Iowa

Iowa men’s basketball: Four bold predictions for Hawkeyes’ 2024-25 season

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1 year ago

October 31, 2024

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Iowa men’s basketball: Four bold predictions for Hawkeyes’ 2024-25 season

IOWA CITY — The Iowa men’s basketball regular season is on the verge of getting underway.

After beating Minnesota Duluth, 102-81, in an exhibition, the Hawkeyes’ next contest is more than just a dress rehearsal. That comes Monday with the regular season opener against Texas A&M-Commerce.

There are not exactly high expectations surrounding this Iowa team. The Hawkeyes were picked to finish 11th out of 18 teams in the Big Ten by a preseason media poll. Internally, though, there is optimism.

“People are confident,” Payton Sandfort said at Big Ten Media Days. “Anyone that has been around practice this year thinks this team is special. The energy is different. The intensity is different. The attention to detail is different. I think it’s going to be a great year.”

To skeptics, Sandfort’s claim could be viewed as a bold prediction.

In that spirit, here are some bold takes ahead of the Hawkeyes’ 2024-25 season.

Iowa basketball’s Josh Dix will make an All-Big Ten team

This wouldn’t be that bold of a prediction if the conference hadn’t just added four new programs. But now with 18 teams, earning a spot on the All-Big Ten first, second, or third teams (more than 15 players can make them in total) becomes even more difficult.

That said, Dix should be considered a dark horse.

The flashes that Dix showed as a freshman became even more prominent as a sophomore. Last season, there was a phenomenal three-game stretch during Big Ten play in which he averaged 21.3 points on 68.4% from the field and 61.5% from deep.

It’s unrealistic to expect Dix to sustain those numbers across an entire season, but it’s one of the many signs pointing to him being capable of becoming a premier player in the league. Dix, a highly efficient scorer on all three levels, also adds value on the defensive end. Now as a junior, Dix is stepping into an even larger role, meaning the opportunity is there for him to put up big numbers.

He scored 22 points against Minnesota Duluth on 9-of-12 from the field, including 2-of-4 from deep.

“I think the biggest thing he’s done, he’s gotten really aggressive,” Sandfort said of Dix after the contest. “He always had that. He was always showing it in practice but would be just kinda passive when we got into games… Now he has the confidence that he can dominate these teams. I’m excited to see the year he has.”

Video: Payton Sandfort leads Iowa with 23 points in exhibition win

Payton Sandfort discusses a variety of topics after Iowa’s exhibition win over Minnesota Duluth.

Hawkeyes’ Brock Harding will finish top-5 in the Big Ten in assists per game

Harding’s sensational passing ability, coupled with Iowa’s offensive firepower makes this seem like a real possibility.

His ability to share the rock was on display as a freshman. Harding’s 2.6 assists per game in limited playing time equates to 9.7 when extrapolated to a per 40-minute average.

It’s unreasonable to expect him to average 40 minutes per game as a sophomore, but he is primed to get substantially more playing time, meaning last season’s assist numbers are likely to go up. With Dix, Owen Freeman and Sandfort all having the potential to be high-volume scorers, Harding shouldn’t have a shortage of opportunities.

Even in a Minnesota Duluth exhibition that wasn’t his best performance — Harding scored two points on 1-of-7 from the field — he still recorded six assists.

Northwestern’s Boo Buie finished last season fifth in the Big Ten in assists per game with five. Getting in that neighborhood doesn’t seem like a long shot for Harding.

Pryce Sandfort will be Iowa men’s basketball’s top bench scorer

There are probably four realistic options to be Iowa’s leading bench scorer. It could be either of the transfers, Seydou Traore or Drew Thelwell. Freshman Cooper Koch deserves to be in the conversation, as well.

But Pryce Sandfort might be the one to earn that title.

After an inconsistent freshman season, word from inside the program has been pointedly positive about Pryce Sandfort. At Iowa men’s basketball media day, coach Fran McCaffery remarked that Pryce Sandfort was “shooting the ball at an incredibly high clip on a consistent basis.”

The exhibition against Minnesota Duluth showed how quickly Sandfort can score in bunches. He finished the first half without a point but scored 11 in the second half. He also played the most minutes out of Iowa’s reserves.

At 6-foot-7, Pryce Sandfort can be a lethal 3-point shooter, but his offensive repertoire isn’t limited to that. With Iowa needing some scoring outside of Payton Sandfort, Freeman and Dix, Pryce Sandfort has the skill set to deliver.

Iowa Hawkeyes will have its best 3-point percentage since the 2020-21 season

The Hawkeyes shot 38.6% as a team in 2020-21. Four players shot 39% or better from deep, including three that shot at least 44%.

Since then, Iowa’s team 3-point percentages are as follows:

2021-22: 36.3%
2022-23: 34%
2023-24: 35.1%

Iowa has a chance to shoot better in 2024-25 than it has in each of the last three seasons.

The Hawkeyes saw the departures of some lower percentage shooters, including Tony Perkins (29.9%) and Patrick McCaffery (31.2%).

Two of the players expected to be among the highest-volume shooters for Iowa this season are more than capable 3-point shooters in Dix and Payton Sandfort. Pryce Sandfort and Cooper Koch are known to be good shooters, as well.

There are a handful of other X-factors.

Harding shot 37.5% as a freshman even before adjusting his shooting form this offseason. Thelwell is a career 34.8% 3-point shooter. Freeman didn’t attempt many 3-pointers last season but has worked on expanding his game this offseason and could take more as a sophomore. Ladji Dembele and Traore can contribute from beyond the arc, though they haven’t proven to shoot a high percentage yet.

Follow Tyler Tachman on X @Tyler_T15, contact via email at ttachman@gannett.com

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Iowa

No. 3 Michigan holds off a late run by Iowa, beats the Hawkeyes 71-68

Published

3 hours ago

March 6, 2026

Press Room

No. 3 Michigan holds off a late run by Iowa, beats the Hawkeyes 71-68

IOWA CITY, Iowa — IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Morez Johnson Jr. and Yaxel Lendeborg scored 16 points apiece, and Aday Mara had two tiebreaking shots in the final 1:22 as No. 3 Michigan defeated Iowa 71-68 on Thursday night.

The Wolverines (28-2, 18-1 Big Ten) were held 18 points below their season scoring average, but managed to hold off the Hawkeyes (20-10, 10-9) in the closing seconds.

Iowa went on an 11-1 run to tie the game at 64 with 1:56 to play before Mara banked in a shot before the shot clock expired, putting Michigan in front again. After Iowa’s Cam Manyawu scored inside to tie the game at 66, Mara, who finished with 14 points on 7-for-10 shooting, scored off a lob with 43 seconds left to put the Wolverines ahead to stay.

Iowa had chances to tie the game on back-to-back possessions, but missed three shots on one of the possessions and lost the ball on another after a turnover by Tavion Banks with seven seconds left.

The Hawkeyes had a final chance to tie the game after Lendeborg made two free throws with four seconds remaining, but Bennett Stirtz’s 3-pointer try was long.

Elliot Cadeau added 11 points for the Wolverines, the Big Ten regular-season champions.

Stirtz led Iowa with 21 points. Manyawu had 14.

Michigan had a 38-25 rebounding edge on the Hawkeyes.

The game was tied at 30 at halftime. Michigan shot 50% from the field, but committed 12 turnovers that Iowa turned into 16 points.

The Hawkeyes were 11 of 31 from the field, with Stirtz especially struggling to make shots. Stirtz, Iowa’s leading scorer this season, made just one of his first nine shots, then hit back-to-back 3-pointers in a 27-second span to give Iowa a 30-28 lead.

Up next

Michigan: Hosts No. 8 Michigan State on Sunday.

Iowa: At No. 9 Nebraska on Sunday.

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Iowa

Iowa women’s wrestling star Kylie Welker on competing for official NCAA championship

Published

15 hours ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

Iowa women’s wrestling star Kylie Welker on competing for official NCAA championship

Wrestling-Women

March 5, 2026

Iowa women’s wrestling star Kylie Welker on competing for official NCAA championship

March 5, 2026

Kylie Welker chats with NCAA Digital’s Sophie Starkey about the success of Iowa women’s wrestling and the possibility of winning the inaugural NCAA sanctioned championship.

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Iowa

Iowa House OKs ‘3 strikes’ bill with 20-year prison terms. What to know

Published

1 day ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

Iowa House OKs ‘3 strikes’ bill with 20-year prison terms. What to know

Iowans who commit multiple serious crimes would face a mandatory 20-year prison sentence under a “three strikes” bill passed by House lawmakers.
Republicans said the bill would keep Iowans safe and “prioritize victims and public safety over criminals.”
A nonpartisan state agency says the bill would disproportionately impact Black Iowans and could require the state to spend millions to build a new prison.

Repeat offenders convicted of multiple serious crimes would receive a mandatory 20-year prison sentence under a bill passed by House lawmakers.

House lawmakers debated for more than an hour about high costs, lack of prison space and the bill’s impact on Black Iowans before voting 68-23 to pass House File 2542, sending it to the Iowa Senate.

Seven Democrats, including Minority Leader Brian Meyer, D-Des Moines, joined Republicans in voting in favor of the bill.

“It will put public safety first,” said the bill’s floor manager, Rep. Steven Holt, R-Denison. “It will ensure that the debt to victims and society is paid. It will prioritize victims and public safety over criminals. It will establish real and effective deterrence that is nonexistent in our current system. It will reduce chaos and violence in our society.”

Here’s what to know about the bill.

What would the House Republican three strikes bill do?

Iowans who accumulate three strikes would face a mandatory 20-year prison sentence, with no parole, under the bill.

That would replace Iowa’s current law that says habitual offenders must serve a minimum three-year prison sentence before they are eligible for parole.

All felonies, as well as aggravated misdemeanors involving sexual abuse, domestic abuse, assault and organized retail theft would be considered level-one offenses that are worth one full strike.

Other aggravated misdemeanors, as well as serious misdemeanors involving assault, domestic abuse and criminal mischief would be considered level-two offenses worth half a strike each.

Lawmakers amended the bill to remove theft, harassment and possession of a controlled substance from the crimes that would count toward a person’s strikes.

And the amendment specifies that the bill would only apply to convictions that occur beginning July 1, 2026.

If someone is arrested and convicted of multiple offenses, only the most serious charge would count towards the defendant’s strikes.

Convictions would not count toward someone’s total if more than 20 years passes between a prior conviction and their current conviction.

Rep. Ross Wilburn, D-Ames, tried unsuccessfully to amend the bill to say that only a violent crime would qualify as someone’s third strike, but Republicans rejected the amendment.

“The bill still scores murder, felony embezzlement and felony theft the same, even though they are very different crimes,” Wilburn said. “One point is one point and three gets you 20 years with no ability for parole or judicial discretion.”

Holt said the legislation leaves room for judicial and prosecutorial discretion.

“There are deferred sentences, there are plea bargains,” he said. “There is plenty of opportunity for grace and judicial discretion in the legislation that we are proposing.”

Bill could cost millions, require Iowa to build a new prison, agency says

A fiscal analysis of the bill by the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency said it could cost Iowa nearly $165 million more per year by 2031 based on the cost of housing inmates for longer prison stays.

FY 2027: $33 million
FY 2028: $66 million
FY 2029: $99 million
FY 2030: $132 million
FY 2031: $164.9 million

The agency said if the bill had been in effect between fiscal year 2020 and fiscal year 2025, there would have been 5,373 people who qualified for the 20-year mandatory minimum sentence.

“An increase in the prison population due to increased (length of stay) will require the DOC to build additional prison(s),” the agency states. “The size, security and other features that a future prison may require cannot be determined, but costs would be significant.”

The analysis noted that South Dakota appropriated $650 million last fall to build a 1,500-bed prison.

As of March 1, the Iowa Department of Corrections’ website describes the state’s prison system as being overcrowded by 25%, with 8,705 inmates compared to a capacity of 6,990.

The Office of the State Public Defender could see a projected cost increase of $1.6 million due to an increased number of trials resulting from the legislation.

But the agency’s estimates come with a caveat — the Department of Corrections did not respond to its requests for data.

“The LSA has not received a response to multiple requests for information from the DOC,” the note states. “Without additional information, the LSA cannot estimate the total fiscal impact of the bill.”

Holt called the fiscal note “an embarrassment to the Department of Corrections” and “an agenda masquerading as math.”

“It is clear, in my judgment, that because they did not like the legislation they went all out and extreme to create a fiscal note that cannot be taken seriously in its assumptions,” he said. “It assumes that nothing will change, that there will be no deterrent factor and that the numbers will continue as usual.”

Black Iowans would be disproportionately impacted by the law

The Legislative Services Agency analysis says the bill “may disproportionately impact Black individuals if trends remain constant.”

Of the 29,438 people convicted in fiscal year 2025 of felonies and aggravated misdemeanors that constitute a level one offense under the bill, the agency said about 70% were White, 22% were Black and 9% were other races.

Iowa’s overall population is 83% White, 4% Black and 13% other races, the agency said.

It’s not clear how the bill’s impact would change to account for the House amendment removing some crimes from counting towards the three strikes.

“Expanding three-strike laws will intensify disparities — and that’s what this statement shows — by mandating longer sentences, limiting judicial discretion,” Wilburn said. “We already have a habitual offender statute. We already have one in place. We have a 10-year low in recidivism in our correctional system.”

Rep. Angel Ramirez, D-Cedar Rapids, said California’s three strikes law, passed in the 1990s, worsened racial disparities, and “Iowa is about to repeat the same mistake.”

“I urge every member here, do not pass legislation that our own minority impact statement tells us will deepen inequality in our state,” Ramirez said.

Holt said minority communities in Iowa are impacted by crime and that the legislation “will make citizens of all colors safer.”

And he said the minority impact statement “tells only one side of the story, doesn’t it? It tells the criminal’s story. What about the victim’s story?”

“What about the mother who will continue to tuck her kids in at night and read them Bible stories because she never became the next victim of a violent career criminal?” he said. “Where is that data point in the minority impact statement?”

House lawmakers also approved separate legislation that would increase Iowa’s statewide bond schedule, Senate File 2399.

That bill passed on a vote of 74-19.

Iowans could see more information on judges’ rulings

Iowans would have access to more information about judges’ rulings ahead of the state’s judicial retention elections under a separate measure, House File 2719, which passed on a 73-19 vote.

The Iowa secretary of state’s office would be required to publish information including:

The percentage of cases in which the judge set a bond amount lower than the state’s bond schedule
The frequency that the judge releases someone on their own recognizance for a violent offense compared to a nonviolent offense
The frequency that the judge’s final sentence is lower than statutory recommendations or a prosecutor’s recommendations
The number of times the judge issues a deferred judgement, deferred sentence or suspended sentence
The number of times the judge’s rulings are reversed on appeal due to abuse of discretion or error of law
The average time it takes the judge to rule on a motion or case
The number of cases the judge has resolved compared to the number of cases on the judge’s docket

The data would have to be displayed with a five-year trend line beginning five years after the bill takes effect.

The Secretary of State’s Office would also be required to maintain a searchable database of all judicial opinions and orders for the judge’s current term and the preceding six years. The decisions would be redacted when appropriate.

And judges would have the opportunity to write a 2,000-word personal statement on their judicial philosophy or data trends present in their rulings.

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on X at @sgrubermiller.

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