CEDAR FALLS – The UNI men’s basketball team rounded out its full 2024-25 schedule on Thursday as the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) officially unveiled the dates and matchups for the 20-game league schedule. Additional tip-off times and TV broadcast information will be announced at a later date.
Northern Iowa, which finished fourth in the MVC standings last season and reached the semifinal round of the conference tournament, will open league play with an early conference matchup against the UIC Flames in Chicago on Dec. 4 in a short break from non-conference action. The Panthers will resume league play on Dec. 29 when they host the Southern Illinois Salukis, and again on New Year’s Day with a matchup at home against the Belmont Bruins, a rematch of last year’s MVC Tournament quarterfinal showdown.
Following a Jan. 4 trip to Valparaiso, UNI will entertain the Murray State Racers inside the McLeod Center on Jan. 8 before a Jan. 11 matchup with the Illinois State Redbirds at CEFCU Arena in Normal. The Evansville Purple Aces come to Cedar Falls on Jan. 14 before a road trip to Carbondale on Jan. 18 for a return trip against Southern Illinois, followed by a visit to Terre Haute to take on the reigning MVC regular season champion Indiana State Sycamores on Jan. 25.
UNI will close out January with a midweek, in-state matchup against the rival Drake Bulldogs in Des Moines on Jan. 29, while the Bradley Braves visit the McLeod Center on Feb. 2. Northern Iowa will make its final regular season conference trip to Springfield to take on the Missouri State Bears on Feb. 5, setting up a two-game homestand against Illinois State (Feb. 8) and Indiana State (Feb. 11).
Three of UNI’s final regular season contests will be played on the road with the Panthers visiting Murray State (Feb. 16) and Belmont (Feb. 19) before welcoming in Drake (Feb. 23) and UIC (Feb. 26) for Senior Night. The Panthers will close out the regular season on March 2 with a road trip at Bradley at Carver Arena.
The State Farm MVC Men’s Basketball Tournament, commonly known as Arch Madness, will return to St. Louis and Enterprise Center, March 6-9 with the tournament winner receiving the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Held in the Gateway City since 1991, Arch Madness is the second-longest continuously running neutral-site men’s college basketball event in the nation behind only the Big East Conference Tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Single-game tickets for Panther home games will go on Monday, Oct.7. New season tickets are currently available for purchase through unipanthers.com or by contacting the UNI Ticket Office at 319-273-4849 or by email at tickets@uni.edu.
2024-25 UNI MEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE (Additional Times TBA)
Nov. 4 vs. Dubuque
Nov. 7 vs. Milwaukee
Nov. 10 vs. UC Irvine
Nov. 14 @ Wichita State
Nov. 19 vs. Western Illinois
Nov. 28 vs. North Texas (NIT Season Tip-Off / Kissimmee, FL) – 7 p.m. CT
Nov. 29 vs. Utah State OR St. Bonaventure (NIT Season Tip-Off / Kissimmee, FL)
Dec. 4 at UIC*
Dec. 7 vs. Northern Illinois
Dec. 13 vs. Omaha
Dec. 16 vs. Montana
Dec. 21 vs. Washington State (Las Vegas, Nev.)
Dec. 29 vs. Southern Illinois*
Jan. 1 vs. Belmont*
Jan. 4 at Valparaiso*
Jan. 8 vs. Murray State*
Jan. 11 at Illinois State*
Jan. 14 vs. Evansville*
Jan. 18 at Southern Illinois*
Jan. 21 vs. Missouri State*
Jan. 25 at Indiana State*
Jan. 29 at Drake*
Feb. 2 vs. Bradley*
Feb. 5 at Missouri State*
Feb. 8 vs. Illinois State*
Feb. 11 vs. Indiana State
Feb. 16 at Murray State*
Feb. 19 at Belmont*
Feb. 23 vs. Drake*
Feb. 26 vs. UIC*
Mar. 2 at Bradley*
Mar. 6-9 | Arch Madness (St. Louis, Mo.)