In what might be a fitting conclusion to the Fran McCaffery era in Iowa City, the Iowa Hawkeyes went back to their ways on Thursday night after two consecutive strong performances.

The Hawkeyes consistently put forth effort on the glass and defense in their previous games. They slowed down and turned over the Nebraska Cornhuskers and Ohio State Buckeyes en route to a regular season finale road win and a first round Big Ten Tournament win.

But Thursday night was an encapsulation of not just this season, but also McCaffery’s tenure as head coach of the Hawkeyes. Iowa played a tremendous game offensively.

That was not the case in Indy.

Instead, Iowa gave up 106 points, allowing the Illini to shoot a blistering 46% from deep and 54% from the field. They were out-rebounded 41-24 and gave up 44 points in the paint.

As the chef’s kiss, McCaffery was ejected with just over 13:30 to go in regulation in a game that was still very much within reach.

The Hawkeyes put up 94 points on 55% shooting from the floor and 46% shooting from deep. They were efficient with only five turnovers and for nearly every team in the country, the offensive showing would have been enough to not just win, but blow out their opponent.

As has often been the case, Fran certainly had a case. Through more than six minutes of game time, the Illini had been called for just one foul despite a playing style that begs to be whistled every possession. Iowa, with their matador defense, had been dinged five times in that span. And yes, it was perhaps the least fired up a coach has ever been while receiving a technical foul – complete with no yelling and hands in the pockets.

But at the end of the day, the game went from within reach to out of reach in a hurry and for a coach known for his temper and fiery demeanor, it seems a fitting end to Fran McCaffery’s time as Iowa’s head coach.

That is, IF this is the end. As of Friday morning, the team is still in Indianapolis and McCaffery is still the coach. Per his post-game comments on Thursday, he still intends to be the coach next season.

For the fanbase, that’s not what the majority feels should be the case. This week, we polled the community and 55% of respondents indicated they believe Fran should be let go at the conclusion of the year.

The results are no doubt the result of several factors. For starters, this has obviously been a rough year for the Hawkeyes. At 17-16, this is the worst year since 2017-2018 and worse than the final year of REDACTED back in 2006-2007.

Beyond the overall record, this is the first losing season in conference play since that 2017-2018 year and marks the second consecutive year Iowa will not be playing in the NCAA Tournament.

Those are tough to stomach as a fan, but especially so when a coach has had the length of runway McCaffery has had. After 15 years, we know virtually all there is to know about Fran and where he can take the program. He resurrected things from the depths of the Lickliter years, but an NCAA Tournament run is not likely given it has never happened in 15 seasons. And with a low ceiling, when the floor begins to fall it’s likely time for change.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s been all bad. This is just the fourth losing Big Ten season under McCaffery with two coming in his first two seasons. Iowa has had just two losing seasons overall in 15 years and prior to this year, the team had made the NCAA Tournament four of the five prior years it was held and had won a pair of tournament games. Wedged in there was the COVID year, which seemed primed for an actual tournament run, and the 2021-2022 Big Ten Tournament Championship.

With the end potentially here and a poetic finish to the tenure, it’s worth remembering the good that McCaffery did for the program. And the majority of the fanbase feels that tenure was a success.

But college basketball is big business. The game is changing and Fran’s prowess as a talent identifier and developer is less important than it was even a few years ago. NIL is the name of the game and accumulating donor money is what is required to put together a roster which can compete.

Iowa couldn’t attract fans to come watch this team in person in 2024-2025. Expecting those fans to pony up to pay players is out of the question.

And thus, we come to the Ides of March and this program is in need of a turning point for the future.