Hawkeyes drop ball when it comes to B1G title

Tuesday night, the Iowa men's basketball program would have had its most-important game ever in Carver-Hawkeye Arena had the Hawkeyes won at Ohio State Sunday 

The arena, by the way, opened in 1983.

It's Indiana at Iowa Tuesday. There is still a mathematical path for the Hawkeyes to get a share of the Big Ten regular-season championship if it defeats the Hoosiers. But, it requires not only that the 11-5 Hawkeyes beat 13-3 Indiana and win at Michigan Saturday night, but that Indiana stumbles at home against Maryland next Sunday.

It seems more based in fantasy than reality at this moment, doesn't it?

Since Iowa hasn't gotten a piece of the Big Ten crown — we're talking regular-season titles here, the ones that matter most — since 1979, and Iowa has rarely been in shouting distance of the title in the season's final week, Tuesday's win-or-die game would have really been something in terms of atmosphere. Especially with it being Seniors Night and four senior starters getting recognized.

The Hawkeyes froze offensively in the final minutes at Penn State on Feb. 17. They froze in the last six minutes at home against Wisconsin last Wednesday. They froze in the final four minutes in their 68-64 loss at Ohio State Sunday.

It's a team that peaked three weeks ago.

I've seen too much college basketball (and you probably have, too) to think this disqualifies the Hawkeyes from bouncing back and being a very tough out in the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments. But barring a set of circumstances that would make for a book that would require multiple printings in Iowa, the Hawkeyes aren't going to get their first Big Ten regular-season title since 1979.

It once seemed not only possible, but bordered on likely. Now? Well, let's just be kind and call it unlikely.

Even if Iowa bounces off the carpet and handles Indiana and Michigan this week — tough duty, to say the least — you still need Maryland to upset Indiana at what would be a wild-and-crazy Assembly Hall Sunday.

Well, it ain't over till it's over. But Iowa needed to win Sunday against a very mortal Ohio State team. It was two very mortal teams, as it turns out.