Mike Hlas

At least four of the state of Iowa’s Division I basketball teams head to the NCAA tournament, and there isn’t a one of them that hasn’t already done big things

To paraphrase Jimmy Dugan, the National Invitation Tournament isn’t supposed to be fun. If it were fun, everyone would want to be in it.

Iowa’s NIT fate was sealed Thursday when it dropped to 18-14 after dropping a 90-78 decision to Ohio State at the Big Ten tournament in Target Center.

The Iowa Hawkeyes lost their second-round Big Ten men’s basketball tournament game to Ohio State, 90-78. They never led, and didn’t get closer than eight points in the final nine minutes.

The number of teams in the hunt for automatic berths in the NCAA men’s basketball tournamenthat has shrunk from 362 to 137.

The number of teams in the hunt for automatic berths in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament has shrunk from 362 to 160.

Iowa’s Big Ten tournament opener against Ohio State on Thursday in Minneapolis is the definition of a must-win, and that’s to get to a probable must-win Friday against Illinois.

Previewing Thursday’s Big Ten men’s basketball tournament second-round game between Iowa and Ohio State at Target Center in Minneapolis, where Hawkeye basketball teams are 6-0 over the last 53 weeks.

In the meantime, the number of teams in the hunt for automatic berths in the NCAA men’s basketball tournamenthat has shrunk from 362 to 199.

Iowa 6-foot-10 freshman Owen Freeman has done more than average double-digits in scoring in securing Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors, and the sky may be the limit.

Freeman was the conference’s Freshman of the Week nine times. Also, Hawkeye guard Tony Perkins (2nd-team) and forward Payton Sandfort (3rd-team) are got All-Big Ten recognition. .

Tim Legler, normally in the role of an NBA analyst for ESPN, was put to use by SportsCenter host Scott Van Pelt Sunday night to discuss Iowa’s Caitlin Clark.

Hawkeyes finish 10-10 in the Big Ten, are No. 7 seed and will play hot Ohio State in Thursday’s second round of the Big Ten tournament

Iowa has played its best basketball of the season over its last five games. With a win Sunday night, the Hawkeyes should close in on a spot in the NCAA tournament.

Ben Krikke, Patrick McCaffery and Tony Perkins have combined to score over 4,000 points at Iowa, and didn’t buckle when an NCAA tournament berth seemed highly unlikely a few weeks ago.