2017 – 18 Northern Iowa Panthers men 's basketball team represented the University of Northern Iowa during the 2017 – 18 NCAA Division I men 's basketball season . The Panthers , led by 12th-year head coach Ben Jacobson , played their home games at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls , Iowa as members of the Missouri Valley Conference . They finished the season 16 – 16 , 7 – 11 in MVC play to finish three-way tie for seventh place . As the No. 7 seed in the MVC Tournament , they defeated Evansville in the first round before losing to Loyola – Chicago in the quarterfinals
MVC Tournament
2018 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
2017–18 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team