it here too.”

To grow their ‘giant killers’ reputation, guard Trey Campbell says Jacobson doesn’t want them to be heroic, he wants them to fill their normal roles.

“Just to stay true to ourselves.” Said Campbell.  “We know the work we put in. Don’t try to be anyone we’re not. We’re going to win this as a group when we’re all doing our roles. So kind of just filling our role and doing what we know we can do.”

The Red Storm Challenge.

St. John’s () is the two-time Big East champion and the Red Storm are coached by Hall-of-Famer Rick Pitino. The owner of over 900 victories can intimidate some teams with just his name and reputation.

But, the Johnnies are more than just a team with a good reputation because of their coach. Jacobson says St. John’s is truly outstanding.

“Obviously, we’re playing a tremendous opponent,” said Jacobson. “Terrific team and as you know Hall of Fame coach and great depth, and, man, just really, really good players. For all of you that have watched them, they play extremely hard. We know we’re playing a terrific team.”

UNI had eleven players return from last year’s NIT team and Jacobson says those players returned because they had big dreams for this season.

“They came back to win a league championship, win our tournament in St. Louis, and compete in the NCAA Tournament,” said Jacobson. “They stayed together to be where we’re sitting right now and to play tomorrow. I’ve really enjoyed the way they’ve continued, as the season has gone along, the way they’ve continued to take on more responsibility and more leadership within the team.”

It has been ten years since UNI has been to the NCAA Tournament. In 2010 the Panthers defeated Texas on a half court shot and lost in overtime to Texas A&M. Now they are back facing a national power in St. John’s.

Jacobson on Rick Pitino

Jacobson says Pitino is one of the top all-time coaches.

“Obviously he’s as good as there is,” said Jacobson. “There’s maybe that group of coaches that they say, wow. And he is one of the, what, three, four, five of those guys. You could talk about how his teams, how hard they compete, you could talk about how prepared they are. You could talk about the roster build and the talent. Talk about the camaraderie of the guys when you watch them. Attention to detail. That small group of coaches that are that good.”

UNI is 21-6 with Tristan Smith in the lineup and 2-6 without him. Having the former NAIA all-American in the mix gives the Panthers the possibility of being giant killers once more.

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