A young Iowa team won the 2K Sports Classic early in the season, defeating #13 Oregon (77-69) and UCONN (91-72) in back-to-back nights at Madison Square Garden. The Hawkeyes would go undefeated in non-conference play, with wins over in-state rivals Iowa State (98-84) and UNI (77-54). They also scored a whopping 68 points in the first half of a 105–78 win over Alabama State and beat Savannah State by 46 (110-64). Iowa's season featured several thrilling contests, including a 1-point victory over Pitt (69-68), and buzzer-beating wins in back-to-back games against Northwestern (80-79) and Rutgers (71-69). Iowa just missed a chance to make it three last-second victories in a row, but a shot as time expired rimmed out against #24 Maryland (66-65). Other notable regular season victories for Iowa included wins over #24 Nebraska (93-84), #16 Ohio State (72-62), and #5 Michigan (74-59). The Hawkeyes ended the regular season on a 4-game losing streak. In the Big Ten Tournament, Iowa defeated Illinois before falling to Michigan. The Hawkeyes earned the No. 10 seed in the South Regional in the NCAA Tournament. In the first round, the Hawkeyes came from behind to upset seventh-seed Cincinnati (79-72). Then, Iowa faced off against second seed Tennessee in the Round of 32. The Hawkeyes came back from a 25-point deficit in the first half to send the game to overtime, which was won by Tennessee.