IOWA CITY — Sitting inside the locker room after Iowa basketball’s early Big Ten Tournament exit last season, Payton Sandfort was asked how the Hawkeyes could use the experience as an opportunity to grow.
Iowa had just lost to Ohio State, all but putting an end to their chances of earning an NCAA Tournament berth. Sandfort pointed to defense.
“Obviously, it’s easy to say,” Sandfort said last March, “But we’ve got to find a way to get stops consistently.”
For a program whose longstanding defensive woes are not a secret, Sandfort’s message emerged as a prevalent theme leading up to the 2024-25 season. This group was open publicly about wanting to change the narrative.
But that has only resulted in marginal improvement, at best.
Iowa is allowing fewer points per game than last season — but only by less than one point. Opponents are shooting 47.7% from the field this season, up from 45.8% last season. To their credit, Iowa has made sizeable improvement defending the 3-point line, holding opponents to just 32.6% as opposed to 35.8% last season.
But when the 3-point defense has been bad, it has been really bad.
The bottom line: The strides Iowa said it wanted to make leading up to the season have not been enough.
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Iowa’s season has taken a nosedive in January. The Hawkeyes have lost four of their last five games and now sit at just 13-8 overall and 4-6 in the Big Ten. They have played their way out of the NCAA Tournament picture with time dwindling to change that.
So what has gone wrong?
Start with defense
It would’ve been outlandish to think Iowa could become an elite defensive team this season. But it was not unreasonable to believe it could make noticeable improvements.
Two of the departures from last season’s team were Ben Krikke and Patrick McCaffery. Two of the newcomers were Seydou Traore and Drew Thelwell. That should’ve set Iowa up to be better defensively.
But that hasn’t been the case.
One of Iowa’s defensive issues lies with the makeup of its starting five. Since the game against Iowa State on Dec. 12, the Hawkeyes have mostly gone with a smaller starting lineup featuring just one traditional big. That group has been Brock Harding, Thelwell, Josh Dix, Sandfort and Owen Freeman.
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In theory, that means Iowa should be giving up some rebounding in return for being better suited to guard on the perimeter. But defense is not one of Sandfort’s strengths, so playing him at the four doesn’t make the Hawkeyes much more agile on that end of the floor. Meanwhile, the team is still struggling on the glass. Freeman is not an elite enough rebounder to dominate that stat alone.
The benefit of a lineup with just one traditional big is that Iowa’s offense can better spread the floor around Freeman. That has produced results, with the Hawkeyes shooting 38.6% from deep. But that trade-off isn’t leading to wins at the rate the program was hoping.
Starting Harding and Thelwell next to each other makes a lineup with only one big even smaller. Harding does what he can to make up for being undersized, with 1.8 steals per game, but that can only cover up so much.
Iowa has also not found great contributions from a backup five-man behind Freeman. Even Brauns has rarely played since the calendar turned to 2025. Riley Mulvey has provided some solid spurts recently, but the production from the frontcourt reserves has not been what the Hawkeyes need it to be.
Free throws
Iowa is shooting just 68.3% as a team from the charity stripe this season. That’s on pace to be the worst output since Fran McCaffery’s first season as the Hawkeyes’ head coach.
Those misses have come in some crucial situations, too. Iowa missed eight free throws in an eight-point loss to Utah State. It missed seven in a two-point loss to Michigan.
The Hawkeyes could’ve used those wins, given how the season has unfolded since. Iowa is 0-7 in Quad 1 contests, which include the Utah State and Michigan games. It’s easy to play the what-if game, but if Iowa had come out on top in those matchups, a 2-5 mark in the Quad 1 games would’ve put it in a much more favorable position to make the NCAA Tournament.
Part of the issue is that some of the team’s low-percentage free-throw shooters have been taking the highest volume of shots from the line. Freeman leads the team with 75 attempts but is shooting just 60%. Thelwell is third but at 66.1%. Traore is fourth but at 61.1%.
Free throws are one of the most controllable areas of the game and Iowa has done a poor job at converting.
Lack of growth from last season
At Big Ten Media Days in October, Sandfort said “We know how to win now” after Iowa dealt with growing pains last season.
Sandfort spoke about that concept multiple times, which refers to the ability to win regardless of the circumstances and how it may look.
There were moments earlier in the season that indicated Sandfort might be right, particularly in wins over Washington State, Northwestern and Utah. But Iowa has still not figured it out as much as it thought. That is reflected in Iowa’s 0-5 mark in true road games this season.
In fact, Iowa has found different ways to lose.
Against Wisconsin, USC and UCLA, it was Iowa’s defense that failed. The Hawkeyes let the Badgers drop 116 points in Madison. In its two-game collapse on the West Coast, Iowa allowed USC and UCLA to shoot a combined 63% from the field.
As good as Iowa’s offense has been, there have also been some major duds. In a baffling home loss to Minnesota, the Hawkeyes shot 3-of-21 from 3-point range. In the most recent loss to Ohio State, they shot 39.3% from the field and 28% from deep.
Iowa has taken haymakers and then failed to respond far too often. In loss to Wisconsin (31 points), UCLA (24 points) and Ohio State (17), there was a lack of resilience after being hit with adversity.
“People looked defeated early in the game and that can’t happen,” Sandfort said after the loss to Minnesota.
Iowa’s level of consistency last season reflected a team that had four true freshmen in the regular rotation. The Hawkeyes went from quality play to near incompetence in a heartbeat. But now a season older, Iowa still hasn’t been able to limit the wildly inconsistent swings of play.
Sandfort averaged better than 24 points in a three-game stretch in January. But he went 4-of-18 from the field while playing through injury in the loss to Utah State. He posted just two points in the blowout loss to Wisconsin. Josh Dix hit an improbable game-winning 3-pointer to save the Hawkeyes against Northwestern and scored 31 in an overtime win over Nebraska, but combined for just three points in recent losses to the Golden Gophers and Buckeyes.
Sandfort and Dix have undoubtedly played key roles in Iowa’s success, but the team can suffer if they aren’t at their best.
Where does Iowa go from here?
The season is not over. With 10 regular season games remaining, there are still enough opportunities for Iowa to make an NCAA Tournament push.
But this group has backed itself into a corner with a razor-thin margin for error.
Clearly, there are a lot of problems and not much time left to fix them.
Follow Tyler Tachman on X@Tyler_T15, contact via email at ttachman@gannett.com
Iowa basketball started the season with high hopes and expectations, but as the season has progressed, it has become clear that things are unraveling for the team. There are several key factors that have contributed to Iowa’s struggles this season.
One major issue for Iowa has been their inconsistent play on both ends of the court. The team has struggled to find a balance between offense and defense, leading to several blowout losses and close defeats. The Hawkeyes have had trouble stopping opponents from scoring and have also struggled to put up points themselves, resulting in a lackluster record.
Another factor that has played a role in Iowa’s struggles is injuries. Several key players have missed games due to various injuries, disrupting team chemistry and forcing the coaching staff to constantly adjust lineups. This has made it difficult for the team to establish a rhythm and build momentum.
Additionally, Iowa has faced tough competition in the Big Ten conference, with many teams boasting strong rosters and talented players. The Hawkeyes have struggled to keep up with the level of competition in the conference, leading to several losses and a downward spiral in their season.
Overall, a combination of inconsistent play, injuries, and tough competition has contributed to Iowa basketball’s season unraveling. The team will need to regroup and make adjustments in order to salvage what remains of the season and finish strong.
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