The Iowa Hawkeyes entered the NCAA Tournament riding high. They had just beaten Purdue to win the Big Ten Tournament on Sunday before the selection show. This year was supposed to be different for Fran McCaffery and the Hawkeyes. However, Iowa once again disappointed fans and the people who picked them to advance in their brackets Thursday.
#5 Iowa lost to the #12 Richmond 67-63, as their high-powered offense was shut down by the Spiders. The loss brought back sad memories of past tournaments. Fran McCaffery is now 6-10 in the NCAA Tournament since taking over in 2010. He has never made it out of the first weekend. Yes, you read that right. McCaffery has never reached the Sweet 16, despite having a ton of really good teams.
That left fans feeling a certain kind of way.
@ Fran McCaffrey @ Iowa basketball @ Bohannon pic.twitter.com/ux49cpFb72
— Robinson Muff-Potter (@thonnius_maker) March 17, 2022
Iowa should just fire Fran McCaffrey. Incredible how the guy can underperform in the tournament every single year and he’s lauded as some great coach. #NCAATournament
— Tayler Leamon (@TaylerJLeamon) March 17, 2022
Fran McCaffrey is Pat Fitzgerald with glasses.
Loved by the media for absolutely no reason https://t.co/4w3uqFDlba
— beans (@cauley_97) March 17, 2022
The loss spelled the end to Jordan Bohannon‘s college career. He finished his college basketball career with 455 made three pointers, only two behind Duke Blue Devils' J.J. Redick for the most in college basketball history. Redick graduated with 457 career triples. Bohannon however did earn an extra year of eligibility because of the COVID year.
On Thursday, he finished with six points on two for eight shooting, going two for seven from downtown.
Meanwhile, coach McCaffery's older son, Patrick, scored 18 points in the loss. McCaffery's younger son, Connor, was held scoreless, missing both of his shots.
Coach McCaffery has been criticized for years for not having his team prepared for March Madness. Once again, the Hawkeyes underperformed. For a team averaging over 83 points per game, to be held to 63 is a massive disappointment. It remains to be seen how much longer McCaffery will coach at Iowa. It appears the school's goals are not very high in this tournament.
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