By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Iowa men’s basketball team will try to win back-to-back Big Ten games for the first time this season when it plays at upstart Nebraska on Saturday.

The game is huge for both teams with Iowa trying to save its season and with Nebraska trying to make the NCAA Tournament.

The Cornhuskers are 6-4 in the Big Ten and 15-8 overall, while Iowa is 2-7 and 11-11.

Nebraska is coming off a 60-54 victory at Rutgers on Wednesday and has won three of its last four games, while Iowa is coming off an 85-67 victory over Wisconsin this past Tuesday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Saturday’s game in Lincoln, Neb., matches one of the Big Ten’s most pleasant surprises in Nebraska against one of the conference’s biggest disappointments so far in Iowa.

But the game has been overshadowed by the reaction to Iowa coach Fran McCaffery’s contract extension that includes a $10.2 million buyout if he were to be fired before July 1, 2018.

It isn’t just the cost of the buyout that has created an uproar, but also the fact that Iowa didn’t release the news about the extension when it was signed by McCaffery, UI Athletic Director Gary Barta and Iowa President Bruce Harreld in late November.

McCaffery had a teleconference with the media on Friday and it started with Matt Weitzel from the Iowa Sports Information Department reading a statement about the buyout. It was unclear if the statement came from Barta.

“Just regarding the buyout, the buyout means the university is honoring the value of Coach McCaffery’s contract," Weitzel said. "That’s kind of what that buyout means. Coach’s contract is fair and equitable to the market place. Coach has had multiple opportunities to leave but it’s clear that he wants to stay at the University of Iowa. Coach’s salary is a matter of public record. He had never talked about specifics of his contract and that goes for today as well.”

Iowa was forced to acknowledge McCaffery’s extension after Scott Dochterman from the Landof10 broke the news on Thursday about the extension and the cost of the buyout.

The problem is that no matter what the UI says in a statement, it was a mistake not to announce the extension when it became official in late November, because fair or not, it gives the perception that Iowa was trying to hide it while McCaffery’s team was struggling, and that is not a good look.

The contract was reportedly signed by McCaffery, Barta and Harreld on Nov. 29, 2017. That came during a stretch in which Iowa lost six of seven games from Nov. 20^th to Dec. 7.

The cost of the buyout would’ve drawn criticism had UI released it in late November, but Iowa wouldn’t have been accused of hiding anything.

McCaffery was asked on Friday if he had any regrets about keeping his extension private.

 “I’m not hiding anything. I had a contract before. I still have one,” he said during the teleconference.

It doesn’t really matter if McCaffery was hiding anything because that won’t change how some perceive it.

Barta confirmed in a statement that an agreement in principle was reached this past summer, but that it was put on hold so Barta could deal with his health issues after having been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

“Fran and I had discussions and reached a verbal agreement in regard to updating his contract during the summer,” Barta said in a release. “The process was put on hold during my health related absence (for prostate cancer) from the office this fall, but then finalized in November. I’m enthused with the leadership Fran has provided our men’s basketball program and excited for the immediate and long-term future of the program.”

Not to dismiss Barta’s health concern because it should take priority over everything else, but again, it still would’ve made more sense to release the news when it happened in November.

The buyout would’ve been old news by now and Iowa wouldn’t have felt compelled to start Friday’s teleconference by making a vague statement.

The best way to put the buyout talk to rest is to win games, but that won’t be easy on Saturday with the Cornhuskers poised to have a breakout season.

Transfers James Palmer Jr., and Isaac Copeland both have made a significant impact and Nebraska is playing with confidence and with a purpose right now.

Iowa, on the other hand, is trying to climb back to respectability one game at a time.

A win on Saturday would be another step in that direction, but a loss would be more reason for some to dwell on the circumstances surrounding McCaffery's extension.

 

Iowa vs. Nebraska

When: Saturday, 7 p.m.

Where: Lincoln, Neb.

TV: Big Ten Network