Brown: How Current Iowa Basketball Run Compares to Past Surges

Hawkeyes Head into Big Dance Winning 12 of last 14

Iowa’s starters walk out for the opening tip against Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament Championship game on March 13, 2022 at Gainbridge Field House in Indianapolis. (Rob Howe/HawkeyeNation.com)

A season of hope and promise had reached a crossroads.

Iowa fell to 14-7 overall and 4-6 in the Big Ten on the final day of January, leaving State College, Pa., with a double-overtime loss to Penn State.

This was a Hawkeye team that had to win six of their last 10 regular-season league games to even get a sniff of the NCAA Tournament. Those 10 games included road contests at Maryland, Ohio State, Nebraska, Michigan and Illinois.

That’s when Coach Fran McCaffery made some changes. He moved Jordan Bohannon back to point guard, and slid Tony Perkins into the starting lineup. A lack of rebounding and defense were also addressed.

McCaffery pushed a lot of the right buttons over those last 10 regular-season games, as well as the four that followed at the Big Ten Tournament. Those 14 stretch-run games produced 12 victories. It culminated with a Big Ten Tournament Championship Sunday in Indianapolis, Ind., a 75-66 victory over a Purdue team that defeated the Hawkeyes in seven of the previous nine meetings including a regular-season sweep in 2021-22.

The title game was a coaching masterpiece by McCaffery, who had to shuffle his lineup with a team playing its fourth game in four days and facing a Purdue unit with an overpowering size advantage inside. He used 12 different players in the first half to keep the Boilermakers close, then rode his usual rotation to the finish line.

McCaffery coached Siena to three straight Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championships, winning both the regular-season and tournament titles. And then he came to Iowa. It had been a tough ride, with just five Big Ten Tournament victories in 15 career games heading to Indianapolis. But his work on the sidelines this weekend helped erase that narrative. Getting to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, something Iowa hasn’t done since 1999, would bury another narrative.

Twenty-six victories, a Big Ten postseason title, a No. 16 national ranking and a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament didn’t seem possible after that loss at Penn State. But here they are, preparing for a Thursday game with Richmond as one of the hottest teams in the country. Some national voices, including Clark Kellogg of CBS, have Iowa making the Final Four. That, and a possible national player of the year in sophomore Keegan Murray, has the Hawkeyes in a much better place than they found themselves after that loss at Penn State that put them behind the 8-ball.

I would have to include this season as one of the three most productive runs in program history, joining the 1955-56 and 1969-70 teams. All three reached a crossroads moment during the season, with productive results.

Now there have been other impressive runs over the years. Iowa won its first 18 games under first-year Coach Tom Davis, breaking the school record for consecutive victories established by the 1955-56 team. The Hawkeyes also moved to No. 1 in the Associated Press poll for the first and only time in program history during that run.

Coach Sam Barry’s 1922-23 team won a share of the Big Ten title and finished 13-2 overall. The Hawkeyes lost their third game of the season, to Notre Dame, then ran off 11 in a row before closing the season with a 23-21 loss at Indiana.

And the 1944-45 team, under Coach Pops Harrison, won 16 of 17 games and the Big Ten title. The only loss was at Illinois, 43-42. The following season, Iowa won its first eight and 14 of the first 15 before losing the last three and tying for third in the Big Ten.

And Coach Bucky O’Connor’s 1951-52 team won their first 12 games and 17 or the first 18, but lost two of the last four and finished second in the Big Ten.

The 1955-56, 1969-70 and 2021-22 teams all finished strong to hoist a Big Ten Championship trophy.

O’Connor’s 1955-56 squad is remembered as one of the greatest in program history, and rightfully so. But that team, returning starters Carl Cain, Bill Logan, Bill Seaberg and Sharm Scheuerman from a Final Four and Big Ten Championship season, got off to a slow start. In fact, Iowa was 3-5 out of the gates after consecutive West Coast losses at Washington (76-71), Stanford (54-52) and California (70-45) and a 65-64 decision at home to Michigan State in the Big Ten opener.

The loss to the Spartans was especially troubling. Iowa led, 60-47, with 4 minutes remaining. “These boys are smart,” O’Connor said after the game. “It’s just that they appear over-anxious at times. That accounted for our bad passing. We played better tonight than we did on the west coast. If they have as much determination as they did tonight, I’ll be satisfied. But of course, I’m not satisfied with the score.”

O’Connor’s patience was rewarded. Iowa won its next game, 88-73, at Ohio State, and put together a 17-game winning streak that ended with a loss to No. 1 San Francisco in the NCAA title game. That team also repeated as Big Ten champions.

Another team fondly recalled as one of the greatest of all time was Ralph Miller’s 1969-70 squad. Miller returned four starters in Glenn Vidnovic, John Johnson, Dick Jensen and Chad Calabria, and added Fred Brown out of Burlington Junior College.

But their season got off to an uneven start as well. Iowa fell to 3-4 with a 57-55 loss to St. John’s in the first round of the Rainbow Classic. The winning points came on a 30-foot hook shot. Iowa’s next game, in the consolation bracket, didn’t even count on the record. It was an 88-80 loss to Submarine Forces Pacific. It was considered an exhibition game.

“They probably thought they were going to lose by 40,” Vidnovic famously recalled. “And they won.”

Iowa bid farewell to paradise with a 111-60 victory over Hawaii, then returned home for the start of Big Ten play with a game against Rick Mount and Purdue in Iowa Fieldhouse. Mount scored 53 points but Iowa won, 94-88.

The Hawkeyes would win the Big Ten title with a 14-0 record, reaching the century mark nine times. That team’s 102.9 scoring average in league play remains a Big Ten record. The NCAA Tournament at that time was a 16-team field. Iowa, ranked No. 8, lost to No. 6 Jacksonville in the first round on a last-second tip-in, 104-103. Back then, a consolation game was played and Iowa walloped Notre Dame, 121-106.

This season’s Iowa team deserves its own recognition for the fast finish this season. The year started with significant losses. Consensus National Player of the Year Luka Garza was gone. So was standout shooter Joe Wieskamp. Guard CJ Fredrick transferred to Kentucky. And forward Jack Nunge transferred to Xavier. Iowa was picked to finish ninth or lower in the league race. It’s been a mix of experience and new faces that have taken this Iowa team to a 26-9 record. Only the 1986-87 season (30-5) has accounted for more victories.

Jordan Bohannon gave the team experience and moxie, and Connor McCaffery brought toughness and a coach on the floor. Keegan Murray has had a breakout season, going from 7.2 points a game to a sure-fire first-round NBA draft pick. Kris Murray has been overshadowed by

his twin brother but also made a huge jump after scoring a total of six points last season. Patrick McCaffery gives this team a long and skilled forward who can finish at the rim or from the perimeter.

Perkins has improved rapidly with experience. He’s scored in double figures five of the last eight games, and his minutes and McCaffery’s trust in him have increased as much as his scoring average. He’s also healthy after dealing with a shoulder injury.

Joe Toussaint was a defensive demon against Purdue and brings a spark off the bench. Filip Rebraca has been a solid presence in the post all season. Freshman Payton Sandfort doesn’t shy away from the moment, and Ahron Ulis has shown he has the tools at both ends of the floor to play a lot in the future. Centers Josh Ogundele and Riley Mulvey are intriguing prospects as well.

On Sunday, McCaffery used all 12 of them in the biggest game of the season to beat Purdue. It was a performance for the ages. The NCAA Tournament may well define this team, but their late-season push will be remembered for a long time.