IOWA CITY -- After their 73-61 loss to Illinois on Sunday, the Iowa men's basketball team has a tough road ahead in order to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. If they want any shot at earning a spot in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, they'll likely have to win two, or possibly three games, in this week's Big Ten Tournament in Minneapolis.
Though they faced a first-game exit at the hands of Ohio State last season, the Hawkeyes do have some quality experience in their back pocket going into this year's conference tournament. Three of the key players on this year's team were part of the magical 2022 tournament run that earned them their only Big Ten Tournament championship of the Fran McCaffery era -- Payton Sandfort, Patrick McCaffery and Tony Perkins.
"We had a talented roster with some veteran guys that knew and understood how to win," McCaffery said during his media availability on Tuesday. "We played the game the right way -- you know you're going to be in close games in tournament play. We knew how to play and win close games."
Perkins remembers that time similarly.
"Our togetherness [is what I remember most]," he said. "Everybody knew what they had to do on their end. Whether it was roles or communication. Just the small things, I would say. Going into it this year, I think we have to bring that as well. If we do, we'll be just fine."
Obviously, the roles for the aforementioned upperclassmen have changed over the last two seasons, and each of them have grown and matured. Both starters at the time, Perkins and Patrick had multiple games where they scored in double figures. Perkins shot 40 percent from three during the tournament, while Patrick shot 54.2 percent from the field during their tournament run.
Sandfort, just a freshman at the time, served in a reserve role. He contributed seven points per game and shot 60 percent from deep over the four games.
Keegan Murray was the engine that made that championship team go, but the returning trio was integral to the team'ssuccess, and they know the mold of a good team.
"They've been through it," McCaffery said. "They won the whole thing and then lost in the first round last year in a very close game. So, they kind of know and understand what it's going to be like. Hopefully they can convey some of that to the younger guys."
Perkins has been working to share that information with the younger members of this year's team.
"I've told them about the same things I went through my sophomore year," he said. "Just try to play the best that you can. At this point we've got to win a few games to even be in the position we want to be in. So, just take all the anger or stress you've got and try to put that towards the game. Go out there and play your heart out."
One of those younger guys Perkins has spoken to is Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Year, Owen Freeman who averaged 10.6 points and 6.5 rebounds per game this season.
"[The older players have told me] it's one game at a time and one practice at a time," Freeman said. "Focus on the next upcoming game and don't look too far ahead. Anything can happen. I'm just looking forward to going out there and competing and making a run with my guys."
In their first game at this year's tournament, seventh-seeded Iowa will once again face off with Ohio State, who comes in as the 10-seed. Earlier in the year, the Hawkeyes defeated the Buckeyes at home, 79-77. But it's a different OSU team this time around -- the Buckeyes have won five of their last six, including a home victory over #2 Purdue.
"They've had some young guys progress -- I think (Devin) Royal and (Scotty) Middleton are really good players," McCaffery said. "They've played more and they're not playing like freshman, so that's been impressive."
"They were losing, but they weren't getting drilled. They were losing close games, and now they're winning games, sometimes by a decent amount. I think you looked at that roster at the beginning of the season and felt like they were going to be one of the best teams in our league."
The growth of their younger players isn't the only significant change Ohio State has faced this season -- former head coach Chris Holtmann was fired several weeks ago. Jake Diebler is now the head man in Columbus.
"Jake has done a fabulous job, you've got to give him credit," McCaffery said. "The staff stayed together, and they haven't changed a whole lot in terms of what they're doing offensively and defensively."
"Those kids -- you look at Jamison Battle and Zed Key, these are veteran guys. Bruce Thornton is one of the better players in our league, and (Roddy) Gayle Jr. is tremendous. They have a really good roster. Everybody is seeing it now."
And it definitely won't be smooth sailing following the OSU matchup, assuming Iowa gets the second round victory. Should the Hawks win, they' would face #13 Illinois for the third time in the last month. By most metrics, Iowa will have to win at least both games for a shot at the tournament. A win over whoever they would face in the semifinals of the could seal the deal for an NCAA bid.
Perkins said that some of the players pay attention to the tournament talk more than others.
"I don't really pay attention, but once some of the guys talk about it, I just ask," he said. "Patrick and Carter (Kingsbury) talk about it. They just say 'Oh, we've got win this game, or we need this team to lose.'"
"I think it's important that someone pays attention to it. We need to know what position we're in. Right now, we know what position we're in and we know how we need to play. Of course, we want to win the whole thing, but if we don't, we at least want to get to the position where we can get to the tournament. I think we need to win two games."
Perkins said he and the team aren't thinking about it when they're on the court.
"Pregame, we'll probably say 'We need this one, blah blah blah,'" he said. "In my head, I just go out there like 'Shit, I'm trying to win regardless.' I don't really look at 'Oh, we've got to win this many games.' I'm trying to win this game."
No matter the mentality of Perkins or the rest of the Hawkeye squad, the road ahead will be determined by how things play out over the ensuing games -- and whether they'll spend the postseason in the NCAA Tournament or the NIT.
