Iowa basketball head coach Fran McCaffery knows how he feels about his future with the Hawkeyes. Whether or not Iowa Athletic Director Beth Goetz feels the same way is a completely different story all together.
For now, though, as Iowa struggles through a 15-14 season that has the Hawkeyes perilously close to missing out on the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament, McCaffery has put his stake in the sand.
Addressing the media on Tuesday, the long-time Iowa head coach made it clear that he envisions a future in Iowa City. He’s not giving up on this program just yet.
“I’m fully committed to the program, to the players,” McCaffery told reporters, according to Tyler Tachman of the Des Moines Register. “I have no intention of moving on. I just came to work today, tried to figure out how we can beat Michigan State.”
In McCaffery’s statement lies the problem for Iowa, though. He’s at work trying to figure out how to beat a No. 8-ranked Michigan State team that the Hawkeyes have almost no chance to beat — even at Carver-Hawkeye arena.
There was a time, not all that long ago, when Iowa could punch with the best in the Big Ten. At the very least, the Hawkeyes were competitive.
McCaffery became head coach in 2010 and by his fourth year he had Iowa as a March Madness mainstay. The Hawkeyes were ranked as high as No. 10 in the AP Top 25 in 2013-14 and even as high as No. 3 overall in 2015-16.
McCaffery took the Hawkeyes to three-straight tournaments from 2013-14 to 2015-16. They went back again in 2018-19 and then had a run of three-straight again from 2020-21 to 2022-23. The Hawkeyes even won the Big Ten Tournament in that span.
The problem is, those stretches feel like long ago now that Iowa is just 6-12 against Big Ten opponents this season. The good times are but foggy memories as the Hawkeyes have lost 10 out of their last 13 and they’re almost assuredly — barring a miracle — heading for another loss on Thursday against Michigan State.
After MSU, there’s a tough game at Nebraska on March 9, so there’s a real chance Iowa finishes 15-16 with a 6-14 record in the Big Ten. There’s a very real chance the Hawkeyes don’t even get a chance to play in Indianapolis, and it’s worth noting that winning the Big Ten tourney is the only way the Hawkeyes will play in March Madness this year.
It’s bleak right now for Iowa. Combine this season’s struggles with Iowa’s mediocre 19-15 record last season. Then throw in the first-round loss to Auburn in the 2023 NCAA Tournament…and it seems as if all the magic has left McCaffery’s sails.
He may not believe so, but what McCaffery believes may not matter for much longer in Iowa City.
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