Over the 32 days leading up to college basketball season, we’ll be profiling 32 different teams who could be in the NIT mix, aided in this effort by those who know them best (or the closest we could get). Today, our own Joe Stunardi responds by email to our questions about Iowa State. Why did we email him? Well, we were emailing everybody else, and it felt right.
Joe Stunardi can be found here at www.thebarkingcrow.com, where he most often discusses Iowa State in Joe’s Notes (but keep an eye out for new developments on that front). He can also be found on Twitter at @joestunardi, and theoretically at the same handle on Instagram (we had to set those up to use Threads, which seemed viable for a day or two). That is Joe. Joe Stunardi is not his real name.
Here’s the full list of 32 for 32’s published so far, with links:
- Auburn, with the Sickos CBB Committee
- BYU, with Mitch Harper
- Cincinnati, with Zach Fries
- Dayton, with Tyler Cronin
- Duquesne, with Tristan Freeman
- Indiana, with Matt Cox
- Iona, with Sam Federman
- Iowa State, with Joe Stunardi
- James Madison, with Bennett Conlin
- Loyola, with Ky McKeon
- Michigan, with the Sickos CBB Committee
- Missouri, with Jim Root
- North Texas, with Harry Miers
- Northwestern, with John Templon
- Notre Dame, with Stuart McGrath
- Ohio State, with Mark Titus
- Oregon State, with Andy Dieckhoff
- Penn State, with DJ Bauer
- South Carolina, with Brian Rauf
- St. Bonaventure, with SBUnfurled
- St. John’s, with the Sickos CBB Committee
- Syracuse, with the Marshall Street Podcast
- Texas, with NIT Stu
- Utah, with Andrew Crowley
- Virginia Tech, with Ken Pomeroy
- Washington State, with Dave Andersen
- Wisconsin, with Cole Amundson
The Barking Crow: Let’s start with last year. After blowing past early-season expectations, Iowa State nearly pulled off a dramatic backdoor entry into the NIT. What do they need to do this year to finish the job and make the field?
They might only need to meet expectations. Bart Torvik has them 50th in the country, which—as you know as well as I do—is within NIT territory. It’s such a narrow window, though, that the odds are low. Things that can go wrong for this team mostly come back to a failure to mesh, with a lot of roster turnover after fielding such an experienced team last year. Things that can go well mostly come back to the high-end talent. Omaha Biliew probably isn’t going to be a lottery pick, but he could potentially be a first-rounder as a one-and-done if he hits the high end of his window. He’s not alone in entering with hype, either, and Tamin Lipsey seems like he’ll get a lot of Fran Fraschilla praise as a grit guy when Iowa State lands on the big broadcasts.
TBC: Iowa State’s only made three NIT appearances in its history, but it did reach the Final Four in one of them, coming three points short of Rutgers in the 2004 semifinals. What is the legacy of that run in Ames?
Honestly, I forgot that happened. I have a vague memory of it, but I wouldn’t have been able to pull it up voluntarily. I didn’t grow up in Ames, for what that’s worth, but…not much recollection. Not spoken about a lot. Iowa State’s a little weird in that there have been some great stretches of basketball but the lows have been especially low. We are very good at missing the NIT.
TBC: The women’s basketball team made the WNIT Final Four that same year. Is there any hope that they’ll make this new WBIT this season? If they do, and if both programs make the Final Four (it’s a lot of ifs, but it did happen once before), should we expect a big turnout at Hinkle Fieldhouse from the Cyclone faithful?
It’s possible. They had multiple players drafted, so it’s a rebuilding situation. I would not at all rule it out.
I do think Iowa State’s a school where if either basketball team is playing somewhere, especially somewhere within driving distance like Indianapolis, fans will be in attendance, and fans will be drinking Busch Light in proximity to the venue. The weekday/weeknight part hurts, and it’s not an easy drive, but having so many alumni in Chicago would probably also help. I would think Iowa State could get a good turnout in Indianapolis, especially for the men’s team, and I would think the school would get behind it, especially for the women’s team (there seems to be more NIT shame than WNIT shame, which I think is partly responsible for the attendance paradox).
TBC: As one of the leading NIT bracketologists in the field but also an Iowa State fan, how do you balance your own biases concerning the Cyclones? Is the temptation ever there to try to will them into the NIT field?
Our bracketology is always objective. It’s formulaic. I do sometimes wonder how much media impacts selection, though. I’d guess it’s a bigger thing in football than in basketball, but seeing Joe Lunardi on their screens every time they watch a game on the ESPN family has to impact the selection committee somehow. They are repeatedly being told what experts expect them to think.
TBC: Who is Iowa State’s dream NIT opponent? Who does Iowa State least want to run into in the NIT?
Iowa; Iowa.
TBC: What’s something you wish more people knew about Iowa State, as an institution and community? Not just a basketball team. But you can do basketball if you want! Your call.
I’d just say the difference between Iowa State and Iowa. The two get conflated a lot. Weirdly, this also happens with Ohio State? It isn’t an issue with people who follow sports, but when Iowa State comes up with non-sports fans, it gets referred to as Ohio State in more conversations than you’d think.
TBC: Dare we dream of an Iowa State NIT title?
Yes. Dream on, dreamer.
