NEW YORK – They came into the game expecting a hard-fought contest – and one they could pull out. They were on a roll. After playing a less than spectacular first half they still were in a two-possession game. They got the deficit to 29-28 early in the second half.
Then the opposition went on a run never looking back.
For Iowa the 74-54 defeat in the NIT final was bitter. Because they had been playing well adding to it was the fact Baylor ran away and turned an expected close contest into a rout.
Looking beyond the bitter disappointment at the final buzzer, there was a lot for Iowa to be proud of and a lot to look forward to. In post-game interviews Iowa coach Fran McCaffery admitted his team felt the immediate hurt after walking off the floor on the short end of the score. “They are upset,” McCaffery said later. “They know they didn’t play well, but I tried to take it off them a bit saying, look I did not do a good enough job.”
McCaffery has done nothing short of an outstanding job coming to Iowa City following a great run at Siena. His first year at Iowa brought a 11-20 record in a rebuilding situation. Last year saw significant progress as Iowa earned an NIT bid and defeated Dayton in the first round before being eliminated by Oregon. The final record was 18-17. This past season, the Hawkeyes dropped some tough conference games but still finished 9-9 (seven losses by four points or less) in the Big Ten. The 21-12 record brought another NIT bid.
One insider close to the program said, “this team was in a good frame of mind getting the NIT bid. They saw it as an opportunity and ran with it. If next year’s team were on the bubble and got an NIT bid their might be disappointment.”
The point is, Iowa is young and even better days are ahead. Baylor coach Scott Drew was being more than gracious saying, “Iowa will be a great team.” The Hawkeyes will lose only one starter, senior guard Eric May, who was an excellent team leader. Four starters return, including the top two scorers, 6-6 junior guard Roy Devyn Marble, an All-NIT selection, and 6-9 sophomore Aaron White. Adam Woodbury, a 7-1 freshman center, should improve with added strength and experience.
“Right now we have to take a little break,” McCaffery said. “It’s been a long season, about seven months. They have to get away from it and be a student and enjoy that.” In the meantime the Iowa staff will put together individual workout plans for the returning players. Iowa will have extra practice with an overseas trip planned. McCaffery admits there is something special on the horizon. “We will enter next season with a tremendous focus of what we are capable of,” the coach said. “We also are aware of some of the things we didn’t do and have to go out and do.”
The season brought 25 wins and notable achievements. “We played (in the NIT) in front of some packed houses,” McCaffery said. “We won a big time road game (at Virginia in the quarterfinals) and came to New York, beating a good team and losing to a good one as well. We will learn from the experience. It can only make us better.”
