By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Iowa senior forward Payton Sandfort sounds as if he has almost given up on his fellow University of Iowa students ever becoming a consistent and impactful presence during men’s basketball games at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

“All my friends watch the games and always text me about it,” Payton Sandfort said Tuesday.

The problem with the friends to whom he was referring is that they often watch the games on television rather than in person.

“But sometimes you get busy, I guess.” Payton Sandfort said. “It’s just how it goes. It’s hard to get here. We’ve got to find some way to, I don’t know, like free beer night or something.

“Do something.”

Payton Sandfort hopes that UI students will pack the student section for Thursday’s annual showdown against Iowa State.

“I don’t really know what to expect,” Payton Sandfort said. “I’ve gotten better throughout my career of kind of blocking out what’s going on around floor.

“But it should be fun. It should be loud. I really hope the students show up.  I’ve been talking to friends and stuff trying to get them to the game. And it should be a great atmosphere.”

Carver-Hawkeye Arena will almost certainly be packed for both the men’s and women’s games against Iowa State this week.

The 21st-ranked Iowa women will face No. 18 Iowa State on Wednesday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

The Iowa women’s basketball team has sold out all of its home games this season after having sold out all of its home games last season.

The Iowa women have built a loyal and vocal fan base, which is part of the reward for finishing as the NCAA runner-up in each of the past two seasons, and for having arguably the greatest offensive player in the history of women’s college basketball in Caitlin Clark on your squad for the previous four seasons.

The Iowa men, on the other hand, failed to make the NCAA Tournament last season and haven’t advanced to NCAA Sweet 16 since 1999.

So, the men’s and women’s programs are certainly at different levels right now.

The best solution would obviously be for the men to perform at an elite level, and sustain it over time, but that is much easier said than done.

A victory over third-ranked Iowa State on Thursday would be a step in the right direction because it would send a message that this Iowa men’s team can play with any opponent and deserves some attention.

“We have to be crisp, we have to be purposeful with your movement,” Payton Sandfort said. “You get shots, you’ve got to knock them down. You can’t turn it over, which is really what they pride themselves on. And they turn that into their offense.

“So, there’s a lot of challenges. The game feels a lot faster. But if we stay under control and do what we want to do, and the way that we play offense, we should be able to handle it.”

And while the atmosphere inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena for men’s game often leaves something to be desired, the games against Iowa State are always an exception.

Perhaps that’s why Iowa has won the last four games against Iowa State at Carver-Hawkeye Arena by an average of 18.8 points. This includes a 28-point win in 2020 (105-77) and a 19-point victory (75-56) in 2022.”

“Home-court advantage is a factor all the time,” said Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery. “But a lot of times when you’re dealing with good teams in rivalry situations, it doesn’t matter as much.

Carver-Hawkeye Arena when packed with fans certainly provides an effective home-court advantage.

The problem, at least for the Iowa men, is that so many factors go in to filling the arena, including the opponent, the day of the week, and the tip-off time.

“I feel like some of those games people look at the opponent and they’re like they don’t really want to watch that,” Payton Sandfort said. “I don’t know. I’m a basketball fan. I’m a sports fan. So I go to all the football games and everything like that. I like being in person. But I don’t know.”

The location of the Iowa student section also has come under much scrutiny, because unlike many students sections that are courtside, Iowa’s student section is located behind one of the baskets and the seats are arranged more vertically than horizontally.

“It’s a tough solve,” Payton Sandfort said. “It’s hard to put them around the floor when you don’t know if they’re going to show up. You don’t want to give away those seats.”

Iowa Athletic Director Beth Goetz is receptive to the idea of moving the student section closer to the court, but she hasn’t committed to doing it.

“I don’t know, good luck Payton Sandfort said. Full press conference here:

Iowa State (7-1) vs. Iowa (7-2)

When: Thursday, 6:30 p.m.

Where: Carver-Hawkeye Arena (14,995)

TV: FS1

Radio: Iowa Radio Network

All-time series: Thursday’s game will be the 78th meeting in the alltime series. Iowa leads, 48-29. The Hawkeyes have won four of the last six meetings in the series, dating back to the 2018 season.

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