By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – It would be unfair to say that the Iowa basketball players owe it to the memory of Chris Street to defeat Big Ten leader Purdue on Saturday.

That might be asking too much regardless of the circumstances or the emotional impact.

Third-ranked Purdue is 7-0 in the Big Ten and 18-2 overall for lots of good reasons, including 3-point accuracy (.426), field-goal percentage defense (.374) and experience with four senior starters, while Iowa is 1-6 and 10-10 for lots of bad reasons, including too many turnovers, poor defense and inconsistent shooting.

Purdue is clearly better than Iowa on paper, and most assume the Boilermakers will be better on the court on Saturday.

Emotion only goes so far in sports.

The only thing the Iowa players owe to Street’s memory is to compete with the same energy, passion and toughness that he always displayed as a Hawkeye.

Street was a great athlete, but his impact went beyond his ability to play the game.

He inspired others with his hustle and determination. And the few times when Street struggled on the court, it wasn’t from a lack of desire or focus.

He played every game as if it were his last, and sadly, the Duke game on Jan. 16, 1993 was Street’s last game.

The 6-foot-8 power forward was killed in an automobile accident three days later on Jan. 19, 1993 on the outskirts of Iowa City.

Friday marked the 25^th anniversary of Street’s death and Iowa will honor his memory during halftime of Saturday’s game and before a near sellout-crowd.

“Obviously, we haven’t been connected in most games this year, but this game has a little more weight to it,” said Iowa sophomore point guard Jordan Bohannon. “I guess you could say, because obviously, were recognizing the great player that Chris Street was.

Street’s parents, Mike and Patty, and other family members will attend Saturday’s game, which starts at 11 a.m. and will be televised by ESPN.

“A lot of us know his parents pretty well and how good of people they are as well,” Bohannon said. “So, obviously, this game is going to have a little more meaning than most games.”

If so, then Bohannon and his teammates need to play like it.

They need to win the 50-50 balls, make all the hustle plays and not let up because Street never would've let up.

Street approached every game as if it were a privilege to wear the Iowa uniform and he left nothing for chance.

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nGJ3SyqtkVA" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The Iowa players need to have the same approach. They need to make sure that if Purdue wins, it'll be from earning a victory and not because Iowa played poorly or came out flat.

"You play one way, you play as hard as you possibly can for as long as you can," said Iowa coach Fran McCaffery. "And you do that with an intellectual approach to the game as well. It's not just physical. It's physical and mental. And anything short of that, you're going to get beat."  

There would’ve been a lot of pressure on Iowa to win on Saturday even without the Street ceremony being held. Iowa already has lost three Big Ten games at home and the chance to make a postseason tournament for the seventh year in a row under McCaffery is slipping away.

Iowa has to win eight of its last 11 games just to finish .500 in conference play.

McCaffery was asked at a press conference on Friday if he worries that his players might try too hard against Purdue and struggle because of it.

“No, I don't,” he said. “I think they'll be very professional about it. I think they'll play hard. They're playing a team that's 18-2. They're ranked third. To me, there's only one way to play regardless of what else is going on. You play one way. You play as hard as you possibly can for as long as you can, and you do that with an intellectual approach to the game as well.

“So it's not just physical, it's physical and mental, because anything short of that, you're going to get beat by a team of that caliber.”

Stranger things have happened in sports than an Iowa victory over Purdue on Saturday.

Iowa will have a home-court advantage for a change and that could be a factor, although, Purdue is 4-0 in road games this season.

And who knows, maybe playing angry will provide a spark because Bohannon seemed a little angry when meeting with reporters on Friday.

Bohannon is tired of talking about fixing things and playing the right way and wants to see action. He is also getting fed up with the outside noise.

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fn4LohebFlQ" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

“Honestly, it’s starting to piss me off a little bit because it’s getting to the point where outside people don’t have to tell us anymore,” Bohannon said. “We know what the heck is going. We know we’re losing. We know we have a lot of talent and haven’t provided the high expectations like we were supposed to.

“But at the end of the day, they can say what they want. We just have to keep working. It’s going to take the entire team to get this thing turned around. And I think we’re still capable of doing that.”