Against Purdue, Hawkeyes could use more of Josh Dix’s recent high-level play

IOWA CITY — Iowa has hopped up the Big Ten men’s basketball standings with three straight wins, and now has a chance to make a big leap.

The Hawkeyes (11-6 overall, 3-3 Big Ten) host Purdue (16-2, 5-2) Saturday at 1 p.m.

The Boilermakers aren’t infallible. They lost 92-88 in overtime at Northwestern on Dec. 1, and fell 88-72 at Nebraska on Jan. 9. But they also own five wins over teams that were ranked No. 11 or higher at the time, including then-No. 1 Arizona.

Purdue is No. 2 itself, and has had two short runs at No. 1. It’s one of the most efficient offensive teams in the nation.

“They have veteran guys, they have the National Player of the Year (center Zach Edey), they have multiple 3-point shooters, they have depth, competitive guys in every spot,” said Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery.

“You really have to defend every possession to stop them.”

Purdue’s most-recent game was an 87-66 blitz of Indiana in Bloomington, with Edey notching 33 points and 14 rebounds.

The Hawkeyes haven’t been chopped liver lately themselves. They’ve averaged 88.7 points in their last three games, Big Ten wins of nine points or more. The latest was an 86-77 triumph at Minnesota Monday.

Someone who has come into the forefront for Iowa recently is guard Josh Dix. The sophomore from Council Bluffs scored a career-high 16 points last Friday in the Hawkeyes’ 94-76 win over Nebraska. He topped that with 21 Monday at Minnesota, along with five assists and two steals.

It was almost two years ago to the day when Dix landed awkwardly and suffered a broken tibia and broken fibula during Council Bluffs Lincoln’s game against Le Mars.

The Iowa commit seemed like a good bet to redshirt his first year at Iowa.

“My doctor at home told me it’d probably be like 10 to 12 months,” Dix said this week, “so that would have put me like coming back in December.

“But once I got here, they kind of sped up the process a little bit. I worked with Brad (Floy), the trainer, and he helped me get back by September.”

“I really thought we were going to have to redshirt him,” McCaffery said, “but he was ready to go and really good for us. We won some games last year because of him.”

Dix played in 31 games off the bench, with his minutes varying. He had a 10-point, five-assist performance that was essential for Iowa in a home win over Michigan.

This current win streak has looked like a lift-off for Dix’s career. He has made 8 of 12 3-pointers and averaged 3.7 assists. He’s had a lot of nice moments over the last two games. One that stood out was a step-back 3-pointer at Minnesota, a poised and smooth play.

“I feel like I just needed to be more confident in my game and trust myself a little more and be more aggressive on the court,” Dix said.

“He’s pretty quiet,” said McCaffery, “but he’s really locked in. He’s really focused. He’s a serious guy. He’s an intense competitor. But he’s also really cerebral. He really knows and understands the game and he knows and understands what the game plan is.

“He’s a great team guy in the sense it’s never about him, but then he ends up impacting the game in a big way.”

The coach said forward Patrick McCaffery was “50/50” to return to action from an ankle issue Saturday, so Dix may again be counted on to fill that vacuum.

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