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Fran McCaffery shares thoughts on son Patrick's outing vs. Nebraska

PeterWarrenPhoto2by:Peter Warren03/06/23

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Iowa HC Fran McCaffery and son Patrick
Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images

Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery had been very impressed with how his son and player Patrick McCaffery has been practicing in the lead up to the Nebraska game. The forward played arguably his best game of the season against the Huskers.

He scored 24 points on 7-for-10 shooting and a 6-of-10 performance from the field.

“I’ve said this to you guys before he has been practicing really well,” Fran McCaffery said of Patrick. “He had a terrific practice yesterday and the day before. You could kind of see it coming but to see him play with that energy level, has a big tip in down the stretch, hitting six threes, just being aggressive. Even the couple of pull ups that he missed, I’ve been telling him you got to shoot your pull-up. You’ve got to drive the ball, shoot your pull up, that’s when you’re at your best. That was good to see.”

But despite his performance, Nebraska pulled out an upset victory over the Hawkeyes. Four players finished in double figures for the Huskers as they shot 58.5% from the field.

Iowa, on the other hand, was only 27 of 74 from the field.

“Some of the losses are tough because they’re battling for us. Some of the wins were great. But, I just look at it this way, it’s a respect for the league. There’s a reason why there’s a bunch of teams bunched together. Because that’s the quality of this league. So, we handled our business for the most part,” McCaffery said.

Fran McCaffery wants Iowa to leave Nebraska loss in the dust

The loss to Nebraska was far from idea for Iowa, which dropped down to No. 5 in the Big Ten standings head of the conference tournament. But Fran McCaffery wants his team to forget about the game.

“I think, win or lose the last game, you can’t let that linger on you,” McCaffery said. “You’ve got to go down there with a business-like approach. You’re starting fresh, everybody’s 0-0. Whether you get a bye, a double-bye, no bye? You’re going to play somebody really good. And you’re gonna have to play well to win.”