By Pat Harty

There will only be one more game played at Carver-Hawkeye Arena this season.

The Iowa men’s basketball team had a chance to host another NIT game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, but it would have taken a win at Utah on Sunday, but that just wasn’t meant to be.

Iowa fell to the Utes 91-82 in Salt Lake City and finished the season with a 19-15 record.

The Iowa women will play the final game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena this season on Monday against West Virginia in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Iowa men’s basketball team, on the other hand, now heads to the offseason having fallen short of making the NCAA Tournament for the first time in four years and having fallen short of winning 20 games.

If it would have prevailed in Salt Lake City, Iowa would have faced Virginia Commonwealth in the NIT quarterfinals at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

But instead, Iowa now faces an offseason in which the failure to make the NCAA Tournament will be a driving force to get better.

Four freshmen were in the rotation this season, including Big Ten Freshman of the Year Owen Freeman, so there is hope for the future.

Junior forward Payton Sandfort also had a breakout season, but he struggled in Sunday’s loss, scoring just five points on 1-of-11 shooting from the field.

“It was a tough night for Payton, they were real physical with him and he couldn’t get anything to drop,” Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery said on the Learfield post-game radio interview. “But he kept grinding. I’m proud of this group and what they’ve done all year long.”

Iowa trailed 48-36 at halftime as Utah shot 51.7 percent from the field in the first half and made half of its 14 shots from 3-point range.

The Utes led by as many as 18 points in the first half and had a 13-0 scoring run late in the half, but Iowa closed the first half on a 9-3 scoring run.

Iowa freshman point guard Brock Harding made a lay-up right before the halftime buzzer to trim the deficit to 12 points at the break.

Harding would go on to make all five of his field-goal attempts and finish with 12 points.

Owen Freeman led Iowa with 11 points in the first half, and he also wasn’t called for any fouls, which has been a problem for him this season.

Iowa was on the road and faced a double-digit deficit heading into the second half, but it also is a team that can score points in a hurry.

Iowa would go on to cut the deficit to five points, but couldn’t get any closer.

“I thought we had some good offensive possessions and we moved and shared the ball,” Fran McCaffery said of cutting the deficit in the second half. “We got some consecutive stops.”

Iowa had five players that scored in double figures in Sunday’s loss, led by senior forward Patrick McCaffery, who is Fran McCaffery’ son.

Patrick McCaffery could return next season, but he recently told the media that he is leaning towards moving on.

Senior guard Tony Perkins was held to just three points n 24 minutes in what could be his final game as a Hawkeye.

The Indianapolis native has another season of eligibility, but he recently said that he hasn’t made a decision about his plans for next season.