Bracket Buster: Northern Iowa

Last year, UNI was a trendy Final 4 pick in the bracket Michigan State came out of. UNI was done in by Louisville in the Round of 32. They are back again, pinching their ticket with a buzzer beating win over Evansville in the Arch Madness final.

There is no Seth Tuttle on this team but Wes Washpun has been very good. Jeremy Morgan is a good 3-point shooter as is Paul Jesperson. This team has a lot of good, role player types. 

This team isn't as good as last year's team. Last year's team finished 12th in KenPom. They're currently 80th. The Panthers are stronger on offense where they play one of the slowest paces in America. They bleed the shot clock in Bennettian fashion. They have an effective fg% of 53.2%, 44th. They shoot 37.2% from 3 and 35.9 of their scoring comes from 3. A hot shooting day at slow tempo is frustrating for younger teams. They also don't turn it over. They have a turnover % of 15.2%, 17th best. They don't rebound on offense. They're 351st in offensive rebounding %. They sacrifice second chances to eliminate transition opportunities.

On defense, no team fouls less than they do. While they don't rebound on offense, they are better on defense. Opponents only get 27.2% of misses, making them 69th overall. Otherwise, they're pretty mediocre but like I said, they limit possessions and they don't give up transition. 

UNI has already beaten North Carolina, Iowa State, Stephen F. Austin & Wichita State twice this year. They've won 12 of 13 but have a long stretch before playing again. If they get a young, sloppy team they'll be a trendy upset choice. They've got the resume and they'll grind you down.