The Wisconsin men’s basketball team visits rival Iowa in a pivotal early season Big Ten contest on Sunday evening. The Badgers are looking to make it three wins in a row and move to 2-0 in Big Ten play, while the Hawkeyes enter Sunday off a 75-56 thrashing of rival Iowa State. Iowa star and leading scorer Kris Murray (19.4 ppg, 10.1 rpg) sat out the Iowa State game with a foot injury, and it appears Murray will miss the Wisconsin game as well:
Kris Murray not expected to play vs. Wisconsin, per McCaffery, and they’ll see how it goes after that.
— Chad Leistikow (@ChadLeistikow) December 9, 2022
Murray’s absence didn’t seem to bother the Hawkeyes Thursday, as they shot 50% from the floor and 52% from three against a quality Iowa State team. However, the uber-athletic and talented Murray’s absence Sunday should benefit the Badgers and give them a great opportunity to steal a Big Ten road game.
Related: Wisconsin Badgers Pursuing Four-Star Point Guard from Minnesota
Family Matter
This season, Kris has taken the torch from his twin brother, Keegan, who led the Hawkeyes to a Big Ten Tournament Championship last season. Keegan was drafted 4th overall by the Sacramento Kings in the 2022 NBA Draft. Wisconsin is definitely catching a break not having to face Kris on Sunday, but will still have their hands full. The McCaffrey brothers are still in Iowa City playing for their old man Fran, and the Hawkeyes have shown the ability to blitz teams at home with red-hot shooting. Wisconsin will need a similar effort to the Marquette game, where they weathered hot shooting and a hostile crowd and left Fiserv Forum with a win.
Related: Wisconsin Badgers Freshman Connor Essegian Continues Lights-Out Shooting
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