Iowa Basketball’s 5 Best Tourney Runs

Iowa was the #2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament and swept their way through the tourney, beating top seed Ohio State 67-60 in the final. Guard Jeff Horner (cutting down the net) was named the tournament's MVP. Unfortunately, this is the last time Iowa took the crown.

The euphoria didn't last long as Iowa suffered one of the largest upsets in the school's history in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. You've tried to forget, but you remember the name of the school. Northwestern State.

[via Sports Reference]

A low seed, Iowa needs to win four games in four days to secure a tourney championship. They do just that, with Reggie Evans (left) named the tournament's most valuable player, following a 63-61 win over Indiana in the championship game.

After an opening-round win over Marquette in the NCAA Tournament, Iowa's season would end with a loss to Kentucky.

[via Sports Reference]

Following a 17-5 regular season, Iowa's Fab 5 (in their junior season) makes it to the school's first Final 4. Iowa beats Penn State and Marquette before losing to LaSalle in the Final 4. Iowa would lose to Colorado in the third-place game.

Iowa's Fab 5, all in the same class, consisted of Sharm Scheuerman, Bill Logan (the only native Iowan), Carl Cain, Bill Seaburg and Bill Schoof. They led Iowa to a 2nd place Big Ten finish as sophomores and league titles their final two seasons.

[via Hawk Central]

Iowa makes its 3rd trip to the Final Four and the first since the 1950's. The Hawkeyes get Ronnie Lester back in the lineup and go on a tear to end the season, winning six in a row including four in the NCAA Tournament. Wins over #6 Syracuse and #11 Georgetown set up a Final Four meeting with #2 Louisville. Lester is injured again in the first half but the Hawks fight all the way to the end.

Louisville would go on to win the championship but many Iowa fans believe that if Lester wouldn't have been injured, the crown would've belonged to the Hawkeyes. See highlights of the Final Four game here.

[via Sports Reference]

The senior season of Iowa's Fab 5 is capped by the only championship game appearance in Iowa men's basketball history.

The Hawkeyes would start the season 3-5 before running off a string of 17 straight wins prior to meeting San Francisco in the title game.

Bill Russell would lead San Francisco to their 27th straight victory on the season, without a defeat, in an 83-71 victory. His stat line is one of the greatest in the history of basketball. He would score 26 points, grab 27 rebounds, get three steals, and have one assist. Though blocks were not an official stat at the time, he would've also been credited with 20 of those by today's standards. The most amazing thing considering his stat line? Iowa only lost by a dozen.

Russell's highlight reel from the game can be seen here.

Iowa's Bill Logan and Carl Cain were named Honorable Mention AP All-Americans. Cain for the second consecutive season.

[via Sports Reference]