Iowa's Melsahn Basabe continues slide against Nebraska

IOWA CITY - Iowa sophomore Melsahn Basabe extended his second slump of the season with one point, one rebound, one block and one turnover in 13 minutes in a 79-73 loss to Nebraska on Thursday.

Basabe, who was a member of the Big Ten's all-freshman team last year, has scored two or fewer points in four of Iowa's last six games. Basabe scored two points in four consecutive games against Creighton, Campbell, IPFW and Clemson before posting double-digit scoring outputs in seven of Iowa's next eight games.

Iowa's on-court performance tends to mirror Basabe's output. In seven of Iowa's 10 losses, Basabe scored eight points or less. He's totaled 21 points in Iowa's last six games.

"He's got to figure it out," Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said. "We have done everything that we can do in terms of breaking it down on film, having discussions with him, working with him extra.

"He's got to decide where this is going. I can't make it any simpler than that. I told him the same thing. He's got to decide, does he want to rebound, does he want to run, does he want to block shots, does he want to attack the rim ...?"

Basabe averages 8.2 points and 5.2 rebounds a game, down from 11 points and 6.8 rebounds last year. McCaffery still has faith in Basabe but clearly was frustrated Thursday night.

"Now, I will say this: He's doing it in practice," McCaffery said. "So I think that's probably step one for him because he's clearly struggling in the games, but he's not struggling in practice. That's why he's still in the starting lineup.

"So I do think it will happen for him, but (Thursday), didn't bring it and that's unfortunate."

Other players increased their playing time and scoring outputs in Basabe's place. Sophomore Zach McCabe scored 20 points for the second consecutive game and now averages 8.7 points. Freshman Aaron White has come off the bench to average 9.7 points a game.

Basabe was asked Tuesday to grade his performance this season.

"If I was to give it, a C-minus, D," Basabe said. "I'm a hard grader on myself. If you were to ask me, I'd say F."

Senior point guard Bryce Cartwright also has continued to struggle. Cartwright has fought through multiple health issues this season, including concussion-like symptoms, an injured hamstring and illness.

Cartwright scored just two points in 20 minutes against Nebraska. He dished five assists, but also had three turnovers. Despite coming off the bench for Iowa's last 13 games, Cartwright still leads the team in assists with 80 (4 a game), ranking among the Big Ten's top five. But he led the Big Ten in league play last year with 6.8 per game.

Iowa senior Matt Gatens said the team remains confident in both players.

"I think they'll be all right," Gatens said. "They're guys that, they fight. They both have talent. I believe in both of them. They're just going through a funk and other guys are stepping up. Zach's stepping up. (Devyn) Marble. But we need those guys. They're big components of this team. They'll be back."