Iowa basketball

It's been rather rough for the Hawkeyes coach in the Big Dance.

The Hawkeyes entered this year’s tournament having won at least one game in each of their last four NCAA tournament appearances. Iowa has not earned a berth to the Sweet 16 during McCaffrey’s tenure. But upsets like this are part of the beauty of March Madness.

Looking back on the Hawkeyes' 26-10 season and their final game against Richmond while also looking ahead to the 2022-23 possibilities.

You can’t make a Sweet 16 (or Final Four) without first being in the NCAA Tournament. And the Iowa program has been in consistent position for four straight years to make some noise. The 2019 team got to overtime against Tennessee in the round of 32. But a season with so many exciting times, including a four-day run to the program’s first Big Ten championship in 16 years, was still a success. And while the disappointment for the team and its fans is real, it's important to reflect on the fact that in each of the past four seasons, Fran McCaffery has put Iowa in position to make a run. The NBA often acquires players on projections, and it’s fair to say that the one-year jump that was seen from Keegan can be expected from Kris, as well. That certainly was visible in this one, as Richmond’s Jacob Gilyard scored a game-high 24 points to go with six rebounds and six assists on 8-for-15 shooting without leaving the court. In fact, Iowa didn’t have any points from a guard until Perkins’ bucket with 1:41 left in the first half. This game was likely lost with Iowa’s 1-for-13 shooting from 3-point range in the opening 20 minutes. We saw late in the game, when Murray became more assertive, that the Hawkeyes gave themselves a chance. Thinking back to his 8-for-10 game from 3 against Indiana in the Big Ten semifinals, it felt like he was choosing to pass too often. He talked after the game that he was intentionally getting his teammates open looks, given the amount of attention Richmond put on him. Bohannon exploded onto the scene as a true freshman and nearly led a super-young Iowa team to the NCAA Tournament. He made national headlines for an intentionally missed free throw as a sophomore, one that cemented the legacy of the late Chris Street. His junior year, in particular, was filled with heroics across the Big Ten that nearly sent Iowa to the Sweet 16.

It happened earlier than many expected. The Iowa Hawkeyes were a final four contender after winning the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis last week.

This team deserves a lot of praise for how it shut out the outside noise and exceeded what many thought it could do. The Hawkeyes were not expected to do what they did this year. For Iowa, it was the latter, and that has been the program's Achilles heel.

The exit was quick, but had its pain. Iowa came to the NCAA tournament fueled by a furious run culminating in a Big Ten tournament championship. The Hawkeyes ...

“So I knew we had a little bit of light left still in us, and we made a little bit of a run, but got to credit them. So I guess on a season — right now it feels pretty terrible, but probably in a couple of months, probably we’ll feel a little bit better.” I think we did a really good job defensively.” “I thought we played one of my worst basketball halves all season (in) the first half, and we were only down one,” Bohannon said. I think overall we did a really good job on them. That's uncharacteristic of us, but I feel like we got a lot of open looks that we usually make, especially in the first half. Obviously, it was going to be tough trying to guard Keegan, but I think we did a really good job overall as a team. “We shot probably too many (3-pointers), 1-for-13 for three in the first half.” They shot 36.4 percent for the game, 20.7 percent in 3-pointers, a performance that left them puzzled. The way they plowed through the weekend at Indianapolis brought national attention, and certainly a lot of hype. “You’ve got to credit them,” said sixth-year Iowa guard Jordan Bohannon, fighting back tears after the final game of his college career. And I don't think it's close, so it's definitely not a good feeling in our stomachs right now.”

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Jordan Bohannon's Iowa basketball career was all about numbers, big numbers. Yet, he said, it wasn't at all.

“It says a lot about him, the way he responded to the question,” McCaffery said. “Before his hip surgeries, he played a whole season in terrible pain, never asked to come out. “And I can honestly say this last year, I put my heart and soul into this team, and I just — hopefully I left this jersey in a better place than where I found it. I just wanted to make my family proud and this whole entire state.” I just wanted to make Coach proud. “I can't even put into words what … Coach (Fran McCaffery) has meant to me.

Q. Walk me through the second half there. In your eyes, what led you guys to come up short? JORDAN BOHANNON: Richmond is a really great team.

The next day I feel like we're right back to work, and I feel like we had a good game plan going in, just like I said. I don't know what you managed to see of that, if you have seen a replay of that, but any thoughts on that call? Just watching him come back and perform at the level that he did and then come back to lead a team that needed his leadership, he and Connor both had to lead a young team. KEEGAN MURRAY: I think these two, especially our team last year kind of laid the framework just for what the expectations are now at Iowa and just what you have to do to win here, and these last two seasons, I feel like kind of put the stamp on our program from what it was. Just kind of walk me through the preparation from Sunday to today, maybe how that affected you and rest and preparation and other things leading up to today. They had a couple of offensive rebounds in really big situations, and we didn't -- we just didn't capitalize on a lot of the opportunities that we had. They slowed the game way down, but at the end of the day, we just -- we just didn't play well. I know this is not what you wanted, but just sort of the -- paint me a picture of what you are feeling right now? A lot of our guys had open looks from our kick-outs, and, yeah, I just -- they had a good game plan, but we just missed open shots. That's uncharacteristic of us, but I feel like we got a lot of open looks that we usually make. So we didn't get to really celebrate that much, so I'm sure when we look back -- I mean, nobody thought we were even going to make the tournament, so I guess on a season -- right now it feels pretty terrible, but probably in a couple of months, probably feel a little bit better. So I knew we had a little bit of light left still in us, and we made a little bit of a run, but got to credit them.

Four days after celebrating a Big Ten Conference championship in Indianapolis, the Iowa Hawkeyes' season is over. Fifth-seeded Iowa, a trendy Final Four pick as ...

An alley-oop dunk to Murray made it 65-63 with 5.2 seconds on the clock. But in 40 forgettable minutes, the season was over. And then Cayo scored again with 34 seconds to go and converted a 3-point play to push Richmond into a 63-57 advantage. Twenty-six wins are the second-most in school history. A Big Ten Tournament championship far exceeded the outside expectations for a team picked ninth in the conference. And just like that, the Sweet 16 drought continues. Iowa was a 10-point favorite here Thursday. This was a game it was supposed to win. Fifth-seeded Iowa, a trendy Final Four pick as it entered the NCAA Tournament on a roaring hot streak, suffered a cold-shooting Thursday afternoon and couldn’t get all-American Keegan Murray going against a pesky Richmond squad. A Bohannon 3 misfired but Iowa got the ball back and called timeout with 5.5 seconds left. Jordan Bohannon struck from 3 with 5:15 left, ending a game-opening streak of 4-for-23 accuracy from 3-point range. But then the Hawkeyes went ice cold, going empty on seven straight possessions. And, most importantly, the 10th and final loss.

Up first is a showdown with the Richmond Spiders, who are fresh off a conference tournament championship of their own. Richmond took down Davidson in the A10 ...

The Spiders, on the other hand, won four games in four days to win their conference tournament but were just 2-3 in their five games prior to that. Up first is a showdown with the Richmond Spiders, who are fresh off a conference tournament championship of their own. The Hawkeyes now set their sites on the school’s first Sweet 16 since 1999.

Thursday's first round of the 2022 NCAA tournament brought surprises, and we should count on more arriving Friday.

Texas lost its last three games entering the NCAA tournament and has been up and down for the second half of the campaign. Can the Ramblers make another magical run, only this time under Drew Valentine? Will the Buckeyes shake off the memories of last year's shocking loss to Oral Roberts in the round of 64? Texas. The Hokies finished the season on a tear, winning 13 of their final 15 games and carving up defense after defense down the stretch of the season. I don't think it will be an aesthetically pleasing game, given the teams' tendencies to turn the ball over and miss shots, but the storylines are interesting. Medcalf: I think we learned that a really good team can always end up in a battle with a big underdog in the NCAA tournament, but that's probably all it is. The database goes back to 2010-11, so we know only that the Hawkeyes have fared this poorly on this many attempts just twice in 12 years. It's also worth noting that Iowa had won one game in each of its past four NCAA tournaments, so it's not like the Hawkeyes suddenly become a different team in the Dance. So I guess those are some reasons for optimism moving forward. Richmond held the Iowa offense to its third-least efficient outing of the entire season, and the other two were road games. They lost to Tennessee in overtime, 83-77, in the second round in 2019. Last year, the Hawkeyes gave up 95 points in a double-digit loss to Oregon in the second round. Fran McCaffery had some solid defensive teams in his early years in Iowa City. But he has had six consecutive seasons with finishes outside the top 75 in adjusted defensive efficiency on KenPom. That run includes three years in a row with a top-five finish in adjusted offensive efficiency. A 2022 NCAA tournament Thursday that offered all the usual opportunities for upheaval delivered on more than a few of them.

Did the referees miss a foul call late in the Spiders' upset of the Hawkeyes?

Several possessions later, with the Hawkeyes clawing back, forward Keegan Murray grabbed an offensive rebound and was able to put home a putback. Richmond’s Matt Grace appeared to hit Murray’s left arm during the shot, but no foul was called. The biggest controversy came from a Kris Murray three-point attempt with less than a minute to play.

CHRIS MOONEY: I couldn't be more proud of our guys. That was a tremendous effort. Particularly a great defensive effort against one of the best offenses in ...

It's so hard to make this tournament, and for our guys to have done everything they did starting with coming to Richmond, next was returning to Richmond, for everything that they did to be in the hotel ballroom in Brooklyn two years ago when everything was canceled when we had a great season to just have the perseverance and the togetherness and the camaraderie to want to be at Richmond. That's what's special to me is especially in this day and age guys are great players. The thing about the tournament is one game ends and you have to worry about the next one almost immediately. Q. You talk about team and tradition, and you seem like a selfless guy yourself, but what is the Chris Mooney culture look like? He was able to get a three and another time, he got a three while Jacob was guarding him, but that was really the only one. Tyler guarded him most of the rest of the first half, and then Andre and Nate guarded him down the stretch, and I thought, again, he is a tremendous player, but I thought we did a very good job on him. Q. Jacob just summed up the journey, and you talked a little bit about it yesterday, that journey of getting here. We focused a lot on it in practice, and just overall that was our weakness this year, I think, and for us to just come full circle at the end of the year and really dig in these last five games, like you said, unbelievable. So it was very, very anxious about guarding such a prolific offensive team, but one thing I thought that we had multiple guys that we could put on Murray. Not that we could stop him or guard him, but we had multiple guys that we could put on him. And at the end of the day, we knew it would be tough for them to guard us, so I felt like we could score with them as long as we could contain the guys. He got a big-time and-one, but I think it started when he got matched up with Murray. I think he did a really good job defensively, and that got himself going. You got to go out there and make your own luck, and we did that today. At the end of the day, we had to guard and make it tough.

The last time Iowa State played an NCAA Tournament game in Milwaukee, LSU was sniffing around its head coach. My, how things have changed.

Year 2 might include the words "Iowa State" and "NCAA Tournament" in the same sentence. Iowa State columnist Randy Peterson embarked on his 50th year of writing sports for the Des Moines Register in December 2021. “They’ve got a lot of length and athleticism on the frontline. The immediate future is about beating LSU, about a week after its coach and top assistant were fired. “I knew instantly when I came to Iowa State how special this community was, this campus was, and the people are,” Otzelberger said at his introductory press conference. I’ll stop short of saying he’s an Iowa State lifer, but he certainly has an affection for the school where he was an assistant eight years, and where his wife, former Cyclones basketball star Alison Lacey, will be inducted into the Iowa State Athletics Hall of Fame. - Iowa State would have hired Otzelberger to be the new coach? A few days before his team was to face Nevada in the first round, guess whose name popped up as a candidate when LSU fired its coach. Let’s play the speculation game for a moment. More: The top NCAA Tournament betting options for Iowa and Iowa State men's and women's basketball No one’s gauging his interest in anything. Steve Prohm was in his second season as coach.

Here is everything you need to know about the Iowa State Cyclones and the UT-Arlington Lady Mavericks in our Iowa State vs. UT-Arlington NCAA Tournament ...

Iowa State 74, UT-Arlington 62. Iowa State isn’t going to let this chance slip away. The Lady Mavs won the Sun Belt Tournament title for the first time to secure their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2007. Iowa State G Emily Ryan: The sophomore is one of the best guards in the Big 12, and the NCAA Tournament gives Ryan a chance to show the entire country. Iowa State has tried plenty for the past decade or more, but their last eight NCAA Tournament appearances have ended in the first or second round. Iowa State: Senior Ashley Joens has had a magnificent season, and she was just named an AP All-American Second Teamer on Wednesday. Combined with Ryan and Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year Lexi Donarski, the Cyclones have a big three to take into the NCAA Tournament. But, perhaps it might not mean that much if the Cyclones can’t get out of the first or second round. She is the first player in Lady Mavericks history to average more than 20 points per game in the regular season. She is No. 12 in the nation in scoring per game with 21.1 points. Her 228 assists (7.1 per game) is second all-time for a single season, and if Ryan dishes out 12 more then she’ll own that record (to go along with the single-game records for assists and steals, which she claimed earlier this season). Her assist average is fourth-best in the country, and she’s had at least 10 assists in a game six times this season. Then she picked up her game in the Sun Belt Tournament, as she led UTA to a Sun Belt Tournament title by averaging 28 points and 10 rebounds per game. She’s done a tremendous job making sure things work for the Cyclones all season, and it shows in the numbers. UT-Arlington NCAA Tournament women’s basketball preview.

Follow live updates as Iowa takes on Richmond in the first round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament Thursday.

The No. 5-seed Iowa Hawkeyes (26-9) face the No. 12-seed Richmond Spiders (23-12) in an NCAA men’s basketball tournament first-round game Thursday in Buffalo, N.Y. Iowa forward Kris Murray (24) grabs a rebound during the first half of a first-round NCAA men's basketball tournament game against Richmond, Thursday, March 17, 2022, in Buffalo N.Y. (Jeffrey T. Barnes/Freelance) Follow our live updates throughout the game for stats, analysis and highlights.

We back, folks. Back in the NCAA Tournament. Back after four of the most enjoyable days in recent (and not-so-recent, if we're being honest) Iowa basketball ...

They were a bid thief, needing to win their conference tournament (the Atlantic-10 Tournament) to secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament... which they did. 3 ppg (as well as a team-high 7.7 rpg). Forward Grant Golden (6'10", 255 lbs) averages 14.1 ppg (and 6.1 rpg) with a 54.5 eFG%. Waterbug point guard Jacob Gilyard (5'9", 160 lbs) averages 13.3 ppg and leads the team with 5.4 assists per game. But ultimately Richmond doesn't seem to have the size or physicality to really stymie Iowa. Nor are they sharp-shooters. Back in the NCAA Tournament. Back after four of the most enjoyable days in recent (and not-so-recent, if we're being honest) Iowa basketball history. Like Iowa, they won four games in four days, Thursday to Sunday. So from a wear-and-tear perspective, they're in roughly the same place as Iowa, although their wins were a little harder than severla of Iowa's -- three of their four wins last weekend came by five points or fewer. But it's time to lock in again and focus because Iowa has a job to do: beat Richmond, move on to the second round.

If the oddsmakers' predictions hold true, the near future looks bright for the #16 Iowa Hawkeyes. They and the Richmond Spiders are set to clash at 3:10 p.m. ET ...

Guard Jacob Gilyard took over for Richmond, finishing with 26 points (a whopping 41% of their total). - Malcolm Dread: Out for the Season (Not Injury Related) It was another big night for Iowa's forward Keegan Murray, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and 11 boards.

Analyzing Thursday's Richmond vs. Iowa odds and lines, with college basketball expert picks, predictions, best bets.

Iowa closed the regular season on a 5-1 Under run, although it forgot how to play D in the league tourney with 74 or more points allowed in three of four games. Richmond will be playing its fourth game in the last seven days with plenty of travel. Iowa is 7-1 ATS in the past eight games when favored by double digits and 9-3 ATS overall in that situation this season. Playing the HAWKEYES -10.5 (-107) is worth the risk. The Spiders of Richmond burst a bubble by claiming the at-large bid in the Atlantic 10 Tournament as they upended Davidson 64-62. The Big Ten champs are going to advance here, so there is no sense getting crazy and playing Richmond — that would be throwing money away.

Will the layoff impact Iowa in the NCAA Tournament? The Hawkeyes believe it will only make them more dangerous. But the first inkling of whether Iowa (23-7) ...

Couple that with Iowa knowing it won’t have to leave the state until the Sweet 16 made for a crisp week of NCAA Tournament buildup that didn’t blow things out of proportion. I think more than anything, they're so excited to get out here and play in front of this crowd again and to have the opportunity to play in Carver." The entire last week with limited basketball responsibilities and zero Selection Sunday stress made for a timely reprieve before firing the engines back up. Change one of those four final regular-season results — and Iowa doesn’t get that home celebration while likely being positioned differently at the Big Ten Tournament. Without winning a share of the regular-season league title or the conference tournament, the Hawkeyes’ hosting chances take a serious hit — which would’ve drastically altered their NCAA Tournament path. I think our team is pretty mature, having been in this situation last year, although we didn't have the week off last year because our tournament was moved back a week.

Mar 17, 2022; Buffalo, NY, USA; The Iowa Hawkeyes huddle before the first half against the Richmond Spiders during the first round of the 2022 NCAA ...

Iowa warms up during the 2022 NCAA First Round women's pre-game open practices at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Thursday, March 17, 2022. The arena will host a ...

Your support helps provide the necessary resources and training to continue our mission. “If you don’t have a little bit of butterflies in your stomach, it doesn’t mean a lot to you. Iowa accumulated six turnovers in the first 10 minutes, with Clark contributing five of them. Iowa led Northwestern by just one point, 32-31, before ultimately beating the Wildcats, 72-59. Definitely going to have to take a melatonin, I’m going to be very wired. A lot of teams don’t get to do that, and we get to play in front of our sold out Carver-Hawkeye Arena tomorrow.

The Iowa Hawkeyes went into the men's NCAA tournament as a popular sleeper pick to make the Final Four out of the Midwest region. The No.

Richmond grabbed the rebound and went on to score plus the foul on the other end, effectively putting the game away. The No. 5 seeds came into the NCAA tournament fresh off a Big Ten tournament title and seemed to be getting hot at the right time. The Iowa Hawkeyes went into the men’s NCAA tournament as a popular sleeper pick to make the Final Four out of the Midwest region.

LISA BLUDER: I'm glad to be in the NCAA Tournament again. I'm thrilled that it's here in Iowa City in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Our Hawk fans are amazing, ...

I think we're all just a little anxious to play in a game again and we're lucky we get to do it at home, but I think we're just super excited to go play in a real game environment again. But I think Z, Lexie, Megan, hearing from them and their excitement around us in the Big Ten tournament, at the end of the regular season really speaks to what Coach Bluder has built here. So definitely down the stretch kind of figuring out what we needed to do, what was required of us to reach our goals that we've had for the whole season was huge. I think more than anything, they're so excited to get out here and play in front of this crowd again and to have the opportunity to play in Carver. I just think our team realizes the value of it a little bit more than we did last year. She demands a lot out of herself, and so she leads by example, but at the same time she's the first person to hold you accountable and pat you on your back. A lot of teams don't get to do that, and we get to play in front of our sold-out Carver-Hawkeye Arena tomorrow. It makes me really glad that our former Hawkeyes are so passionate about our current success and about just the success of this team. LISA BLUDER: I think our team is champing at the bit to get back on the court. We appreciate it, and I think that's one of the things that makes this team so kind of lovable is that they do appreciate it. If the team itself is not used to communicating with that, it can be hard to hear your play calls, to communicate as a group, and also it can get you down. You said at the beginning of the year it was going to be some scheme things, some effort things.

The Iowa Hawkeyes once again were upset in the NCAA Tournament, leaving fans feeling a certain way toward Fran McCaffery.

It remains to be seen how much longer McCaffery will coach at Iowa. It appears the school’s goals are not very high in this tournament. Coach McCaffery has been criticized for years for not having his team prepared for March Madness. Once again, the Hawkeyes underperformed. The loss spelled the end to Jordan Bohannon‘s college career. McCaffery has never reached the Sweet 16, despite having a ton of really good teams. He has never made it out of the first weekend. They had just beaten Purdue to win the Big Ten Tournament on Sunday before the selection show.

While Richmond and Iowa might not mean a lot to Kansas Citians, Barstow School alum Jacob Gilyard might be a name that some people know.

Fran McCaffery felt like his team's energy was there but the execution was not. As a team, Iowa examined what went wrong against Richmond on Thursday.

"I thought the energy was there," McCaffery said. "The next day, I feel like we're right back to work," Murray said. We just did a bunch of uncharacteristic things." You know, typically we expect to shoot more than two free throws in the second half, especially the way we were driving the ball." They're also one of the best assist-to-turnover teams in the country but only had 14 assists on the game. A lot of our guys had open looks from our kick-outs, and, yeah, I just — they had a good game plan, but we just missed open shots." That underscores how little activity there was on the Iowa offense. He moved (the ball), he found Patrick (McCaffery) a few times when he was hot so I'm not going to criticize him any way. We went to him down the stretch and he had two big buckets." Nine of his 21 points came in the final three minutes of the game, but it wasn't enough to push Iowa over the top on Thursday. "They brought a lot of guys any time I was driving to the basket or in the paint area," Murray said. His next points didn't come until the 10:20 mark of the second half.