Pryce Sandfort and Nebraska take on transformed Iowa team in NCAA Tournament clash
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HOUSTON (AP) — Nebraska’s Pryce Sandfort will face his former team when the Cornhuskers meet Iowa in the Sweet 16 Thursday night.
The team he’ll see in this tournament barely resembles the one he played for last season.
Coach Fran McCaffery was fired after 15 seasons at Iowa at the end of last season, leading to a mass exodus of transfers, including Sandfort.
Nebraska and Iowa have already played twice this season, but Sandfort isn’t sure what it will be like to go against the Hawkeyes in the tournament.
“It’s not something I’m focused on,” Sandfort said Wednesday. “We’re treating the game as any other game. Same approach as we’ve had all season and just kind of block out that outside noise.”
Just two players, Jacob Koch and Cooper Koch, remain on Iowa’s roster that played with Sandfort last season. Cooper became a starter this season while the four other members of the starting five are new after following coach Ben McCollum from Drake.
Jacob and Cooper, who are not related, both say they have kept in touch with Sandfort since his departure.
“It’s going to be fun,” Cooper said. “It’s going to be a friendly rivalry. We talk on a weekly basis, so being able to share that in the Sweet 16 is going to be kind of cool.”
While Jacob and Cooper still have warm feelings for Sandfort, the same certainly can’t be said for Iowa’s fans. Sandfort faced a hostile student section when Nebraska visited Iowa on Feb. 17.
The students repeatedly hurled a vulgar chant at the former Hawkeye as he scored 13 points in a 57-52 Nebraska loss.
“I think most of the hate is coming from the fans and not the players,” Jacob said. “I mean, only two of us last year knew him, so a lot of these guys are disconnected from him. It’s more just like playing against Nebraska. But I think the fans definitely have a little bit out for him.”
Despite the vitriol that Sandfort has received from the Iowa fans, he mentioned the strong bonds he still has with many connected to the program.
“I did play with a couple of them, and I still have a lot of good relationships with some of the staff and the managers, so still see them around and talk to them,” he said. “But it is a very different team. Only two players stayed.”
Sandfort has had a breakout season since his transfer, starting all 34 games and leading the Cornhuskers by averaging 17.3 points. It comes after he started just two games combined in two seasons at Iowa, averaging 2.3 points as a freshman and 8.8 last season.
So, have the two guys remaining on the roster that played with Sandfort given their teammates any pointers on how to handle him Thursday night?
“Yeah, definitely just some of his little things that he’ll do,” Jacob said. “But nothing too crazy. Our coaches are really good at giving us our scouts. They kind of cover everything mostly.”
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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness