Tuesdays With Torbee
As it has far too often in the Fran McCaffery era, the Iowa men’s basketball team entered and
exited March quickly, not with a bang but a whimper.
Other than the Keegan Murray-led run to the 2021 Big 10 Tournament championship, the magical
basketball month has been more Ides of March than One Shining Moment for the Hawkeyes.
Iowa was predicted to finish 9th in the media’s preseason Big 10 poll. By conference-only record,
they finished tied for 5th at an even 10-10, although the overall win-loss record was a decidedly
mediocre 9th best in the 14-team league.
Despite technically overachieving preseason expectations in what was always going to be a
rebuilding year, limping to the finish in unimpressive fashion is frustrating. There was no signature
non-conference win and losses to regional rivals Iowa State and Creighton stung, particularly the
blowout by the Cyclones. Starting 0-3 in conference put thoughts of an NCAA tournament bid on life
support early and despite a late season turnaround, Iowa never seriously challenged the bubble.
Most disappointing were the home losses to a terrible Michigan team and a very mediocre
Maryland squad. Had the Hawkeyes managed to win those, they likely would have been on the right
side of the tournament bubble, despite the first-round conference tournament flame-out at the
hands of Ohio State.
Despite all that, I think Fran did a nice job keeping the team competitive despite the rocky season
start. There were times I feared a long losing streak, and that never really materialized. But you
can’t laud the turnaround without criticizing the creation of the hole to be dug out of in the first
place.
The development of young players like Big 10 Freshman of the Year Owen Freeman, emerging
slasher and sharpshooter in sophomore Josh Dix and some flashes of special potential from
freshman point guard Brock Harding are all grounds for optimism.
But is anyone buying the stock?
I’ve taken a fair amount of grief for supposedly “insulting” and “blaming” Iowa fans for being a fair
weather fan base. I don’t think that criticism is fair. After decades of disappointment and the abject
failures of the Todd Lickliter era, it is understandable that Iowa fans operate in “prove it” mode and
stay away in droves unless Iowa is winning at a high clip. However, only showing up for the absolute
best teams is the textbook definition of being fair weather. That is not an insult and it is not
blaming: it is merely a statement of fact.
The truth is, Iowa has a fan problem and fixing it needs to be a top priority of new athletic director
Beth Goetz. It is difficult to imagine McCaffery’s seat is even warm, let alone hot, but it is also
obvious he has worn out his welcome with a not insignificant cohort of the Iowa fan base. Barring a
voluntary separation, McCaffery and Co. have some work to do to re-engage Iowa fans if Carver is
to be full and rocking again.
Of course winning at a higher rate and actually competing at the top of the conference will fix the
fan problem. The young core of this year’s Iowa team has potential to do just that, provided
recruiting ticks up and the portal is used strategically. If Iowa adds a solid combo guard and a
backup big guy to spell Freeman, it should have a team able to post a winning conference record
and get back in the NCAA tournament for the fifth time in the past six years.
I suspect the lagging support for the men’s team is also partially due to the unprecedented success
of the women’s team and the supernova-level stardom of Caitlin Clark. It can be hard to gin up
enthusiasm for an inconsistent and streaky men’s team when you know the women are going to be
clutch performers nearly every time out. There are also only a limited number of hours people can
devote to attending sports in person and watching it on TV and when the women are appointment
viewing, something has to give.
The 2024-25 basketball season is shaping up to be an inflection point in the Fran McCaffery era. If
next year’s team shows growth and more consistency, earns a tournament bid and manages to win
a couple games in the NCAAs, it should boost fan enthusiasm and quiet the critics. Struggle again,
drop games to inferior teams and get pushed around by rivals, however, and the road gets even
bumpier.
As fans of Iowa – whether you like Fran McCaffery or not – I think we can all agree the former is
more appealing than the latter.
Follow me on Twitter/X @torybrecht and the 12 Saturdays podcasts @12Saturdays.
