Northern Iowa's Trey Campbell. Cody Scanlan/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Is Northern Iowa poised to go on another Cinderella run in March Madness after making MVC Tournament history?

By Clark Dalton | Last updated Mar 8, 2026 4:21 PM ET

The Northern Iowa Panthers have rediscovered their March Madness magic.

The Panthers (23-12, 11-9 conference play) beat the UIC Flames (19-15, 12-8 conference play) 84-69 in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Championship Game at Enterprise Center in St. Louis on Sunday. With that victory, Northern Iowa has punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2015-16 season, capping off another unexpected run.

How Northern Iowa made history during MVC Tournament run

The Panthers entered the conference tournament as the sixth seed after losing two of their last three regular-season games. The Southern Illinois Salukis (16-16, 10-10 MVC) beat them 59-57 on Feb. 21, while the Illinois State Redbirds (20-12, 12-8 MVC) outlasted them 71-69 on Feb. 25.

Despite not being a favorite to win the MVC Tournament, Northern Iowa won four games in four days, becoming the first team to do so since the event's inception in 1977. It also benefited from luck. The top-seeded Belmont Bruins (26-6, 16-4 MVC) lost to the Drake Bulldogs (14-20, 6-14 MVC) 100-79 in the second round on Friday.

THE PANTHERS ARE TOURNEY BOUND

Northern Iowa becomes the first team to win FOUR GAMES in FOUR DAYS at the MVC tourney

(: @UNImbb) pic.twitter.com/puiuZbaq2U
— ESPN (@espn) March 8, 2026

"This will turn out to be one of the most amazing stories in the history of the storied conference," CBS Sports' Kevin Harlan said near the end of the contest. "A [No. 6 seed] has won four games in four days to win the championship and go to the NCAA Tournament."

"This will turn out to be one of the most amazing stories in the history of this storied conference."

6-seeded Northern Iowa just won 4 games in 4 days to win the @MVCsports Championship, and punch their ticket to the Big Dance. @UNImbb pic.twitter.com/faXzBAfsL6
— CBS Sports College Basketball (@CBSSportsCBB) March 8, 2026

Panthers senior guard Trey Campbell — MVC Tournament MVP — has led the charge. He averaged 17.8 points per game during the four-game stretch. On Sunday, the sharpshooter scored 23 points and shot 6-of-9 from three-point range. Northern Iowa needs him to keep rolling in March Madness to continue its Cinderella run.

Where should Northern Iowa fall in the NCAA Tournament?

The Panthers should fall somewhere in the lower portion of the 68-team bracket as a double-digit seed. They'll find out exactly where they land during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show on March 15 (6 p.m. ET, CBS).

Northern Iowa is clearly an underdog, but it has busted March Madness brackets before. It beat the Texas Longhorns 75-72 in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament and shocked the Kansas Jayhawks 69-67 in the second round in 2010. Now, the surging Panthers will aim to pull off another memorable upset.

Clark Dalton

Dalton is a 2022 journalism graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He gained experience in sports media over the past seven years — from live broadcasting and creating short films to podcasting and producing. In college, he wrote for The Daily Texan. He loves sports and enjoys hiking, kayaking and camping.

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