Iowa's Freeman done for season after finger surgery

Iowa sophomore forward and leading scorer Owen Freeman will miss the remainder of the 2024-25 campaign after undergoing finger surgery Monday, head coach Fran McCaffery announced.

Freeman averaged 16.7 points as well as team highs in rebounds (6.7) and blocks (1.8) per game in 19 appearances for the Hawkeyes, who are 12th in the Big Ten with a 4-6 record in conference play (13-8 overall).

Without the 6-foot-10 starter, Iowa's frontcourt rotation will likely rely more heavily on fellow sophomore Ladji Dembele, who started the first seven games of the season but has only made two starts in 13 games since.

Dembele's totaled 11 combined minutes over the Hawkeyes' last three contests but was effective in the two games Freeman has missed this season; he played 22 minutes in a win over South Dakota on Nov. 12, scoring 11 points with eight rebounds on 5-of-8 shooting, then went 5-of-6 from the floor for 12 points in 18 minutes in a Dec. 30 win against New Hampshire.

The Hawkeyes host Purdue on Tuesday followed by another home game Saturday against Wisconsin.