The senior starter will miss four to six weeks as he recovers from foot injury.
Northern Iowa senior guard Erik Crawford will be sidelined four to six weeks with a broken bone in his right foot.
Crawford was injured with 12 1/2 minutes remaining in the second half of Wednesday's 55-52 loss to Creighton in Cedar Falls.
An MRI Thursday revealed that Crawford broke the fifth metatarsal bone in his right foot. It wasn't a clean fracture, and doctors inserted screws into the bone Thursday afternoon.
"I was afraid that's what it was,'' Northern Iowa coach Greg McDermott said. "It's unfortunate for Erik. He's invested a lot of time to prepare for this season, and this is his second setback. I hate to see it happen to a senior.''
Crawford, from Oakdale, Minn., missed several weeks of practice last fall with a stress fracture in the same bone of his right foot.
Crawford was averaging 10.5 points and 4.5 rebounds for the Panthers, and has started the past 80 games. He is also the team's top defender.
McDermott has two days to reinvent his team in Crawford's absence. Northern Iowa (14-3, 4-2 Missouri Valley Conference) plays at Illinois State on Saturday.
McDermott has to decide whether to start John Little, another top defender, or keep him in his sixth-man role.
"He's so valuable off the bench for us, and in a way I'd like to keep him there,'' McDermott said. "But we also need a good defender on the floor to start the game. . .''
McDermott could also go with Jared Josten or Travis Brown. Another possibility, Adam Viet, has missed the past two games with a bone bruise in his knee. McDermott hopes Viet can return soon.
"The reality is some of these younger guys will have to step up, and the guys who were in the starting lineup playing important roles are going to have to play an even larger role,'' McDermott said.
Northern Iowa senior guard Erik Crawford will be sidelined four to six weeks with a broken bone in his right foot.
Crawford was injured with 12 1/2 minutes remaining in the second half of Wednesday's 55-52 loss to Creighton in Cedar Falls.
An MRI Thursday revealed that Crawford broke the fifth metatarsal bone in his right foot. It wasn't a clean fracture, and doctors inserted screws into the bone Thursday afternoon.
"I was afraid that's what it was,'' Northern Iowa coach Greg McDermott said. "It's unfortunate for Erik. He's invested a lot of time to prepare for this season, and this is his second setback. I hate to see it happen to a senior.''
Crawford, from Oakdale, Minn., missed several weeks of practice last fall with a stress fracture in the same bone of his right foot.
Crawford was averaging 10.5 points and 4.5 rebounds for the Panthers, and has started the past 80 games. He is also the team's top defender.
McDermott has two days to reinvent his team in Crawford's absence. Northern Iowa (14-3, 4-2 Missouri Valley Conference) plays at Illinois State on Saturday.
McDermott has to decide whether to start John Little, another top defender, or keep him in his sixth-man role.
"He's so valuable off the bench for us, and in a way I'd like to keep him there,'' McDermott said. "But we also need a good defender on the floor to start the game. . .''
McDermott could also go with Jared Josten or Travis Brown. Another possibility, Adam Viet, has missed the past two games with a bone bruise in his knee. McDermott hopes Viet can return soon.
"The reality is some of these younger guys will have to step up, and the guys who were in the starting lineup playing important roles are going to have to play an even larger role,'' McDermott said.
