How much can the narrative surrounding a team change in less than one week?

Just last Saturday, Iowa basketball was riding high after a 25-point win over Indiana. This marked back-to-back home victories and inspired some optimism about what the Hawkeyes are capable of this season.

Two games later, those feelings have shifted dramatically.

Saying Iowa’s West Coast trip was a disappointment is an understatement. The Hawkeyes suffered a pair of double-digit losses, the latest of which was a 94-70 blowout to UCLA on Friday. Iowa never led for a single second throughout those two games.

Understandably, there is mounting frustration from the fan base.

But as ugly as these two games were, Iowa’s season does not end here. The Hawkeyes still have 13 regular season games remaining, plus at least one more in the Big Ten Tournament, assuming Iowa makes the 15-team field.

More: Iowa basketball: Leistikow’s thoughts on one of Fran McCaffery’s worst losses with Hawkeyes

For better or worse, the season’s fate is still in the balance. With so many games remaining, there is plenty of time for the Hawkeyes to get back on track. But there is also plenty of time for it to get much worse.

“I think we have a really good group with guys with character,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said Friday. “We’ve got some veteran guys. We will try to move on from what has not been a good trip and learn from some of the mistakes we made. Will remain positive. I want them to remain positive with each other.”

More: Iowa basketball vs UCLA: Recap of Hawkeyes’ loss to the Bruins

Iowa (12-6, 3-4) got jumped on early in Friday’s contest and never recovered.

Remarkably, UCLA made its first nine shots from the field. To make matters worse, Payton Sandfort got banged up in the first half and sat out the majority of the game. The Bruins led by 33 points at halftime, making the rest of the game a mere formality.

In what has been a theme this season — and even more broadly, in McCaffery’s Hawkeye tenure — the Iowa defense folded. UCLA shot 62% from the field and 35% from deep. During the West Coast trip, Iowa allowed its opponents to shoot a combined 63% from the field.

“They were really aggressive and shot it well not only inside but from the perimeter,” McCaffery said of UCLA. “I thought we worked really hard in practice the last couple of days. I thought we would be better. Got to give them credit for it. We got better as the game went on. But we’ve got to be better at the start.”

Iowa is now 0-4 in true road games, with losses to Michigan, Wisconsin, USC and UCLA. Only one of those four came by single digits. The Hawkeyes have allowed an average of 98.5 points during that span.

Allowing 116 points in a road loss to Wisconsin should’ve been enough of a wake-up call. And to its credit, Iowa responded with consecutive wins following that loss. But then, a similar failure happened again. And again.

The Hawkeyes’ season is now on the verge of spiraling.

At the same time, a season is not supposed to be defined by adversity. But rather how one responds to it. If every team that dealt with challenges quit, no one would be left standing.

Take UCLA for example. The Bruins entered Friday having lost five of their last six games, including four straight. The sky was falling until Friday when suddenly it wasn’t anymore.

Rutgers was in a similar situation. The Scarlet Knights started 1-4 in Big Ten play but have now won their last two, including a road victory over Nebraska. Things are looking up for them.

There is nothing that says Iowa can’t do the same. The Hawkeyes will have plenty of opportunities.

At Carver-Hawkeye Arena alone, Iowa is still set to face Michigan State, Purdue, Oregon and Wisconsin, among others, all of which should present resume-building opportunities. The Hawkeyes have lost just one game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena this season, against No. 2 Iowa State.

McCaffery’s team will have plenty of chances away from home too, though it will need to overcome its road woes to remain competitive.

“I didn’t see a lack of effort,” McCaffery said Friday. “I saw a lack of execution to some of the things that we prepared for and that’s disappointing because that leads to falling behind. Of all the teams that I’ve coached, it’s one that I’m really proud of, any team that I’ve ever had, even before I came here, our guys stay locked into the game plan and they compete. And they compete in terms of how they think.”

More: Iowa basketball: Payton Sandfort injures shoulder in UCLA game

Clearly, Iowa needs to get better to make the NCAA Tournament. The Hawkeyes’ performances in California were inexcusably poor.

But there is still so much season left to play. Which means the best could still be yet to come. And so could the worst.

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

IOWA CITY – He didn’t think a couple of weeks ago that his Iowa City West boys’ basketball team was worthy of a top-10 spot in Class 4A.

After a 66-55 win Friday night over a good Cedar Rapids Prairie team, head coach Steve Bergman said this:

“We’re getting there.”

West (8-3) was pretty dominant in this game against a similar team from Prairie (8-3). Jack McCaffery scored a game-high 28 points for the Trojans, the Butler University signee getting 18 of those in the second half.

Guard Ethan Headings added 16 points, 14 in the first half, as West built a 33-25 halftime lead.

“I think we played really well,” said Headings, who made seven of his nine shots from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers. “We picked up on defense and offense. But there were just some stretches at the end of the second quarter and the end of the fourth quarter that we could have done a lot better.”

Prairie (8-3) fell behind early but rebounded late in the first quarter to grab a 17-16 lead. The meat of the game went West’s way, as it led 56-36 after three quarters.

“There were a lot of good things. A lot of good things,” Bergman said. “The first quarter for us early was awesome, then … That’s what we are. We’re pretty focused, then we’re really not. But, man that start of the game, could have really been something.”

Two of three losses for West have been by one point to Dubuque schools on the road, including Tuesday night’s 52-51 defeat at Class 4A No. 10 Dubuque Senior. The Trojans had the last shot, a good one, but it didn’t go in.

So close to being 10-1.

“We’ve lost two games in Dubuque on Tuesday night by one point,” Bergman said. “Both games we feel like we should have won, but we didn’t … Against Senior, we just couldn’t make free throws. We were like the Iowa women’s team, struggling to make free throws, so they got the lead back. We had the lead most of the game.

“We’re getting closer. We’ve got to handle the ball better. Had a little stretch again tonight where we had four or five turnovers in five or six possessions. We’ve got to keep plugging along.”

Prairie got 20 points from sophomore guard Tae Alexander, but just couldnt get it done. It needs to be a quick flush for the Hawks, who play Saturday night at undefeated Class 3A No. 3 Decorah.

“Ultimately I thought our execution to our game plan was poor,” said Prairie Coach Todd Kuntz. “And ultimately that comes back on me. I thought we had a really good plan, but a lot of times we were out of position. That’s going to happen with high schoolers.”

———-

AT IOWA CITY WEST

CEDAR RAPIDS PRAIRIE (55): David Fason 2-7 1-4 5, Devin Ikeda 2-4 0-1 4, Jace McDermott 2-6 2-2 6, Tae Alexander 7-11 2-3 20, Austin Joens 1-8 0-0 3, Hudson Kimm 0-1 0-0 0, Will Wehr 3-6 6-6 12, Cayden Larson 1-7 2-2 4, Collin McClintock 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-53 13-18 55.

IOWA CITY WEST (66): Mason Goehring 3-9 3-4 9, Jack McCaffery 10-17 5-6 28, Henry Elser 2-3 2-2 7, Julian Manson 1-4 0-0 2, Ethan Headings 7-9 0-0 16, Jack Jensen-Fitzgerald 0-1 0-0 0, Jack Wallace 1-1 0-0 2, KingSton Swayzer 0-0 0-0 0, Greg Ford 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 25-45 10-12 66.

Halftime – West 33, Prairie 25. 3-point goals – Prairie 6-23 (Fason 0-1, Ikeda 0-1, McDermott 0-4, Alexander 4-6, Joens 1-6, Wehr 1-2, Larson 0-3), West 6-11 (McCaffery 3-6, Elser 1-1, Headings 2-3, Jensen-Fitzpatrick 0-1). Rebounds – Prairie 26 (Larson 6), West 30 (McCaffery 8, Goering 7). Total fouls – Prairie 11, West 16. Fouled out – None. Turnovers – Prairie 14, West 13.

Comments: (319)-398-8258, jeff.johnson@thegazette.com

Iowa Hawkeyes running back Kaleb Johnson took the college football world by storm this year, establishing himself as one of the most electrifying offensive threats in the country.

Johnson racked up 1,537 yards and 21 rushing touchdowns on the year, leading the Big Ten in both categories. He also set the single-season rushing score record for Iowa, breaking a mark previously held by Shonn Greene. Additionally, he logged a robust 6.4 yards per carry.

As a result, Johnson’s NFL Draft stock has skyrocketed, with the 21-year-old suddenly viewed as a potential second-round pick in April.

Bleacher Report’s Dame Parson recently released a scouting report on Johnson, and he revealed a rather interesting comparison for the superstar rusher: Arizona Cardinals halfback James Conner.

“In conclusion, Johnson is a good to adequate starting running back in a versatile offense scheme,” Parson wrote. “He is more adept and suited for gap/man scheme runs, where he can attack downhill and maneuver through congestion. His functionality in the passing game makes him a good screen option to counter heavy-pressure defenses. Johnson is a lead-caliber running back who could routinely score double-digit rushing touchdowns in the NFL.”

You may think that Conner is a relatively tame comparison given how fantastic Johnson was in 2024, but keep in mind that Conner is a two-time Pro Bowler who just rattled off 1,094 yards and eight touchdowns while averaging 4.6 yards per attempt this year. He also caught 47 passes for 414 yards and a score.

Johnson could very well develop into a lethal all-purpose back on the NFL level, so whoever lands him could be getting a steal in Round 2.