Not much is going right for Iowa basketball on Friday night. The Hawkeyes took the long trip out to Los Angeles with hopes of picking up a massive Big Ten road win, and instead everything has fallen apart at the seams.
UCLA absolutely crushed Iowa 94-70 at Pauley Pavilion to get back on track and snap a four-game losing streak of its own while Iowa picked up its second consecutive loss. However, the blowout defeat may not be the worst news from the game if you're an Iowa fan. Star forward Payton Sandfort suffered a shoulder injury in the first half and did not return.
Sandfort played just eight minutes in the contest and didn't have anything close to his usual impact on the game. He finished the night 0-for-4 shooting and missed his only 3-pointer, scoring just two points on a pair of free throws. He also added two rebounds. After heading back to the locker rom to be evaluated for the injury, Sandfort returned to the bench in street clothes.
Sandfort's injury is a major subplot for this Iowa team that entered the day squarely on the projected NCAA Tournament bubble. The Hawkeyes drop to 12-6 with this loss and will likely find themselves on the outside looking in in many mocks, so they need Sandfort back as soon as possible. He has been one of their top scorers and most versatile players overall this season, averaging 17.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game while playing more than 30 minutes a night.
The good news for Iowa is that if Sandfort is forced to miss some time, the Hawkeyes have a trio of winnable games to close out the month of January. After this disaster of a road trip, which started with a 99-88 loss to USC on Tuesday night, Iowa will return home for a battle against Minnesota next Tuesday. After that, it has a home date with Penn State before a trip to Columbus to take on Ohio State.
Sandfort will need to get back quickly for Iowa before the heat of the Big Ten schedule in February, but the Hawkeyes should be able to manage until then despite the discouraging result in Los Angeles.