Northern Iowa toppled No. 1 seed Wichita State on Saturday to head to its second consecutive Missouri Valley Conference championship game.
With the 57-52 overtime victory, the Panthers (20-12) have a chance to defend their title on Sunday against the winner of Evansville and Indiana State.
In a game Wichita State dominated for a majority of the time, fourth-seeded UNI battled back behind senior guard Wes Washpun’s 20 points. No other member of Ben Jacobson’s team surpassed 10 points.
“It’s as good a game as I’ve been a part of,” Jacobson said after the game. “It was tough start to the basketball game for us, and guys were fired up in first half … but we’ve learned to deal with each other.