INDIANAPOLIS — Iowa coach Fran McCaffery would have preferred to bid farewell to his seniors in front of the crowd Thursday night.
Instead, his second-half ejection forced that scene to play out in the privacy of the Hawkeyes’ locker room.
McCaffery drew two technical fouls for arguing with the refs with 13:33 remaining in a 106-94 second-round Big Ten tournament loss to No. 24 Illinois — a scene he hopes will not be his last as the Hawkeyes’ coach.
“Absolutely,” he said when asked whether he missed having a chance to thank senior forward Payton Sandfort, specifically, in front of the crowd at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. “But you know, I’m always going to advocate for my guys. That’s my job, and we had some very emotional moments in the locker room.”
Indeed, it was an emotional night.
Sandfort matched his career high with 30 points on a night he made eight 3-pointers, tying the single-game tourney record done twice previously. But McCaffery missed that moment, too, having already made his stroll through the tunnel long before his players and assistants.
When Sandfort departed the game for the final time, he burst into tears, something Illinois coach Brad Underwood praised, saying it showed Sandfort’s passion and commitment to the game.
Whether that will be the final time Hawkeyes fans see Sandfort or McCaffery still isn’t clear. An NIT appearance remains a possibility, but the bigger question is McCaffery’s future after 15 seasons in Iowa City.
“I do,” McCaffery said calmly when asked whether he expects to return next season after posting his worst record, 17-16, in seven seasons.
But for a few moments on the court, the fiery McCaffery couldn’t contain his temper.
After Tre White made two free throws to give the Fighting Illini a 69-60 lead, the Hawkeyes were setting up their offense when McCaffery left the coach’s box and said something to the trailing ref, drawing the first technical. A few moments later, he was hit with the second.
McCaffery didn’t think the first was warranted.
“I think I might have pointed out the foul discrepancy, I think it was five to one,” McCaffery said. “I didn’t think that was that egregious.”
He wasn’t asked about the second technical.
Iowa’s players huddled on the court as McCaffery walked to the team’s locker room, and Kasparas Jakucionis responded by making all four free throws to give the Illini a 73-60 lead. The Hawkeyes pulled themselves together, briefly regaining some momentum, before losing it again after McCaffery’s departure.
