2015–16 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team

2015–16 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Second Round
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
Record23–13 (11–7 MVC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Erik Crawford
  • Kyle Green
  • P.J. Hogan
Home arenaMcLeod Center
2015–16 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Wichita State 16 2   .889 26 9   .743
Evansville 12 6   .667 25 9   .735
Illinois State 12 6   .667 18 14   .563
Southern Illinois 11 7   .611 22 10   .688
Northern Iowa 11 7   .611 23 13   .639
Indiana State 8 10   .444 15 17   .469
Missouri State 8 10   .444 13 19   .406
Loyola Chicago 7 11   .389 15 17   .469
Bradley 3 15   .167 5 27   .156
Drake 2 16   .111 7 24   .226
2016 MVC tournament winner

The 2015–16 Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball team represented the University of Northern Iowa during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by tenth year head coach Ben Jacobson, played their home games at the McLeod Center and were members of the Missouri Valley Conference (The Valley). They finished the 23–13, 11–7 in Missouri Valley play to finish in a tie for fourth place. The Panthers defeated Southern Illinois, Wichita State, and Evansville to win the Missouri Valley tournament and earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As a No. 11 seed, they defeated Texas in the first round to advance to the second round, where they lost to the Texas A&M Aggies in double overtime after suffering the greatest collapse in NCAA Tournament history, blowing a 12 point lead with 35 seconds left in regulation.