# 2018–19 Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team represented the University of Iowa during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by ninth-year head coach Fran McCaffery and played their home games at Carver–Hawkeye Arena as members of the Big Ten Conference. The Hawkeyes finished the season 23–12, 10–10 in Big Ten play to finish in sixth place. They defeated Illinois in the second round of the Big Ten tournament before losing to Michigan in the quarterfinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 10 seed in the South region. There they defeated No. 7-seeded Cincinnati in the First Round before losing to No. 2-seeded Tennessee in the Second Round.

## Previous season

The Hawkeyes finished the 2017–18 season 14–19, 4–14 in Big Ten play to finish in a three-way tie for 11th place. As the No. 12 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they defeated Illinois before losing to Michigan in the second round.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Ahmad Wagner | 0 | F | 6'7" | 235 | Junior | Yellow Springs, OH | Transferred to Kentucky (football) |
| Charlie Rose | 11 | G | 6'4" | 185 | Senior | Elmhurst, IL | Graduated |
| Brady Ellingson | 24 | G | 6'4" | 193 | RS Junior | Menomonee Falls, WI | Transferred to Drake |
| Dom Uhl | 25 | F | 6'9" | 217 | Senior | Frankfurt, Germany | Graduated |

### 2018 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Joe Wieskamp SG | Muscatine, IA | Muscatine High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Jun 9, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| CJ Fredrick SG | Cincinnati, OH | Covington Catholic High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | Aug 5, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "ESPN- Iowa Hawkeyes Men's Basketball Recruiting". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 31, 2018. "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 31, 2018. ||||||

## Schedule and results

The 2018–19 season will mark the first time in Big Ten history that the teams will play a 20-game conference schedule, setting a precedent for all Division I basketball. The new schedule will also include a regional component to increase the frequency of games among teams in similar areas. Over the course of a six-year cycle (12 playing opportunities), in-state rivals will play each other 12 times, regional opponents will play 10 times, and all other teams will play nine times. Three in-state series will be guaranteed home-and-homes: Illinois and Northwestern, Indiana and Purdue, and Michigan and Michigan State will always play twice.
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| November 4, 2018* 2:00 pm, BTN Plus | | Guilford | W 103–46 | – | 16 – Wieskamp | 9 – Cook | 7 – Cook | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (10,324) Iowa City, IA |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 8, 2018* 7:00 pm, BTN Plus | | UMKC 2K Classic campus-site game | W 77–63 | 1–0 | 15 – Wieskamp | 8 – Tied | 5 – Cook | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (9,317) Iowa City, IA |
| November 11, 2018* 2:00 pm, BTN Plus | | Green Bay 2K Classic campus-site game | W 93–82 | 2–0 | 17 – Tied | 7 – Wieskamp | 3 – Tied | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (10,597) Iowa City, IA |
| November 15, 2018* 8:30 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. No. 13 Oregon 2K Classic semifinals | W 77–69 | 3–0 | 16 – Bohannon | 10 – Cook | 3 – Bohannon | Madison Square Garden (14,417) New York, NY |
| November 16, 2018* 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. UConn 2K Classic championship | W 91–72 | 4–0 | 26 – Cook | 8 – Cook | 5 – McCaffery | Madison Square Garden (10,909) New York, NY |
| November 21, 2018* 7:30 pm, BTN | No. 20 | Alabama State | W 105–78 | 5–0 | 22 – Garza | 5 – Wieskamp | 7 – McCaffrey | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (12,939) Iowa City, IA |
| November 27, 2018* 8:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 14 | Pittsburgh ACC–Big Ten Challenge | W 69–68 | 6–0 | 18 – Wieskamp | 11 – Wieskamp | 4 – McCaffery | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (10,158) Iowa City, IA |
| November 30, 2018 7:00 pm, BTN | No. 14 | No. 22 Wisconsin | L 66–72 | 6–1 (0–1) | 19 – Cook | 15 – Cook | 4 – Cook | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (15,056) Iowa City, IA |
| December 3, 2018 5:30 pm, FS1 | No. 18 | at No. 10 Michigan State | L 68–90 | 6–2 (0–2) | 15 – Cook | 9 – Garza | 3 – Tied | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| December 6, 2018* 7:00 pm, FS1 | No. 18 | Iowa State Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series | W 98–84 | 7–2 | 26 – Cook | 11 – Cook | 5 – Tied | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (13,414) Iowa City, IA |
| December 15, 2018* 6:00 pm, BTN | No. 22 | vs. Northern Iowa Hy-Vee Classic | W 77–54 | 8–2 | 17 – Tied | 13 – Cook | 5 – Cook | Wells Fargo Arena (12,236) Des Moines, IA |
| December 18, 2018* 8:00 pm, BTN | No. 23 | Western Carolina | W 78–60 | 9–2 | 18 – Cook | 6 – Garza | 5 – McCaffery | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (9,642) Iowa City, IA |
| December 22, 2018* 12:00 pm, BTN Plus | No. 23 | Savannah State | W 110–64 | 10–2 | 24 – Wieskamp | 9 – Kriener | 6 – Moss | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (13,444) Iowa City, IA |
| December 29, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 24 | Bryant | W 72–67 | 11–2 | 19 – Cook | 12 – Cook | 6 – Cook | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (13,726) Iowa City, IA |
| January 3, 2019 6:00 pm, BTN | No. 25 | at Purdue | L 70–86 | 11–3 (0–3) | 24 – Cook | 6 – Cook | 4 – Wieskamp | Mackey Arena (13,701) West Lafayette, IN |
| January 6, 2019 4:30 pm, BTN | No. 25 | No. 24 Nebraska | W 93–84 | 12–3 (1–3) | 25 – Bohannon | 10 – Moss | 5 – Tied | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (11,782) Iowa City, IA |
| January 9, 2019 8:00 pm, BTN | | at Northwestern | W 73–63 | 13–3 (2–3) | 19 – Wieskamp | 10 – Baer | 4 – Moss | Welsh–Ryan Arena (7,039) Evanston, IL |
| January 12, 2019 1:30 pm, BTN | | No. 16 Ohio State | W 72–62 | 14–3 (3–3) | 16 – Garza | 8 – Cook | 8 – Bohannon | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (14,528) Iowa City, IA |
| January 16, 2019 6:00 pm, BTN | No. 23 | at Penn State | W 89–82 | 15–3 (4–3) | 22 – Garza | 12 – Garza | 6 – Bohannon | Bryce Jordan Center (7,733) University Park, PA |
| January 20, 2019 12:00 pm, BTN | No. 23 | Illinois | W 95–71 | 16–3 (5–3) | 24 – Wieskamp | 7 – Cook | 8 – McCaffery | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (13,589) Iowa City, IA |
| January 24, 2019 6:00 pm, FS1 | No. 19 | No. 6 Michigan State | L 67–82 | 16–4 (5–4) | 20 – Garza | 6 – Cook | 5 – McCaffrey | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (14,416) Iowa City, IA |
| January 27, 2019 4:00 pm, FS1 | No. 19 | at Minnesota | L 87–92 | 16–5 (5–5) | 25 – Garza | 9 – Cook | 5 – Bohannon | Williams Arena (11,582) Minneapolis, MN |
| February 1, 2019 6:00 pm, FS1 | | No. 5 Michigan | W 74–59 | 17–5 (6–5) | 19 – Garza | 10 – Kriener | 2 – Wieskamp | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (15,056) Iowa City, IA |
| February 7, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN | No. 20 | at Indiana | W 77–72 | 18–5 (7–5) | 25 – Bohannon | 7 – Cook | 6 – Bohannon | Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222) Bloomington, IN |
| February 10, 2019 5:30 pm, BTN | No. 20 | Northwestern | W 80–79 | 19–5 (8–5) | 21 – Wieskamp | 11 – Cook | 5 – McCaffery | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (11,888) Iowa City, IA |
| February 16, 2019 5:00 pm, FS1 | No. 21 | at Rutgers | W 71–69 | 20–5 (9–5) | 18 – Bohannon | 7 – Tied | 5 – Bohannon | Louis Brown Athletic Center (8,000) Piscataway, NJ |
| February 19, 2019 7:00 pm, BTN | No. 21 | No. 24 Maryland | L 65–66 | 20–6 (9–6) | 14 – Bohannon | 10 – Moss | 4 – Tied | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (11,986) Iowa City, IA |
| February 22, 2019 8:00 pm, FS1 | No. 21 | Indiana | W 76–70 $^{OT}$ | 21–6 (10–6) | 18 – Cook | 10 – Baer | 5 – McCaffery | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (15,056) Iowa City, IA |
| February 26, 2019 6:00 pm, BTN | No. 22 | at Ohio State | L 70–90 | 21–7 (10–7) | 17 – Wieskamp | 10 – Cook | 3 – McCaffery | Value City Arena (14,118) Columbus, OH |
| March 2, 2019 4:00 pm, BTN | No. 22 | Rutgers | L 72–86 | 21–8 (10–8) | 17 – Baer | 9 – Wieskamp | 3 – Wieskamp | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (15,056) Iowa City, IA |
| March 7, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPN | | at No. 21 Wisconsin | L 45–65 | 21–9 (10–9) | 8 – Tied | 7 – Cook | 2 – Tied | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| March 10, 2019 1:00 pm, BTN | | at Nebraska | L 91–93 $^{OT}$ | 21–10 (10–10) | 25 – Garza | 9 – Cook | 5 – Bohannon | Pinnacle Bank Arena Lincoln, NE |
| Big Ten tournament |||||||||
| March 14, 2019 8:30 pm, BTN | (6) | vs. (11) Illinois Second Round | W 83–62 | 22–10 | 17 – Baer | 7 – Wieskamp | 8 – McCaffery | United Center Chicago, IL |
| March 15, 2019 8:30 pm, BTN | (6) | vs. (3) No. 10 Michigan Quarterfinals | L 53–74 | 22–11 | 14 – Tied | 6 – Cook | 3 – Bohannon | United Center (18,575) Chicago, IL |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 22, 2019* 11:15 am, CBS | (10 S) | vs. (7 S) No. 22 Cincinnati First Round | W 79–72 | 23–11 | 20 – Garza | 6 – Garza | 4 – Tied | Nationwide Arena (19,641) Columbus, OH |
| March 24, 2019* 11:10 am, CBS | (10 S) | vs. (2 S) No. 6 Tennessee Second Round | L 77–83 $^{OT}$ | 23–12 | 18 – Bohannon | 7 – Wieskamp | 2 – Tied | Nationwide Arena (19,610) Columbus, OH |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. S=South. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||
* Source: Schedule

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Final |
| AP | — | — | 20 | 14 | 18 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | RV | 23 | 19 | RV | 20 | 21 | 21 | 22 | — | — | Not released |
| Coaches | — | — | 22 | 15 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 20-T | 25 | 24 | 21 | 25 | 20 | 17 | 19 | 21 | — | — | RV |
^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll. *AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings