By Dallas Jones

IOWA CITY, IOWA – Hawkeye hoops are officially back for the 2024-25 season and this years team features a lot of familiar faces mixed in with some new faces that could make a big difference.

The Hawkeyes return three starters and 10 letterwinners from a team that went 19-15 overall and advanced to the second round of the National Invitation Tournament.  Iowa returns three All-Big Ten selections including Josh Dix (honorable mention), Owen Freeman (honorable mention, Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Year) and Payton Sandfort (third team).

Some of the new faces are Drew Thelwell (Morehead State) and Seydou Traore (Manhattan College). As well as four freshmen including Trey Buchanan, Cooper Koch, Jacob Koch and Chris Tadjo.

Iowa has won 10+ Big Ten games in nine of the last 10 seasons under head coach Fran McCaffery.

1st half:

The first half looked like the Hawkeyes had not played an official game in seven months.

A combination of too many turnovers, missed outside shots and a lack of aggression on the glass contributed to the Hawkeyes single digit lead at the break. It is very clear this group of Hawkeyes is still adjusting to playing together.

A couple bright spots off the bench were Manhattan transfer Seydou Traore and freshman Cooper Koch. The duo were the first two off the bench and Traore’s athleticism and defensive presence was felt immediately. Koch knocked down his very first attempt as a Hawkeye from three and grabbed three rebounds.

Owen Freeman and Payton Sandfort of course led the way for the Hawkeyes, combining for 22 points on 10-13 from the field (perfect 10-10 inside the three point line).

2nd half:

Fran McCaffery clearly brought out a good halftime speech tonight as the Hawkeyes knocked down eight of their first nine attempts in the second half and by the 18 minute mark, their lead had doubled from nine to 18.

The Hawkeye defense did not have the same response though as halfway through the second half, the Hawkeyes lead was cut back below 15 as the Bulldogs started 11-18 (61.1%) from the field, 10-13 (76.9%) on non-three point attempts.

Some cracks were shown, but that is exactly what exhibitions are for. Postgame, Coach McCaffery said they purposefully scheduled a veteran team that has won a lot of games in the last few season and was well coached. That is exactly what they got.

To end on a positive note Josh Dix, Owen Freeman and Payton Sandfort finished the game with a combined 66 points on 28/40 (70%) from the field. Lots of things to work on as a whole, but that is what you want to see from your three best players.

See what else Coach McCaffery and some of the Hawkeye players had to say postgame here: