You know, the season that saw Iowa win all eight of its Big Ten games and share the title with Ohio State.

Anyway, for whatever reason, I’m starting to think the Hawkeyes can win the conference title in basketball, too.

Well, why not?

They’ve already beaten Michigan State. And Michigan State is always well thought-of nationally, isn’t it? Tom Izzo is recognized as one of the game’s best coaches, isn’t he?

They’ve already beaten Illinois. And Illinois is always well thought-of nationally, isn’t it? Bill Self is another guy recognized as one of the game’s best coaches, isn’t he?

So what’s to keep Iowa, with a 3-0 Big Ten record, from keeping the good times rolling?

Not a darn thing as far as I can tell.

Maybe this will be a breakthrough season for much-maligned Steve Alford, the Hawkeyes’ coach. Maybe he’ll finally quiet the critics who say he is constantly overmatched in the Big Ten’s regular season. They point to his previous records of 6-10, 7-9 and 5-11.

Now he doesn’t have Luke Recker and Reggie Evans doing all they can to make Iowa a two-player team.

Now he’s coaching Jeff Horner, an exciting freshman from this state that Kansas’ Roy Williams somehow avoided getting.

Now he’s coaching in a conference that, in 2002-2003, is not one of the greatest in the nation.

There’s no team in the league the Hawkeyes can’t beat—at home or on the road.

It could be a fun ride.

At one point, Armstrong even said the game "has been sold out for a week."

That came as news to TV viewers like me. I’m sure it also came as news to people who sell tickets at Iowa State.

I checked the box score later, and saw that the attendance was 13,058—more than 1,000 below capacity in the 14,092-seat building.

It’s strange that Armstrong couldn’t have scanned the arena and noticed that there were more than 1,000 empty seats.

But, heck, what do I know about his problems? I guess we all have days like that.

Another thing I’m wondering about is this: What’s it going to take to get a full house at Hilton?

The Oklahoma game drew only 13,058, the Big 12 opener against Kansas drew only 12,084. Whatever became of Hilton Magic?

Maybe Bob Knight can bring it back when he and his Texas Tech team show up Feb. 12.

"I heard from a good source that Younkers is being subjugated by Carson-Pirie-Scott. They have been affiliated, but have been doing their own thing as retailers.

Offenburger, who spent so many years being the "Iowa Boy" newspaper columnist, is writing and talking up a storm as usual these days.

He also sends word that he’s making big changes in his website.

"We Offenburgers have been teasing that we have a big announcement coming about changes in the Internet site, and now we’re delivering," he writes.

"Christie Vilsack, a longtime friend of ours who is First Lady of Iowa, is going to resume her journalism career by becoming a regular columnist on our site. And our son, Andrew Offenburger, now based in Washington, D.C., on the staff of U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, is also going to become a regular columnist (on the website).

"That’s not all! At the end of January, you’ll be seeing a completely redesigned Internet site—complete with an online retail store offering our favorite Iowa products. We’ll have a new photo feature by Don Poggensee showing off Iowa at its eye-popping best.

"And there will be several other features, including more columns from the same ol’ guy, as well as guest columns."

Chuck, whose home is Storm Lake, is spending January in Cedar Rapids, where he’s teaching a course on Iowa at Coe College. His wife, Carla, teaches at Buena Vista.

Chuck recently completed a book, E. Wayne Cooley and the Iowa Girl, which is a history of high school girls’ sports in Iowa wrapped around a biography of Cooley, who headed the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union for nearly 49 years.

Offenburger is ending a 4 ½-year writing term with The Iowan Magazine, but says he’ll be a regular with the Okoboji Magazine, a six-times-a-year publication. If that’s not enough, Chuck is involved with eight statewide radio shows, anchored by WHO in Des Moines.

The more I think about it, Offenburger never really quit being the "Iowa Boy" after all.

From an eastern Iowa man:

[NOTE: Larry Eustachy was probably hoping he’d fare better by the time the box score finally got into the paper. He didn’t. His Iowa State team still lost, 83-54].

From a central Iowa man:

[NOTE: Dan Johnson must have been assigned to three or four other women’s games that night].

From a central Iowa man:

[NOTE: Good thing Alex is still on the payroll. Now maybe they can put him in charge of getting those Iowa State box scores in the paper on time, and assign him to the Iowa women’s basketball games].