Iowa basketball makes decision on availability of Patrick McCaffery

Iowa Hawkeyes forward Patrick McCaffery is expected to play Thursday evening against Michigan, per CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein. He sat out Monday night’s contest against Northwestern as he recovered from a hip injury.

Patrick McCaffery is one of Iowa’s key players this season and currently ranks third on the team with 10.7 points per game. The 6-foot-9, 200-pound sophomore has started in 25 of the 26 games he has appeared in and is averaging 25.1 minutes per contest.

Iowa will be seeking a bit of revenge after the Hawkeyes lost 84-79 in the first meeting against Michigan this season on Feb. 17. McCaffery finished with 13 points and five rebounds in that one on 6-of-11 shooting. That game is the lone loss for Iowa over its past eight games, with the team hitting a stride just in time for the postseason.

The Hawkeyes have an overall record of 21-8 and are currently tied with Ohio State for fourth place in the Big Ten. They were currently listed as a four seed in On3’s most recent bracketology projections, which were released on Tuesday. Thursday’s game is one of two remaining in the regular season for Iowa, which closes its regular season Saturday against Illinois.

Michigan finds itself much more in need of a victory against Iowa, as the Wolverines find themselves squarely on the bubble. They sit at 16-12 and were listed as an 11 seed and one of the last four teams to make the NCAA Tournament according to On3. The Wolverines have a 3-2 record over their past five games and are without head coach Juwan Howard who is serving a suspension that lasts the remainder of the regular season.

Tip-off for Thursday night’s game between the Hawkeyes and Wolverines is set for 9 p.m. ET in Ann Arbor.