Iowa Basketball: 2021-22 season preview and outlook for Hawkeyes

Season Outlook

It is no secret that the Hawkeyes were one of the most highly anticipated teams of 2020-21 – and, arguably, one of the most disappointing, having showcased the unanimous, consensus National Player of the Year in Luka Garza but being forced out of the NCAA Tournament by an offensive onslaught from Oregon.

This year, however, the Hawkeyes enter the season with minimal expectations, with the exception of being a team that will hang around the middle of the Big Ten and compete for an at-large berth into March Madness – and Iowa has a proven group of players that can realistically accomplish that.

Despite there being no Garza, Joe Wieskamp, or CJ Fredrick spearheading the operations this year, the sharpshooting of Jordan Bohannon and the playmaking of the McCaffery brothers and Toussaint will give the Hawkeyes a solid foundation that should keep Iowa competitive against a handful of Big Ten teams that are projected to finish below them – as well as those expected to float around the same middle-of-the-pack range.

What separates Iowa from the rest of the upper Big Ten is the lack of proven post play, and – again – the development of Keegan Murray and Filip Rebraca will determine just how far and effective the Hawkeyes will truly be on the national level.  The results against Slippery Rock were optimistic, but it was meant to be that way – and so should be the first six games of Iowa’s 2021-22 schedule.

That six-game buffer before the back-to-back-to-back battles against Virginia, Purdue, and Illinois will be crucial for Murray, Rebraca, and even Riley Mulvey – in addition to Peyton Sandfort, Ahron Ulis, and Tony Perkins, all of whom will need to find their niche in the starting lineup and on the bench and become significant contributors, particularly if the Hawkeyes hope to meet – and even surpass – expectations this year.

November 9th’s season-opener with Longwood, in addition to meetings with UMKC and North Carolina Central, will help offer more of an insight at just how effective Rebraca, Sandfort, and Mulvey will be for the Hawkeyes – and if anyone else will ultimately step up and fill any leftover offensive and defensive gaps for a sneakily dangerous Iowa team.