By John Bohnenkamp
Owen Freeman will be back on the court for Iowa on Friday when the Hawkeyes play at Wisconsin.
He knows the Badgers will come after him to make sure he doesn’t stay on the court very long.
Freeman is one of the more effective front-court players in the Big Ten, but he has had the tendency to get into foul trouble in his first 1 ½ seasons. And with Wisconsin’s size inside, Freeman figures the Badgers will be looking to go at him.
“Kind of seems like teams are trying to get me in foul trouble, which I had struggled with last year,” Freeman said Thursday. “And obviously, there have been a couple games this year where I’ve gotten that early foul trouble, but that’s honestly a compliment, because they don’t want me on the floor, so yeah, that could be something that they go to.”
Freeman is tied for second on the team with 27 fouls, but he hasn’t fouled out of a game this season.
“I think it’s just making smart plays, like knowing when to go for blocks, knowing, OK, I’ve got to let this one go because I’m going to be late,” he said. “Just kind of playing smart and having the IQ to go for some things and not go for some things.”