Iowa Basketball’s Jack Nunge Suffers Torn ACL

Iowa basketball took a bit of a hit this morning when we learned starting F Jack Nunge will miss the remainder of the season after he tore his ACL against Cal Poly in a 85-59 win Sunday.

It’s a huge bummer for a lot reasons. Nunge was a starter and appeared to be a constant on a team that’s still struggling to find its identity. He also took a redshirt last year after seeing a significant amount of playing time as a true freshman, supposedly to clear up a minutes logjam. Well, that logjam is going to clear up again, as Iowa is going to be forced to play a bit smaller.

I’m not certain who will replace Nunge in the starting lineup. I’d like to see Cordell Pemsl in there, which is probably what we’ll get with Patrick McCaffery still figuring some things out. Ryan Kriener will definitely get more minutes too, and will push Pemsl for the starting role.

Nunge was averaging 6 points and 5 boards in the first 5 games this season. Even though he’s already taken a redshirt, I’d assume this injury falls neatly in the NCAA’s medical hardship waiver rule, whatever it is.

Best of luck to Jack Nunge on a speedy recovery.