The Iowa Hawkeyes men’s basketball team is winning games, but it has not come without stress and anxious moments at the end of games. The latest adventure saw Iowa nearly blow a lead to USC and lose late, only to see Bennett Stirtz make two late free throws to save the day and collect another Big Ten win.
On one hand, Iowa is battle-tested and embraces close games. On the other hand, it shows some lack of closing ability and creates some questions about how long the Hawkeyes can play with fire before they get burned. It sets up an intriguing dynamic for Ben McCollum’s team as the NCAA Tournament grows closer each day.
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ESPN looked into 47 teams in college basketball and ranked them in tiers from being a Cinderella story to a bona fide national title contender. In between, they have Final Four contenders, Sweet 16 threats, Final Four or first-round exits, and teams that could win a game.
The Hawkeyes were put into the category of teams that could win a game due to the simple fact that Bennett Stirtz is their point guard.
This is a deep group, but all of these teams have shown flashes of being able to win a game in the NCAA tournament — even if some find themselves sweating on Selection Sunday.
Some have already shown they can beat high-level teams on a given night: Auburn won at Florida over the weekend and has wins over Arkansas and St. John’s. Wisconsin handed Michigan its lone loss thus far, in Ann Arbor. UCLA has been mostly inconsistent, especially against good teams, but beat Purdue and has won four of five entering the week. And Georgia blew out Arkansas.
Others have elite players who are good enough to carry them to a win: Iowa has Bennett Stirtz, NC State has Darrion Williams. Ohio State has plenty of talent in its starting five, and Bruce Thornton is a bonafide stud. Boopie Miller puts SMU in this group as well. – Borzello, Metcalf, ESPN
This isn’t to say that these tiers are cemented and locked into place, but rather due to what these teams have shown up to this point in the season. The Hawkeyes are staring down a handful of opportunities to climb the ranks of tiers with upcoming Big Ten showdowns.
Iowa still has games left against Purdue, two against Nebraska, and Michigan, which present great opportunities to pick off a top team down the stretch and elevate themselves into a more favorable seeding line to make an NCAA Tournament run.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Contender or Cinderella? ESPN tiers Iowa basketball tournament chances
