UNI Upsets Iowa: Iowa Time Machine December 19, 2015

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On December 19, 2015, unranked UNI upset 5th-ranked and unbeaten Iowa State in men’s basketball at the Big 4 Classic in Des Moines. Following on the heels of an earlier season upset in Cedar Falls of top-ranked North Carolina, UNI’s 81-79 victory over the Cyclones showed the team led by Wes Washpun and Paul Jesperson was no fluke.

The Panthers entered the 2015-16 season with modest expectations despite returning three seniors who had paid their dues in the Missouri Valley Conference trenches. Wes Washpun, a Cedar Rapids Washington graduate who had transferred from Tennessee, brought a point guard's vision and a scorer's mentality. Paul Jesperson, a Wisconsin native who had spent two years at Virginia before landing in Cedar Falls, possessed a pure shooting stroke that could ignite in seconds. Matt Bohannon, from nearby Linn-Mar High School, was entering his fifth year with the program and had become one of the most prolific three-point shooters in school history. Together, they formed a senior class that had come off the bench the previous season and now carried the burden of leadership under coach Ben Jacobson. Their early-season upset of North Carolina had already announced their arrival, but skeptics wondered whether that victory was an aberration rather than evidence of genuine quality.

The contest unfolded with ruthless efficiency from the Panther offense. Washpun tallied 28 points on 9-of-14 shooting and added 11 assists, while Jesperson added 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting from long range, creating a perimeter assault that Iowa State's defense simply could not contain. The Cyclones, led by Georges Niang's 30 points, fought back repeatedly from double-digit deficits in their trademark style. The Cyclones had the chance to tie the game with the final possession, but a Monte Morris tear drop was off the mark. The miss sealed Iowa State's first loss of the season and gave UNI its second victory over a top-five opponent in less than a month.

The 2015-16 Panthers would ride that momentum through a tumultuous season, struggling to a 10-11 record in late January before winning 12 of their final 13 games. Washpun hit a last-second shot to win the Missouri Valley Conference tournament and earn an NCAA Tournament bid. The tournament appearance culminated with Jesperson's famous half-court buzzer beater against Texas, a shot that has been replayed countless times and cemented that senior class's legacy. #Iowa #OTD #History #Basketball #MidMajor