McCaffery: Impossible for Iowa to play worse than Tuesday

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Fran McCaffery won't make any guarantees about the final result, but after a rock-bottom performance in a 32-point blowout loss at Wisconsin on Tuesday, the Iowa coach does expect a better effort at Purdue on Saturday.

'It would be hard not to play better,” McCaffery said Friday morning. 'It would be impossible not to play better. Whether or not it's an incredible performance or that type of thing, we'll find out. But I can assure you we'll play harder, we'll play more together.

'Rarely do I look at a game and obviously we'll look at every component, whether it's transition game rebounding, defense, offense ... and we were not good in every area. And when that happens, you can only imagine how we feel because we feel like as coaches, We didn't do what we should have done. It's one thing to break down in one area, you fix it, you break down in two areas, you fix it. But when a team breaks down collectively, it's not something that you like to see. In many ways it's the great challenge of our profession. So you look at it that way, and hopefully our guys will respond and play better.”

After a lengthy, snowy bus trip back from Wisconsin that spilled well into Wednesday morning, Iowa's players took that day off. After Iowa's Thursday practice, McCaffery praised the team's focus entering its game at Purdue. The Hawkeyes (13-6, 4-2 Big Ten) need that type of concentration before facing an opponent at a location where they've lost six straight games.

The Boilermakers (11-8, 3-3 Big Ten) have improved from a last-place finish a season ago. They remain a physical, defensive-oriented team that rebounds among the best teams in the Big Ten. Purdue boasts two centers that are physically imposing in 7-foot-2 Isaac Haas (297 pounds) and 7-foot A.J. Hammons (261 pounds). They combine for 20.0 points, 10.7 rebounds and 3.4 blocks a game. Both are instrumental to Purdue's success at both ends of the floor.

'A lot of teams have big guys, but both of these guys are 7 feet and they both can score and they both have a presence in the low post that requires you to deal with them,” McCaffery said. 'Foul trouble is obviously something that you're worried about. So it's something we'll talk about it.”

McCaffery counters with his own center tandem in 7-1 Adam Woodbury and 6-10 Gabe Olaseni. They combine for 15.2 points and 10.6 rebounds. McCaffery cited fundamentals as crucial for both to stay out of foul trouble against Purdue's power duo.

'I'm going to play my guys the way I see fit,” McCaffery said. 'That will be altered by foul trouble. It may be altered hey he's doing a really good job on him, let's keep that match-up going. But I'm not going into the game saying one's a better match-up with Hammons than another. I'll play them both.”

Starting Purdue guard Kendall Stephens' status for Saturday's game is undetermined after injuring his left pinkie finger in a loss at Illinois on Wednesday. Purdue Coach Matt Painter on Friday told reporters Stephens will wear a pad to protect his finger. Stephens, the Boilermakers' leading scorer at 10.9 points a game, is cleared for contact, Painter said.

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