Few midmajor programs have experienced the highs and lows of the NCAA Tournament like Northern Iowa.
Now the Panthers are back to ride the roller coaster again.
Trey Campbell scored 23 points to lead Northern Iowa over UIC on Sunday in the championship game of the Missouri Valley Tournament. The Panthers reached the NCAAs for the first time since 2016.
Northern Iowa has won its first-round game in each of its last three NCAA appearances, and in 2010
followed that up with a victory over top-seeded Kansas to make the Sweet 16. (Remember the name Ali Farokhmanesh?)
Then in 2016, the Panthers beat Texas on Paul Jesperson’s buzzer beater from midcourt. They were less than a minute from another Sweet 16 trip, but they blew a 10-point lead in the final 30 seconds of regulation in a loss to Texas A&M.
Also on Sunday, three other teams earned automatic bids to this year's men's NCAA Tournament: High Point in the Big South, Queens University in the Atlantic Sun and North Dakota State in the Summit League.
The West Coast Conference could get three bids this year. Gonzaga is a lock, Saint Mary's appears to be on safe ground and Santa Clara is on the bubble. All three of those teams have reached the semifinals of the conference tournament after Santa Clara beat Pacific on Sunday night.
Santa Clara hasn't made the NCAA Tournament since 1996, when Steve Nash still played there.
Last four in according to ...
ESPN: Santa Clara, SMU, Virginia Commonwealth, Auburn.
CBS Sports: Missouri, VCU, SMU, Stanford.
First four out according to ...
ESPN: Indiana, Virginia Tech, Stanford, New Mexico.
CBS Sports: Oklahoma, California, Auburn, New Mexico.
Here's who has claimed an automatic bid to this year's men's NCAA Tournament: Long Island University (NEC), Tennessee State (OVC), Northern Iowa (MVC), High Point (Big South), Queens (ASUN), North Dakota State (Summit).
— Queens — which is in Charlotte, North Carolina, not New York — wasn't even eligible for the NCAA Tournament until this season. The Royals are in their fourth year in Division I. Chris Ashby made 10 3-pointers in Sunday's 98-93 overtime win over Central Arkansas, which was also seeking its first appearance in the Big Dance.
— High Point made its first NCAA Tournament appearance last year and lost in the first round to Purdue.
— North Dakota State last won the Summit Tournament in 2020, when the NCAA Tournament was canceled because of COVID-19.
— Heartbreak, part one: Navy won its conference by six games this season but won’t be going to the NCAAs after Boston University’s Chance Gladden made a last-second 3-pointer from some 40 feet to beat the Midshipmen in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals.
— Heartbreak, part two: Central Arkansas' Camren Hunter scored 49 points, including his team's last 20 of regulation, but it wasn't enough for the Bears.
Automatic bids are at stake Monday night in the Sun Belt (Troy vs. Georgia Southern) and the Southern Conference (East Tennessee State vs. Furman). Georgia Southern had to win five games in five days just to reach this point.
Gonzaga faces Oregon State and Saint Mary's takes on Santa Clara in the WCC semifinals. Bubble teams will be rooting for Gonzaga and Saint Mary's.
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