Junior capitalizeson big minutes when Cole has foul trouble

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Iowa forward Andrew Brommer played the most complete game of his college career Wednesday, yet his first thoughts afterward were about the team.

Brommer, a 6-foot-9 junior, posted a stat line of 12 points, six rebounds, three blocked shots and two assists in a 70-48 loss to Ohio State. Afterward, Brommer was less concerned about his performance as he was with the team's result.

"It wasn't so much that I wanted to prove something; it was more of I wanted to win,” Brommer said. “I just took that and went with it.”

Brommer took the court just 5 minutes, 32 seconds into the game after starter Jarryd Cole was hit with his second foul. Brommer virtually never left, playing a career-high 30 minutes. He was equally effective in both halves, scoring six points in each. His rebound and block output were career bests; his point and assist totals tied his bests.

“(Brommer) just committed himself and against a guy who's (likely) the first pick in the (NBA) draft (Ohio State's Jared Sullinger). He played pretty well,” Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said. “It gives me confidence that I can go to him and have a guy that can score and affect the game with a block or a traffic rebound.

“He's a good passing big man; he's got good assist-to-turnover numbers. He gives you a guy that you can utilize in different ways. Hopefully, for him it's the kind of game that will really impact his confidence level to know that if he can play that way against Sullinger, he can play that way against anybody.”

The game comes on the heels of perhaps his worst game this season in a 10-point loss at Minnesota. Brommer, of Rosemount, Minn., played only five minutes and didn't score in front of several friends and family members.

“I didn't play him a whole lot because when I put him in he struggled,” McCaffery said. “I wanted to put him back in - it was a tight game - but the other guys were playing better, (freshman Melsahn) Basabe in particular.”

Iowa teammate Matt Gatens said Brommer's effort in practice showed commitment this week even after his tough outing at Minnesota.

“Every day he brings it in practice and works hard, whether he gets 5 minutes or 20 minutes, he's coming in to practice every day and working his butt off (and) it showed,” Gatens said. “(Wednesday) you couldn't tell who was the No. 1 pick. He played right with Sullinger, blocking shots until that final buzzer.”

Foul trouble usually gets to Brommer, but it didn't catch up with him Wednesday.

“What (Brommer) does is he uses his body, which is good because he's got a big frame,” McCaffery said. “But sometimes he puts his hands on a guy and that's (an) automatic (foul) ... (I'm) just trying to get him to get his hands up and use his body and stay out of foul trouble.”

McCaffery said he stayed with Brommer over Cole “because he was playing better.” Brommer said he had the proper mindset against the unbeaten Buckeyes, which led to his career-best performance.

“I think you definitely have to be ready if you're coming off the bench right away,” Brommer said. “I feel like I was tonight and I just need to be ready to do that.

“I knew Jarryd was in foul trouble, and I had to be the guy.”