Tip-off time: Can Hawkeye men basketballers grab Iowa fans’ hearts?

IOWA CITY — The 5-month-long march to mid-March starts Tuesday night for the Iowa men’s basketball team,

Tuesday’s 7 p.m. home game against North Dakota won’t be on standard television (it’s on Big Ten+ streaming). The Hawkeyes hope to go national for their last game of the season, and that doesn’t mean the National Invitation Tournament.

In between now and the hoped-for NCAA tourney, there are many games, many things to be learned. Can the Hawkeyes spend time in Associated Press’ Top 25 for the sixth-straight season? Will they have a fifth-consecutive winning record in the Big Ten?

Will any or all of Iowa’s four freshmen make substantial contributions? Can senior transfer Ben Krikke approach the 19.4 points he averaged last season for Valparaiso, or is that even necessary with veterans like Tony Perkins and Payton Sandfort surrounding him?

Can the Hawkeyes reach the NCAA tourney for the fifth-straight time one has been held? Will they win over ticket-buyers before March rolls around?

The Iowa women’s team is sold out for 2023-24. The men’s team is the now one that has to reach out and win over the hearts of fans. Preseason magazines and such don’t have the Hawkeyes slotted high in their Big Ten rankings.

“I can sit here in front of you and curse out every single person who made (a prediction),” senior forward Patrick McCaffery said, “but I’d rather just go out on the floor and let them feel stupid themselves.”

It’s McCaffery’s fifth season in the program. His team doesn’t have the bounce from a big NCAA tournament performance like the Hawkeye women. But he has experienced a Big Ten tournament title and a lot of wins. He said he gets why there may be public hesitance to expect similar things this season.

“We do have some unproven people,” he said. “I understand why fans would be skeptical. I know we’re going to have a good team, but I understand why people on the outside might not see it that way.

“I’m very confident in my teammates and myself, my coaches to put together good game plans and for us to produce on the floor.”

Iowa has, at minimum, a 10-player rotation to start this season. Four freshmen are included, including Illinois Mr. Basketball Brock Harding and Iowa Mr. Basketball Pryce Sandfort.

Sophomore Dasonte Bowen is getting the start at point guard, but classmate Josh Dix is on a par with Bowen and both figure to have increased roles this season.

“ (Head coach Fran McCaffery) let us know we’re going to play around the same amount regardless of the position, a lot of minutes,” Bowen said.

Someone else who may loom large: The aforementioned Patrick McCaffery, who started 14 games and averaged 9.8 points last season, which was interrupted for him by anxiety issues.

“I want to see him play like I think he would expect to play and like I would expect him to play as a fifth-year senior,” said Fran McCaffery.

“I want to see him be a leader. I want to see him in the best shape of his life and be able to compete defensively, and in particular, be able to make plays when the game’s on the line.”

The younger McCaffery said his goals for the season are “to continue the standard and tradition we’ve set here over my time here.

“I want to be a team that competes, that is in the hunt for the Big Ten championship … and then obviously a team that makes the NCAA tournament, hopefully makes a run in the NCAA tournament.”

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