Iowa Basketball Team’s Second-Leading Scorer Sidelined by Injury

Iowa freshman Tyler Cook is out due to a broken finger.

According to ESPN2 during tonight's telecast of the Iowa-Notre Dame game, the Hawkeye forward broke the index finger on his right hand during a Thanksgiving day practice at the Emerald Coast Classic in Florida. Cook scored just six points in last Friday's loss to Virginia but had 17 in a Saturday night loss to Memphis.

Cook had surgery today and is expected to be out about three weeks. In a release from the Iowa Sports Information Department, head coach Fran McCaffery said, "After discussions with Tyler and the medical staff, it was determined that surgery was the best treatment for Tyler in terms of proper healing and recovery time. We expect Tyler to make a full recovery and look forward to him rejoining his teammates on the court soon.”

Cook started the first six games of the season for Iowa, 3-3. He's averaging 13.7 points and 5.3 rebounds, both second on the team. He also has averaged nearly 26 minutes per contest, second only to Peter Jok who's played an average of nearly 28 minutes per game.

It's the second injury to hit the Iowa men's basketball team early in the season. Senior Dale Jones fractured his right wrist two weeks ago. He's expected to be out until sometime in January.

[via University of Iowa Sports Information and University of Iowa]