After the 2015–16 season graduated 4 senior starters Iowa got off to a rocky start to the 2016-17 campaign, going 3–5 with losses to Seton Hall (91-83), Virginia (74-41), Memphis (100-92), Notre Dame (92-78), and Nebraska-Omaha (98-89). The Hawkeyes turned things around in December and ended non-conference play with five straight victories, including wins over in-state rivals #25 Iowa State (78-64) and UNI (69-46). Iowa finished non-conference play 8–5 on the year. The Hawkeyes went 10–8 in conference play, with wins over Michigan (86-83), #17 Purdue (83-78), Ohio State (85-72), #24 Maryland (83-69), Indiana (96-90), and #22 Wisconsin (59-57). McCaffery's Hawkeyes were invited to the NIT post-season tournament and defeated South Dakota (87-75) before losing in overtime to eventual champion TCU (94-92), finishing their season 19–15. Senior Peter Jok lead the Big Ten in scoring (19.9 ppg) and was first-team all-conference.