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, defeating fifth-seeded UIC 84-69 in the final of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament on Sunday in St. Louis, Missouri.
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 had 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.
–Field level media
