Iowa's Big Ten Tournament Hopes May Rest On Beating Northwestern

The Iowa Hawkeyes are holding onto hope that they can at the very least make the Big Ten Tournament, but they'll have to beat Northwestern for that to stay a reality.

Jan 24, 2025; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes guard Josh Dix (4) and Iowa Hawkeyes guard Drew Thelwell (3) celebrate against the Penn State Nittany Lions during the first half at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-Imagn Images | Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

On paper, this doesn't look like a big game or anything worth tuning in to for the average college basketball fan on a Friday night. Iowa at 15-13 (6-11 Big Ten) travels to Evanston, Illinois to take on the Northwestern Wildcats — who have the same overall and Big Ten record.

For the average fan, this looks like a dud. For fans of the Hawkeyes, though, this is a tremendously important game.

Iowa's March Madness hopes are slim. The only way the Hawks get in is to actually win the Big Ten Tournament. The issue is this: Unlike in previous seasons, there's no guarantee they can even play in the Big Ten Tournament. The conference has 18 teams now, remember, and only the Top 15 teams will play in Indianapolis.

That makes this game vitally important for the Hawkeyes, because Iowa and Northwestern are tied alongside USC and Minnesota for 13th in the conference. A win against Northwestern would vault the Hawkeyes above the Wildcats, though it wouldn't guarantee entry into the Big Ten tournament.

What it would do is give Iowa a bit of cushion, though, with two tough games coming up. After Northwestern, there's a game against No. 8 Michigan State that the Hawkeyes will be heavy underdogs in. From there, it's a season finale at Nebraska. The Hawkeyes have struggled mightily on the road this season, so that game does not seem promising.

The point is, there's a world in which the Hawkeyes head up Evanston, lose to Northwestern and then go on to suffer losses to the Spartans and Badgers to end the season on a four-game losing skid.

A win against Northwestern would give Iowa some life, though, and at this point in the season that's about all Fran McCaffery's team can hope for.

Speaking of hope, these two teams last met on Dec 3 when junior guard Josh Dix swished in a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Hawkeyes an 80-79 win. Perhaps the memory of that exhilarating win can give Iowa the hope to head into Welsh-Ryan arena and win this one.