UNI no pushover for Mich. St.

Associated Press

ST. LOUIS

Northern Iowa has an immovable anchor inside with a feathery touch from outside. Its point guard is a pull-on-the-leash pitbull, another guard an unflinching giant killer. The roster is filled with interchangeable parts, one seemingly a better 3-point shooter than the next.

The Panthers have been called underdogs, Cinderellas, a mid-major with all those smirky, negative connotations.

None fit anymore.

Northern Iowa (30-4) is just good. Not small-conference good. Not might-pull-off-an-upset good. Flat-out good, enough to stare down big programs, not bow to them.

So when the ninth-seeded Panthers take the floor against No. 5 Michigan State (26-8) tonight, it won’t be as underdogs. Northern Iowa has earned the right to be called equals, maybe even favorites with all the injuries the Spartans have.

“We feel we can play with everybody,” Northern Iowa senior guard Ali Farokhmanesh said.

Northern Iowa established its foundation in 2004, starting a run of three straight NCAA appearances. The Panthers got back to the NCAA tournament last season and topped it this year, winning their first Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title, another conference tournament crown and their highest NCAA seeding ever.

That was just the start.

Northern Iowa pulled off a minor upset in the NCAA opener, taking out No. 8 seed UNLV on Farokhmanesh’s 3-pointer with 4.9 seconds left. The Panthers topped that with the NCAA’s biggest bracket buster in years, knocking off top overall seed Kansas in the second round on another 3-pointer by Farokhmanesh that will go down as one of the biggest shots in program history.

Now, an entire nation of basketball fans knows about the mid-major from tiny Cedar Falls that plays defense like a pack of hyenas. They know about Big-shot Ali, physical-but-still-delicate 7-footer Jordan Eglseder, relentless point guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe, all those shooters whose range seems to extend to halfcourt.