On Monday, it was announced that Iowa star center Owen Freeman would miss the remainder of the season with a finger surgery. Coming just one day before their loss to Purdue, the loss of Freeman shook up the outlook for Iowa's season. This news comes just two days after Northwestern head coach Chris Collins announced the loss of Wildcat star Brooks Barnhizer.
The Wildcats have since faltered. Despite a two-point home win over USC, Northwestern's chances of missing the Big Ten tournament increased, with a loss to 17th-place Washington on the road.
Chris Collins gets emotional announcing that Brooks Barnhizer is out for the season and his Northwestern career is over pic.twitter.com/j2c4Nb0cpK
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) February 1, 2025
With that loss, Northwestern fell to 4-9 in the Big Ten and moved into a tie for 15th with Minnesota, in what will be a battle to avoid missing the first expanded edition of the Big Ten tournament.
With the loss of Barnhizer and guard Jalen Leach, Northwestern will need to replace two of their top-scoring options. Those two combined for 31.4 points, 10.9 rebounds, 7.6 assists and 3.3 steals per game.
With the new opportunities, Chris Collins needs players to step up. In the win over USC, it was junior guard Justin Mullins. Mullins hit four three-pointers in his 37 minutes and will need to be a major factor next to star Nick Martinelli if the WIldcats want to make the Big Ten Tournament.
HC Fran McCaffery announced today that Owen Freeman will miss the remainder of the season with a finger injury.
— Iowa Men’s Basketball (@IowaHoops) February 3, 2025
Here’s to a speedy recovery, 32! 🖤 pic.twitter.com/xxXrrPSkpb
Meanwhile in Iowa, head coach Fran McCaffery's Hawkeyes have lost two straight at home, to Purdue and then Wisconsin. Iowa has missed star center Owen Freeman greatly and was outrebounded in both games.
In the case of the Purdue game, Iowa had no answers inside for Trey Kaufman-Renn and Caleb Furst. The two combined for 35 points and 16 rebounds.
With those two losses, Iowa drops to 4-8 in the Big Ten, just half a game up on Minnesota and Northwestern in the tie for 15th place.
With multiple games between the bottom teams of the Big Ten still left to be played, the race at the bottom will be as intriguing as the top. These injuries could open the door for teams on the West Coast like USC and Washington, or Minnesota to avoid being among the first teams to miss the Big Ten tournament.