Hawkeyes looking to advance in Conference Tournament

Winning conference games is not something the Iowa men’s basketball team has been able to experience many times – now the fate of their season relies on it.

The 10th seeded Hawkeyes will play the 7th seed Michigan today in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament – the loser will see their season end.

Iowa and Michigan split the season series with both teams winning on their home court. Iowa beat Michigan 70-60 in a thrilling game that went into overtime on Feb. 22, but the Hawkeyes have not had much to be proud of this year -- finishing the regular season with a 15-16 overall record and 5-13 in conference.

Even though Iowa has struggled, there are still some fans that will be watching and hoping for the improbable feat of a conference championship.

“I’m meeting some of my friends at a bar to watch the game,” Iowa junior Sam Patterson said. “I think they can win today. They’ve beaten them once already and they’ll be hungry for redemption from last year’s loss.

Michigan defeated Iowa in the first round of last year’s conference tournament by a score of 55-47.

Some students have class during the game, but that isn’t stopping junior Sean Rochambeau, a season ticket holder, from staying updated on the game.

“I have class, but I will be checking the score constantly on my IPod Touch,” he said. “I saw them beat the Wolverines in overtime earlier this year, so I think they can pull off another win against them.”

There are some local students that are not so confident in their home team however.

"I don't see them winning. I don't think their heads are in the right place and they don't have much to play for," Iowa junior Ross Neuman said. "I'll probably watch the game because I don't have anything better to do, but I'll be flipping through the channels to watch other games as well."

With a win against Michigan, the Hawkeyes can at least take something good from a season that has not gone the direction they were hoping. Although winning the tournament is very unrealistic, winning just one game can give the team some momentum going into next season.

Tip-off for the game is 1:30 p.m.in Indianapolis.

Sean Rochambeau, Ross Neuman, Andrea Stroink, Sam Patterson