UW guard Kobe King did not travel with the team to face Iowa on Monday night

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Wisconsin was without redshirt sophomore guard Kobe King for its key Big Ten game Monday night at Iowa.

King did not travel from Madison and, according to a source, is frustrated with the direction of the team this season.

Head coach Greg Gard was not available to speak about King before tip-off and senior associate athletic director Justin Doherty, who is the UW sports administrator for the men's basketball program and travels with the team, declined to comment.

Gard said after UW's 68-62 loss that King is dealing with a personal matter and his return is uncertain.

"He is at home, back in Madison, dealing with a personal matter," Gard said. "That is all I really know. There is really no timeline."

Freshman forward Tyler Wahl got the start in place of King. He contributed four points and seven rebounds in his first college start. 

King missed one game because of an ankle injury but has started 19 of 20 games. He entered the night leading UW in scoring in Big Ten play (12.6 points per game) and was second on the team in all games (10.0 ppg).

Teammates D'Mitrik Trice and Brad Davison acknowledged they were surprised to learn on King would not be traveling with the team.  

"We didn't necessarily know," Davison said. "But that is his business."

Trice added: "We don’t know too much at this point. I’m praying for him… Whatever he is doing, I hope he is figuring things out."

In addition to being without King, the UW coaches didn't learn until Monday that Davison would be able to play. He suffered a painful hip pointer in the loss to Purdue on Friday and didn't practice Saturday or Sunday. He hit 2 of 7 three-pointers and finished with six points and five rebounds in 33-plus minutes. He was also assessed a costly flagrant foul in the final minute. 

"Playing basketball, wearing the Wisconsin jersey, is something I do with pride," he said when asked whether he was concerned about having to sit out the game. "Every chance you get to represent the university, play for our coach and my teammates…you don’t want to miss out on those opportunities.

"It means a lot to me and a lot to the guys in that locker room to put on that jersey."