March Madness 2026: NCAA men's tournament opponents that teams should hope to avoid at all costs

Northern Iowa Panthers Record: 23-12, 11-9 Missouri Valley | Projected seed: 13 Pity the unlucky No. 4 seed that draws Northern Iowa in the first round of the NCAA tournament. That higher-seeded team will hate every second playing against a slow-paced, ultra-disciplined opponent that is peaking at the right time.Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Northern Iowa entered the season with high expectations after winning 20 games the previous season and bringing back players who logged a national-best 72.1% of the minutes. The Panthers also welcomed NAIA first-team All-American Tristan Smith, a forward who averaged 20.5 points for Concordia University, Nebraska, and led the team in just...