Police say Paul Allen Chaney, 24, was stopped for running a red light at approximately 1:39 a.m. Wednesday near the intersection of Clinton and Burlington streets.

Paul Allen Chaney

Chaney allegedly admitted to drinking a few drinks, but told police he was “not that drunk.” He smelled of alcohol, was wearing bar wristbands, and had bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and unsteady balance, police say.

Chaney later admitted he was drunk and told officers “they wouldn’t last a [expletive] minute in Kinnick Stadium,” according to police. A breath test showed his blood alcohol content to be .183.

Chaney was charged with operating while intoxicated, first offense, which is a serious misdemeanor.

Chaney, originally from St. Louis, Mo., played wide receiver for the Hawkeyes from 2007 to 2010. He was a member of the Iowa track and field team as well, competing in several events at the Drake Relays.

The 5’9″, 170-pound wide receiver signed with the Cedar Rapids Titans in Oct. 2011.

Cartwright has missed the last two games with an ankle injury and is questionable for Thursday’s game against Wisconsin at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, according to Iowa coach Fran McCaffery.

Cartwright played a key role in Iowa’s 72-65 victory over Wisconsin on New Year’s Eve in Madison, Wis. He matched the more celebrated Taylor in scoring with 17 points. Cartwright also had five assists and just one turnover in 31 minutes off the bench.

“I think he would make a big impact in the game, but I’m not sure he’s going to be able to play,” McCaffery said Tuesday.

McCaffery seemed more optimistic that junior Eric May would play against Wisconsin. May missed Sunday’s game against Indiana because of back pain.

“I think there is a possibility,” McCaffery said of May playing against Wisconsin.

Bryce Cartwright, who has also been slowed by concussion-like symptoms and a pulled hamstring this season, missed a 69-64 loss at Penn State Thursday and a 78-66 victory over Indiana Sunday. (Benjamin Roberts / Iowa City Press-Citizen photo)

IOWA CITY, Ia. – The clock is ticking, and Bryce Cartwright is getting anxious. Iowa’s senior point guard has missed the last two games with a high ankle sprain, and just four regular-season games remain starting Thursday against No. 15 Wisconsin.

“You don’t want to rush these things,” Cartwright said. “You want to be healthy, but at the same time help your team. If I’m not helping the team, I’m hurting the team. I just want to help.”

The Hawkeyes, 14-13 overall and 6-8 in the Big Ten, will be trying to improve to 4-3 against Top 25 teams this season. Iowa won at No. 11 Wisconsin on Dec. 31, 72-65, and Cartwright played one of his best games of the season.

He scored 17 points, had five assists to one turnover and did a masterful job of controlling tempo in the 31 minutes he played off the bench.

“I think he would make a big impact on the game, but I’m not sure he’s going to be able to play,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said. “That’s where we are.”

Cartwright injured his right ankle in practice Feb. 11

“It was on a play we ran where Zach (McCabe) threw me the ball and Devyn (Marble) tipped it,” Cartwright said. “Devyn tried to dive for it. My ankle got caught up under him.”

Cartwright, who has also been slowed by concussion-like symptoms and a pulled hamstring this season, missed a 69-64 loss at Penn State Thursday and a 78-66 victory over Indiana Sunday.

“I’ve been getting better, just taking it day by day,” said Cartwright, who has done conditioning in a pool and weight work to speed the rehabilitation process. “I think there’s a chance I’ll play (Thursday).”

Cartwright attends practice, and takes part in game preparation, even though he can’t take part in the on-the-court work.

“I think he really wants to play,” McCaffery said. “He’s doing everything he can. It’s the explosion and the pounding. He’s not there yet. It’s (Tuesday). So we’ll see.”

Eric May, who also missed the Indiana game as well as a Feb. 1 home victory over Minnesota with a back injury, is also questionable for the Badgers.

“I think Thursday is a possibility,” McCaffery said.

Students in free: University of Iowa students will be admitted free to Thursday’s game. It is their third free game of the season.

Asked if he’s like to see students admitted free for every game, McCaffery said, “Well, it’s just not going to happen so I don’t think it’s even worth discussing.”

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RICK BROWN: LIVE CHATS AND TWITTER

Rick Brown — who covers the Iowa men’s basketball team for The Des Moines Register — hosts a live chat on most Wednesdays at 12:30 p.m.

Rick also tweets during the games he covers. Follow him on Twitter at Twitter.com/RickBrownDMR

But they also share a special bond as head basketball coaches in the Big Ten.

That became evident Tuesday when McCaffery was asked to comment on the problems facing Weber with Illinois having lost eight of its last nine games. There is growing speculation Weber’s job is in jeopardy.

“I’ve known Bruce a long time and I think the world of him as a person and I think he’s done a terrific job there,” McCaffery said. “I feel for him. I wish nobody in our business would have to go through it.

“It’s always been a very public profession and it’s even more so today. And I think it’s unfortunate because he’s a terrific man and a great family man and a great coach.”

Weber is nearing the end of his ninth season as the Illinois head coach. He has led Illinois to six NCAA Tournament appearances and to a 209-96 record.

However, Weber had most of his success, including leading Illinois to an NCAA runner-up finish in his second season in 2005, with players recruited by former Illinois coach Bill Self.

Illinois hasn’t advanced past the second round of the NCAA Tournament since playing in the national title game in 2005.

McCaffery, on the other hand, is in his second season at Iowa. But unlike the well-stocked situation when Weber replaced Self at Illinois, McCaffery faced a major rebuilding job when he replaced Todd Lickliter as the Iowa coach in late March 2010.

Iowa has shown improvement under McCaffery and will bring records of 14-13 overall and 6-8 in the Big Ten into Thursday’s game against Wisconsin at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

A victory over Wisconsin would mark just the second time in the last five seasons that Iowa has won at least 15 games. It also would give Iowa its most conference victories since the 2006-07 squad finished 9-7 under former coach Steve Alford.

Illinois, meanwhile, is 12-13 overall after having a 15-3 record earlier this season.

“I think he’s been trying just to keep plugging away just keep doing what you’re doing,” McCaffery said of Weber, who has a 12-2 record against Iowa. “He’s had a number of years where he’s been phenomenally successful.

“Just do what you do. Get them ready. If you lose, you go on to the next one and you try to figure out what went wrong, what can we fix? And let’s win the next one. There is no other way to approach it.”

McCaffery said he pays attention to what’s being said about him and about his team in the media. But he doesn’t take the criticism personally.

“Everything that’s ever been said or written aboout me has not always been positive,” McCaffery said. “But that’s OK. To be honest with you, I don’t remember a case where somebody sort of went after me with any kind of vendetta.

“If we stunk and you write that we stunk what can I really say about it? I don’t think it’s ever been personal.”

McCaffery appreciates the role of the media perhaps more than some other head coaches with his brother being a newspaper columnist.

But he also believes in himself and doesn’t get pre-occupied with outside opinions.

“I never ever worry about what anybody is saying about me at all,” said McCaffery, who is in his 16th season as Division I head coach. “You guys (in the media), chat rooms, whatever. I couldn’t care less.

“I know that I know what I’m doing. I’ve got a great group of kids. We’ve got phenomenal character in that lockeroom. We’re going to stumble and we’re going to make mistakes and we’re going to show our inexperience. But what I’m going to do is keep teaching and keep helping this team grow and we’ll get some (victories).”

Melsahn Basabe played a huge role in Iowa's upset of Indiana

IOWA CITY, Ia. – Two words best sum up Iowa’s dramatic turnaround against Indiana: Melsahn Basabe.

The sophomore forward came off the bench to play a huge role in the Hawkeyes’ 78-66 victory Sunday, scoring  13 points and adding nine rebounds. His five blocked shots were even more important.

“I think you could look at that as the big difference in the game, and in our team,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said. “He was a legitimate force inside at both ends of the floor.”

In a 103-89 victory over Iowa Jan. 29 in Bloomington, Ind., the Hoosiers got to the basket on dribble penetration with little resistance for 18 dunks or layups. With an active Basabe effective as the back line of defense on Sunday, Indiana managed just one dunk.

“When you remember how many layups they made against us down there, he erased five of them right off the bat,” McCaffery said. “And what does that do? It gives our defense energy, it gives our offense energy, it triggers our fast break, it ignites the crowd. There were so many things that happened as a result of the fact that he blocked five, he contested more, and he had guys thinking about him.”

Indiana scored 54 points in the first half of its victory over Iowa in Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers  reached 54 points with 2 minutes 18 seconds to play in Sunday’s loss to the same team at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Iowa got outrebounded at Indiana, 37-22. The Hoosiers had 20 offensive rebounds and a 23-11 advantage in second-chance points. Iowa outrebounded Indiana on Sunday, 41-35, and used 16 offensive rebounds to build a 19-8 advantage in second-chance points.

“The home court figures in there somewhere,” Indiana coach Tom Crean said. “At the same time, it comes down to execution.”

Iowa Fran McCaffery also thought home-court advantage and execution played a role in the two diverse outcomes.

“I don’t think our effort was poor there,”McCaffery said. “I think our execution was horrendous. We scored 89 points, we ran the break, we ran our offense extremely well. Defensively, we were working hard. We just didn’t keep people in front of us and rotate effectively. And we tended to watch the ball when the shot went up.”

As for the rebounding reversal, Crean said his team did a poor job of putting a body on people.

“We didn’t block out,” Crean said. “I mean, watching the film on the way home we didn’t make contact the way we need to and usually do.”

Rebounding and stopping the dribble drive were the top two items on Iowa’s to-do list.

“We played ball screens better, we rotated better and then we put bodies on people and limited them in terms of offensive rebounding,” McCaffery said. “Down there, we got them to miss a few times, but every time they missed they got it back.”

As for Basabe, McCaffery is hoping his play against Indiana isn’t a glimpse of potential but an example of what to expect the rest of the season and beyond.

“With him it’s an energy level,” McCaffery said. “It’s amazing, when he gets five blocks, the energy that he plays with, the energy we play with. All of a sudden his buckets are going in, his free throws are going in, his defense is better. His focus defensively (Sunday) was the best I’ve seen it since he got here. It just goes to show what he’s capable of doing.”

Basabe has scored in double figures 12 times this season, and five times in Big Ten play. Last season, when he averaged 11 points and 6.8 rebounds, Basabe had 16 double-figure games. Tweleve of those game during the Big Ten season. Basabe blocked 41 shots last season, compared to 26 this season.

“He did it more consistently last year, which is odd,” McCaffery said. “He’s been trying to figure that out, as I have.”

Q. Were you surprised yesterday when Matt Gatens didn’t at least get a co mention for Big Ten Player of the Week after what he did the last couple games?

COACH McCAFFERY I really didn’t pay much attention to it.

Now that you mention it, I would have been very surprised, yeah. I think he deserved it.

Q. There have been Hawkeye players that have more three pointers in a game. After thinking about the game against Indiana, what makes Matt so different?

COACH McCAFFERY The things he’s been able to do, in particular this year, is make the timely baskets when we need them. We have a young team. So a lot of it falls on him. We gave away half of our lead, and he made the biggest three of the game, then he made four more after that. He’s kind of been doing that consistently all year, and at the same time guarding the other team’s best perimeter offensive player. That’s pretty hard to do.

He’s also gotten himself into the best shape of his life. From a stamina standpoint he’s been able to do it effectively. He’s been able to have a really good game. Even on nights when he doesn’t shoot it as well, he still affects the game in a very positive way for us.

I remember when we beat Wisconsin last time, he only had six points, but had 12 rebounds. Did a phenomenal job on the glass and defensively. That’s just a winning attitude that permeates the rest of everything we do.

Q. How satisfying was it to be able to beat a top 25 team starting four underclassmen?

COACH McCAFFERY I think all year long we have talked about our youth and how effective they’ve been. And they’ve been pretty consistent. You sometimes tend to look and say, Wow, if only we had won this game or that game, where would we be? A lot of times that’s what happens when you have young players.

For the most part I think they have been consistent. They’ve carried us. I think Matt has been a great example for those guys, without question, not only in terms of what happens in the games but what led up to that, the off season, the summer, the pre season. I think it says a lot. I think it says a lot of what we’re capable of doing. Now the next step is to do it more consistently.

Q. Bryce Cartwright did a good job at Wisconsin controlling the tempo of the game. How important is it that he’s able to play?

COACH McCAFFERY I think he would make a big impact in the game, but I’m not sure he’s going to be able to play. That’s where we are.

Q. Talk about the challenges Jordan Taylor presents. He’s a senior and has been through this a lot.

COACH McCAFFERY He has consistently been a really good player at the end of the game, and at the end of the shot clock. You look at their wins, he’s making buckets late, free throws, baskets. He did it to us last year in an overtime loss. Obviously he’s a focal point of what we’re preparing for.

At the same time I think Evans has taken his game to another level, even from when we played him the last time. I think Berggren, same thing. They’ve got five guys that are really playing well. They’ve got a quality bench. Only goes eight deep, but the five starters have been intact and really playing well.

Q. Is there anything glaringly different you noticed about Wisconsin from the last time you played them?

COACH McCAFFERY No. And I don’t think there’s going to be a lot of glaring changes. I mean, to me it sticks out to me that Evans has really raised his game, the level of his game. Really been impressive to me as I watch recent film of their team.

The rest of the guys are still doing what they’ve been doing. That’s why they’re always where they are. They’re phenomenally consistent in everything they do.

Q. Cody is at the height of his up and down season. What do you want to see the rest of the year to get him to play at that high level again?

COACH McCAFFERY With him it’s an energy level. It’s amazing, when he gets five blocks, the energy that he plays with, the energy that we play with. All of a sudden his buckets are going in, his free throws are going in, his defense is better. I mean, on Sunday his focus defensively was the best it’s been since he got here. It just goes to show you what he’s capable of doing.

He did it more consistently last year, which is odd that he would do it less consistently as a sophomore. He’s been trying to figure that out, as I have. We’ve been staying after it and hopefully he’ll play well on Sunday.

Q. Do you think he minds coming off the bench?

COACH McCAFFERY I don’t think he minds at all. I think he would prefer to start, like everybody else. He accepted that role pretty well from day one.

Q. Do you consider him somewhat of a finesse player in a banging league or that is a misconception?

COACH McCAFFERY Well, he can go either way. He’s an athlete. He wants to be able to lead the floor. Sometimes when guys are leaning on you, it’s not as easy to do that. He did a pretty good job of moving his feet and getting to where he needed to get to to affect the play. When he’s doing that, he can run, we can run, get some good things happening.

Q. Are teams playing him different this year than last year?

COACH McCAFFERY They’re bugging him a little bit more.

Q. Is it a matter of him adjusting to that?

COACH McCAFFERY The one thing we talked about at length, I would think, would be that the added weight early in the season didn’t help him. I think that got him a little bit sideways. He was 235. That’s too big for him. He was tiring. He was lumbering. He’s not a lumbering guy. So once he trimmed down, he’s been better. But now he had to adjust again. He’s been able to do that for a while. I think that’s helped him.

Q. Students are in free again. Is that something you were instrumental in bringing in?

COACH McCAFFERY I was not. I think it made a big difference in that game. When you look down that one side, see that whole section filled, it’s something that I think we all get excited about, the coaches, the players. I think it’s good for the rest of the crowd, as well, although our crowd on Sunday was spectacular, I thought.

Q. Some schools let their students in for free. What would you think of that?

COACH McCAFFERY Well, it’s just not going to happen so I don’t think it’s even worth discussing.

Q. Aaron White’s rebounds are up in Big Ten play. Does that surprise you when you look at him?

COACH McCAFFERY A lot of times you see guys put numbers up early, then when they hit the Big Ten, they drop dramatically. I think that’s what you’re looking at. A lot of times with a big freshman who is a little bit on the thinner side, you expect that.

With him I’m not surprised because of his basketball instincts and IQ. He takes the information and experience and uses it to his advantage. He has the incredible ability not to rattle or get nervous or be affected by the trappings of the game.