March 8, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; UIC Flames guard Ahmad Henderson II (0) drives between Northern Iowa Panthers forwards Tristan Smith (14) and RJ Taylor (10) during the first half at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images Sixth-seeded Northern Iowa earned its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2016 with its fourth win in four days, beating fifth-seeded UIC 84-69 in the final of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament on Sunday in St. Louis.
The Panthers (23-12) picked the perfect time to have their best shooting day of the season, connecting on 31 of 49 shots (63.3%) from the field and shooting 52.2% from 3-point range. Four-year Northern Iowa starter Trey Campbell scored a team-high 23 points on 8-for-13 shooting, including six 3-pointers.
Ben Schweger had 18 points off the bench and missed just 1 of 8 shots. Leon Bond III and Will Honseth each scored 10 points, and Tristan Smith added 8 rebounds. As a team, the Panthers dished out a season-high 25 assists.
Elijah Crawford had 28 points on 13-for-29 shooting for the Flames (19-15), along with four rebounds and five assists. Ahmad Henderson II had 13 points and Rashund Washington Jr. and Jayce Nathaniel each had 10 points.
High Point 91, Winthrop 76
The top-seeded Panthers earned their second straight NCAA Tournament bid thanks to a dominant second-half win over the second-seeded Eagles in the Big South Conference tournament finals in Johnson City, Tennessee.
High Point (30-4) is making its second appearance in the NCAA Tournament, but has recently established itself as a major powerhouse. The 86 wins since 2023 ranks only behind Houston, Duke and UConn among all Division I teams. Rob Martin paced the Panthers with 24 points and seven assists, while Cam’Ron Fletcher had 17 points and 19 rebounds off the bench.
Winthrop (23-11) was led by Kareem Rozier’s 22 points and seven rebounds. Daylen Berry added 18 points, Logan Duncomb had 17 and Kody Clouet had 12. The Eagles made just 18 of 31 free throws (58.1%) while High Point made 27 of 32 (84.4%), including 24 of 26 in the second half.
Queens 98, Central Arkansas 93 (OT)
Chris Ashby hit 10 of 19 shots from beyond the arc, his 10th coming early in overtime, and the third-seeded Royals won the ASUN title in Jacksonville, Fla., defeating the top-seeded Bears and earning their first NCAA Tournament berth.
Ashby scored a career-high 34 points, Nasir Mann had 14 points and nine rebounds and Jordan Watford added 19 points and six assists off the bench for Queens (21-13), who have won seven of their last eight games. The Royals failed to maintain a 12-point lead in the final 4 minutes, 21 seconds of regulation, but scored the first seven goals of overtime to regain control.
Camren Hunter scored 43 of her career-high 49 points in regulation for Central Arkansas (22-12), scoring the Bears’ final 20 points before overtime, including the game-tying layup with 2 seconds left, and single-handedly willed the team’s comeback. Ty Robinson added 16 points and Javion Guy-King had 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
North Dakota State 70, North Dakota 62
Dmari Wheeler-Thomas scored 19 points as the top-seeded Bison held off their rivals, the third-seeded Fighting Hawks, in Sioux Falls, S.D., for an automatic bid to the Summit League’s NCAA Tournament.
North Dakota State (27-7) won its first tournament title since 2023 as Trevian Carson pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds, Andy Stefonowicz added 11 points and Tay Smith came off the bench to score 13 points. The Bison went 25 of 56 (45%) from the field, including 10 of 23 from beyond the arc.
North Dakota (18-17) took a 63-59 lead after four points when Grayson Ullman (game-high 24 points) hit two free throws with 1:34 left in the game. But the Fighting Hawks didn’t score again until Jack Kraft (19) hit a 3-pointer with 3 seconds left. They are 0-3 against the Bison this season.
–Field level media
