I wouldn't be shocked if this is an NIT year. Nor do I really care. What Fran has coming down the pipeline in terms of talent makes me okay with them having a down year. Maybe they'll outperform my expectations and make it another fun season with a chance at an NCAA run. That would be cool, but I'm not expecting it.
I guess I just try to take a birds eye view approach when deciding how to handle my expectations for the Iowa basketball team. Fran has brought Iowa back to relevance. They are consistently competing for and making the NCAA tourney. That's really all I ask for. I feel like I'm a simple man with realistic expectations. The Lick years just demoralized me. Boring, awful, stale, basketball from teams who just couldn't compete. Scores in the 50's and 60's. It was freaking pathetic. Fran has completely turned that crap around. Sure it would be awesome if they could make a deep run every once in awhile. I think the talent coming in down the road will put them in a solid position to do that so I'm more than willing to let this next season be nothing more than a building year.