# 2020–21 Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team represented the University of Iowa during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by 11th-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 22–9, 14–6 in Big Ten play to finish in third place. They defeated Wisconsin in the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten tournament before losing to Illinois in the semifinals. The Hawkeyes received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 2 seed in the West region. They defeated Grand Canyon in the First Round before losing to Oregon in the Second Round, ending their chances at their first Sweet Sixteen since 1999.
Senior center Luka Garza was named Big Ten Player of the Year and a consensus All-American for the second consecutive season. He was also named the consensus National Player of the Year and ended his career with a school-record 2,306 points (7th in Big Ten history). Senior guard Jordan Bohannon ended the season with school-records of 639 assists and 364 3-point field goals (2nd in Big Ten history).

## Previous season

The Hawkeyes finished the 2019–20 season 20–11, 11–9 in Big Ten play to finish in four-way tie for fifth place. Their season ended when postseason tournaments including the Big Ten tournament and the NCAA tournament were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Forward Luka Garza was named Big Ten Player of the Year and was a consensus All-American.

## Offseason
### Returning players

Junior forward Luke Garza announced on April 10 that he would declare for the NBA draft, but retain his eligibility. On August 2, Garza withdrew his name from the draft and announced he would return to Iowa for his senior season.

### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Bakari Evelyn | 4 | G | 6'2" | 180 | Graduate Student | Detroit, MI | Completed college eligibility |
| Ryan Kriener | 15 | F | 6'9" | 255 | Senior | Spirit Lake, IA | Graduated |
| Riley Till | 20 | F | 6'7" | 205 | RS Junior | Dubuque, IA | Graduate transferred to Cal Poly |
| Cordell Pemsl | 35 | F | 6'8" | 230 | RS Junior | Dubuque, IA | Graduate transferred to Virginia Tech |
* ↑ Evelyn was a graduate transfer in the 2019–20 season, having graduated from Valparaiso in 2019.

### 2020 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Keegan Murray SF | Cedar Rapids, IA | DME Academy | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Oct 21, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Kris Murray SF | Cedar Rapids, IA | DME Academy | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Oct 21, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Josh Ogundele C | Worcester, MA | Worcester Academy | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | N/A | Nov 13, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ||||||
| Tony Perkins SG | Indianapolis, IN | Lawrence North | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Oct 20, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ||||||
| Ahron Ulis PG | Chicago Heights, IL | Marian Catholic | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Aug 6, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: 247Sports: 63 ||||||
| 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: "2020 Iowa Basketball Commitment List". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 14, 2021. "ESPN - Iowa Hawkeyes Men's Basketball Recruiting". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 14, 2021. "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 14, 2021. "Iowa 2020 Basketball Commits". 247sports.com. Retrieved July 14, 2021. ||||||

## Schedule and results

On September 16, 2020, the NCAA announced that the start of the season would be pushed back to November 25 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 25, 2020* 3:00 p.m., BTN | No. 5 | NC Central | W 97–67 | 1–0 | 26 – Garza | 10 – Garza | 4 – C. McCaffery | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (535) Iowa City, IA |
| November 27, 2020* 4:00 p.m., BTN | No. 5 | Southern | W 103–76 | 2–0 | 41 – Garza | 9 – Garza | 7 – Bohannon | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (535) Iowa City, IA |
| December 3, 2020* 7:00 p.m., BTN | No. 3 | Western Illinois | W 99–58 | 3–0 | 35 – Garza | 10 – Garza | 6 – C. McCaffery | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (543) Iowa City, IA |
| December 8, 2020* 6:30 p.m., ESPN | No. 3 | No. 16 North Carolina ACC–Big Ten Challenge | W 93–80 | 4–0 | 24 – Bohannon | 14 – Garza | 6 – Bohannon | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (583) Iowa City, IA |
| December 11, 2020* 8:00 p.m., BTN | No. 3 | Iowa State Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series | W 105–77 | 5–0 | 34 – Garza | 10 – Nunge | 7 – Toussaint | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (560) Iowa City, IA |
| December 13, 2020* 1:00 p.m., FS1 | No. 3 | Northern Illinois | W 106–53 | 6–0 | 23 – Garza | 8 – Tied | 7 – C. McCaffery | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (546) Iowa City, IA |
| December 19, 2020 11:00 a.m., CBS | No. 3 | vs. No. 1 Gonzaga | L 88–99 | 6–1 | 30 – Garza | 10 – Garza | 4 – Wieskamp | Sanford Pentagon (243) Sioux Falls, SD |
| December 22, 2020 8:00 p.m., BTN | No. 4 | Purdue | W 70–55 | 7–1 (1–0) | 22 – Garza | 9 – Tied | 6 – C. McCaffery | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (536) Iowa City, IA |
| December 25, 2020 7:00 p.m., BTN | No. 4 | at Minnesota | L 95–102 | 7–2 (1–1) | 32 – Garza | 17 – Garza | 6 – C. McCaffery | Williams Arena (0) Minneapolis, MN |
| December 29, 2020 8:00 p.m., FS1 | No. 10 | No. 19 Northwestern | W 87–72 | 8–2 (2–1) | 24 – Bohannon | 6 – Garza | 5 – Bohannon | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (464) Iowa City, IA |
| January 2, 2021 1:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 10 | at No. 14 Rutgers | W 77–75 | 9–2 (3–1) | 25 – Garza | 9 – Murray | 4 – Tied | Louis Brown Athletic Center (0) Piscataway, NJ |
| January 7, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 5 | at Maryland | W 89–67 | 10–2 (4–1) | 24 – Garza | 7 – Garza | 10 – C. McCaffery | Xfinity Center (0) College Park, MD |
| January 10, 2021 1:30 pm, BTN | No. 5 | No. 16 Minnesota | W 86–71 | 11–2 (5–1) | 33 – Garza | 10 – Nunge | 14 – Bohannon | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (569) Iowa City, IA |
| January 17, 2021 11:00 a.m., CBS | No. 5 | at Northwestern | W 96–73 | 12–2 (6–1) | 17 – Garza | 10 – Garza | 4 – Tied | Welsh-Ryan Arena (0) Evanston, IL |
| January 21, 2021 8:00 p.m., FS1 | No. 4 | Indiana | L 69–81 | 12–3 (6–2) | 28 – Garza | 12 – Tied | 4 – C. McCaffrey | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (566) Iowa City, IA |
| January 29, 2021 8:00 p.m., FS1 | No. 7 | at No. 19 Illinois Rivalry | L 75–80 | 12–4 (6–3) | 19 – Tied | 8 – Murray | 5 – Tied | State Farm Center (190) Champaign, IL |
| February 2, 2021 6:00 p.m., FS1 | No. 8 | Michigan State | W 84–78 | 13–4 (7–3) | 27 – Garza | 12 – Garza | 6 – Toussaint | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (557) Iowa City, IA |
| February 4, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 8 | No. 7 Ohio State | L 85–89 | 13–5 (7–4) | 18 – Tied | 10 – Wieskamp | 6 – Bohannon | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (503) Iowa City, IA |
| February 7, 2021 11:00 a.m., FOX | No. 8 | at Indiana | L 65–67 | 13–6 (7–5) | 18 – Tied | 8 – Wieskamp | 2 – Bohannon | Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (0) Bloomington, IN |
| February 10, 2021 6:30 p.m., BTN | No. 15 | No. 25 Rutgers | W 79–66 | 14–6 (8–5) | 26 – Wieskamp | 10 – Tied | 7 – Bohannon | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (560) Iowa City, IA |
| February 13, 2021 1:30 p.m., FOX | No. 15 | at Michigan State | W 88–58 | 15–6 (9–5) | 21 – Wieskamp | 11 – Nunge | 6 – Nunge | Breslin Center (0) East Lansing, MI |
| February 18, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 11 | at No. 21 Wisconsin | W 77–62 | 16–6 (10–5) | 30 – Garza | 12 – Murray | 5 – Bohannon | Kohl Center (0) Madison, WI |
| February 21, 2021 4:00 p.m., FS1 | No. 11 | Penn State | W 74–68 | 17–6 (11–5) | 23 – Garza | 11 – Tied | 6 – Bohannon | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (566) Iowa City, IA |
| February 25, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 9 | at No. 3 Michigan | L 57–79 | 17–7 (11–6) | 16 – Garza | 8 – C. McCaffrey | 2 – Fredrick | Crisler Center (83) Ann Arbor, MI |
| February 28, 2021 3:00 p.m., CBS | No. 9 | at No. 4 Ohio State | W 73–57 | 18–7 (12–6) | 24 – Garza | 11 – Garza | 7 – Toussaint | Value City Arena (0) Columbus, OH |
| March 4, 2021 8:00 p.m., BTN | No. 5 | Nebraska | W 102–64 | 19–7 (13–6) | 26 – Bohannon | 8 – Garza | 8 – C. McCaffery | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (549) Iowa City, IA |
| March 7, 2021 11:30 a.m., FOX | No. 5 | No. 25 Wisconsin | W 77–73 | 20–7 (14–6) | 21 – Garza | 16 – Garza | 8 – Bohannon | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (582) Iowa City, IA |
| Big Ten tournament |||||||||
| March 12, 2021 8:00 p.m., BTN | (3) No. 5 | vs. (6) Wisconsin Quarterfinals | W 62–57 | 21–7 | 24 – Garza | 9 – Garza | 6 – McCaffery | Lucas Oil Stadium (7,735) Indianapolis, IN |
| March 13, 2021 2:30 p.m., CBS | (3) No. 5 | vs. (2) No. 3 Illinois Semifinals/Rivalry | L 71–82 | 21–8 | 21 – Garza | 12 – Garza | 6 – Bohannon | Lucas Oil Stadium (8,000) Indianapolis, IN |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 20, 2021 5:25 p.m., TBS | (2 W) No. 8 | vs. (15 W) Grand Canyon First Round | W 86–74 | 22–8 | 24 – Garza | 9 – Wieskamp | 5 – Wieskamp | Indiana Farmers Coliseum (986) Indianapolis, IN |
| March 22, 2021 11:10 a.m., CBS | (2 W) No. 8 | vs. (7 W) Oregon Second Round | L 80–95 | 22–9 | 36 – Garza | 9 – Garza | 5 – Wieskamp | Bankers Life Fieldhouse (3,565) Indianapolis, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||
* Source: Schedule

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking ( ) = First-place votes :
| | 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 | Final |
| AP | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 (1) | 4 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 11 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 8 | Not released |
| Coaches | 6 (1) | 6^ (1) | 3 (1) | 3 (2) | 5 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 13 |
^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.