Iowa coach Steve Alford says he will have nine players available on Saturday when the Hawkeyes host Purdue. Junior Center Jared Reiner will miss the game after suffering a sprained knee in the waning seconds on Saturday’s loss at home to Ohio State. Alford says the healing process is going well and he’s hoping Reiner could be out only two weeks instead of three.Alford says Reiner could be back in the lineup sooner than expected. He says all the swelling is out of the knee and Reiner has done a good job of listening to the doctors.Alford says without Reiner they won’t change much but will emphasize other things as a lot of the passes started with Reiner. Alford says everyone will need to pick up some of the slack, not just the centers, but he says the guards need to improve too and not turn the ball over.
