On March 20, 2010, Ali Farokhmanesh’s ‘one shining moment’ propelled the ninth-seeded University of Northern Iowa past the overall number one-seeded Kansas Jayhawks. With 42.8 seconds remaining in the second round match-up, UNI guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe broke the Jayhawk press and found Farokhmanesh wide-open on the right-wing. As the ball cleared the net, CBS color-commentator Dan Bonner exclaimed: “You can’t be serious with that shot!”
Fourth-year head coach Ben Jacobson’s team went 25-4 (15-3 MVC) during the regular season to win the Missouri Valley Conference before going on to capture the ‘Arch Madness’ Valley Tournament Championship, as well.
In the first-round of the NCAA tournament, the Panthers found themselves tied with the eighth-seeded Runnin’ Rebels of UNLV with just 4.9 seconds remaining. Enter Ali Farokhmanesh, Iowa City West High School graduate and Kirkwood Community College standout turned Panther big-shot maker. As the final seconds ticked away, Farokhmanesh nailed a buzzer-beating three-pointer from the left-wing, sending UNI into a second-round matchup against the top-ranked team in the country.
“I figured that play would be the highlight of the tournament for me that year (against UNLV), it was the kind of shot you daydream about while shooting around in your driveway as a kid,” recalled Farokhmanesh years later. But the second-round shot to upset Kansas would go on to become one of the greatest moments in NCAA Tournament history. #IowaOTD #IowaHistoryDaily #IowaHistoryCalendar
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