Fran McCaffery updates the availability of Kris Murray, Connor McCaffery vs Nebraska

Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery updated the status of a pair of key players on Wednesday, indicating that both Kris Murray and Connor McCaffery — one of his sons — will be available to play against Nebraska on Thursday evening.

Murray, one of the best players in the Big Ten, has been out since early December with a foot injury. Getting him back would be a boon for Iowa, as he’s their leading scorer and rebounder with 19.4 points and 10.1 boards per game.

The Hawkeyes struggled during the stretch without Murray, going 2-3 and suffering a bad loss to Eastern Illinois on Dec. 21.

McCaffery missed that game after suffering a sprained wrist. He’s averaged 7.5 points, 4 rebounds and 2.5 assists this season.

Iowa and Nebraska play at 7 p.m. in Lincoln on Saturday.

Iowa’s loss to Eastern Illinois was historic in a bad way

The Iowa men’s basketball team made history on Dec. 21, but not the good kind. The Hawkeyes suffered a 92-83 loss at home to Eastern Illinois despite entering the game as a 31.5-point favorite, becoming the first team to lose outright as a 30-point favorite in the past 30 years, according to ESPN.

Iowa entered halftime with an eight-point lead but allowed the Panthers to open the second half on a 14-5 run to jump in front. Things would only get worse from there, as EIU went on to outscore the Hawkeyes 55-38 in the second half, leading by as many as 14 points along the way.

The Iowa defense was subpar, allowing the Panthers to shoot 60% from the field for the game and a staggering 72.4% in the second half. The Hawkeyes, on the other hand, shot 30.6% in the half. Kinyon Hodges led EIU with 22 points off the bench in addition to six assists. That was a major factor as the Panthers bench outscored Iowa’s 54-10.

The loss dropped Iowa to 8-4 on the season, while Eastern Illinois improved to a mere 4-9. It wasn’t exactly the way the Hawkeyes hoped to end nonconference play before heading into Big Ten action, but they’ll look to bounce back next week against Nebraska.