N Iowa has been built into mid-major power long before signature win over top-seeded Jayhawks

Mid-major power N Iowa grabs national spotlight

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — Northern Iowa coach Ben Jacobson is fine with the fact that the Panthers have become one of the feel-good stories of the NCAA tournament.

It’s not entirely fair, though, to label Northern Iowa an underdog program.

The Panthers have been one of the nation’s best mid-major programs for nearly a decade, long before they helped wreck a few brackets by dumping top-seeded Kansas 69-67 in the second round on Saturday.

Northern Iowa (30-4) has reached the NCAA tournament in five of the past seven years. All that was missing from its resume was a tournament victory, but after losing four straight first-round games the Panthers finally broke through last weekend with wins over UNLV and Kansas.

Ninth-seeded Northern Iowa takes on fifth-seeded Michigan State (26-8) in the Midwest Region semifinals Friday night in St. Louis.