By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Fran McCaffery spent much of the season talking about Iowa’s depth.

Now the Hawkeyes’ coach has to figure out what to do with a roster that’s getting smaller.

Sophomore Owen Freeman is out for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on his right hand. Freshman Cooper Koch likely is out for the rest of the season as he continues to deal with an injury suffered in the offseason.

And now guard Drew Thelwell is questionable for Wednesday’s game at Rutgers with an ankle injury suffered in last Saturday’s loss to Wisconsin.

That doesn’t leave McCaffery with a lot of options to find a way out of a three-game losing streak.

“What was a deep team in my opinion, and I’ve said that, is now no longer a deep team,” McCaffery said Tuesday. “So it’s going to require guys to play more minutes. It’s going to require guys to step up and (play) perhaps maybe a more advanced role than they had before. But that’s what that’s what this level is, and as long as they keep showing up with the attitude that they’ve had, which has been absolutely outstanding and impressive in every way, I want to stay positive with them.”

The Hawkeyes (13-10 overall, 4-8 Big Ten) have lost six of their last seven games and are trying to avoid missing the Big Ten Tournament. There are still eight games left in conference play, but they’re playing with a rotation that was much different from the one that started the season.

The loss of Freeman means the loss of the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, and it showed in the losses last week to Purdue and Wisconsin.

“We have to move the ball better,” McCaffery said. “We have to screen better, get open shots, and we have to establish our other post guys a little bit more than we have been.”

Koch averaged almost 14 minutes in the 10 games he played, and McCaffery said he likely will pursue a medical redshirt season for Koch once the season ends.

“I think that’s where we’re at, but, you know, that’s kind of a long process, so I won’t get into the specifics of it,” McCaffery said. “But I think it’s safe to say that his condition is such that he probably won’t be playing this year, and we would probably look to pursue that option.”

Thelwell’s loss would be almost as painful as Freeman’s — he’s a veteran point guard who averages 10.5 points and 26.3 minutes per game.

Asked Thelwell’s status for Wednesday’s game, McCaffery said, “Hard to say. He didn’t practice yesterday, so we’ll see what he does today.”

Brock Harding, who has 21 starts this season, will move back into the starting lineup, McCaffery said, with Pryce Sandfort backing him up at point guard.

This is the new hand McCaffery has been dealt.

“I’m really proud of this team, how they approach every day,” he said. “They’re very professional. They compete in practice. Our scout team does a great job helping get our guys ready — our scout team is pretty talented when you look at some of the guys we have there, and they challenge our guys. Our guys prepare well in terms of the scouting report and the game plan, and execute the game plan, and they still believe in each other. And that’s what you hope for as a coach.”

Photo: Iowa guard Drew Thelwell (3) looks to get past Wisconsin guard John Tonje in last Saturday’s game. (Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire)