FanPulse Week 3: Confidence falling for Iowa basketball

Not many people knew exactly what to expect out of Iowa basketball this season. Tyler Cook left for the NBA, Isaiah Moss transferred to Kansas, and Nicholas Baer graduated. Throw in Jordan Bohannon’s injury and the addition of freshmen Joe Toussaint and Patrick McCaffery, too.

Not many fans saw a 93-78 loss coming against DePaul on Nov. 11, and that’s a main culprit for the decline in fan confidence.

Iowa did get somewhat back on track with an 87-74 win over Oral Roberts on Nov. 15, but realistically, the Hawkeyes should have been looking at a 3-0 start.

Considering how Iowa struggled on both ends of the floor against DePaul, it’s not out of this world for fans to be worried, especially with No. 12 Texas Tech, Syracuse, Michigan, and Minnesota making up a three-game stretch in the next few weeks.

There’s plenty of chances for that confidence to rise before then, however, as Iowa faces North Florida on Nov. 21 and Cal Poly on Nov. 24. Those are winnable games for the Hawkeyes — tune-ups, if you will — before the competition picks up immensely.