Fran McCaffery stresses importance of leaving Nebraska loss behind

Iowa did not close the season out strong as the Hawkeyes lost their final game of the season to Nebraska. Even so, Fran McCaffery says the best thing his team can do now is burn that tape.

McCaffery said his players need to move on following the 81-77 loss to the Cornhuskers. He went on to say that he would have said the same thing had they won on Sunday. That’s because, regardless of what happens down the stretch, none of it now compares to the grind of the postseason.

“I think, win or lose the last game, you can’t let that linger on you,” said McCaffery. “You’ve got to go down there with a business-like approach. You’re starting fresh, everybody’s 0-0. Whether you get a bye, a double-bye, no bye? You’re going to play somebody really good. And you’re gonna have to play well to win.”

Iowa gave up an offensive clinic to Nebraska inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes are no stranger to scoring themselves but, whether at home or on the road, you’re not going to win many contests when your opponent shoots 58.5% from the field and 53.8% from three off of 14 makes from deep.

Still, there’s no time for them to let this hang over them. As of yesterday, Iowa became the No. 5 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. That means a second-round matchup against either Ohio State or Wisconsin before, assuming they were to win, a game against Michigan State in the quarterfinals.

McCaffery has done this long enough to know that bigger things are now at play than a home loss to a bottom-four team in their conference. He sees that they now have a clean slate rather than their 19-12 record, which is what he’s hoping to get across to his team before Iowa opens up in Chicago on Thursday.