Iowa Coach Steve Alford said Monday point guard Jeff Horner will be ready to play in the Big Ten Tournament Friday despite taking a hard shot to the head late in the game Saturday against Purdue. He says he talked to him and Horner is fine. Horner says he doesn’t even remember making the key late free throws in the game, and Alford says he didn’t realize Horner had taken such a hard shot. He says after looking at the tape, he says he probably should’ve been more sensitive. But, Alford says he was not going to take Horner off the floor, and he says Horner wouldn’t come out anyway. The Hawkeyes resume practice today (Tuesday), so Alford says Horner will have had plenty of time to rest. Alford says he’s had to ease back on five-on-five drills after losing several players. He says they changed the way they practiced starting in February. He says they have to go into the tournament thinking they need to win three games to win it. Alford says he thinks they need to win more than one game to get an NCAA Tournament bid, but he says they will go into it wanting to win them all. He says their mindset is to try and do everything you can to win three games and the tournament, not to win enough to excite the NCAA Tournament committee. Iowa plays Michigan Friday afternoon.
