Northern Iowa Men’s Basketball 2026 NCAA Tournament Capsule
March 3, 2026 · CSM Staff
Northern Iowa Panthers
Missouri Valley (23-12, 11-9)
Big Wins: 11/22 at UC Irvine (70-69), 3/6 vs Illinois State (74-52)
Bad Losses: 1/17 at Valparaiso (44-54), 2/21 Southern Illinois (57-59)
Coach: Ben Jacobson
Probable Starters:
Tristan Smith, Senior, Forward, 9.1 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.9 apg
Will Hornseth, Sophomore, Forward, 11.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.2 apg
Leon Bond III, Junior, Forward, 11.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.5 apg
Max Weisbrod, Senior, Guard, 6.5 ppg, 2.0 apg, 2.5 rpg
Trey Campbell, Senior, Guard, 13.7 ppg, 3.9 apg, 3.8 rpg, 1.6 spg
Key Role Players:
Ben Schwieger, Senior, Forward, 9.9 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.9 apg
RJ Taylor, Junior, Guard, 2.7 ppg, 1.2 apg, 1.0 rpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 69.9 (308th in nation, 10th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 61.3 (1, 1)
Field-Goal Percentage: 47.7 (46, 2)
Field-Goal Defense: 40.7 (30, 1)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 7.8 (184, 8)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 35.5 (99, 3)
Free-Throw Percentage: 69.9 (269, 8)
Rebound Margin: -1.1 (260, 9)
Assists Per Game: 15.0 (114, 3)
Turnovers Per Game: 9.3 (14, 1)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
| 2025 | NIT | First Round loss to SMU |
| 2022 | NIT | First Round win over Saint Louis |
| 2022 | NIT | Second Round loss to BYU |
| 2016 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Texas |
| 2016 | NCAA | Round of 32 loss to Texas A&M |
| 2015 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Wyoming |
| 2015 | NCAA | Round of 32 loss to Louisville |
| 2013 | CIT | First Round win over North Dakota |
| 2013 | CIT | Second Round win over UIC |
| 2013 | CIT | Quarterfinal win over Bradley |
| 2013 | CIT | Semifinal loss to Weber State |
| 2012 | NIT | First Round win over St. Joseph’s |
| 2012 | NIT | Second Round loss to Drexel |
| 2011 | CIT | First Round win over Rider |
| 2011 | CIT | Quarterfinal loss to Southern Methodist |
| 2010 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over UNLV |
| 2010 | NCAA | Round of 32 win over Kansas |
| 2010 | NCAA | Regional Semifinal loss to Michigan State |
| 2009 | NCAA | Round of 64 loss to Purdue |
| 2006 | NCAA | Round of 64 loss to Georgetown |
| 2005 | NCAA | Round of 64 loss to Wisconsin |
*all team stats through 3/8
