Tag: Patrick McCaffery

Iowa Hawkeyes ranked No. 16 in 247Sports’ way-too-early top 23 for 2023

247Sports writer Kevin Flaherty ranked Iowa No. 16 in his way-too-early top 23 teams for 2023.

After a 26-10 season that included a Big Ten Tournament title, Iowa enters the offseason set to replace a superstar and the Big Ten’s all-time 3-pointers made leader. Sophomore forward [autotag]Keegan Murray[/autotag] recently announced his intention to enter the 2022 NBA draft and sixth-year senior guard [autotag]Jordan Bohannon[/autotag] has exhausted his eligibility.

Murray ranked fourth nationally and led all power-five players in scoring average with 23.5 points per game. He also finished with the nation’s most total points with 822. The Cedar Rapids, Iowa, native finished second in the Big Ten with his 8.7 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Bohannon finished his Hawkeye career with 455 made 3-pointers, which is the most in both Iowa program history and among all Big Ten players.

Iowa has also seen three defections into the transfer portal. Redshirt senior guard Austin Ash, junior guard Joe Toussaint and sophomore forward Josh Ogundele all announced their decisions to enter the transfer portal. Toussaint had the biggest impact on last season for the Hawkeyes, averaging 4.3 points, 3.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Ash averaged 2.9 points per game while playing an average of 4.4 minutes per contest. Ogundele averaged 1.5 points and 1.3 rebounds in 5.2 minutes per game.

While Iowa is certainly replacing star power and a steady hand in Toussaint, at least one national writer thinks highly of the Hawkeyes entering next season. 247Sports national college basketball writer Kevin Flaherty included Iowa in his way-too-early top 23 rankings for 2023. Flaherty ranked Iowa No. 16 and shared why he feels the Hawkeyes will still be a force in the 2022-23 season.

OK, so Keegan Murray is gone. But Kris Murray was a pretty salty option off the bench this year, and he’ll join forces with Patrick McCaffery, Tony Perkins and Payton Sandfort to field a team that should once again be among the Big Ten’s best. With Filip Rebraca announcing his return for his extra season of eligibility, Iowa returns five of its top eight from the Hawkeyes’ lineup in the Big Ten Tournament title game win over Purdue. – Flaherty, 247Sports.

The continued growth of [autotag]Kris Murray[/autotag] will be one of the biggest keys for Iowa next season. Murray averaged 9.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game in just 17.9 minutes of floor time on average. Patrick McCaffery averaged 10.5 points and 3.6 rebounds per game last season. Murray shot 38.7% from 3-point range and McCaffery shot 33% from deep. That’s a talented pair to build around and Iowa will likely look to add some players out of the transfer portal as well.

According to 247Sports, the Hawkeyes signed a pair of three-star guards in the 2022 signing class in point guard Dasonte Bowen out of Brewster Academy in New Hampshire and shooting guard Josh Dix from Abraham Lincoln High School in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

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Iowa ranked No. 4 in ESPN’s NCAA Tournament pain index

ESPN ranked Iowa No. 4 in its NCAA Tournament pain index.

Unfortunately, Iowa has been no stranger to NCAA Tournament heartbreak. The latest edition came in the Hawkeyes’ first-round matchup in the Midwest region against the 12th-seeded Richmond Spiders in a 67-63 loss on March 17.

Richmond guard Jacob Gilyard knocked down 4-of-7 3-pointers and scored 24 points to lead the Spiders’ upset win. Richmond forwards Tyler Burton and Nathan Cayo added 18 and 15 points, respectively. Iowa entered March Madness having won the Big Ten tournament title over Purdue and the Hawkeyes were being talked about as one of the teams that could unseat No. 1 seed Kansas in the Midwest region.

Instead, Iowa sophomore forward Keegan Murray’s 21 points and nine rebounds weren’t enough to push the Hawkeyes past the Spiders. Iowa sophomore forward Patrick McCaffery connected on four 3-point tries and added 18 points, but the Hawkeyes didn’t have another double-figure scorer outside of those two.

As a result, Iowa’s dubious streak of having not reached a Sweet 16 since 1999 continued. Ahead of Monday night’s national championship game, ESPN put together its NCAA Tournament pain index and Iowa ranked No. 4 among teams who have been eliminated.

Iowa fans who haven’t seen a trip to the second weekend since 1999 never come in arrogant about the Hawkeyes’ chances in the NCAA tournament, but had to be a bit more hopeful than usual entering a first-round matchup with Richmond. After all, this team had been playing some of the best basketball in the country as the event began, including a thrilling run to the Big Ten tournament championship, with an All-American and future lottery pick in Keegan Murray leading the way. Maybe, just maybe …

But Richmond was another conference tourney champ looking to keep the good times rolling, and it rode Jacob Gilyard (24 points, 6 assists) and some uncharacteristically poor Hawkeyes offense (including 6-of-29 from 3) to a classic 12-over-5 upset. – ESPN.

Given how the Hawkeyes were playing entering the NCAA Tournament and the type of season that Keegan Murray had, there’s plenty of sting with this latest March Madness exit. The fact that it comes on the heels of Iowa having lost as a No. 2 seed with the national player of the year in Luka Garza to Oregon in the tournament’s second round last year only adds to the frustration.

If it’s any solace, Iowa actually wasn’t the Big Ten team ranked the highest on the pain index. That distinction was awarded to Purdue, who lost in the Sweet 16 to cinderella Saint Peter’s. Thanks to the Peacocks’ 67-64 win over Purdue in the Sweet 16, Saint Peter’s became the first No. 15 seed to ever advance to the Elite Eight. Then, Saint Peter’s was promptly routed by North Carolina, 69-49. That can’t make Boilermaker fans feel any better.

Another victim of Saint Peter’s, the Kentucky Wildcats, checked in at No. 2 on ESPN’s pain index. Duke took home the ultimate pain index crown, though. According to this ESPN list, nothing stings more than losing to an archrival in the Final Four. The fact that the Tar Heels ended legendary Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s career with a loss in his final home game and then sent he and his team packing in the Final Four created quite the cocktail of misery for Duke fans.

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Iowa’s Keegan Murray, Jordan Bohannon preview first round NCAA Tournament matchup versus Richmond

Iowa star Keegan Murray previewed the challenge that the Richmond Spiders present in the NCAA Tournament’s first round.

After winning nine of their past 10 games, Iowa (26-9, 12-8 Big Ten) enters the NCAA Tournament with all sorts of momentum. That stretch included four wins in four days to capture the program’s third Big Ten Tournament championship after a 75-66 win over Purdue.

Now, the Hawkeyes are gearing up to tip off as the No. 5 seed in the Midwest region against 12th-seeded Richmond. Richmond also won its conference tournament championship, upsetting Davidson in the Atlantic 10 Tournament championship game, 64-62.

Iowa sophomore forward Keegan Murray met with reporters ahead of the Hawkeyes’ first round matchup to preview what type of challenge Richmond will bring to the table inside of KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y.

“Yeah, I think they’re a really experienced team. They have a lot of seniors on their team, so that helps them a lot going into March, but they’re a team that plays really well together. They share the ball really well. They have a couple good players, and I feel like their team is really, their experience helps a lot, and that’s what you need and that’s how they made their run in their tournament as a six seed. So, yeah, for us it’s full hands on deck because we know that they’re a really good team,” Murray said.

Richmond brings a wealth of experience to the table. The Spiders’ starting five features a sixth-year player in forward Grant Golden and a pair of fifth-year players in guard Jacob Gilyard and forward Nathan Cayo. Nick Sherod is another sixth-year Richmond guard that comes off the bench for the Spiders.

Iowa redshirt senior guard Jordan Bohannon appreciates the Spiders’ experience and knows that’s a big part of what makes Richmond dangerous.

“I have to give a lot of credit to this Richmond team. They have a lot of those guys that brought all these guys back and decided they wanted to do something special this year, and they’re one of the most experienced teams, very skilled. They’re really tough to guard. I can’t say enough good things about that,” Bohannon said.

Iowa head men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery can’t say enough positive things about Richmond either. He noted that Richmond’s players returning is similar to Bohannon’s return for the Hawkeyes. It’s all about why a player chose to return and make use of the COVID eligibility year to come back.

“I think it says a lot about Chris (Mooney) and how he’s built that program. I will say this. I wish I could come back for a sixth year. It’s something that I think was strange at first for the guy. I remember talking to Jordan about it in the beginning, you know, because he had graduated and he had in his mind kind of moved on. We had senior night and celebrated senior night. Wait a minute, I can come back. How great would that be?

“I think the important thing for him—and I’m sure it’s the same for the Richmond guys—okay, if we’re coming back, we’re coming back for a reason, and I think that’s what we saw. Two teams that won the tournament championship and get to play in this tournament, so I’m happy for all of them,” McCaffery said.

To put Richmond’s experience in perspective, the Spiders’ Gilyard and Golden have both eclipsed the 2,000 career points mark, while Cayo and Sherod have each eclipsed 1,350 career points. Burton is right on the doorstep of being a career 1,000-point scorer with 984 points thus far in his career.

McCaffery was asked if he’d seen a team with that type of experience and scoring balance.

“No, I don’t remember any. There may have been. We did play a number of teams this year that had a lot of seniors. You’re seeing that more and more. Seven of your top nine, eight of your top ten are either red shirt juniors, which makes them four-year players or beyond, but I think the point that you’re making is these guys were all incredibly productive 1,000 point scorers, so that gives them a lot of weapons, and I think that that has been proven, especially when they come down the stretch,” McCaffery said.

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Iowa Hawkeyes men’s basketball NCAA Tournament history

Fifth-seeded Iowa tips off against No. 12 seed Richmond on Thursday. What does the rest of Iowa’s NCAA Tournament history look like?

Iowa (26-9, 12-8 Big Ten) is back into the NCAA Tournament after punching its ticket with a Big Ten Tournament championship win over Purdue, 75-66. The fifth-seeded Hawkeyes will face No. 12 seed Richmond (23-12, 10-8 Atlantic 10) in the NCAA Tournament’s first round from the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y.

After winning four games in four days to capture the Big Ten Tournament title, Iowa has emerged as a trendy pick to perhaps come out of the Midwest region and reach the Final Four. As far as those expectations go, Iowa head men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery knows the Hawkeyes can’t get ahead of themselves.

“The only way we handle that is to specifically focus on the next game and not look too far ahead or not think too much about all of the talk around what’s possible. I think you have to take care of the present. That’s what we’re trying to do,” McCaffery said to reporters ahead of Iowa’s NCAA Tournament date versus Richmond.

With sophomore forward Keegan Murray leading the way, Iowa has a chance to make a serious run in this year’s edition of March Madness. Murray was recently named first-team All-America by the Associated Press after a season in which he has averaged 23.6 points per game.

“For me, it was really just putting my head down and not listening to what anyone had to say about me. I feel like if I listened to other people’s opinions, I wouldn’t be here right now. For me and my brother, we really just worked in silence. We worked out with each other a lot and got each other better, and I think that was one of the key things that allowed me to have my run this year and also last year, my ascension. I just credit the hard work and the people that have been around me and stuck with me,” Murray said of his breakout season.

Iowa certainly hopes it’s a memorable 28th NCAA Tournament appearance. What has the rest of Iowa’s NCAA Tournament history looked like? Here’s the full history.

Iowa vs. Richmond: Stream, injury report, broadcast info for Thursday

Iowa rolls into the NCAA Tournament off a Big Ten Tournament championship. Here’s broadcast info for the Hawkeyes’ date versus Richmond.

Iowa (26-9, 12-8 Big Ten) rolls into the NCAA Tournament after capturing the program’s first Big Ten Tournament title since 2006 after downing Purdue, 75-66, in the championship game. It was the third tournament title in program history and it capped off an incredible run to the crown.

In the process, the Hawkeyes became the only school to win a Big Ten Tournament championship twice by winning four games in four days. Iowa accomplished that same feat in 2001 when it won the tournament title as the league’s No. 6 seed.

Sophomore forward Keegan Murray was named the Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player after averaging 25.7 points per game on 55.8 percent field goal shooting. Murray made 8-of-10 3-point attempts in Iowa’s 80-77 semifinal win over Indiana and finished the tournament shooting a blistering 53.8 percent on 3-pointers.

Murray was joined on the Big Ten’s All-Tournament Team by redshirt senior guard Jordan Bohannon. Bohannon averaged 13 points per game and connected on 43.3 percent of his 3-point tries in the Big Ten Tournament.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever been more proud of a team than this group, how they worked and sacrificed and incredible unselfishness. But I have to say we played a tremendous team today, incredibly well-coached team who had a great year and anything short of the effort that we put forth today, you know, we would not have won. They were committed to the game plan, they were committed to each other, and there’s no better feeling as a coach than to watch them celebrate the way they were able to celebrate after the game for the Big Ten championship,” Iowa head men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery said after the Hawkeyes’ win over Purdue.

Now, Iowa looks to keep the momentum going as the No. 5 seed in the Midwest Region. The Hawkeyes are set to battle Richmond (23-12, 10-8 Atlantic 10), who earned the No. 12 seed after topping Davidson, 64-62, in the Atlantic 10 Tournament championship game.

Here’s when you should tune in to see the game:

  • Date: March 17
  • Time: 2:10 p.m. CT
  • TV Channel: truTV
  • Live Stream: fuboTV (watch here)

Iowa vs. Richmond injury report:

The great news is that both teams enter the NCAA Tournament with a good bill of health. Neither Iowa or Richmond have any injuries to report according to the USA TODAY Sports injury database.

Players to watch:

Iowa:

  • Sophomore forward, Keegan Murray: 23.6 points per game, 8.6 rebounds per game, 2.0 blocks per game, 55.5 percent field goal shooting, 40.5 percent 3-point shooting
  • Redshirt senior guard, Jordan Bohannon: 11.1 points per game, 1.8 assists per game, 38.9 percent field goal shooting, 38.5 percent 3-point shooting, 88.9 percent free throw shooting
  • Redshirt sophomore forward, Patrick McCaffery: 10.3 points per game, 3.6 rebounds per game, 1.6 assists per game, 42.2 percent field goal shooting, 31.2 percent 3-point shooting
  • Sophomore forward, Kris Murray: 9.9 points per game, 4.2 rebounds per game, 48.6 percent field goal shooting, 40.6 percent 3-point shooting

Richmond:

  • Junior forward, Tyler Burton: 16.3 points per game, 7.7 rebounds per game, 46.7 percent field goal shooting, 37.7 percent 3-point shooting
  • Senior forward, Grant Golden: 14.1 points per game, 6.1 rebounds per game, 2.8 assists per game, 51.5 percent field goal shooting
  • Senior guard, Jacob Gilyard: 13.3 points per game, 3.4 rebounds per game, 5.4 assists per game, 36.4 percent 3-point shooting