Oh, no for Joe: Ankle injury puts Wieskamp's Big Ten tournament availability in doubt

IOWA CITY — It was a perfect day for Joe Wieskamp, and then it suddenly was the polar opposite.

As a result, there was a chilling edge to the Iowa men's basketball team's 77-73 regular-season ending win over Wisconsin Sunday afternoon at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Wieskamp made all five of his field goal tries for 12 points in the first 10 minutes as Iowa built a 20-9 lead. It appeared nothing could stop him this day.

'He looked like he was on his way to 40,' said Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery, and Hawkeye players Luka Garza and Jordan Bohannon said the very same thing.

'He was really moving well with the ball, without the ball,' McCaffery said. 'He was playing with a lot of confidence.'

But then the junior wing hurt his right ankle with 8:16 left and crumpled on the court. It was immediately clear he was in considerable pain. He couldn't put any weight on his right foot as he was helped to the trainer's room. He wore a walking boot as he watched the second half on Iowa's bench.

'We would not rush him back,' McCaffery said. 'I want him to play when he's ready to play. We'll see how long it will take for that to happen.'

'I think he'll be ready to go,' Bohannon said. 'I don't think that's going to be a question. He's dealing with a tough injury, I know, with his ankle. At the end of the day, I know he's a warrior, that he'll do everything he can to get back on the floor.'

When he was a freshman, Wieskamp had what appeared to be a badly sprained ankle at Michigan State in December 2018. He played 22 minutes against Iowa State three days later.

If Wieskamp can't play Friday, 'it's next man up,' said McCaffery. 'We can move some people around. We've got some versatile guys.

'We'll just kind of play each game with that in mind, knowing we have various options.'

Wieskamp's injury obviously isn't what the Hawkeyes need as they approach their Big Ten tournament quarterfinal Friday night in Indianapolis against an opponent to be determined Thursday. Or for the NCAA tourney that starts in Indiana the following week.

Wieskamp averages 15 points and 6.6 rebounds, and led the Big Ten in 3-point accuracy in league games this season with 51 of 103 for 49.5 percent.

Perhaps the best thing for Iowa about finishing in third place in the conference was that it puts it in Friday's latest of the four quarterfinals at this week's Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis, at approximately 9 p.m., Eastern time. Every hour might matter when it comes to Wieskamp healing.

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