UNI basketball faces the year after 'the year'

(AP) For one magical week last March, Cedar Falls was the center of the college basketball world.

Plucky Northern Iowa had turned the NCAA tournament upside down by stunning top-seeded Kansas, 69-67. The grit the Panthers showed in turning back the vaunted Jayhawks endeared them to fans from coast to coast.

But Michigan State wore down Northern Iowa en route to the Final Four, and life soon returned to normal in the sleepy college town two hours northeast of Des Moines.

Now comes the year after the year. But don't expect a hangover from the Panthers.

Point guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe said Monday that Northern Iowa isnt thinking about the Kansas game. He said they're focused on working on their defense and coming together as a team before the season opens at Syracuse next month.

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