By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

The decision for Owen Freeman to have season-ending surgery was to make sure his hand injury didn’t end his career.

Freeman, Iowa’s leading scorer and rebounder this season, will miss the rest of the season after having surgery Monday on a finger on his right hand.

The injury, Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said, was serious enough to cause permanent damage had Freeman continued to play.

“That’s not something we’re going to deviate from,” McCaffery said. “His health and welfare is the most important thing.”

McCaffery said the injury would have been “painful” for Freeman had he continued playing.

“But like I said, the kid wants to play basketball for a long time, and we want him to play basketball for a long time, and that would be in jeopardy if he would continue to play,” McCaffery said.

The injury comes at a crucial point in the season for the Hawkeyes (13-8 overall, 4-6 Big Ten, 63 NET), who play host to Purdue (17-5, 9-2, 10 NET) on Tuesday and Wisconsin (17-5, 7-4, 16 NET) on Saturday.

Freeman, who started 19 games this season, led the Hawkeyes in points (16.7), rebounds (6.7) and blocks (35), while shooting 63.8% from the floor.  Freeman is the only Hawkeye to score in double figures in every game this season, including four 20-point games and a team-high three double-doubles.

McCaffery said he was still deciding on who will start in Freeman’s place on Tuesday. Ladji Dembele, who has made 11 starts this season, is one option to play in the post. Fourth-year junior Riley Mulvey has played in 11 games this season, with his minutes increasing in recent games. Fifth-year senior Even Brauns has played in 15 games this season. Freshman Chris Tadjo has played in eight games.

McCaffery could also go with a smaller lineup and use Seydou Traore inside.

“I think there are times when you’re going to be able to do both (smaller and bigger lineups),” McCaffery said. “I don’t think you just say we’re going to go small, we’re going to go big. Depending on foul trouble, injuries, the team you’re playing against, what you think you need that night, will determine what we do.”

The Hawkeyes have a minus-4.3 rebound margin this season, and losing Freeman isn’t going to help that, which is why McCaffery said everyone will have to pick up the rebounding slack, including the guards.

“It’s absolutely crucial, especially in this league.,” McCaffery said. “If you look at the tteams coming up, look at the teams we’ve played, I mean, everybody’s really good, but everybody’s got size, and you need (rebounding from the guards) if you’re going to have any chance to rebound in this league,” McCaffery said.

Iowa has lost four of its last five games.

“We’re, very confident in ourselves and our players are confident in themselves and each other, and we’ll just keep working at it,” McCaffery said.

Photo: Iowa’s Owen Freeman will miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on his right hand Monday. (Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire)