Iowa Hawkeyes
Big Ten (20-11, 11-9)
Despite some major injuries and a few key departures from last year’s NCAA Tournament team, Iowa has had a very successful 2019-2020 campaign. The Hawkeyes finished 11-9 in the very, very tough Big Ten. The lack of experience, especially in the backcourt, could prove problematic in March, but Iowa has been able to overcome that consistently throughout the season.
Big Wins: 12/21 vs Cincinnati (77-70), 1/10 Maryland (67-49), 1/27 Wisconsin (68-62)
Bad Losses: 11/11 DePaul (78-93), 1/7 at Nebraska (70-76), 3/3 Purdue (68-77)
Coach: Fran McCaffery
Why They Can Surprise:
Luke Garza has had a superb junior campaign. He was asked to take over the team and he certainly lived up to that, averaging 23.9 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks. The 6-11 center is dangerous from beyond the arc as well and that ability to stretch the defense helps open up the rest of the offense. And this is an Iowa team that will find Garza and create open looks for other teammates as well. Joe Toussaint, CJ Fredrick and Connor McCaffery all average at least 2.8 assists per game and the team as a whole ranks sixth in the nation in assists per game with 17.4.
Why They Can Disappoint:
Joe Wieskamp has been a consistent secondary scorer behind Garza, but Iowa will need another consistent threat if they are going to make a deep tournament run. Fredrick has been very consistent shooting the ball and connects on 46.1 percent of his attempts from long range, but he can disappear at times as well. Toussaint and McCaffery are also options on the perimeter and Ryan Kriener is a decent option in the frontcourt as well. However, none of them have been consistent scoring threats and quite a few opponents will be able to concentrate on containing Garza and make somebody else beat them.
Probable Starters:
Joe Toussaint, Freshman, Guard, 6.5 ppg, 2.9 apg
Connor McCaffery, Sophomore, Guard, 6.2 ppg, 4.0 apg, 4.0 rpg
Joe Wieskamp, Sophomore, Guard, 14.0 ppg, 1.6 apg, 6.1 rpg
CJ Fredrick, Freshman, Guard, 10.2 ppg, 2.8 apg
Luke Garza, Junior, Center, 23.9 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 1.8 bpg
Key Role Players:
Ryan Kriener, Senior, Forward, 7.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg
Cordell Pemsl, Junior, Forward, 2.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg
Bakari Evelyn, Senior, Guard, 3.7 ppg, 2.0 apg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 77.7 (30th in nation, 1st in conference)
Scoring Defense: 72.3 (257, 13)
Field-Goal Percentage: 45.1 (107, 3)
Field-Goal Defense: 43.0 (184, 13)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 7.9 (112, 7)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 34.7 (102, 4)
Free-Throw Percentage: 75.0 (54, 4)
Rebound Margin: 2.2 (117, 9)
Assists Per Game: 17.4 (6, 2)
Turnovers Per Game: 12.1 (84, 9)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
| 2019 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Cincinnati |
| 2019 | NCAA | Round of 32 loss to Tennessee |
| 2017 | NIT | First Round win over South Dakota |
| 2017 | NIT | Second Round loss to TCU |
| 2016 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Temple |
| 2016 | NCAA | Round of 32 loss to Villanova |
| 2015 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Davidson |
| 2015 | NCAA | Round of 32 loss to Gonzaga |
| 2014 | NCAA | Opening Round loss to Tennessee |
| 2013 | NIT | First Round win over Indiana State |
| 2013 | NIT | Second Round win over Stony Brook |
| 2013 | NIT | Quarterfinal win over Virginia |
| 2013 | NIT | Semifinal win over Maryland |
| 2013 | NIT | Final loss to Baylor |
| 2012 | NIT | First Round win over Dayton |
| 2012 | NIT | Second Round loss to Oregon |
| 2006 | NCAA | Round of 64 loss to Northwestern State |
| 2005 | NCAA | Round of 64 loss to Cincinnati |
| 2004 | NIT | First Round loss to Saint Louis |
| 2003 | NIT | Opening Round win over Valparaiso |
| 2003 | NIT | First Round win over Iowa State |
| 2003 | NIT | Second Round loss to Georgia Tech |
| 2002 | NIT | First Round loss to LSU |
*all team stats through 3/8
