Let’s get this out of the way – Iowa basketball fans are few and far between this season, and the few that stay glued can only cross their fingers.
That being said, a whole new season starts today when the Big Ten Tournament tips off at 12:00 ET.
Tenth-seeded Iowa (15-16, 5-13) will take to the court against seventh-seeded Michigan (19-12, 9-9) at 1:30 p.m., a rematch of last year’s first round. Ninth-seeded Michigan won over eighth-seeded Iowa, 55-47.
In his second season coaching the Hawkeyes, Todd Lickliter led Iowa to a one and one record against the Wolverines, the latest being a 70-60 overtime thriller on Feb. 22 in Iowa City.
“Hopefully Iowa will come out with a spark since they already have a win under their belts against Michigan,” Coralville resident Mike Ephraim, said. “It’s a small crowd out there hoping for the best.”
Hawkeye fans will surely not be helping ESPN 2's ratings, and the venue will probably be close to empty.
“I haven’t watched a game all year and I don’t even know who is on the team,” University of Iowa sophomore Jessica Anderson, said. “Does that make me a bad supporter? I know there’s that Jake guy!”
Yes, there is that Jake guy, Jessica. He is Jake Kelly, the new 6-foot-6-inch star point guard, and he holds the key to success at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis this weekend.
Kelly is averaging 20.4 points over Iowa's last seven outings since taking over for injured sophomore point guard Jeff Peterson, and he has played 326 of a possible 335 minutes in Iowa's last eight games.
He has also nabbed his second Big Ten Player of the Week honor in the past three weeks, as well as honorable mention for all-Big Ten honors.
So where are these fans? Where are Kelly’s fans?
“I’m a huge Hawkeye fan but feel that their game play is sub par so I’ve only gone to one game and they lost,” UI junior Brett Kuzniar said. “Too bad Jake decided to show up with only a few games left because their play caused the fans to not appreciate them.”
Like Kuzniar, most of these fans are doing what they call “something better than watching Iowa basketball.”
One thing that could be under this category is eating at Sushi Kitchen in Iowa City’s Old Capitol Mall.
Maybe the basketball team just needs a new diet to go along with their new point guard. That’s it! I’ve got the answer – a simple math equation.
Iowa men’s basketball + Sushi Kitchen = Success.
They should have stopped to eat at Sushi Kitchen on the way out of town. The Iowa wrestling team practically eats there every night and look how they perform.
Either way, new diet or not, the Hawkeyes need a little bit of that thing called luck.
“I think the momentum they have from the double overtime win against Penn State can carry them to an unexpected win against Michigan,” Ephraim said. “Cross your fingers.”
Mike Ephraim, Brett Kuzniar, Jessica Anderson, Mike Pugh, Spencer Clark
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