Save for an inspired second half at Rutgers on Feb. 12, the past month hasn’t given Iowa basketball fans much to cheer about.
Iowa has lost seven of its past nine games, sinking to 14-11 (5-9 Big Ten). According to Matt Hackman, Iowa still has an 84% chance to make the Big Ten Tournament. But, the mere fact that the Hawkeyes are even in the discussion to miss the Big Ten Tournament altogether doesn’t cast a positive light upon the program.
Though Iowa ranks 10th nationally in scoring offense (84.1 points per game), the Hawkeyes are once again a pushover defensively. Iowa ranks 337th nationally in scoring defense, surrendering 79.5 points per game.
Those numbers look different and worse in league play, too. Iowa’s offense scores just 78.6 points per game in Big Ten play, which would dip its national ranking down into the 60s.
Meanwhile, the Hawkeyes are allowing Big Ten foes to score 84.8 points per game, which plummets its scoring defense essentially to the very worst nationally. When comparing Iowa’s defensive numbers in league play against the current scoring defense rankings nationally, only two teams in Division I basketball (North Florida, Arkansas-Pine Bluff) surrender more points per game to the opposition.
Of course, Iowa has been navigating through and dealing with injuries to key cogs in sophomore forward Owen Freeman and graduate guard Drew Thelwell. Freeman’s finger surgery was a season-ending setback.
Still, the underlying issues and the discrepancy offensively and defensively is something that the fan base has been frustrated with for some time.
At this point, barring a perfect finish to the regular season or a championship run through the Big Ten Tournament, Iowa will miss the NCAA Tournament for a second straight season. The heat is picking up on longtime Iowa head men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery.
CBS Sports’ Isaac Trotter included Iowa among a group of college basketball programs with consequential decisions looming.
There are a ton of balls up in the air in Iowa. The Hawkeyes have quickly sunk out of the race for an at-large bid, and the direction of the program is quickly reaching a critical stage. Will Fran McCaffery return? If so, will he be equipped with the resources to retain key studs like Josh Dix and Owen Freeman?
High-major programs everywhere will be keeping a close eye on the matriculations in Iowa City over the next month. The fallout will loom large. – Trotter, CBS Sports.
Will Iowa athletics director Beth Goetz think seriously about moving on from McCaffery? If so, the contract buyout sits at $4.2 million, which Iowa could pay out over three years, effectively lowering the buyout to just $1.4 million annually for three years.
It’s a tough call because McCaffery has developed some fantastic individual players and been a part of some great highs in Iowa City.
Recent names such as Naismith Player of the Year Luka Garza, Keegan Murray and Kris Murray come to mind. The Murray twins helped springboard Iowa through a magical four-game run en route to the Big Ten Tournament title in 2022.
But, then the Hawkeyes flamed out in the first round of the NCAA Tournament despite entering as one of the nation’s hottest teams.
The ongoing Sweet 16 drought has been another knock that the Iowa fan base has held against McCaffery. Though he has directed Iowa to seven NCAA Tournament appearances during his time in Iowa City, McCaffery and the Hawkeyes are yet to advance to the second weekend.
McCaffery is Iowa’s winningest coach in program history, sporting a 294-202 (141-137 Big Ten) record at the helm.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa basketball among programs with consequential decision looming
