10 Wins
The Iowa men’s basketball team had a lot of questions entering the 2023-24 season. After three straight years of National Player of the Year Candidates with Luka Garza, Keegan Murray, and Kris Murray, head coach Fran McCaffery has had to lean on a lot of new faces this year.
Returning players like fourth-year Tony Perkins and third-year Payton Sandfort have shown a lot of promise in their new roles for the Hawkeyes.
The wing duo has combined for more than 28 points per game this year, with both players shooting above 35 percent from behind the arc.
Valparaiso transfer Ben Krikke has also come up big so far this season. The three-time All-Missouri Valley Conference player has been the leading scorer for the Hawkeyes.
Averaging just above 16 points per game and shooting nearly 60 percent from the field, the Edmonton, Alberta, native has made an easy transition to the Big Ten.
Like last season, the Hawkeyes fell to a 0-3 start in Big Ten play, dropping games to Michigan, Purdue, and Wisconsin.
However, the past two victories over Rutgers and Nebraska have really shown the capabilities of this team, winning both games by a combined 27 points.
With Big Ten play starting to ramp up in the coming months, I think the Hawkeyes can win eight more games and eclipse a 10-win Big Ten season.
Iowa plays significantly better at home, averaging nearly 100 points a game when playing at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Winning home games will be essential to reach that 10-win mark.
The Hawkeyes should take care of business at home against teams like Maryland, Minnesota, Ohio State, and Penn State.
When teams like No. 1 Purdue, No. 10 Illinois, and No. 15 Wisconsin travel to Iowa City, the Hawkeyes will need to win at least one of those ranked matchups.
If the Hawkeyes can win some difficult road games and take care of business at home, I can see the team notching their fifth straight season in passing 10 conference wins.
Nine Wins
The game of basketball is relatively simple: whichever team puts up more points will win the game. At the same time, there are many factors that determine the amount of success a team has throughout a full season.
The 2023-24 Iowa men’s basketball team is an offense-heavy system ranking in the top 10 nationally in points, field goals made, field goals attempted and assists a game. The script remains the same when looking within Big Ten conference play as the Hawkeyes rank second in average points scoring 80 a game; third in field goals made and attempted, hitting 144-of-321 total shots; second in total assists with 93; first in average assists with 18.6 a game; and first in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1:79.
Despite the offensive surge, defense is an area of weakness for Iowa, allowing a conference-worst 82.6 points a game; the second-most opponent field goals converted at 148 field goals made; the fourth-most opponent field goals attempt at 311; and the fourth-highest opponent field goal percentage at 47.6 percent shooting.
The Hawkeyes also struggle to rebound the ball, as they’ve allowed the third-most opponent rebounds with 200 for an average of 40 opponent rebounds a game — second worst in the Big Ten.
Iowa currently owns a 2-3 conference record, with two of those losses coming against ranked opponents Wisconsin and Purdue. With 15 Big Ten games left and only four matchups left against ranked opponents, the remaining schedule looks favorable to add some wins to their name.
However, if the Hawkeyes don’t improve on the defensive end of the floor, it will be even harder to string wins together in games where their offense is struggling.
Iowa will look to take down Minnesota as a potential momentum-building victory hangs in the balance. The Golden Gophers struggle to put the ball in the basket against Big Ten opponents as they average 70 points a game while allowing 71.2 points a game.