PORTLAND, Ore. - Kwadzo Ahelegbe spoke at almost a whisper near his locker following the University of Northern Iowa basketball team's exit from the NCAA Tournament Thursday.

Ahelegbe was having difficulty coming to grips with the Panthers' 61-56 defeat to Big Ten tournament champion and fifth-seeded Purdue at the Rose Garden.

The 6-foot-2 point guard, however, tried to put a positive spin on the situation.

"This loss, for sure, is going to fuel us for next year," Ahelegbe said. "This is a tough team, and we've got a lot of experience coming back."

The Panthers, who were in the Big Dance for the fourth time in six seasons, return their entire starting five next year and three of their top four reserves. The only departure is guard Travis Brown.

UNI brings in 6-foot-3 guard Marc Sonnen, a finalist for Mr. Basketball in Minnesota. Austin Pehl, Jake Koch and Anthony James will vie for playing time after redshirting this season.

"They've got a chance of getting right back to this point next year," Brown said. "I'm the only guy they're losing, so they should be fun to watch and very tough."

After a sluggish 6-6 start to the season, UNI reeled off wins in 14 of its next 18 games to earn a share of the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championship for the first time in school history. A week later, the Panthers captured the tournament title and the automatic berth to the NCAA tournament.

"We're all bummed out we lost (Thursday), but in a couple of weeks when we look back on this, we had a terrific season," center Jordan Eglseder said. "It just stinks it is over."

The Panthers tied a school record for victories in a season with 23. They also set a new school mark with an 11-game winning streak during the conference season, including rare triumphs at Southern Illinois and Creighton.

"Obviously we didn't want it to end like this," Brown said. "We wanted to win a game, win a couple here. Sometimes it doesn't happen for you. When we look back on the year we've had, it's special. We can't hang our head for that."

UNI has pieced together six consecutive winning seasons. During that stretch, it has never finished worse than a tie for fifth in the Valley race. Creighton and Southern Illinois are the only other programs in the MVC that can make that claim.

And with 91 percent of their scoring and 87 percent of their rebounding returning next year, the Panthers figure to be the conference favorites, along with Creighton.

"People in our program are confident in our ability as a program to win," forward Adam Koch said. "Over the past six years, we've shown we've been able to have success consistently."

Head coach Ben Jacobson said after Thursday's game this season was pivotal for his program. Despite an 18-14 mark last year, he felt some of the momentum dissipated.

"In terms of the way the guys trusted each other, I felt like a little bit of it might have slipped last year, the things we've worked so hard for five years to get in place," Jacobson said.

"And this group brought those things back. It was a lot of work by a lot of people for five years to get it there, and I'm really proud that this group has brought back the important things to our program."

Now, the offseason work begins.

"We're going to work harder than last year," freshman Johnny Moran said. "We know we have to get better. Everybody is going to be working hard because we want to get back to this point and get another shot at it."

Contact Matt Coss at (319) 291-1468 or matt.coss@wcfcourier.com

Who's back

UNI returns its entire starting five, including all-conference forward Adam Koch and point guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe. The Panthers also have two veteran reserves back in the MVC's sixth man of the year, Lucas O'Rear, and Kerwin Dunham.

Who's new

Incoming freshman Marc Sonnen is another Tartan High School (Minn.) product. Like Johnny Moran, he'll add toughness. That said, he's 6-foot-3 and gives UNI a taller guard to match up with bigger backcourts. Also, redshirt freshman Anthony James could provide a spark in spurts with his long arms, athleticism and quick-striking ability offensively.

What to watch

How does this team deal with having a target on its back? The last time UNI was predicted to finish near the top of the Valley in 2006, it tied for fifth. UNI can't be complacent because the league will be improved next year, especially Bradley, Southern Illinois and Wichita State.

The schedule

UNI could have its most challenging non-conference schedule in recent history. In addition to Iowa, Iowa State, Siena and Wyoming, the Panthers will play in the Paradise Jam. The tournament features Purdue, Tennessee, Boston College, St. Joseph's and DePaul. A marquee win or two in that event could be significant come March.