The Hawkeyes learned their Big Ten Tournament fate after backing themselves into a corner

After dropping four of five games over the past few weeks, Iowa has put itself in a precarious position heading into the Big Ten Tournament.

Before an inexcusable loss to Penn State, the Hawkeyes were staring at a double bye and a day three start to the tournament, paving a much easier path to the championship game.

After losing to Penn State, Iowa had to beat one or both of Michigan and Nebraska to potentially get back into the double bye conversation and solidify its NCAA Tournament position.

The squad dropped both games, finishing the season on a three-game losing streak and making their path to the Big Ten title even more difficult.

Iowa earned a nine seed in the Big Ten Tournament, starting on day two

The Hawkeyes have exceeded expectations in the first year under Ben McCollum, but after dropping a few bad games to teams like Maryland and Penn State, they now have to start the Big Ten Tournament on day two.

The field is set and Iowa will take on the winner of the Maryland and Oregon game in the first game on day two of the tournament.

If the Hawkeyes want to make it all the way to the Championship game, they will have to win four games in five days and go through Oregon/Maryland, Ohio State, Michigan, and potentially Illinois to do it.

It is not impossible, but the Big Ten is a gauntlet, and nothing is guaranteed, especially in the postseason.

Iowa easily handled Oregon and Ohio State, but lost to Maryland and Michigan, creating an interesting scenario for the Hawkeyes in the first few rounds.

If they can get out of the first round, they should be able to take care of Ohio State and set up a rematch with Michigan in the quarterfinals.

For Iowa to succeed, it will have to put a full 40 minutes together on both ends of the court, avoiding massive cold stretches on offense.

Their first test will be on Wednesday, March 11 in the second round.