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. 

More: Iowa men’s basketball: Hawkeyes picked 11th in preseason Big Ten media poll

“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.

More: Iowa men’s basketball: What we learned from Hawkeyes’ exhibition win over Minnesota Duluth

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

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Some Iowa voters were improperly removed from registration rolls by county election officials after challenges to their registration status were filed too close to the election, Iowa’s top election official confirmed Wednesday.

County auditors may have processed removals stemming from challenges that were filed within 90 days of the election — a designated “quiet period” during which only limited changes can be made to voter rolls, said Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate.

The secretary of state said his office directed county auditors to contact their attorneys and get the voters put back on the rolls. He said “most, if not all those counties” have done that.

“Clearly we’re going to be following back up on that to make sure, but it has been addressed, and we hope that it’s been corrected,” he said.

The American Civil Liberties Union and its Iowa affiliate highlighted the issue Tuesday, saying that individuals contacted their organization after being notified by their county auditor that their registration status was being investigated because of a challenge.

Pate did not say how many voters were actually removed. The ACLU identified three counties that saw mass challenges. The Associated Press left messages with those three county auditors seeking the information.

The National Voter Registration Act requires a 90-day quiet period ahead of elections for the maintenance of voter rolls so that legitimate voters are not removed from the rolls by bureaucratic errors or last-minute mistakes that cannot be quickly corrected.

The act also protects against removal of voters because of a change of address unless the voter themselves confirms they moved or unless the voter fails to respond to a written notice and does not vote in two general federal elections.

Iowa law separately has a 70-day freeze period, requiring that most challenges to a voter’s registration status be filed before Aug. 27.

“It is deeply concerning to us that auditors may have improperly removed some Iowa voters,” said Rita Bettis Austen, legal director of the ACLU of Iowa. “No action should have been taken” because of the mandated quiet period, she said.

Bettis Austen suggested county auditors in at least three of Iowa’s 99 counties received mass voter challenges, which are often using outdated or incomplete information based on comparisons of voter rolls to other databases. In a statement, she said they “appear to be the type of malicious, mass voter challenges by individuals and groups who want to disrupt the election,” but did not specify further on how they originated.

Election officials across the country are facing heightened scrutiny around voter fraud in 2024, the first presidential election after former President Donald Trump’s false claims of widespread fraud in 2020.

Now, too, accusations that people who are not U.S. citizens are registering to vote and voting have become a major throughline of conservative campaigns across the country. Voting by people who are not U.S. citizens is illegal in federal elections but there is no evidence that it is occurring in significant numbers, though some states, including Iowa, have identified dozens of such cases.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority allowed Virginia to resume its purge of voter registrations that the state says is aimed at stopping people who are not U.S. citizens from voting.

The Justice Department and a coalition of private groups sued Virginia earlier this month, arguing that state election officials, acting on an executive order issued in August by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, were striking names from voter rolls in violation of the federal election law’s quiet period.

Last week, Pate sent Iowa’s county auditors a list of more than 2,000 names of people who told the state Department of Transportation that they were not citizens but later registered to vote. Pate on Wednesday acknowledged that those individuals may now be naturalized citizens and stressed they have not been removed from the rolls. Instead, poll workers will challenge their ballots and voters will have seven days to prove their citizenship status.

IOWA CITY — By the time he caught the ball, Iowa football tight end Johnny Pascuzzi already had a roughly six-yard head start on Brendan Sullivan.

Sullivan, who had just faked a toss, rolled to his right and pushed a pass to Pascuzzi, could’ve very well let his contributions to the play end right there. Instead, Sullivan turned on the jets, racing down the field and, despite the disadvantage, passed Pascuzzi to become a lead blocker.

“It wasn’t an official race, but you could probably say he’s faster than Pascuzzi,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “I guess that was the takeaway. But it says something about his personality, too, him wanting to get down there and help the play. He could have stood there and been a spectator, but he threw the ball and then he started basically trucking down the field. That, to me, was being a good teammate.”

Video: Kirk Ferentz on Brendan Sullivan, Cade McNamara and more

Kirk Ferentz discusses a variety of topics ahead of Iowa’s matchup with Wisconsin.

Iowa had planned to give Sullivan extended playing time in Saturday’s win over Northwestern. But an injury to Cade McNamara meant that Sullivan would take over full-time. He finished the game with 79 passing yards, 41 rushing yards and one touchdown on the ground, helping lead the Hawkeyes to a 40-14 win over his former program.

More: Leistikow’s 5 thoughts: Positive energy around Iowa football but backup QB looks dicey

That extra effort block epitomizes who Sullivan is.

“Just the way I was raised,” Sullivan said. “My dad taught me to play the game with full effort, full confidence and just control the controllables. And so that’s something I can control — is helping my guy get more yards. If that’s going to help the team out, I’m going to do that every time.”

And now comes the next phase of Sullivan’s growing role. With McNamara out on Saturday due to a concussion, Sullivan will make his first career start as a Hawkeye when Iowa hosts Wisconsin.

“He embraced what it means to be an Iowa Hawkeye,” said center Logan Jones. “He does it at such a high level and he plays with so much passion. That’s the kind of guy we want. We want a physical guy, who plays hard and is competitive. He’s brought that since day one. That’s who he’s been. That’s his identity.”

Video: Logan Jones on what QB Brendan Sullivan brings to Iowa football

Logan Jones discusses QB Brendan Sullivan ahead of Iowa’s matchup with Wisconsin.

That’s what he showed at Davison High School in Michigan.

During his junior season, Davison was playing Lapeer in the playoffs. Lapeer, who was hosting the game, used motorcycle sounds to celebrate home touchdowns. So when Sullivan ran in a touchdown in the first quarter, he pretended to rev a motorcycle, mocking the opponent’s tradition.

Davison won that game and went on to capture a Division I state championship.

More: What stood out from Iowa football QB Brendan Sullivan before Hawkeyes game vs. Wisconsin

“He’s just a competitor,” said Davison coach Jake Weingartz. “Quarterbacks usually don’t freaking run their mouth and talk s— and flex on dudes. He just lets it rip, which gains the trust of his teammates and teammates’ respect. He’s just a dawg.”

Sullivan used to think he was going to play basketball in college, not football. He confirmed Tuesday that he can still do a windmill dunk.

“It’s not gonna be backed by a lot of guys, but I’d make the argument that I’m one of the best (basketball players) on the team,” Sullivan said.

Deontae Craig is among those Sullivan named in the mix for that crown. Upon being suggested he probably doesn’t want to be on the block with Craig, who is listed at 6-foot-3 and 266 pounds, Sullivan answered:

“I’d challenge him,” he said with a laugh. “He can hear this. Any part of that court, I’ll challenge him.”

Video: Brendan Sullivan ahead of 1st career Iowa start: ‘Foot on the gas’

QB Brendan Sullivan discusses a variety of topics ahead of his first career start for Iowa football.

But it was football where he found his future. At Davison, Sullivan used to meet with Weingartz at lunch to watch film, habits that he has shown since arriving at Iowa. In July, Sullivan said he typically got to the facility around 5:30 a.m., did Bible study, watched film and then did a stretching routine.

Sullivan isn’t afraid to demand excellence from others, either. One time during practice in high school, a receiver didn’t run a route correctly and “B freaking lit his a– up,” Weingartz said.

Sullivan was mostly pursued by non-power conference programs, and even the recruiting process with Northwestern took some creativity. Because so much was shut down due to COVID-19, Sullivan and Weingartz went to an elementary playground for a workout. Weingartz FaceTimed Northwestern’s offensive coordinator at the time so he could see Sullivan doing drills.

More: What channel is Iowa football vs Wisconsin on Saturday? Time, TV schedule for Week 10

“You could see like swingsets in the background,” Weingartz said. “It was nuts.”

After his time at Davison, Sullivan spent three seasons with the Wildcats. In two of those seasons, Sullivan began the season as a reserve but ended up starting multiple games. There is so much value in that now that Sullivan finds himself in a similar situation at Iowa.

Despite joining the Hawkeyes program after spring practice, it didn’t take long for Sullivan’s bravado to become evident. His trash talk even caused some friction.

“I like letting the defense know when we’re playing pretty well and they didn’t like that one day,” Sullivan said. “So it got a little heated and then kinda went on from there. It’s all love, it’s all fun and I love that part of the game.”

Sullivan was beaten out for the starting job by McNamara but still managed to carve out a role on offense. In Iowa’s third game of the season against Troy, Sullivan was utilized around the goal line, a specialized package that was widely successful and continued throughout the year. Then he earned extended playing time against Northwestern.

More: Iowa football: Depth-chart puts Brendan Sullivan at No. 1 QB, no mention of Cade McNamara

At one point in that game against the Wildcats, Sullivan had exerted himself so much that when he tried to deliver a play in the huddle, Jones couldn’t even understand what he was saying.

“He’s obsessed with the game,” Weingartz said. “He’s obsessed with getting better. The kid is a competitor to the 8,000th degree. He f—ing hates to lose. Like you watch him on the field — he’s got a s— ton of swagger.”

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