The Iowa basketball team faces a tough challenge on Sunday night when the Hawkeyes visit fourth ranked Wisconsin. The Hawkeyes open the Big Ten race with a win over Nebraska and must find a way to slow down a Badgers team that spreads the court with three point shooters. “In addition to the fact that they can all shoot threes, they’re all good passers. They are not a turnover team, Iowa coach Fran McCaffery says. He says their turnover numbers are just as impressive as their shooting numbers.
This will be Iowa forward Jarod Uthoff’s first trip to the Kohl Center since leaving the Wisconsin program. McCaffery is not concerned about how the fans will receive Uthoff but is concerned about how they will help the Badgers. “In particular during momentum shifts, I’m more concerned about that,” McCaffery says. He says they have to be able to handle runs when the crowd gets fired up.
Despite the situation with Uthoff and Ben Brus McCaffery says there is no “bad blood” between himself and Badger coach Bo Ryan. He says they talk and both are from the same area. “So there’s no animosity, there’s no dislike other than we’re trying to beat them, they’re trying to beat us. People really try to make more out of it, there’s really nothing there,” McCaffery says.
Iowa is 12-2 while the Badgers are 14-0.