After qualifying for the NCAA tournament for the fourth straight season in 2023, the Iowa men’s basketball team had realistic hopes of returning to the Big Dance in 2023-24.
But after a rollercoaster season, the Hawkeyes narrowly missed the 64-team playing field, finishing 19-15 overall and 10-10 in Big Ten play.
Now, the 2024-25 season is around the corner, and Iowa looks to redeem themselves and return to the tournament this year.
But if Iowa wants any chance of making it, they have to improve in Big Ten play, which gets more intriguing with the additions of Washington, UCLA, USC, and Oregon to the league.
Out of the teams that missed the NCAA tournament in 2024, Iowa was at the top in terms of Big Ten record and fourth when it came to overall record.
Of those 10 conference losses, Iowa dropped five games to opponents that finished lower in the standings: Michigan, Indiana, Penn State, and twice to Maryland.
But head coach Fran McCaffery believes it’s more of the non-conference losses that derailed the team’s chances at an NCAA tournament berth.
“A lot of times, the conference records will put you in,” McCaffery said. “I thought we stumbled a little bit in non-conference last year… We probably missed [NCAA tournament] by one game, so we’re not going to do dramatic changes.”
If anything’s changed, it’s the roster.
The 2024 offseason saw three key players leave the Iowa program — Tony Perkins transferred to Mizzou, Patrick McCaffery transferred to Butler, and Ben Krikke graduated.
Payton Sandfort, who entered his name in the 2024 NBA draft, decided to return to the program. The 6-foot-7 wing led the Hawkeyes in scoring with 16.4 points, was tied for first with 6.6 rebounds, and led the Big Ten with 92 made threes.
“I didn’t like the way we finished last year,” Sandfort said. “I love the team we had coming back… it’s another chance to play the game I love in front of the people I love. That was something I couldn’t turn down.”
Another factor for why he returned was because of his younger brother, Pryce, a sophomore guard who averaged 2.3 points last season. Payton knows the opportunities the second-year forward is going to see this season.
“Seeing the way he’s progressed from last year to this year, he’s going to play a big role on this team,” Payton said.
Brock Harding will also be another player expected to step up. The sophomore averaged only 3.4 points per game last year but tallied 2.6 assists, a key statistic for a point guard.
With the absence of Perkins, the second-year point guard will split touches with fellow point guard and Morehead State graduate transfer Drew Thelwell. McCaffery feels confident in the combination of the two.
“They’re going to play a lot and they can play together,” McCaffery said. “That’s what I like about them. Drew is the winningest player in Morehead history, and a veteran. Brock is hungry and really worked hard this summer… He’ll be an even better shooter [this year].”
Owen Freeman also credited Harding for the work ethic he’s displayed all summer. The second-year forward said the two trained together all summer and pushed each other to get better.
Freeman, coming off a co-Big Ten Freshman of the Year campaign where he averaged 10.6 points and 6.6 rebounds, is now thrust into a leadership position. The second-year is one of three returning players who saw more than 20 minutes per game last season. He sees himself taking that next step in his game.
“I’ve spent a lot of the off-season working on my body, becoming a lot stronger,” Freeman said. “Especially in this league, obviously, expanding my game. I’m just getting more confident… I definitely see a huge jump and a lot of growth on my part.”
The third returner who played significant minutes last season is Josh Dix. Starting the season as the sixth man, a mid-season injury to Patrick pushed Dix into the starting lineup. His play was so strong that Fran McCaffery named him a full-time starter, even after Patrick returned from injury.
The third-year guard made a big jump last season averaging 8.9 points on an efficient 55 percent shooting from the field and 42 percent from three. Now heading into his third year with veteran status, he’ll have to carry a big chunk of the responsibilities on both sides of the court.
“I thought last year he really established himself as one of the better players in our league,” Fran McCaffery said. “He led the league in offensive efficiency, which is not easy to do. We’re counting on him to do a lot of things.”
Fran McCaffery doubled down on his belief in Dix.
“He’s one of the best players in our league.”