IOWA CITY — Iowa junior Melsahn Basabe’s relationship with coach Fran McCaffery stretches well beyond their days at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. When Basabe was attending prep school in Massachusetts, McCaffery recruited him to Siena, a small Catholic school in Albany, N.Y. Basabe and his mother, Aloha, trusted McCaffery and let him know in no uncertain terms [...]

IOWA CITY — If Big Ten basketball games lasted 38 minutes, Iowa would be 10-4 and checking on airfare to an NCAA tournament site. Instead, the NIT seems the likely destination, courtesy of multiple late-game collapses. Four different times Iowa (17-10, 6-8 Big Ten) has led entering the final two minutes of league play, only [...]

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Devyn Marble took another step on the road to consistency with a 22-point effort Thursday in a 74-72 win at Penn State. It wasn’t just the points; it was the performance. For the second straight game Marble hit at least half of his shots, sinking six of 12 from the field. He [...]

IOWA CITY — No Big Ten program has made year-over-year defensive strides like Iowa. The Hawkeyes (15-9, 4-7 Big Ten) have allowed eight fewer points per game this year than last, by far the league’s greatest point drop. Through 24 games, Iowa now allows 63.9 points per game, down from 72 a contest over the [...]

IOWA CITY — Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery doesn’t see any way his basketball team overlooks Penn State on the road Thursday. “I don’t see how they could, based on how Penn State played us at our place,” McCaffery said Monday. “They fought us right to the very end. That was a tough, tough game. Then, you [...]

IOWA CITY — In the middle of a heavily scrutinized slump, Iowa junior Devyn Marble walked into an interview room Friday smiling and surprisingly relaxed. There’s pressure all right for the all-everything guard who has struggled in Big Ten play. But there’s also opportunity, and a chance to put his performances in perspective. “Everybody’s thinking [...]

MADISON, Wis. — Devyn Marble’s production inexplicably has unraveled in recent weeks and questions linger about his effectiveness moving forward. Iowa’s junior go-to scoring guard averaged nearly 16 points a game after the team’s 13 non-conference games. But he has fallen apart offensively in Big Ten play, shooting just 25.3 percent and sitting out crucial [...]

MINNEAPOLIS — Iowa junior guard Devyn Marble struggled with a sprained ankle and sprained toe early in Big Ten play. But neither injury provided a reason for why he was held scoreless and played just 17 minutes in a 62-59 loss at Minnesota on Sunday. “There’s nothing wrong with him,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said. [...]

IOWA CITY — It’s possible Iowa could unveil a new starting lineup Thursday against Penn State, and junior Melsahn Basabe is a major reason why it could happen. Basabe, a 6-foot-7 forward, has entered into his best stretch of basketball in his three-year Iowa career. He’s playing with consistency and confidence at both ends of [...]

IOWA CITY — Iowa coach Fran McCaffery considered changing his starting lineup but decided against it entering the Hawkeyes’ game Sunday at Purdue. Freshman center Adam Woodbury has struggled offensively, scoring just two points in each of Iowa’s last four games. Junior center/forward Melsahn Basabe, who has 52 career starts, played a season-high 27 minutes [...]