CEDAR FALLS, Ia. — If anyone needs a reminder on the power Arch Madness holds in shifting season narratives, just look at Northern Iowa’s last two campaigns.
The 2019 team needed a fortunate tiebreaker bounce to avoid a bottom-four finish. The 2020 squad sat atop the MVC Tournament bracket as a daunting No. 1 seed, a regular-season title in hand.
One showed up in St. Louis. One didn’t.
The Panthers’ pedestrian 2019 season shockingly came within a possession of an NCAA Tournament berth. UNI’s riveting 2020 campaign was suddenly NIT bound until coronavirus stepped in.