Iowa's Melsahn Basabe now a marked man in Big Ten play

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Melsahn Basabe's in-game performance against Ohio State led to fewer opportunities against No. 11 Purdue on Sunday.

Basabe, a 6-foot-7 freshman forward, scored eight points and was 1-of-5 from the field in a 75-52 loss at Mackey Arena. Basabe played just 19 minutes and had four first-half turnovers against the Boilermakers. Basabe's performance was his first since a 22-point, 13-rebound effort against No. 2-ranked Ohio State last week.

"I think they marked him," Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said. "They are paying more attention to him now after the Ohio State performance. I'm not sure anybody was before so that's got to be a sstep that he has to take personally to recognize that now teams are going to come after him in a different way.

"He was trying to be aggressive, which is what we want him to be, but you can't be aggressive when there's no space. And you've got to be aggressive and make a play for someone else, not just yourself. That's where we have to help him get better."

Basabe struggled on both ends of the court against Purdue (15-1, 4-0_. Twice he was hit for traveling, was called for three seconds in the lane and an offensive goal tend. Early in the second half he was out of position in Iowa's zone defense, which allowed Purdue shooter Ryne Smith to drain back-to-back 3-pointers to neutralize Iowa's comeback hopes.

"When I look at that game, I see stuff I could have done," Basabe said. "(I) definitely should have defensive rebounded better. Offensively, could have created some opportunities for myself. Really me being a marked man, at this level everyone plays as a marked man once you do something well. I'm not going to put it on that but really myself I don't think I brought enough to day. I'll be ready for the next game."

Basabe saw extra defenders on offense, which limited his shooting opportunities. He sank his only first-half attempt with a thunderous dunk, but missed all four second-half shots. Purdue forward D.J. Byrd guarded Basabe most of the first half, but other Boilermakers - specifically JaJuan Johnson - also slid over to help when Basabe had the ball down low.

"That's actually a good thing because if JaJuan Johnson is sliding over, that means their backside guard is sliding over to cover for him, which means that somebody is open because I beat Byrd off the dribble," Basabe said. "I need to be aggressive and have the mindset I know I can get by my man and force help and then make the right play, which I learned from today's experience pivot, turn back, go back up the hill, screen, and create opportunities for my teammates. I definitely carry that to the game Wednesday night where I won't make the same mistakes twice."

Basabe now averages 9.1 points and 6.3 rebounds a game.