Early Iowa vs. Wisconsin notes: Melsahn Basabe fights back, Ben Brust returns to Carver and all-time series is close

Melsahn Basabe showed tenacity and maturity in how he battled back from a pair of tough possessions Saturday at Indiana.

The Iowa freshman was tied up with an Indiana player under the Hawkeyes' basket and a tussle over the ball ensured. A jump ball was called but players were pushing each other under the basket. The boisterous Indiana crowd was chanting expletives toward Basabe after he got away with a few pushes.

"I'm not here to start a street brawl - we're not out on the street - but I'm not no punk," Basabe said. "I got the rebound, so I got possession of the ball. You're not gonna push me around."

Basabe said he wanted to let Indiana's players know he wasn't going to be intimidated by them or the crowd.

"Just to set a tone that I'm not here to be pushed around just because we're here at Indiana," Basabe said. "Sometimes you've got to hold your ground and let people know that so that you're demanding respect."

On Indiana's next possession, Hoosiers forward Will Sheehey dunked over Basabe that sent the crowd into a frenzy. It also earned top honors for ESPN's top plays Saturday. But Basabe didn't crumble and scored eight points after the dunk in a one-point win.

"(Basabe) doesn't rattle," Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said. "He's a very mature young man, comfortable in his own skin and knows what he wants us to do and he's typically not going to run his mouth.  He's also from New York, and he's not afraid."

BRUST RETURNS TO IOWA CITY

Wisconsin freshman guard Ben Brust will see his first action at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, the place he once planned to call home.

Brust, who hails from Mundelein, Ill., originally signed a letter of intent to play at Iowa. When Todd Lickliter was fired as coach, Brust asked for his release, which was granted. Brust ultimately chose Wisconsin, which couldn't offer him a scholarship, per Big Ten transfer rules. Twice Brust appealed the decision, and the second time he was granted a waiver. Big Ten rules now allow players to earn scholarships within the league if they've never played for their previous school, such as an athlete who only signed a letter of intent.

"It was addressed at the Big Ten meetings more so from a rules perspective what should be allowed," McCaffery said. "But when Ben left, he left with our blessing and it wasn't like we were fighting to keep him and it became some fierce recruiting battle. He didn't want to be here. We were more than comfortable letting him go and it was, 'OK, if he goes to Wisconsin, would that be fine with us.'"

McCaffery said he didn't use Brust's opened scholarship to recruit junior Bryce Cartwright.

"We would have brought Bryce in anyway because Ben is not a point guard," McCaffery said. "And if you think about it, with Cully (Payne) getting hurt, had we not brought in Bryce, we would be in big trouble right now."

Brust has played in 13 of Wisconsin's 22 games this year. He has scored 10 points in his 45 minutes of action.

CLOSEST HISTORIC SERIES?

Without looking through mounds of media guides and dozens of websites, it's almost safe to say the Iowa-Wisconsin football/men's basketball rivalry is the closest, long-time rivalry in college sports.

In football, the schools have met 86 times and the series is tied 42-42-2. After 152 meetings in basketball, Iowa leads 77-75. The teams first played football against one another in 1894. The first basketball meeting was in 1909.

Last year Wisconsin crushed the Hawkeyes 67-40 at Kohl Center. The Badgers football team won at Iowa 31-30 last fall.