Fran McCaffery is a stalwart in the Big Ten, having led Iowa men's basketball since 2010. As the Hawkeyes limp toward the season's end, they will almost certainly miss the NCAA tournament and are at risk of even missing the Big Ten tournament, which will feature 15 of the league's 18 teams.
Iowa is tied with USC at 6–12 in league play, and two games in the loss column ahead of both Penn State and Washington. The Hawkeyes are set for a Thursday game against one of the league's best teams, Michigan State, before a regular season finale at Nebraska on Sunday. They currently have a tiebreaker over the two teams behind them in the standings, but lost to USC, giving the Trojans a head-to-head edge in the event of a tie for the final seed.
