Iowa Basketball: 2020-21 season preview for the Hawkeyes

Season Outlook

Again, the Hawkeyes are legitimate.  They feature one of the best starting groups in Div. I and have the top player in college basketball in Luka Garza.  Their offense – with a few exceptions last season – is stellar, and they have proven they can beat just about anyone in the Big Ten, owning wins last year over 10 of the other 13 programs in the league.

Iowa has not been in this position so early in the season under McCaffery, and time will only tell how they handle the national expectations.  Their history of overachieving before melting down has not presented the most gracious reputation for the Hawkeyes – but this would be the perfect opportunity to finally end that.

They will make the NCAA Tournament – there is too much talent in the five-man lineup to not – but there is no guarantee on how far this team can go.  They have the manpower to win a national title, but they have issues that could find them on the wrong side of an upset in the opening round.

There is definitely potential for Iowa to fix its bench issues and we just do not realize it – we will not know until the season rolls around, obviously.  But their defensive problems are enough cause for concern, and with their same core group returning from last year, there is a great possibility that those issues rear their heads again.

The Big Ten can only be summarized as a bloodbath.  All but Northwestern and Nebraska had at least eight wins in conference last season.  The regular-season champions – Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Maryland – all had six conference losses.  That is the highest number of losses of any regular-season champion last season.

Iowa will lose a few Big Ten games next year – including, undoubtedly, one or two they should not drop – but showcasing consistency and the ability to bounce back would go a long way in cementing this team’s legitimacy.  That is something none of Fran McCaffery’s ranked teams have been able to pull off, but this team, with its talent, is absolutely capable.

But also, no matter the outcome, this team will receive national attention and will be a joy to watch purely because of Luka Garza.  He has the potential of setting the first storied senior campaign of the decade, and I have no doubt that he will do just that.

This could be a long, disappointing season for the Hawkeyes – or it could be the greatest season in Iowa basketball history.  It is perfectly reasonable to expect both, and given Iowa’s recent tendency to fluctuate between success and failure, it is impossible to accurately predict what will happen until their season begins.

Until then, however, Iowa fans should strap in. This season will be a tumultuous one comprised of many emotions, but college basketball fans should watch and enjoy Luka Garza while we have him for one last go-around.  In addition to being the best in the league, he could just potentially lay the groundwork needed to win a national championship in 2021.