Iowa's Marble 'concerned' for Friday

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas -- Iowa guard Devyn Marble twice left his team's game against Xavier with cramps to his right calf. He stood up on the sidelines as trainer Brad Floy stretched it and rolled it back into playing condition.

Then with 2:06 left in the game, Marble bit the floor for good. He clutched his right leg in agony and twisted on the baseline. It was over for Marble.

When Tom Kakert of Hawkeye Report said it appeared to be the worst cramp he'd ever seen, Marble quickly replied, "That was the worst cramp I've ever had. So we can agree on something."

Marble sat out the rest of the game, only one point shy of equaling his career high of 31. He's questionable for Friday's game against either Tennessee or UTEP. But what a performance he gave for 32 minutes.

Marble hit 10 of 23 shots, including four 3-pointers, to score a game-high 30 points in a 77-74 overtime victory. He also grabbed six rebounds, three steals and dished two assists. He individually kept the Hawkeyes alive after the team fell behind by 15 minutes early in the second half.

"I came out wanting to be aggressive," Marble said. "I wanted to make a statement. I feel I did a good job of that in the first half and throughout the game of understanding what you need to do to win. I think that's where I've come a long way. Just finding ways to win.

"It's not always about scoring. I have games where I score a lot and I have games where I don't score a lot. I'm still impacting and dominating the game in other aspects be that steals, rebounds, whatever it is. Finding ways to win is what my job is as a senior."

Marble had his leg wrapped in ice in overtime and then afterward. Coach Fran McCaffery deferred to the training staff when asked about Marble status in future games.  Marble was concerned following the game.

"At this point in time I'm a little worried," he said. "But we've got a good training staff, and I'm pretty dedicated to getting what needs to be done for me to be at as full strength as I possibly can for (Friday). As of now, I'm little worried about it."

Marble wasn't the only player out with an injury. Xavier guard Semaj Christon left the game with about 11 minutes left in regulation. He scored 14 points and had his team leading by double digits. Christon, like Marble, didn't return.

"He's their best player," McCaffery said when asked how Christon's loss impacted Xavier.

The game had minimal participants by the end. Iowa's Adam Woodbury and Zach McCabe fouled out, as did Xavier counterparts Isaiah Philmore and Matt Stainbrook. Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery was hit with a technical foul walking off the court after the first half, which allowed Xavier to shoot two free throws to start the second half.