Iowa Coach's Son Having Surgery Before NCAA Tournament Game

The Hawkeyes play their first NCAA tournament game in eight years on Wednesday night against Tennessee in Dayton, Ohio. While fans spend the morning getting ready, Fran McCaffery will be in an Iowa City hospital praying for his 13-year-old son, Patrick.

The younger McCaffery will have surgery to remove a thyroid tumor, just hours before Iowa (20-12) and fellow No. 11 seed Tennessee (21-12) tip off for the right to play UMass on Friday.

McCaffery planned to fly to Dayton with his team on Monday, return to Iowa City for Patrick's surgery and then get back to Ohio in time to coach against the Volunteers.

"My hope is ... if I can, fly back for the surgery and then fly back for the game if I can work that out," McCaffery said Sunday. "We'll see, logistically, if we can pull all that together."

The overriding concern for Patrick -- combined with losses in six of its last seven games and an unceremonious spot in the First Four -- have threatened to take some of the joy out of Iowa's return to the NCAA tournament. It's still a huge deal for McCaffery and the Hawkeyes, though.