It’s been a difficult 2024-25 campaign for the Iowa men’s basketball team. The Hawkeyes entered the season with NCAA tournament expectations, but inconsistent play and injuries have left their season on life support.
Last week, the injury bug struck Iowa again when it was announced that second-year center Owen Freeman would miss the remainder of the season due to a lingering finger injury that required surgery. The news broke the day before the Hawkeyes’ matchup against No. 7 Purdue, forcing Iowa to quickly choose Freeman’s replacement.
The Hawkeyes waited until game time to choose their new starter, and the name Riley Mulvey delighted Iowa fans.
This marked the first career start for the 6-foot-11 third-year, and it was a long time in the making. Originally a member of the recruiting class of 2022, Mulvey reclassified to the 2021 class and joined the Iowa program ahead of the 2021-22 season.
Mulvey saw little action during his first two seasons in a Hawkeye uniform but seemed to always make the most of his minutes, especially in the 2022 Big Ten tournament championship game against Purdue, where he locked down star Boilermaker center Zach Edey for four crucial minutes to help Iowa secure the victory.
Three years later, Mulvey again found himself in a similar situation against Purdue. It may not have been a championship-deciding game, but the Hawkeyes were still counting on him to step up in a big-time moment.
“[It was] very exciting, honestly,” Mulvey told Hawkeye Beacon at a press conference, regarding his first start at Iowa. “I was a little nervous, but I think I performed to the best of my ability.”
Considering the difficult circumstances, Mulvey filled the spot admirably. His Boilermakers opponent was center Trey Kaufman-Renn, who is regarded as one of the Big Ten’s best big men, but Mulvey held his own and made Kaufman-Renn earn every bucket.
“He was playing really well in practice, so he’s earned those minutes,” McCaffery told Hawkeye Beacon at a Zoom press conference two weeks ago. “He knows what to do. He knows what we want. He’s the ultimate team guy. There’s no selfishness about him at all.”
Mulvey’s only points of the night came on a two-handed slam in the second half, but the highlight of his night was forcing back-to-back backcourt violations on Purdue point guard Braden Smith. Each play was well-executed, as Mulvey used his large frame to push Smith near the timeline and cause the turnover.
“I thought the offense moved really well with Riley out there,” McCaffery said after the game. “That gave us some great minutes.”
Mulvey’s toughness has served as a spark for Iowa, but despite how crucially those plays can impact a game, they still don’t show up on the stat sheet. However, it was Mulvey’s teammate, forward Even Brauns, that made some stat-stuffing playing against the Boilermakers.
Brauns didn’t light up the scoreboard, but his final statline of four points, three rebounds, two assists, and one block proved to be a nice positive off the bench. In fact, McCaffery trotted the fifth-year senior out with the rest of the starting five to begin the second half, signaling his growing trust in Brauns.
“I think it’s been actually really good for me to have this kind of opportunity come,” Brauns told Hawkeye Beacon ahead of the Wisconsin game. “The coaches all believe in me, and my teammates all believe in me, and that all helps me a lot.”
While both players showed some potential against Purdue, Saturday’s contest against Wisconsin was a slight step backward. Both bigs never attempted a single field goal and collected only one combined rebound, ending the afternoon with zero points in the 74-63 defeat.
The loss marked Iowa’s sixth in its last seven games, and though McCaffery knows he needs more contributions from his big men and the rest of the squad, he is still pleased with their competitiveness and fight each and every night.
“We try to win,” McCaffery said. “They want to win. They’re putting the time in, and they’re competing, and it’s our job to just try to help them get over the hump.”