The Iowa basketball team gets Utah State in an intriguing non-conference showdown Friday. The latter is an annual powerhouse from the Mountain West Conference. The Hawkeyes, meanwhile, have guard concerns heading into the clash as Josh Dix dealt with a wrist ailment.
However, Iowa received promising news involving the 6-foot-6 scoring option. Dix shot the basketball during Thursday’s practice, per Iowa basketball insider for 247Sports Sean Bock. Dix is on his way back sooner than expected following a previous conversation Bock had with Iowa’s head coach.
“Fran McCaffery said earlier this week that Dix was day to day with a wrist injury,” Bock posted on X (formerly known as Twitter). “Dix didn’t play on Tuesday against Rider.”
Iowa gets a major boost through this update ahead of the Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City. Friday’s contest pits a battle of unbeatens. Utah State even earned three votes for the Associated Press Top 25 rankings.
Examining impact of Josh Dix for Iowa
The junior from Council Bluffs, Iowa is a 20-point threat when in the Hawkeyes’ lineup.
Before sustaining his wrist injury, Dix dropped 23 points against South Dakota in the 96-77 home win on Nov. 12. He hit that scoring mark in just 27 minutes of play. He’s best known in the Big 10 Conference for producing three straight 20-point games during late February/early March. Dix scored 20 on No. 12 Illinois and Penn State, then delivered 24 against Northwestern between Feb. 24 to March 2.
Dix is currently averaging 12.3 points per game. He’s also dished out an average of four assists per game. Dix has used his frame and long arms to grab 2.3 rebounds in each contest.
Dix managed to play 23 minutes against Washington State on Nov. 15, but scored two points as he left with his injury. He also grabbed two steals on the defensive side before leaving for good.
Without Dix, Iowa got four players in double digits for scoring against Rider. Payton Sandfort (22 points), Owen Freeman (19), Pryce Sandfort (11) and Seydou Traore (12) scaled the 10-point mark on the individual side. The Hawkeyes rolled to the 83-58 trouncing of the Broncs with Dix not in the lineup.
Utah State brings a high-tempo offense to Kansas City for Friday. The Aggies surpassed the 95-point mark in all four victories this season. That incudes the first three games that witnessed USU scaling past 101 points. Dix, by getting greenlit to play, will likely get asked to help slow down this high-powered shooting machine.
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