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Iowa basketball: March Madness or bust if Jordan Bohannon returns

By Andrew Wade

COLUMBUS, OHIO - MARCH 24: Jordan Bohannon #3 of the Iowa Hawkeyes celebrates after a three point basket against the Tennessee Volunteers during their game in the Second Round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament at Nationwide Arena on March 24, 2019 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OHIO - MARCH 24: Jordan Bohannon #3 of the Iowa Hawkeyes celebrates after a three point basket against the Tennessee Volunteers during their game in the Second Round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament at Nationwide Arena on March 24, 2019 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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Iowa basketball player Jordan Bohannon is expected to see minutes in the Hawk’s exhibition game Monday. If all goes well, this is huge for Iowa’s season.

I’ll admit that with or without Jordan Bohannon, I think this Iowa basketball team has an opportunity to be an NCAA Tournament team. But without Bohannon, the quest to return to March Madness becomes significantly more difficult.

With a healthy Bohannon though, if the Iowa basketball team doesn’t make it to the NCAA Tournament, this season would be a failure in my mind.

This is why the news that Bohannon is likely going to be playing in the Iowa basketball team’s upcoming exhibition is huge for Fran McCaffery’s squad this season.

It significantly elevates the expectations of this year’s team, and it’s honestly just impressive that he is capable of doing this fewer than six months after undergoing hip surgery putting his 2019-2020 season in doubt.

And it’s not just for his scoring either, although that’s nice as well after he averaged 11.6 points per game as a junior. It’s his veteran leadership for a team that doesn’t have much in the form of returning senior presence. Graduate transfer Bakari Evelyn is the oldest guy in the room, but he has been with the Iowa basketball program for less than a year. Sixth man Ryan Kriener is also a senior, but his presence just isn’t the same as Bohannon’s.

Bohannon brings cool, calm, and collected confidence every time he steps on the floor, and as we saw last season, he is capable of making the biggest shots in the most important times. His ability to take over a game when the game is in crunch time is a skill that not many possess, and its something we have yet to see from any of the other current Iowa basketball players.

It’s an asset that makes the Iowa basketball team even more dangerous heading into the 2019-2020 season, and it gives them a shot on any given night against top teams in the nation.

Next. Where Iowa would rank in resume-based CFB rankings. dark

I may be getting ahead of myself considering this is just an exhibition, but if all goes well, and Bohannon is able to suit up this season for the Iowa basketball team, expectations should be high for this team.

It’s March Madness or bust.

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