Fran McCaffery eyes Iowa coaching win mark vs. Minnesota

Fran McCaffery will have a chance to become the winningest coach in Iowa history when the Hawkeyes visit Minnesota Monday in a Big Ten matchup in Minneapolis.

McCaffery earned his 271st career win on Friday as Iowa (10-6, 2-3 Big Ten) pulled away for a 94-76 win on its home court against Nebraska. That moved McCaffery into a tie with Tom Davis for the most coaching wins at the school.

Davis led Iowa from 1986-99 and led the Hawkeyes to the NCAA Tournament nine times. McCaffery took over the program in 2010 and has made seven trips to the tournament.

"Coach Davis is somebody that I've known for a long time," McCaffery said. "I always admired not only his coaching style and his success, but more importantly the kind of person he is.

"He's always been incredibly humble. He was so kind to me when I got here and when I got this job, and we remain friends. Just to be discussed in the same conversation with him is something that makes me incredibly proud because of not only what he did but how he did it."

Iowa will try to help McCaffery break the record against Minnesota (12-4, 3-2). The Golden Gophers are looking to bounce back from a 74-62 road loss against Indiana on Friday, which snapped their seven-game winning streak.

Pharrel Payne had 17 points and 10 rebounds off the bench to lead Minnesota. Dawson Garcia added 14 points and nine boards.

Minnesota coach Ben Johnson said he was considering moving Payne into the starting lineup, but he also liked the ability to have Garcia or Payne on the court at separate times.

"We'll continue to look at that and if a lineup adjustment would help, depending on our status and who we're playing," Johnson said.

Iowa is led in scoring by Ben Krikke, who is averaging 16.4 points per game. Payton Sandfort is next on the scoring list with 14.5 points per game to go along with a team-high 7.1 rebounds.

—Field Level Media