White’s status uncertain for Saturday’s game

IOWA CITY - Iowa senior Aaron White missed practice on Wednesday and his status for Saturday's game against No. 5 Wisconsin remains unclear, Coach Fran McCaffery said on his radio show.

White, a 6-foot-9 forward, suffered a neck stinger after colliding with Purdue's Kendall Stephens four minutes into Saturday's game in West Lafayette, Ind. White walked to a corner of Mackey Arena, then went to the bench. He returned for three minutes of action before leaving the game for good.

'He's still not playing,” McCaffery said Wednesday night. 'He didn't practice (Wednesday). He's still sore. He saw the doctor again (Wednesday). He won't practice (Thursday). If he's going to play Saturday, we'll probably try to do something with him on Friday. But he's not ready to do anything yet.”

White is Iowa's leading scorer and rebounder at 15.1 points and 6.4 boards, respectively. Among Big Ten players he ranks ninth in both scoring and rebounding and 10th in field-goal percentage.

Iowa center Gabe Olaseni injured his left ankle in practice on Monday, but McCaffery expects the senior to play against Wisconsin.

'I was on the road recruiting and (Olaseni) tweaked his ankle a little bit and they put him in a boot for a day,” McCaffery said. 'We did not practice (Tuesday). He's out of the boot (Wednesday). He did not practice (Wednesday). I suspect he's got a good chance to practice (Thursday). If not, he'll practice Friday for sure.

'I expect him to play.”

Olaseni, a 6-foot-10 senior center, averages 8.5 points and 5.4 rebounds a game. Against Purdue, Olaseni grabbed 16 rebounds and scored nine points. Olaseni's rebounding total was the second-highest in a Big Ten game this year and he ranks second in league offensive rebounding and fourth in blocked shots.

'I thought Olaseni was fabulous,” Purdue Coach Matt Painter said on Monday. 'He was great. One of the best efforts I've seen from anybody in 10 years of coaching in the Big Ten, what he was able to to accomplish with 16 rebounds in the game.”

A limitation for either player creates a challenge for the Hawkeyes this Saturday. Wisconsin (18-2, 6-1 Big Ten) beat Iowa 82-50 last week in Madison, Wis., the most lopsided Badgers' victory in the teams' 160-game series. Both White and Olaseni competed fully in that game.

The Hawkeyes (13-7, 4-3) will vary their lineup, especially if White is unable to play. It's possible Iowa will start Anthony Clemmons or Josh Oglesby in White's place and go with a three- or four-guard lineup. Iowa did that against Purdue with five minutes remaining and cut a seven-point deficit into a one-point lead before falling short 67-63.

Olaseni also could see additional minutes at White's power forward position.

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