Ahead of Iowa basketball’s (10-3, 1-1 Big Ten) clash vs. Wisconsin (10-3, 0-2 Big Ten) from the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis., the program provided a critical injury update on sophomore forward Owen Freeman.
Freeman, Iowa’s current leading scorer, missed his second game of the season on Monday, where he watched the Hawkeyes win a 112-70 beatdown of New Hampshire from Carver-Hawkeye Arena with an undisclosed injury.
The 6-foot-10, 245-pound forward averages 17.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, 1.5 assists, and 0.8 steals per game on 57.1% from the floor, 40% from deep, and 66.1% from the charity stripe through his 11 games thus far.
When asked about Freeman’s availability against the Badgers, head coach Fran McCaffery gave a short and confident answer that the skilled sophomore would be active.
“He’s good,” McCaffery said Thursday.
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When Freeman was asked for his perspective on the one-game injury absence, he replied that it allowed him to rest and recover. He also revealed that the undisclosed injury that sidelined him against New Hampshire was a tweaked ankle but stated he feels comfortable enough to play in Madison.
“It was good (to get some rest),” Freeman said Thursday.
“Obviously me and Brad, our trainer, didn’t think my ankle was good enough to go (against New Hampshire). So I had to cheer my teammates on. It feels good now. I’m ready to go on Friday. Just had a little tweak, but I feel really good. Was able to practice and go full. I feel good.”
The Hawkeyes will certainly need the physical presence of Freeman against a quality opponent in Wisconsin, who has defeated the Hawkeyes three consecutive times from Kohl Center.
