Sports – Northern Iowan

UNI student Tyler DeBondt wins ‘NBA 2K20’ Global Championship

March 12, 2020

On February 22, UNI junior physical education major Tyler DeBondt won the “NBA 2K20” Global Championship. After competing with players from around the world in Burbank, Calif., he won the grand prize of $100,000. The tournament featured eight qualifiers that faced off in best-of-three matches in the...

Why would fans settle on crowning the NFL’s GOAT?

NICHOLAS SCHINDLER, Opinion Columnist

March 12, 2020

Michael Jordan, Babe Ruth, Serena Williams. All of these athletes are the best to have ever done it in their respective sports. There is zero debate about it. When we look to the NFL, there has been much debate between fans as to who is the greatest of all time for the National Football League. An...

Panther Esports teams update

JACOB HILDRETH, Guest Column

March 12, 2020

UNI Panther Esports teams are in full-swing participating in Spring leagues for “Overwatch,” “League of Legends” and “Call of Duty.” “Overwatch” is competing in Tespa, an international competition in which over 800 schools from the U.S. and Canada compete for $57,000 in prize money. �...

Panthers beat St. Thomas, get third win of 2020

PATRICK HANSEN, Sports Writer

March 12, 2020

This past Saturday, the UNI women’s tennis team squared off with the 6-4 Tommies of St. Thomas, Minn., at home. The Panthers were looking for revenge coming off a two-game losing streak and got exactly that in a match where the Purple and Gold dominated. The match started off with doubles competition wi...

Hoops in the Heartland: MSU comes in as favorites

BRIELLE KIEWIET, Sports Writer

March 12, 2020

The 2020 MVC women’s basketball tournament “Hoops in the Heartland” beginning on Thursday, March 12 is without a doubt going to bring some tough match ups for teams in the Valley. Missouri State and Drake enter the tournament as first and second seeds, with UNI entering as fifth. The tournament begin...

Selection Sunday: who will cut the nets in Atlanta?

NICHOLAS SCHINDLER, Sports Writer

March 12, 2020

Selection Sunday is just three days away and after five months of play, teams now wait to see whether they will make it into the Big Dance or if their season is now over. There are 32 automatic teams that go into the tournament if they win their respective conference tournaments; followed by 36 at-larg...

Arch Madness, Panthers fall to Drake

COLIN HORNING, Sports Editor

March 9, 2020

Having clinched the number one overall seed in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament in St. Louis and regular-season title, the UNI Panther men’s basketball team were the heavy favorites coming into Arch Madness on Friday. A season filled with accolades, accomplishments and overall success was put to...

Panthers finish third in Big 12 Championships

NICHOLAS SCHINDLER, Sports Writer

March 9, 2020

Over the weekend, the Northern Iowa Panthers Wrestling team traveled down to Tulsa, Ok., to compete in the Big 12 Conference Championship. Oklahoma State was heavily favored going into the tournament, but both Iowa State and UNI had a chance to pull off the upset. Going into the conference tournam...

UNI defeats Drake, looks ahead to MVC tourney

BRIELLE KIEWIET, Sports Writer

March 9, 2020

The UNI women’s basketball defeated in-state rivals Drake University 91-78 in the McLeod Center for their last game of the regular season on Friday, March 6. The game honored Panther seniors and marked the team’s first win over the Bulldogs since 2016. UNI’s offense was led by Kam Finley early on ...

UNI drops four of five in Northern Colorado tournament

PATRICK HANSEN, Sports Writer

March 9, 2020

This past weekend, The UNI Panthers softball team made the trip out to Greely, Co., for a weekend of competition, playing five games. On day one of the tournament, the Purple and Gold started out the weekend facing off with Nebraska-Omaha. The Panthers started off the game fast in the top of the fir...

Panthers take home conference honors

PATRICK HANSEN, Sports Writer

March 5, 2020

Day two for the Panthers ended well for the Purple and Gold as the women’s team finished fifth overall with 71.5 points and the men’s team took the conference championship home for the first time in 11 years with 143.5 points, beating second-place teams Illinois State and Southern Illinois by 30.5 ...

Panthers honored with all-conference awards

COLIN HORNING, Sports Editor

March 5, 2020

In what has been a terrific season for the UNI Panther men’s basketball team so far, Tuesday night was filled with a plethora of individual accolades for Panther players as the Missouri Valley Conference announced its all-conference awards for the 2019-20 season. Sophomore AJ Green took home the Larr...