IOWA CITY, Iowa -- University of Iowa head men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery announced on Monday that junior forward Nicholas Baer is expected to miss 3-4 weeks after suffering a broken bone in his left pinky finger in a weekend practice. The injury will not require surgery.
“Nicholas has played great in preseason practices and this is an unfortunate setback,” said McCaffery. “We expect Nicholas to make a full recovery and look forward to him rejoining his teammates on the court soon.”
Baer, a team co-captain, is the reigning Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year after averaging team bests in rebounding (5.8), steals (1.4), and blocked shots (1.3). The native of Bettendorf, Iowa, also averaged 7.5 points per game in 2016-17. Baer became one of only four Hawkeyes in school history to lead the team in both blocks (48) and steals (43) in the same season as a sophomore.
Iowa opens the regular season this weekend hosting a pair of home games against Chicago State on Friday (8 p.m.) and Alabama State on Sunday (3 p.m.). Tickets are available at hawkeyesports.com/tickets.