The Hawkeyes used a hot stretch in February to get near the NCAA Tournament Bubble but ultimately fell short.
IOWA CITY, Iowa — For the first time since 2018, Iowa men’s basketball missed the NCAA Tournament. The Hawkeyes dug themselves a deep hole, including an 0-3 start in Big Ten play and three losses in the non-conference.
“We know that those November games and December games are just as important as that ones at the end of the year, so we just got to be focused and stay motivated throughout the whole course of the year,” said junior guard Josh Dix.
Despite the slow start to the season, Iowa won four out of five late in the season to make a push to the NCAA Tournament bubble. However, a loss on senior day and a one-and-done trip at the Big Ten Tournament placed the Hawkeyes in the National Invitational Tournament.
“Obviously, the NIT is a great tournament, but that’s not our goal,” said sophomore forward Owen Freeman. “We want to make a deep run in the national tournament, and that’s something that I think this team can really do.”
While Tony Perkins and Patrick McCaffery left for other programs, Iowa returns a bulk of it’s scoring, including their leading scorer Payton Sandfort.
“Everyone’s still a little hungry because of how it finished, but we did go on a huge run, and a ton of these young guys, you know, had huge roles in that, in that happening,” Sandfort said. “We know we can do it. You know, guys are experienced, and it should make us a lot fun.”