BIRMINGHAM -- In a season with dizzying highs and humbling lows, Iowa's senior leadership just may be the key to putting together a successful NCAA tourney run.
Sixth-year seniors Filip Rebraca, 25, and Connor McCaffery, 24, understand their careers are nearing an end, and that urgency stays with them as they prepare for the tournament.
"It could be one of my last games as a Hawkeye, and one of the last games in my college career," Rebraca said. "I've got to still stay focused, because if we win I feel like we can make a run. So just executing the game plan and having a business-like approach is key."
That "business-like approach" is a phrase head coach Fran McCaffery has leaned on often this season, especially as the postseason has approached, but it's also impossible to ignore the finality of this moment for the two seniors.
"Last year I wasn't sure if I was going to come back or not," Connor McCaffery said. "It all hit me at once after last year because I didn't really think about that kind of stuff. So it ended up not being great for me. This year I try to deal with it better, look big-picture throughout the entire season."
This is Iowa's fifth-straight season qualifying for the NCAA tournament (including the canceled 2020 tournament), a stretch matched only twice in program history and never surpassed. With that consistency, it's easy to take another bid for granted. But the fact that the Hawkeyes are in the tournament at all is a testament to the seniors' leadership, according to Fran McCaffery.
"it's absolutely critical that those guys led the way they did," McCaffery said. "Coaching is important but leadership from your seniors, from Connor and Filip, there's just no substitute for that."
For a season that nearly went sideways on multiple occasions, and with few respites to be found in Big Ten play, McCaffery found himself leaning on his seniors to keep the team focused.
"It's hard to win on the road in any league, but in our league it's really difficult. And the ability to stay the course and to remain professional and business-like in your approach every night in this league is not going to happen unless you have that kind of leadership."
The task of keeping teammates focused and confident isn't something this team could take for granted, either.
Patrick McCaffery missed six games attending to the effects of his battle with anxiety, and hasn't been in the starting lineup since returning. Fran McCaffery said Wednesday that Patrick has indeed been adjusting his way back into the rotation.
"He had been practicing well," Fran McCaffery said. "I don't think when he first came back that he did have his legs underneath him. He wasn't the same. But he's really stepped up in the last couple weeks and played very well."
Iowa has also witnessed ebbs and flows from most of its key contributors. Sophomore Payton Sandfort won Sixth Man of the Year in the Big Ten and reached 20+ points five times this season, but also missed his first 19 shots in the Big Ten season, including a disastrous 0-9 performance at Nebraska in just nine minutes of play.
Likewise, junior guard Tony Perkins had one of the biggest home/road discrepancies in production all season before erupting for 23 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists in a dominant performance at Indiana in Iowa's final true road game of the year.
"Especially with your young guys, when you need them to contribute the way that they have, it's the communication (with senior players), not only on the court as it's happening in real time, but in the locker room, after a tough loss, on the bus, on the plane," Fran McCaffery said. "Having those kind of conversations from someone other than the coaching staff is what develops confidence. And that's the only way a young guy is going to produce at this level."
Of course, it's one thing to recognize the moment and the importance, but there's another team on the court on Thursday, and Auburn will be gunning for its own ticket to keep its up-and-down season alive.
"They run really good stuff, Fran McCaffery said. "They execute well at the half-court level, they can play fast, they can grind it at halfcourt if they want to. But I think ultimately they defend, they are going to put pressure on the ball, they are going to challenge you on your actions. And then also fight you on the glass."
"They really fly at shooters, so we definitely need to adjust throughout the game," Connor McCaffery said. "But they really get up in your space, they are athletic, they are fast. Just going to need to be a disciplined game, try to not let them speed us up."
It is, of course, easier to talk about playing with discipline than to do it in the moment, and there's no bigger stage in college basketball than the NCAA Tournament, no brighter lights.
But whether it's because of his seniors' leadership, the experience of a Big Ten schedule or the character of the team as a whole, Fran McCaffery doesn't seem concerned about how Iowa will respond to this moment.
"We lost quite a bit [from previous seasons]," McCaffery said. "And other people had to step up in different roles, and they did that. I thought the guys were locked in from day one. I thought they really came together, our experienced guys and our younger guys. Great attitude in the locker room. And it's a fun team to coach."
All of that may or may not translate to any wins in this year's tournament. It'll take talent, poise, and — for a jump-shooting team like the Hawkeyes — some kindness from the Legacy Arena rims here in Birmingham. But with leaders like Rebraca and Connor McCaffery, there's no question the team is in the right pairs of hands.
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