There’s been legitimate reasons to panic for fans of the Iowa men’s basketball team in recent years at the end of the regular season.

An eight-point loss in East Lansing with a seven-man rotation should not be one of them.

It was a game Iowa could have and maybe even should have won. The Hawkeyes led by six at halftime and extended that to double-digits at one point in the second half.

Then, Cassius Winston got going, Michigan State took the lead, and Iowa fell out of second place in the conference almost as quickly as it got there.

Fran McCaffery and company aren’t big into making excuses, even though in this game they certainly could. The Hawkeyes were without CJ Fredrick again in East Lansing, leaving the lineup even more depleted than it already was.

Luka Garza played almost the entire 40 minutes against Michigan State, only sitting out for 24 seconds. He was also nursing a foot/ankle injury that he first suffered Feb. 16 against Minnesota. The injury hasn’t stopped Garza from going 100 percent every second he’s on the court. You’d expect nothing less from a national player of the year candidate.

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Iowa’s loss at the hands of Michigan State was tough, and makes the road to a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament more difficult. But by no means was it a sign that the team is running out of steam.

The Hawkeyes currently sit in sixth place in the Big Ten after Tuesday’s loss to the Spartans. They sit at 19-9 overall and 10-7 in the conference with three regular season games remaining to play.

Those three games offer a lot of chances for Iowa.

Over the next week and half, Iowa competes against No. 16 Penn State, Purdue, and Illinois. All three games will be rematches from earlier this season. These matchups offer the Hawkeyes lots of opportunities for momentum heading into postseason competition.

Penn State is currently tied for second in the conference with a 11-6 conference mark. Illinois is in fifth at 10-6. Purdue is currently 11th in the Big Ten, but the team is still on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament and offers a chance for Iowa’s revenge after the Boilermakers defeated the Hawkeyes, 104-68, earlier this season.

Iowa is only three games out of first place in the conference despite being in sixth place. Maryland is virtually locked into first place heading into the Big Ten Tournament, but Iowa still has plenty of teams to jump if the remaining portion of the schedule goes well.

By winning out and getting some help along the way, Iowa is still in the running for second place in the Big Ten. Finishing in third is even more likely. Either way, the Hawkeyes would secure a double-bye for the conference tournament and put the notion that McCaffery teams can’t finish out the regular season to rest.

Projecting the road to a double-bye is easier said than done. Iowa still needs to win these games — none of which are a certainty.

The Hawkeyes could have some things going for them in this final stretch. Fredrick is inching closer to returning to the rotation. Two of the final three games are at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Joe Wieskmap’s slump has to end at some point.

Iowa’s loss to Michigan State certainly didn’t make things any easier for the team, but there’s still reason to be optimistic that the close to this men’s basketball season could be a strong one.