Northern Iowa wins MVC Tournament, secures first NCAA bid since 2016

The Northern Iowa Panthers have secured an automatic bid to the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament for the first time since 2016, defeating the UIC Flames 84-69 in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament final on Sunday Playing in St. Louis, the Panthers capped a remarkable and historic postseason run

Entering the tournament as the sixth seed, Northern Iowa (23-12) became the lowest-seeded team ever to claim the MVC championship title Their path to victory was unprecedented, as they also became the first team to win the tournament by achieving four victories in four consecutive days The title marks the program’s sixth MVC tournament championship and will be its ninth overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament

UNI's offensive performance was dominant in the championship game. The team shot an impressive 63% from the field and was highly effective from beyond the arc, converting 12 of 23 three-point attempts

Guard Trey Campbell was the standout performer for the Panthers, leading the team with 23 points Campbell was highly efficient, making 8 of his 13 shots from the field, including a stellar 6-for-9 performance from three-point range His scoring was instrumental in leading Northern Iowa to the conference title and punching their ticket to the national tournament