By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – In his eighth season as the Iowa men’s basketball coach, Fran McCaffery is venturing into uncharted territory.

This marks the first time that Iowa has taken a significant step backwards and failed to meet expectations under McCaffery.

An Iowa team that was considered a legitimate contender for an NCAA Tournament berth heading into the season, thanks to having four returning starters from a 19-win team, is now fighting to stay out of last place in the Big Ten with records of 1-7 in conference play and 10-11 overall.

There already have been plenty of low points in the season, but trailing third-ranked Purdue 51-20 at halftime this past Saturday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena might have been the lowest.

A near-sellout crowd that was on hand to honor the memory of former Hawkeye Chris Street watched as Purdue shredded Iowa by making a school-record 20 3-point baskets. Other than the first few minutes when Purdue struggled to make open shots, the game was a mismatch and another sign that Iowa could be unraveling.

The Hawkeyes will try to stop the bleeding against Wisconsin on Tuesday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Badgers are coming off an impressive 75-50 victory against last-place Illinois last Friday in Madison, Wis., but are also just 3-4 in the conference and 10-10 overall.

Iowa has to win eight of its final 10 conference games just to finish 9-9 in the Big Ten. 

McCaffery addressed his team’s struggles during a Monday teleconference and talked about the importance of staying positive and being accountable.

“You want your players to have success, and they’re relying on me and my staff to do that,” McCaffery said. “In many ways, it’s the fun of the job, it’s the challenge of this profession to do that,” he said.

“I’ve had teams like this before, and it’s one of those things where you’ve got to be careful. You don’t want to get so frustrated that you become too negative. But at the same time, you have to be realistic and honest, and that’s with each other. That’s the players and coaches. The worst thing you can do is try to assess blame everywhere.”

Iowa won its only game against Wisconsin last season 59-57 in Madison on a last-second 3-point basket by Jordan Bohannon, whose two older brothers both played for Wisconsin.

Iowa forward Cordell Pemsl helped set the stage for Bohannon’s game-winner by grabbing an offensive rebound and then passing to an open Bohannon on the perimeter.

It was the kind of timely hustle play that Iowa rarely has made this season.

Wisconsin also has had its share of problems that have been caused partly by injuries, but also by failing to reload for the first time in a while.

The Badgers are 3-6 in games decided by 10 or fewer points and are at risk of not making the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998 under third-year coach Greg Gard.

Wisconsin ranks fifth in the Big Ten in scoring defense (64.9), but also 14th in both scoring offense (68.4) and field-goal percentage defense (.459).

But even with all of its troubles, Wisconsin still is fully capable of defeating Iowa and probably will if the Hawkeyes perform as poorly as they did against Purdue.

Iowa is in a serious funk right now and there is no miracle cure.

You could argue that Iowa and Northwestern are the two biggest under-achievers in the Big Ten at this point. Wisconsin hasn't achieved much, either, but it had to replace four starters from last season, while Iowa and Northwestern returned four starters.

McCaffery said Monday that it was unlikely that sophomore forward Ryan Kriener would play against Wisconsin because of concussion protocol. Kriener also missed the Purdue game. 

McCaffery also said Monday that he plans to use 6-foot-9 senior Dom Uhl more in hopes of providing a much-needed spark.

At this stage, McCaffery seems willing to try just about anything.

Iowa vs. Wisconsin

When: 6 p.m. Tuesday

Where: Carver-Hawkeye Arena

TV: ESPN2