Iowa coach Fran McCaffery has seen enough from his basketball team to not be surprised by Friday’s bounce-back performance against Seton Hall. 

The 85-72 victory was the second of Iowa’s two games in the Rady Children’s Invitational in San Diego. The first one was overwhelmingly uninspiring. 

On Thanksgiving Day, the Hawkeyes had their worst performance of this young season. The 79-67 final in favor of Oklahoma was misleading in terms of how the game actually felt. Iowa trailed by 22 points with about four minutes left in the game.

The Hawkeyes’ offense was abysmal. They shot just 35.8% from the field. But even worse was the showing from deep, where Iowa went 4-of-23, with its first 3-pointer coming more than seven minutes into the second half.

Oklahoma came out swinging and Iowa looked unable to muster a meaningful response.

“It was clearly a struggle offensively all day long,” McCaffery said after the game.

But McCaffery, having been around his group enough, expected an adequate response.

On Friday, he got just that. Iowa beat Seton Hall in a performance that, at least for the moment, settled some of the pessimism surrounding the previous day’s game. Iowa shot 56.4% from the field and 36.8% from deep. Meanwhile, it held Seton Hall to 36% from the field and 29.6% from deep.

“I expected them to be resilient and respond the way they did,” McCaffery said. “And I’m really proud of them.”

College basketball seasons are long and demanding. They are not usually defined by one loss or one poor showing, at least not before March. Being able to get back up after a loss is a valuable skill. Iowa showed that on Friday. 

“I was really impressed with the guys,” Ben Krikke said. “We talked a lot about effort last night. We came out flat against Oklahoma and it was frustrating. So we just got in the film room, figured out what we needed to figure out, made adjustments and credit to our coaches. We did a great job scouting them tonight. And we executed the game plan well and played with energy. It just felt a lot more connected out there both offensively and defensively.”

But also notable was the individuals Iowa got that response from. Part of the reason Iowa struggled so much against Oklahoma was because of how Iowa’s trio of veteran returners played. Tony Perkins had six points on 1-of-10 from the field. Payton Sandfort had 12 points but was 0-of-5 from deep. Patrick McCaffery had two points on 1-of-7 from deep.

It was an indication that those three were still working through the growing pains of taking on more prominent roles. With the departures of Kris Murray and Filip Rebraca, Iowa needs Perkins, Sandfort and McCaffery to be more than role players. 

Much like Iowa, they showed resilience in a meaningful way on Friday. 

Sandfort had 22 points, nine rebounds and went 4-of-10 from deep. Perkins had 14 points, five rebounds and five assists. Patrick McCaffery had 10 points and six boards. Krikke was one of the few bright spots against Oklahoma and delivered again on Friday. He had 19 points and five assists against Seton Hall.

Four Iowa veterans who should be expected to lead the way after a tough loss did just that.

“I think the important thing was that they all responded as leaders, as mature guys who know and understand, have been through it,” Fran McCaffery said. “And also set the tone for the younger guys that came in off the bench. And they did exactly that. Very, very professional approach by those guys.”

Part of whether Iowa accomplishes something notable this season hinges on Iowa’s ability to marry the older core with a young wave of players. Owen Freeman, who has won back-to-back Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors, had six points and three rebounds off the bench Friday. Josh Dix was impressive, too, adding nine points.

Those two units can come together to give Iowa what it needs. The starters bring firepower and the bench provides depth that Iowa lacked last season.  But as Thursday showed, if starters aren’t up to par, it will be an uphill battle for Iowa.

“The good thing about basketball is it (has) quick turnarounds, especially in this tournament setting,” Krikke said. “We knew that (the Oklahoma game) was tough but we had an opportunity 24 hours later. So although it’s frustrating, we had to meet as a team, figure out, like I said, that just come in, bring energy, punch first and play our game.”

A strong response by Iowa on Friday doesn’t solve everything. It remains to be seen whether the wide gap between Thursday and Friday’s performances is emblematic of who Iowa is — a wildly inconsistent team. Or whether the Hawkeyes can string together strong performances against capable competition.

That will be tested soon. After a matchup with North Florida, Iowa embarks on an arduous three-game stretch: Purdue (away), Iowa State (away) and Michigan (home). How Iowa fares in those games should provide more context as to where the Hawkeyes stand ahead of the turn of the calendar year.

Even with a 1-1 finish in the Rady Children’s Invitational, Iowa showed something about itself. So did its veterans. But with a long way to go this season, there is still so much more to prove.

Follow Tyler Tachman on X @Tyler_T15, contact via email at [email protected]