After a troubling two-loss week, the Iowa Hawkeyes will look to right the ship ahead of the Big Ten tournament, beginning with tonight’s trip to Wisconsin.
Flashback a week ago and the Iowa Hawkeyes appeared to be safely in the field of 68. The Hawkeyes had just defeated Indiana to improve to 10-6 in Big Ten play, but their week didn’t get off to a good start as they fell to Ohio State by 20 in Columbus.
That game may have been easy to write off considering Ohio State’s desperate need for a big win, but what happened on Saturday was frightening for Iowa’s hopes of making noise in the dance. Iowa fell 86-72 to Rutgers, at home on Senior Night, in one of the worst losses the Big Ten has seen this year.
This is not a slight against Rutgers, which has made a remarkable improvement this year and has been a much more competitive unit under Steve Pikiell, but that is a game Iowa cannot lose under any circumstances. Coach Fran McCaffery was not involved in that game after drawing a two-game suspension for cursing out an official after the Ohio State loss, and that suspension will cover tonight’s matchup against Wisconsin.
The sailing has been much smoother for Greg Gard’s Badgers, which bounced back from a loss against Indiana by beating Penn State 61-57. The win helped the Badgers improve to 12-6 in Big Ten play and climb into fourth place in the league, putting them in position to secure a double-bye in the conference tournament.
How to watch Wisconsin vs. Iowa
- Date: Thursday, March 7
- Time: 7 p.m. ET
- Location: Madison, WI
- Venue: Kohl Center
- TV: ESPN
- Live Stream: WatchESPN
It will be Senior Night in Madison, so the Badgers will look to send off Ethan Happ with one final home victory.