By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – If I had to pick one player on the Iowa men’s basketball team to take a potential game-winning shot, that player would be Payton Sandfort.

If I had to pick one Iowa player to deliver an emotional and uplifting pre-game speech to his teammates, that player would be Payton Sandfort.

If I had to pick one Iowa player to take one of his younger teammates under his wing for guidance and leadership, that player would be Payton Sandfort.

The 6-foot-7 junior from Waukee might take an ill-advised shot or two in a game, but the good still far outweighs the bad with Payton Sandfort.

The Hawkeyes (14-11, 6-8 Big Ten) will face Wisconsin (17-8, 9-5) on Saturday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, and it’s reasonable to assume that containing Payton Sandfort will be a priority for the Badgers.

Payton Sandfort is averaging 15.1 points per game and he has made a Big Ten best 69 3-point shots on a league-high 182 attempts, while ranking second in the conference with a 37.8 3-point field-goal percentage.

He has also made two or more three pointers in 21 games this season, and averages 6.6 rebounds per game.

So, while Payton Sandfort might launch a few air balls every now and then due to maybe from forcing some shots, the Iowa offense would suffer greatly without him.

“I do think there’s times when I need to reign it in a little bit, especially in late minutes, get to the rim, get to the foul line and that’s something I’m working on,” Payton Sandfort said Friday. “But you can’t lose confidence. You’ve got to hunt your shots, and obviously, I’ll continue to do that.”

When Payton Sandfort says hunt for shots, that doesn’t mean he is pre-occupied with how many points he scores.

What he really means is that he has to work to get open in Iowa’s fast-paced offense, because the team needs Payton Sandfort to take shots, and of course, to make them.

He can score points in a hurry, and when he gets hot, the rim looks bigger than 7-4 Purdue center Zach Edey.

Part of the challenge for Payton Sandfort is learning when to take shots, and when not to.

“You’ve got to be careful with that,” said Iowa coach Fran McCaffery. “There are times when I will tell him, ‘okay, now, we can’t shoot that one. Not that one at that point.’ And to be truthful, he’s usually, coach, that was a bad one. Sorry. I shouldn’t have shot that one.

“He’s such a good shooter and you want him with that aggressive mindset. You never want him thinking about the shot before he shoots it. Because if that’s the case as we all know, they don’t go in.”

This has turned into a season in which gaining traction has been hard for the Hawkeyes.

In the last six games, Iowa has gone 3-3, but with no back-to-back losses or back-to-back victories.

In all three of the most recent losses, Iowa struggled down the stretch, including scoring just eight points in the final 10 minutes of this past Wednesday’s 78-66 loss at Maryland.

“Obviously, losing is never easy and I wouldn’t call this a fun stretch,” Payton Sandfort said. “I’m proud of us because we’ve had opportunities where losses could have really strung together. But we haven’t really been on  a losing streak. It’s like we keep bouncing back and forth between wins and losses, and obviously, the rest of the year is going to be a challenge. But every Big Ten game is a challenge.

“If we can just stay together, I think that’s the most important thing because when you watch teams fall apart it comes from not being together and not being connected. And that’s not who we are. We’ve got a really tight-knit group and everybody cares about each other, and I think that’s the important thing. So, if we can keep doing that, things are going to work out in the end.”

Payton Sandfort always seems to have a positive outlook. It’s just his nature.

He thinks every shot he takes is going in, and he’s more than willing to take the big shots at pivotal times.

His younger brother, 6-6 Iowa freshman teammate, Pryce Sandfort, admires Payton for his confidence, and for his willingness to take big shots, and Pryce also takes great pride in being a confident shooter, just like his brother.

“Sometimes, he can force some, but if it goes in then were saying what a great shot it is,” Pryce Sandfort said. “You don’t want to make him stop taking those shots because it’s going to be taking away his confidence.”

It would probably take a force of nature to take away Payton Sandfort’s confidence, and that is a big part of what makes him special.

He is a fierce competitor who believes strong in his ability.

Payton Sandfort is determined to reward the fans that plan to fill Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Saturday as a rare sellout crowd, and the best reward would be a win over a Big Ten border rival that currently sits above Iowa in the league standings.

“I’m appreciative of the fans, we’re very excited,” Payton Sandfort said. “It’s obviously a huge energy boost, especially on the defensive end. It feels like instead of just five out there, it feels like you’ve got 16,000 behind you, and I think that makes it easier and I think make the defense more connected.

“I’m rally excited and we’re going to be ready to put on a show for these fans.”

That show might include an ill-advised shot, or two, by Payton Sandfort. But it’s also hard to envision Iowa beating he Badgers without Payton Sandfort taking and making shots.

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Wisconsin  (17-8, 9-5) vs. Iowa (14-11, 6-8)

When: Saturday, 1:16 p.m.

Where: Carver-Hawkeye Arena

TV: Big Ten Network

Radio: Hawkeye Radio Network

All-time series: Saturday’s game is the 175th meeting in the all-time series that dates back to 1909. Wisconsin leads, 88-86. The Badgers have won the last four meetings in the series, including a 78-75 overtime victory in Carver-Hawkeye Arena last season. Wisconsin downed Iowa, 83-72, on Jan. 2 in Madison.

The last three meetings in Iowa City have all been decided by six points or less. Prior to the current four-game losing streak, Iowa had
won four straight game and six of eight overall.