Iowa basketball: Hawks 2nd round game ranked 13th in NCAA tournament

The Iowa basketball team put on a thrilling comeback during the second round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament. Recently, it was ranked the 13th best game.

It was exciting to see the Iowa basketball team make the 2019 NCAA Tournament for the first time in three seasons this past year. Despite struggling down the stretch, Iowa basketball fans were still excited about what could happen come tournament time and those hopes and dreams only strengthened when the Hawks defeated the Cincinnati Bearcats in the opening round.

Unfortunately, those dreams were dashed quickly when the #2 seeded Tennessee Volunteers jumped out to a huge lead in the first of their second-round game versus the Iowa basketball team.

Yet, the improbable happened. The Hawkeyes staged one of the best comebacks in tournament history to force the game into overtime. Although they would eventually lose the game, it was a moral victory that left Iowa basketball fans proud of the team.

Now, a few months removed from the tournament, FanSided’s Busting Brackets ranked each of the 2019 NCAA Tournament’s 67 games. Checking in at 13th is the Iowa basketball team’s second-round game and in 25th is the Hawkeyes round of 64 game.

While initially I was confused why the Hawkeyes comeback wasn’t ranked higher, when taking a better look at the games ranked ahead, I am actually pretty comfortable with both games rankings.

The comeback was legendary but for an entire half of the game, it was a pretty terrible game to watch. Furthermore, the overtime wasn’t nearly as thrilling as most would have hoped as it appears the Hawks ran out of gas.

As far as the opening round game, 25th seems about right. It didn’t come down to a buzzer-beater, and there wasn’t an insane comeback like in the round of 32, but it was a tight game throughout, and it wasn’t until the final 30 seconds that the Hawks put the game away. Cincinnati tried to make a run at the Hawks playing aggressive full-court man defense, but the Hawks survived and advanced.

It wasn’t a win, but it’s a game that will likely be remembered for a long time by Iowa basketball fans everywhere, and it being named one of the top games in the entire tournament is a testament to the amazing resilience and the excitement of the game.