DeForest alum Max Weisbrod punches ticket to the NCAA Tournament

The DeForest Norskies boys’ basketball alumni base will be represented on the biggest stage in college basketball: March Madness.

Max Weisbrod, a 2022 graduate of DeForest High School, punched his ticket to the Big Dance with the Northern Iowa Panthers, who defeated the University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC) Flames 84-69 in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Tournament Championship game on Sunday, March 8, in St. Louis.

Weisbrod, who averages 6.5 PPG, 2.5 RPG and 2.0 APG for the Panthers this season, scored nine points to help lead the Panthers to victory on Sunday.

The 6-foot-4 senior guard has started in 28 of 31 games this season on a team that ranks 25th nationally in defensive efficiency, according to KenPom.

As a junior with the Panthers last season, Weisbrod averaged nearly 6.0 PPG, shooting at a 42 percent clip from behind the arc.

Weisbrod is a transfer from NCAA Division 2 Northern Michigan University.

During his sophomore season at Northern Michigan, Weisbrod earned Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Player of the Year honors, averaging 17.2 PPG, 4.4 APG and 3.3 RPG. During his freshman season with Northern Michigan, he earned GLIAC Freshman of the Year honors.

Weisbrod’s time at DeForest was headlined by a run to the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) Division 1 state tournament semifinals in 2021 during his junior season with the Norskies.

In his senior season with DeForest, Weisbrod averaged 20.8 PPG, 7.4 APG and 7.1 RPG, helping guide the Norskies to a 22-5 overall record. He earned Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-State honors in back-to-back seasons (2021, 2022).

Northern Iowa is 23-12 on the season and had to win four games in four days to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016. The Panthers are peaking at the right time, having won 11 of their last 15 games.

In addition, the Panthers’ longtime head coach, Ben Jacobson, has had well-documented NCAA Tournament success over his 20 seasons in Cedar Falls.

In 2016, Merrill, Wisconsin native Paul Jesperson sank a half-court buzzer-beater to win the game as the No. 11-seeded Panthers upset No. 6 seed Texas by a score of 75-72 in the Round of 64.

In 2010, No. 9 seed Northern Iowa upset No. 1 seed, 69-67, to advance to the Sweet 16 thanks to a go-ahead three-pointer from Ali Farokhmanesh to win 69-66. Farokhmanesh is currently the head basketball coach at Colorado State.

Max Weisbrod and the Northern Iowa Panthers will learn their NCAA Tournament seed and matchup on Sunday, March 15, as part of “Selection Sunday”, which will air at 6 p.m. ET on CBS. Most national mock brackets list the Panthers in the No. 12 or No. 13 seed range.