IOWA CITY — Melsahn Basabe’s mother has had her fingernails painted in Iowa Hawkeyes colors, and has been wearing outfits with those colors to work. For the last two weeks. “Ever since the NIT started,” said Mom, whose name is Aloha Wilks. “As long as they’ve been winning, it’s black-and-yellow every day.” Iowa’s men’s [...]

Someone using the name of Iowa’s starting power forward is off to a fantastic start in ESPN’s Tournament Challenge. If you call going 16-0 in the first round fantastic, that is. Hey, the real Basabe does wear uniform No. 1. “Melsahn Basabe” had Harvard beating New Mexico. Presumably, he has Iowa beating Stony Brook tonight, too, [...]

IOWA CITY — Iowa’s young post tandem of Adam Woodbury and Gabe Olaseni went from potential to potent in the Hawkeyes’ final regular-season games last week. The duo controlled the low post in wins against Illinois and Nebraska to close out regular-season play. Woodbury, a 7-foot-1 freshman, hit 10 of 13 shots for a combined [...]

IOWA CITY — With six wins in his team’s last eight games, Iowa junior Melsahn Basabe likes his team’s chances entering the Big Ten Tournament this week. Not just competing, mind you. Winning the whole thing. “If you’re not going in there thinking that, then you shouldn’t be there,” said Basabe, who scored 11 points and [...]

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 — 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 — The Big Ten boasts six ranked basketball teams, and Wisconsin isn’t one of them. Yet the Badgers are alone atop the league standings. Most people are surprised. Iowa junior Melsahn Basabe isn’t one of them. “They have a great coach in Bo Ryan,” Basabe said. “This is one of the best programs [...]

IOWA CITY — Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said Friday morning that junior Melsahn Basabe will play Sunday at No. 2 Michigan. Basabe, a 6-foot-7 forward, injured his right ankle in the first half against Indiana and did not play the second half. That injury came after he tweaked his left ankle and played only four minutes [...]

IOWA CITY — Eric May, Zach McCabe and Melsahn Basabe have combined for 160 starts in their Iowa careers, yet none of them will open a game for the foreseeable future. The upperclassmen bring tangible qualities to the basketball court — they average a combined 18.3 points and 12.3 rebounds a game. But it’s their intangibles that [...]

IOWA CITY — In a four-minute span Saturday afternoon, Iowa junior Melsahn Basabe went from afterthought to first option. Basabe, a 6-foot-7 forward, was unstoppable. He scored 13 consecutive points, including seven from the foul line. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (1-5) didn’t have answer for Basabe and was buried in the onslaught 88-59 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. [...]