By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The 2024-25 Big Ten men’s basketball race has now separated into two groups, which consists of teams above .500 in conference play in one group and teams below .500 in conference play in the other group.

And much to the dismay of Iowa Hawkeye fans, their team, which has lost six of its last seven games, has sunk to near the bottom of the teams below .500 in conference play with a 4-8 record heading into Wednesday’s game against Rutgers in Piscataway, New Jersey.

Washington and Penn State as of Monday afternoon were the only teams in the Big Ten with fewer conference wins than Iowa, with each having three wins.

Iowa is one of three Big Ten teams with four wins in conference play as of Monday afternoon, and one of 11 Big Ten teams with a losing record in conference play.

There is now added concern with being near the bottom of the conference standings because the teams that finish in the bottom three spots will not make the Big Ten Tournament.

This new arrangement came from adding USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington as members of the Big Ten Conference.

To have 18 teams in the conference tournament apparently is too many, so three will be left out, adding to each of those three teams’ misery.

And while there is certainly reason for Hawkeye fans to wonder, or even worry about Iowa not making the conference tournament, there still is a lot of season left as Iowa has eight conference games remaining.

There still is time for Iowa to right the ship, but also time to sink even lower.

Iowa has been on the postseason tournament bubble before, but this marks the first time that Iowa has been on the Big Ten Tournament bubble.

But again, the regular season still has to play itself out as there are 11 Big Ten teams with three to six wins in conference play, including four with five wins.

Iowa will have to play the rest of the season without its leading scorer and rebounder, 6-foot-10 sophomore Owen Freeman, due to a finger injury.

So, it’s easy to assume with Freeman out for the rest of the season that the worst will happen, and that Iowa will be left out of the Big Ten Tournament in Fran McCaffery’s 15th season as head coach.

Iowa hung with Wisconsin this past Saturday, but ultimately fell short at the end, losing 74-63 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

“We really competed. We were playing really hard, but it just wasn’t enough,” sophomore forward Seydou Traore said after the Wisconsin loss.

Fran McCaffery was obviously disappointed after the Wisconsin loss, but he stayed calm and composed during his post-game press conference.

He was asked in his post-game press conference about staying calm despite his team’s struggles and Fran McCaffery gave this answer:

“As long as they keep fighting for me and showing up for practice with an incredibly professional approach that’s all I ever ask of them. We’re going to try and win. They want to win. They’re putting the time in and they’re competing. And it’s our job to just try to help them get over the hump.”

Fran McCaffery’s current Iowa team isn’t lacking for leadership with veterans such as Payton Sandfort and Josh Dix leading the way.

Nobody wants to win, or appreciates being a Hawkeye more than Payton Sandfort, who grew up in Waukee cheering for the Hawkeyes.

Payton Sandfort considered leaving a year early for the NBA draft, but he ultimately decided that returning to Iowa for his senior season would be in his best interest.

He also wanted to play for one season in college with his younger brother, Iowa sophomore forward Pryce Sandfort.

So, Payton Sandfort’s decision made a lot of sense, but his final season as a Hawkeye hasn’t played out as he had hoped.

Iowa is now a longshot to make the NCAA Tournament after also having failed to make it last season, and home attendance, or the lack of it, continues to be a major problem.

In other words, these are tough times for the Iowa players, coaches and fans, and it could get worse as the hump to climb over continues to get bigger.

Iowa (13-10) vs. Rutgers (12-12, 5-8)

When: Wednesday, 5:30 p.m.

Where: Piscataway, New Jersey, Jersey Mike’s Arena (8,000)

TV: Big Ten Network

Radio: Hawkeye Radio Network

All-time series: Wednesday’s game is the 17th meeting in the all-time series dating back to 1989. Iowa leads the series, 13-3.

The Hawkeyes have won four straight games in the series and seven of the last eight.