After the Iowa basketball team (19-7, 9-6 Big Ten) defeated No. 9 Nebraska (22-4, 11-4 Big Ten) by a score of 57-52 on Feb. 17 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Hawkeyes freshman forward Cooper Koch commented on the intense rivalry with the Cornhuskers and what the win meant to him and the program.
“They’re No. 2 Iowa State. I mean, we don’t like them, so it’s nice to get a win for them,” Koch said in his postgame media availability.
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The 6-foot-8, 220-pounder from Peoria, Ill., is currently averaging 6.8 points on 44.0 percent shooting from the field and 37.0 percent from 3-point range, along with 3.2 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.2 blocks in 22 minutes and 12 seconds in 26 games so far this season.
Despite the highly anticipated return Tuesday night in Iowa City of former Hawkeye guard Pryce Sandfort, who committed to the Cornhuskers following Iowa’s offseason coaching change, Koch added that he’s not bitter about his former teammate’s decision.
“I know Price (Sanford) grew up a Nebraska fan and I don’t blame him at all for this (deciding to transfer to Nebraska).”
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Iowa and Nebraska will meet again on March 8 at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska, where the Cornhuskers will certainly be looking to avenge their loss to the Hawkeyes.
With this win, combined with No. 25 Wisconsin’s 17-point loss to Ohio State on Tuesday night, Iowa currently sits in seventh place in the Big Ten standings, just one game behind the Badgers.
Fittingly, Iowa’s next game will be on February 22 at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin. The Hawkeyes-Badgers game is scheduled for 3 pm Central Time and will air on FS1.
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This article originally appeared in the Hawkeye Newsletter: ‘We don’t like them’: Iowa basketball stars react to Nebraska win