SETH DRURY ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
It’s that time of year again and I’m not talking about the time of year where one day it’s 70 degrees and the next it’s freezing and 12 degrees. I’m talking about the time of year where teams are hanging on their edge of their seat wondering if they are going to continue their season or not.
Often when the big dance comes around, people fill out their brackets and watch the madness and have a good time. For the past couple of years, the Cedar Valley region has missed out on a personal level of the tournament without having a team that represents them.
Sure we had Drake in their last year, but the University of Northern Iowa hasn’t been in the tournament since 2006. That was after they had made the tournament for three consecutive seasons. Oddly enough 2006 was the last time the Hawkeyes were in the big dance as well. But since then, the Cedar Valley hasn’t had a team to root for.
Being a college student at a Div. III school I’m as excited as anyone else about the whole tournament but the fact that there is a “home-team” in the tournament makes it that much more exciting.
This year, UNI isn’t just a Cinderella story going into the tournament but they have been one all year. Most people felt Creighton would win the Missouri Valley Conference tournament even though the Panthers received the No. 1 seed.
The Panthers history in the tournament isn’t a bad one especially for a mid-major. They have qualified seven times including this year. Their first dance came back in ’64. Since then they have qualified in 1979, 1990, 2004, 2005, and 2006.
Their highest seed came in ’06 when they were a number 10 seed that squared off against Georgetown. They have won two tournament games. Their best tournament performance was in 1990 when they upset the No. 3 seed Missouri, but lost in the second round.
So what can we expect from them this year? They received the No. 12 seed in the west region and face off against Purdue. So I wouldn’t write the Panthers in with ink.
But why not, what’s to lose? The Panthers have made it this far and for the Cedar Valley, it is exciting to once again have the “home-team” in the tournament. Even more exciting is that UNI is THE only team from Iowa. There is no love for the Hawkeyes, no backing for the Cyclones and no…“barking?” for the Bulldogs of Drake. So, Go Panthers!