University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
23-13,11-9MVC
St. John's
29-6,18-2Big East
UNI men’s basketball falls to No. 9 St. John’s in NCAA first round game
3/20/2026 9:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MVC Tournament champion Panthers finish the season with a 23-13 record after ninth NCAA Division I Tournament berth.
SAN DIEGO --- The UNI men's basketball team's 2025-26 season came to a close on Friday night as the 12th-seed Panthers fell to fifth-seeded and ninth-ranked St. John's in the opening round of the 2026 NCAA Division I Tournament at Viejas Arena, 79-53.
Northern Iowa, which captured the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Tournament title earlier this month to earn the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament, finishes the season with 23 victories after struggling to overcome an early deficit against the Big East Conference's regular season and tournament champion.
HOW IT HAPPENED
UNI fell into an early deficit as St. John's jumped out to a 10-0 lead out of the gate and smothered the Panther offense with its full court defensive press, holding Northern Iowa to just two for its first 11 shot attempts. The Red Storm knocked down seven three-point baskets in the first half and held UNI to 37.9% from the field, while the Panthers were outrebounded by a 23-14. Trey Campbell led Northern Iowa with ten first half points, with six points from Leon Bond III and five points from Tristan Smith as UNI went into the locker room at halftime trailing, 47-28.
Northern Iowa opened the second stanza with some momentum with a 4-0 run out of the break, cutting the deficit down to 13 points in four and a half minutes. St. John's would continue to dominate the rebounding battle, finishing the game with a 45-29 advantage off the glass, including 12-6 on offensive boards. UNI narrowly outscored the Red Storm inside the paint by an 18-16 margin in the final 20 minutes, but were unable to cut the deficit down to single digits.
Campbell finished the night with a team-high 14 points with Bond scoring 12 points with three assists. Will Hornseth tallied ten points with Tristan Smith recording nine points and six rebounds. Ben Schwieger led UNI off the glass with eight rebounds, as Max Weisbrod scored six points.
"The start of the game, obviously, shifted a lot of the rhythm or momentum or however you want to kind of picture it in your own mind," said UNI head coach Ben Jacobson. "It just put us in a tough spot. Knowing that you earned your way here, knowing that you belonged here. This team is good enough to win games in this tournament. Our opponent, they're really good. We knew that coming in. But it doesn't change that we earned our way here and that we have a terrific team."
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- Friday marked the first all-time meeting between UNI and St. John's.
- UNI falls to 5-9 all-time in D-I tournament games and 4-5 under head coach Ben Jacobson.
- Northern Iowa narrowly outscored the Red Storm by a 34-32 margin in the paint.
- UNI has made at least one three-pointer in 183 consecutive games, a streak dating back to the 2020-21 season.
- Trey Campbell started his 132nd career game on Friday, extending his streak to lead all active MVC players. Campbell has also started 99 consecutive contests.
- Campbell finishes his collegiate career ranked 12th in scoring (1,403), third in career games started (132), third in career steals (174), fourth in career three-pointers made (220), fifth in career three-point attempts (584) and ninth in career field goal attempts (1,161). He also finishes his senior season with 60 steals on the year, fifth-most in a single season in team history and only the fifth player in team history to record a 60+ steal season.
- Campbell became the 12th player in program history to score 1,400 career points as UNI in Friday's game.
- Max Weisbrod finishes the season having multiple three-point baskets in nine of his final 11 games of the year.
UNI's DIVISION I TOURNAMENT RESULTS [Tournament seed]
- 1990 | [14] UNI 74, [3] Missouri 71 - First Round (Richmond, Va.)
- 1990 | [6] Minnesota 81, [14] UNI 78 - Second Round (Richmond, Va.)
- 2004 | [3] Georgia Tech 65, [14] UNI 60 - First Round (Milwaukee, Wisc.)
- 2005 | [6] Wisconsin 57, [11] UNI 52 - First Round (Oklahoma City, Okla.)
- 2006 | [7] Georgetown 54, [10] UNI UNI, 49 - First Round (Dayton, Ohio)
- 2009 | [5] Purdue 61, [12] UNI 56 - First Round (Portland, Ore.)
- 2010 | [9] UNI 69, [8] UNLV 66 - First Round (Oklahoma City, Okla.)
- 2010 | [9] UNI 69, [1] Kansas 67 - Second Round (Oklahoma City, Okla.)
- 2010 | [5] Michigan State 59, [9] UNI 52 - Sweet Sixteen (St. Louis, Mo.)
- 2015 | [5] UNI 71, [12] Wyoming 54 - First Round (Seattle, Wash.)
- 2015 | [4] Louisville 66, [5] UNI 53 - Second Round (Seattle, Wash.)
- 2016 | [11] UNI 75, [6] Texas 72 - First Round (Oklahoma City, Okla.)
- 2016 | [3] Texas A&M 92, [11] UNI 88 (2OT) - Second Round (Oklahoma City, Okla.)
- 2026 | [5] St. John's 79, [12] UNI 53 - First Round (San Diego, Calif.)
UNI men's basketball action can be followed all season long on social media on Facebook (UNI Men's Basketball), X (@UNImbb) and on Instagram (@uni_basketball). Schedule and roster information, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.
