Failure on the court is a problem Iowa coach Steve Alford hasn’t been able to solve this season. But he won’t accept failure in the classroom.

Iowa’s third-year coach benched star senior Reggie Evans in the Hawkeyes’ 72-66 loss to Ohio State on Saturday for poor class attendance.

“At the University of Iowa, you are going to be a student-athlete, you’re not going to be an athletic student,” Alford said. “That message needed to be sent.”

Alford is searching for answers on the court as the Hawkeyes (15-13, 4-10 Big Ten) have lost nine of their last 11 games after a 13-4 start.

But his players haven’t been looking for answers – at least not in the classroom.

“That was all on me,” Evans told the Cedar Rapids Gazette. “I have to obey his rules.

“I’m not going to miss class, I’m going to go to class. Like he says, his rules, his way. So that’s what we have to do as a team, including me.”

Attending class is not the only thing Iowa has had difficulty doing this season. The team has fallen apart on the court since its No. 9 preseason ranking.

Now the Hawkeyes likely have to win the Big Ten tournament to earn an NCAA bid. After similar problems last season, Iowa managed to win the conference tournament, securing an automatic bid as a No. 6 seed.

At this point, the Hawkeyes can only hope to put on an encore performance of last season’s surprising finish – and hope that Evans goes to class.

CINDERELLA SEASON: With Wisconsin’s 64-56 victory Tuesday against Evans’ Hawkeyes – the senior sat out the first three minutes but did play in the game – the Badgers are still in the hunt for the Big Ten title.

That’s impressive for a team picked to spend the year in the conference basement.

After losing four of its 2000-01 starters and hiring a new head coach, Wisconsin (17-11, 10-5) has made the most of its talent.

Seniors Travon Davis and Charlie Wills and junior Kirk Penney have helped the Badgers to their current win streak, which reached five games after the victory over the Hawkeyes.

Penn State, one of two other Big Ten teams that lost four starters, has headed in the opposite direction. The Nittany Lions are last in the conference at 7-17.

The Badgers, on the other hand, have only one game remaining, at home against Michigan on Feb. 27. With a win, Wisconsin would have a chance to take the lead in the conference. The team is currently third in the Big Ten.

The Badgers’ win Tuesday was No. 400 for head coach Bo Ryan, who coached at two different schools in the Wisconsin system, Platteville and Milwaukee, before coming to Madison.

SHOW HIM THE MONEY: Not only has there been life after Bob Knight for Indiana, there has also been success.

And the Hoosiers’ wins have translated into more than a spot atop the Big Ten – they’ve also resulted in a pay raise for head coach Mike Davis.

Davis recently renegotiated his four-year contract, which has now been finalized. The agreement raises Davis’ salary from $125,000 per year to $225,000 in the final three years. The contract expires May 1, 2005.

After Knight’s departure, Davis was hired for the 2000-2001 season as the interim head coach. This is his first year under the current contract.

“Now I feel like the head coach,” Davis told the Associated Press. “I knew it would take some time, but I’m excited about everything.”

AROUND THE RIM: A third member of the Fighting Illini reached the 1,000 career-point mark Saturday. Illinois’ Brian Cook scored 23 points against Seton Hall, joining teammates Cory Bradford and Frank Williams in the elite club. No other Big Ten team has more than one player on its roster with 1,000 points.