For the first time this season, Fran McCaffery wasn’t patrolling the bench for Iowa men’s basketball. And for the eighth time this season, the Hawkeyes fell short of a win.

Things didn’t go how acting head coach Andrew Francis wanted them to go in his first game at the helm; Iowa lost its second contest in a row on Saturday, as Rutgers dismantled the Hawkeyes, 86-72, in Carver-Hawkeye.

“Those guys are used to my voice, but they’re used to my voice just in a different capacity,” Francis said. “It was obviously a change, but I think we have a mature team. I think this team understood, understands, and will just continue to work forward.”

The positivity Francis exuded after the game was echoed by his team.

“I’m sure [the feedback] is not going to be great, but at the same time, I don’t think it’s great from anybody,” forward Nicholas Baer said. “I think Coach McCaffery’s message is that we’re going to continue to grow. That’s the thing: we have a growth mindset here in our program and you’ll learn from this experience and you’ll continue to build off that.”

Kirk Speraw, who has Wisconsin’s scouting report, will handle head coaching duties against the Badgers. McCaffery will be back on the sidelines after that game, and his team is ready.

“Of course we want Coach [McCaffery] out there,” forward Tyler Cook said. “He’s the main voice that we hear every game, but at the end of the day, we’re going to go out there and execute regardless of who’s at the helm. We’re going to be excited to have Coach back.”