Pedley's Ponderings

Like every other year, my March Madness bracket was shot to pieces on Day 1 of the tournament. I guessed only seven of the first 16 games correctly on Friday, and 10 of 16 on Saturday. My national champion (Illinois) was knocked out on Sunday and right now there are only six teams in my Sweet 16 still playing. I don’t think I’ll be winning anything in my friends’ pool this year.

That doesn’t bother me, though. What did bother me was my Iowa Hawkeyes getting knocked out in the Round of 32 once again. The Black and Gold got absolutely boat raced by Oregon on Monday to cement yet another season of missed opportunities and disappointment. It was a tough pill to swallow.

The Hawkeyes haven’t made the Sweet 16 since 1999. That is an abysmal streak as there’s ever been, and I’m not seeing much light at the end of the tunnel. If head coach Fran McCaffery can’t make the second weekend of the tournament with this team I don’t think it will ever happen under his direction. He had National Player of the Year candidate Luka Garza and a host of other talented players like Joe Wieskamp, only to see everything vaporized into dust by the Ducks. Monday’s game was heartbreaking but expected for Hawkeye fans.

The program seems dead-set on mediocrity and continually fails to meet the slightest expectations. This year was no different. There were dreams of a conference championship and deep tournament run, but alas, there was nothing of the sort. Iowa’s stink streak continued and that’s all that really matters.

It could be worse. Self-loathing Hawk fans like me need only to look towards Ames to find true misery. The Cyclones just wrapped up a dismal two-win season that saw them go winless in Big 12 play. Even when Iowa was terrible during late 2000s and early 2010s, they still won a few league games. New ISU coach T.J. Otzelberger has his work cut out for him, to put it lightly.

Perspective is good to remember when I think the sky is falling. The Iowa wrestling team just took home its first national championship in 11 years and the women’s basketball team punched its ticket to the Sweet 16 on Tuesday. That ain’t too shabby, so I should stop moaning about the men’s basketball team.

After all, I’ll need to save some of my griping for football season.

Nick Pedley is news editor of The Hartley Sentinel-The Everly/Royal News.