Program history
Iowa
in the tournament.
Iowa appears in 30 tournaments in this archive, between 1955 and 2026, with an all-time record of 34–30. It has reached the title game once — 1956 — without winning it.
In its opening game it is 7–9. 7 of its 15 games decided by three points or fewer went its way.
Its biggest upset as the underdog came in 2026, when a 9th seed beat the 1st-seeded Florida 73–72. The reverse happened in 2006: as a 3rd seed it lost to the 14th-seeded Northwestern State 64–63.
Its longest run of consecutive appearances is 5, from 1979 to 1983. Its longest absence ran 14 years, between 1956 and 1970. It has met Kentucky 3 times, more than any other opponent.
This archive carries no numeric seed before 1979. Since then it has entered as high as a 2nd seed and as low as an 11th.
- 30 Appearances
- 34–30 All-time record
- 0 Titles
Season by season
| Year | Seed | Record | Coach | Conference | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | — | 19–7 | Bucky O'Connor | Big Ten | Fourth Place |
| 1956 | — | 20–6 | Bucky O'Connor | Big Ten | Runner Up |
| 1970 | — | 20–5 | Ralph Miller | Big Ten Conference | Regional third place |
| 1979 | 4 | 20–8 | Lute Olson | Big Ten Conference | Round of 32 |
| 1980 | 5 | 23–10 | Lute Olson | Big Ten Conference | 4th Place |
| 1981 | 3 | 21–7 | Lute Olson | Big Ten Conference | Round of 32 |
| 1982 | 6 | 21–8 | Lute Olson | Big Ten Conference | Round of 32 |
| 1983 | 7 | 21–10 | Lute Olson | Big Ten Conference | Round of 16 |
| 1985 | 8 | 21–11 | George Raveling | Big Ten Conference | lost in the Round 1 to Arkansas, 54–63 |
| 1986 | 11 | 20–12 | George Raveling | Big Ten Conference | lost in the Round 1 to NC State, 64–66 |
| 1987 | 2 | 30–5 | Tom Davis | Big Ten Conference | lost in the Regional Finals to UNLV, 81–84 |
| 1988 | 5 | 24–10 | Tom Davis | Big Ten Conference | lost in the Regional semifinals to Arizona, 79–99 |
| 1989 | 4 | 23–10 | Tom Davis | Big Ten Conference | lost in the Round 2 to NC State, 96–102 |
| 1991 | 7 | 21–11 | Tom Davis | Big Ten Conference | lost in the Round 2 to Duke, 70–85 |
| 1992 | 9 | 19–11 | Tom Davis | Big Ten Conference | lost in the Round 2 to Duke, 62–75 |
| 1993 | 4 | 23–9 | Tom Davis | Big Ten Conference | lost in the Round 2 to Wake Forest, 78–84 |
| 1996 | 6 | 24–8 | Tom Davis | Big Ten Conference | lost in the Round of 32 to Arizona, 73–87 |
| 1997 | 8 | 22–10 | Tom Davis | Big Ten Conference | lost in the Round of 32 to Kentucky, 69–75 |
| 1999 | 5 | 20–10 | Tom Davis | Big Ten Conference | lost in the Regional Semifinal to Connecticut, 68–78 |
| 2001 | 7 | 23–12 | Steve Alford | Big Ten Conference | lost in the Round of 32 to Kentucky, 79–92 |
| 2005 | 10 | 21–12 | Steve Alford | Big Ten Conference | lost in the Round of 64 to Cincinnati, 64–76 |
| 2006 | 3 | 25–9 | Steve Alford | Big Ten Conference | lost in the Round of 64 to Northwestern State, 63–64 |
| 2014 | 11 | 20–13 | Fran McCaffery | Big Ten Conference | lost in the opening round to Tennessee, 65–78 (OT) |
| 2015 | 7 | 22–12 | Fran McCaffery | Big Ten Conference | lost in the round of 32 to Gonzaga, 68–87 |
| 2016 | 7 | 22–11 | Fran McCaffery | Big Ten Conference | lost in the round of 32 to Villanova, 68–87 |
| 2019 | 10 | 23–12 | Fran McCaffery | Big Ten Conference | lost in the round of 32 to Tennessee, 77–83 (OT) |
| 2021 | 2 | 22–9 | Fran McCaffery | Big Ten Conference | lost in the round of 32 to Oregon, 80–95 |
| 2022 | 5 | 26–10 | Fran McCaffery | Big Ten Conference | lost in the round of 64 to Richmond, 63–67 |
| 2023 | 8 | 19–14 | Fran McCaffery | Big Ten Conference | lost in the round of 64 to Auburn, 75–83 |
| 2026 | 9 | 24–13 | Ben McCollum | Big Ten Conference | lost in the regional final to Illinois, 59–71 |
How the games went
| Round | W–L |
|---|---|
| Opening | 7–9 |
| Round of 64 | 18–6 |
| Round of 32 | 2–7 |
| Round of 8 | 2–2 |
| Semifinal | 5–5 |
| Final | 0–1 |
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