Tough ending but spectacular season for UNI

SEATTLE - Seth Tuttle's jaw hung open as he turned his head to the left, and then to the right. He quivered, then broke down.

UNI's senior center, an All-American at that, saw his college career come to an end after a difficult 66-53 loss to Louisville in a third-round NCAA tournament game. As Tuttle sat at the podium, his face flushed red. Tears began to fall when Coach Ben Jacobson was asked about the legacy of this team.

Not just any team, mind you. A record-setting group that won 31 games and spent time ranked among the nation's top 10. A team that saw ESPN GameDay showcase their game, and a team that earned a No. 5 seed.

'With all of the success that we have had this year, they haven't changed at all in terms of who they are and what they stand for and how they represent their families and represent our program and our school, and that's what I'm most proud of,” Jacobson said. 'From a basketball standpoint within our program, they raised the bar again. I love them for that.

'We have had a lot of good things happen at Northern Iowa in our men's basketball program, and these guys raised the bar one more time. That's hard to do with some of the things we have done, but they did it. And it took a lot of sacrifice, and I'm really, really proud of them for that.”

Northern Iowa earned darling status five years ago when Ali Farokhmanesh's 3-pointer beat top-seeded Kansas. That team won 30 games and was seeded ninth before winning a pair of NCAA games. This squad won more games overall and in league play, achieved a higher national ranking and NCAA seeding.

UNI (31-4) won 16 consecutive Missouri Valley Conference games and claimed the league tournament title.

'The only way to raise the bar as these guys did is have somebody do something really good before them,” Jacobson said. 'And we did that in 2010, and they had to have somebody do it before them, right? And we could keep going back. That's how you do it, that's how your program continues to get to new heights. So, everybody that's been around our program and all the kids we - all the young guys and families we're recruiting right now - they just saw the best entire season. We didn't get to the Sweet Sixteen, so that's the only thing we didn't match. But they just saw the best four months of basketball our program's ever had, and that's saying a lot.” Sunday's finale belied UNI's season success. The Panthers' scoring defense ranked fourth nationally (54.3 points per game), but Louisville scored 66. UNI held opponents to 39.3 percent shooting all year, yet the Cardinals shot 45.8 percent. Early in the second half, Louisville scored on seven of its first eight possessions to extend a nine-point halftime lead to 12. Northern Iowa struggled to keep pace during that span, and Louisville hit six of eight shots.

'Honestly, we kind of got away from some of the defensive principles that we had been doing all season, and it kind of led to some easy buckets for them,” said UNI guard Matt Bohannon, who started and played 29 minutes after surgery for a broken finger on Friday. 'Credit to them for making some tough plays and tough shots.”

Northern Iowa rallied and cut its deficit to six points on Nate Buss' turnaround jumper with 4:24 left. But in the game's key sequence, UNI fell short.

UNI guard Jeremy Morgan stole the ball from Louisville's Wayne Blackshear near midcourt and sprinted up the floor. As Morgan approached the basket, he passed backward to a trailing Wes Washpun, who attempted a dunk. The ball instead caromed away and seconds later, Louisville guard Terry Rozier tossed a lob to Montrezl Harrell, who dunked to put Louisville up eight and keep UNI at bay.

'I would say it was a key point in the game,” Harrell said. 'They were making their run and starting to come back so when Terry threw that up, I tried to make sure I finished it.”

Northern Iowa tried to play catch-up, but couldn't convert. With 17 seconds left, Jacobson replaced his key players. That's when the finality of a game, a season and a career hit Tuttle. The senior from Sheffield, Iowa was the only player nationally with 1,700 points, 900 rebounds and 250 assists. He led the Panthers in those categories this year.

'When I got subbed out. You know, it was that moment that I just was walking over and I was going to give Coach a hug and tell him I love him and, you know, it's been a good run, a great season,” Tuttle said. 'We made a lot of memories.”

Jacobson added one more tear-jerker in the end. When teams have truly great seasons, the pain of finality knows no bounds.

'So these guys, man, I love them,” he said. 'Absolutely love them.”

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