@HaydensDumplings (Matt Loeb)
In the spirit of March Madness hot takes, here's one: Iowa men's basketball has achieved a level of stability surpassing Dr. Tom’s ‘90s-era teams. Now, the last frontier is extending their Big Dance stay past 48 hours.
Were it not for the pandemic, this would be Iowa’s fifth consecutive NCAA bid. Assuming Iowa earned a 6-seed during the COVID-interrupted 2020-21 hoops season, the Hawkeyes’ average seed would be — you guessed it — a 6-seed over the past five years. Solely based on regular season and conference tournament results, Iowa hoops falls somewhere between 21st-24th in the country. Iowa hoops: a top-25-ish fixture.
With this in mind, "Frannerisms" like his two-foul lock-up, inconsistent timeout usage, and refusal to press before 10 minutes left in the half are more amusing, than aggravating. Quirks, not deal-breakers.
Under McCaffery’s leadership, Iowa has become a consistent upper-division Big Ten program, averaging almost 12 conference wins over the past five years. And while late-season swoons have derailed previous seasons, of late McCaffery's teams have punctuated late February with two of his tenure’s most impressive victories—the 2021 thrashing of Ohio State in Columbus and this year’s demolition derby in Bloomington.
March, however, has been a crueler month for Fran and the Hawkeyes. While last year’s Big Ten tournament title was a heater for the ages, the Hawkeyes have consistently underperformed their conference tourney seeds. This year’s loss to a scuffling Buckeyes team was all the more dispiriting, particularly after the Nebraska debacle on Senior Day.
And while the NCAA tournament is notoriously fickle, Fran’s signature Big Dance moment is probably Iowa’s almost-comeback against 2-seed Tennessee on the backs of future Iowa legends Jordan Bohannon and Luka Garza. But now a decade-plus into the McCaffery Era, fans are still looking for a signature Hawkeye tourney victory — the 2018 Cincinnati victory was as enjoyable as it was unexpected, but it pales next to most "milestone wins."
MORE HERE: https://iowa.rivals.com/news/is-this-the-year-waiting-for-the-hawkeyes-one-shining-moment
In the spirit of March Madness hot takes, here's one: Iowa men's basketball has achieved a level of stability surpassing Dr. Tom’s ‘90s-era teams. Now, the last frontier is extending their Big Dance stay past 48 hours.
Were it not for the pandemic, this would be Iowa’s fifth consecutive NCAA bid. Assuming Iowa earned a 6-seed during the COVID-interrupted 2020-21 hoops season, the Hawkeyes’ average seed would be — you guessed it — a 6-seed over the past five years. Solely based on regular season and conference tournament results, Iowa hoops falls somewhere between 21st-24th in the country. Iowa hoops: a top-25-ish fixture.
With this in mind, "Frannerisms" like his two-foul lock-up, inconsistent timeout usage, and refusal to press before 10 minutes left in the half are more amusing, than aggravating. Quirks, not deal-breakers.
Under McCaffery’s leadership, Iowa has become a consistent upper-division Big Ten program, averaging almost 12 conference wins over the past five years. And while late-season swoons have derailed previous seasons, of late McCaffery's teams have punctuated late February with two of his tenure’s most impressive victories—the 2021 thrashing of Ohio State in Columbus and this year’s demolition derby in Bloomington.
March, however, has been a crueler month for Fran and the Hawkeyes. While last year’s Big Ten tournament title was a heater for the ages, the Hawkeyes have consistently underperformed their conference tourney seeds. This year’s loss to a scuffling Buckeyes team was all the more dispiriting, particularly after the Nebraska debacle on Senior Day.
And while the NCAA tournament is notoriously fickle, Fran’s signature Big Dance moment is probably Iowa’s almost-comeback against 2-seed Tennessee on the backs of future Iowa legends Jordan Bohannon and Luka Garza. But now a decade-plus into the McCaffery Era, fans are still looking for a signature Hawkeye tourney victory — the 2018 Cincinnati victory was as enjoyable as it was unexpected, but it pales next to most "milestone wins."
MORE HERE: https://iowa.rivals.com/news/is-this-the-year-waiting-for-the-hawkeyes-one-shining-moment
