Iowa To Meet EA Sports

Nov. 11, 2003

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THE SETTING
Iowa begins the 2003-04 season with the first of two exhibition games, hosting the EA Sports Midwest All-Stars Tuesday, Nov. 11. Game time is 7:05 p.m. in Carver-Hawkeye Arena (15,500). Iowa’s second exhibition game will take place Sunday, Nov. 16 when the Hawkeyes host Athletes in Action at 2:05 p.m. Both of the exhibition games can be heard on the Hawkeye Radio Network, but neither will be televised.

ON THE AIR
Radio: Iowa games are broadcast on the Hawkeye Radio Network. Gary Dolphin handles the play-by-play with color commentator Bob Hansen.

IOWA HISTORY
Iowa has played 2,281 games since beginning basketball in 1902. Overall Iowa’s record is 1,359-922 (.596). That includes an 847-300 (.738) record in home games, a 512-622 (.451) record in games away from Iowa City, a 648-637 (.504) mark in Big Ten games and a 253-74 (.774) record in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

IOWA IN CARVER-HAWKEYE ARENA
January 5, 2003 marked the 20th anniversary of Iowa’s first basketball game in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa has compiled a 253-74 (.774) record in the arena. Iowa is 122-61 (.667) in Big Ten games and 131-13 (.910) in non-Big Ten games. Iowa has drawn over 4.8 million fans for men’s basketball games since the arena opened in 1983. Iowa has posted a 45-19 home record under Coach Steve Alford, including a 27-4 mark in non-conference home games.

IOWA IN EXHIBITION GAMES
Iowa won a pair of exhibition games a year ago, defeating EA Sports 68-55 and Team Nike 79-57. In four seasons, Steve Alford’s Iowa teams have won seven of eight exhibition games, with the only loss being a 79-76 setback at the hands of the Harlem Globetrotters.

GOLD SHIRTS WON BLOWOUT
The Gold Shirts earned a 95-79 win in the annual Black and Gold Blowout, held Saturday, Nov. 1. The Gold squad built an early lead, led by a 46-41 margin at halftime and cruised to the win behind a balanced scoring attack. The shooting percentages and rebounding were nearly identical, but the Gold squad had 16 steals while forcing 21 turnovers and the Gold team held a 17-6 scoring advantage from the free throw line.

Sophomore Pierre Pierce led all scorers in the game with 31 points for the Gold team, while Brody Boyd added 22 for the winners. Greg Brunner scored 12 and Mike Henderson added 11. Brunner led the Gold team with nine rebounds, while Pierce added eight rebounds, six assists and four steals. Sean Sonderleiter also had a solid game with nine points, seven rebounds and five steals.

The Black Shirts were led by Adam Haluska with 23 points. Haluska, a transfer from Iowa State, will sit out the 2003-04 season as a redshirt. Senior center Jared Reiner added 19 points and 16 rebounds, while Jeff Horner scored 13 points. Sophomore transfer Nick DeWitz led the Black Shirts with seven assists, while Horner and Jack Brownlee each added six and Horner and Haluska each had six rebounds.

BASKETBALL TICKETS AVAILABLE
Following is information on Iowa basketball tickets for the upcoming season. Iowa basketball tickets may be purchased in person at the athletic ticket office at the north entrance of Carver-Hawkeye Arena, on-line at www.hawkeyesports.com, or by calling 1-800-IA-HAWKS.

Tickets for the two exhibition games, Nov. 11 and Nov. 16, are available for $13

Season tickets for all 16 regular season home games are available at a cost of $360

Holiday Break Package tickets are available for $76 and include games vs. Eastern Illinois, Purdue and Northwestern

Single game tickets are available for all home games at a cost of $26 per ticket per game

IOWA COACH Steve Alford
Steve Alford (pronounced ALL-ford) is in his fifth season as the head coach at the University of Iowa and his 13th season as a college head coach. Alford holds a career record of 229-135 (.629), including a 73-58 (.557) record at Iowa, a 78-29 (.729) record in four seasons (1992-95) at Div. III Manchester College and a four-year record (1996-99) of 78-48 (.619) at Southwest Missouri State. He is 24-39 (.381) in Big Ten games at Iowa. Career win No. 200 for Alford came in 2002 in a 78-53 win at Iowa State. Alford is 8-5 in the NCAA Tournament (3-2 in Div. I and 5-3 in Div. III) and 2-3 in the NIT.

Alford led Iowa to the 2001 Big Ten Conference Tournament title and into the second round of the NCAA Tournament in his second season with the Hawkeyes. Iowa earned a return trip to the title game of the Big Ten Conference Tournament in 2002 and advanced to the NIT in post-season play in both 2002 and 2003. The Hawkeyes set a Big Ten Conference Tournament record with seven straight wins over two seasons (2001-2002) before a last-second loss in the first round of the 2003 tournament. Alford’s record in the event is 8-3 in his four seasons.

Alford led Southwest Missouri State to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 1999 and in 1995 Manchester advanced to the NCAA championship game before suffering its first defeat of the season. Alford is a 1987 graduate of Indiana, where he led the Hoosiers to the 1987 NCAA title. Alford was a member of the 1984 U. S. Olympic team that earned the Gold Medal and he was the 26th player selected in the NBA Draft following his senior season. Alford played four seasons in the NBA before beginning his coaching career.

At Indiana, Alford started 120 of 125 games in four seasons. He served as team captain in 1987 when the Hoosiers were 30-4. Steve concluded his college career as Indiana’s all-time scoring leader with 2,438 points and he holds the Indiana record for career steals with 178. He was a consensus first team All-American and the Big Ten MVP as a senior. Alford is a member of the Manchester College M Association Hall of Fame and the Indiana University Athletics Hall of Fame. In 2001 he was named one of the “Top 50 Athletes” in the history of the state of Indiana and was selected as a member of the 15-man Indiana University all-Century team.

Alford’s Iowa teams have won seven of eight exhibition games over the past four seasons.

HALK TALK WITH Steve Alford
Fans of the University of Iowa basketball program may join Iowa Coach Steve Alford and radio announcer Gary Dolphin each week during the season for the “Hawk Talk with Steve Alford” radio call-in show. The show takes place each week at Carlos O’Kelly’s Mexican Caf? in Iowa City. The show airs from 7-8:30 p.m. on the following dates: Nov. 24; Dec. 1, 15 & 29; Jan. 5, 14, 19 & 26; Feb. 2, 9, 16 & 23; and Mar. 1, 8 & 15.

ANOTHER STRONG SCHEDULE
As has been the case in recent years, the Iowa schedule is again very demanding. In non-conference action, Iowa will travel to Iowa State and Missouri, while playing neutral site games vs. Louisville (at Indianapolis, IN) and Texas Tech (Dallas, TX). Among Iowa’s non-conference opponents, North Carolina-Asheville, Louisville and Missouri competed in the NCAA Tournament last season, while Illinois-Chicago, Eastern Washington, Iowa State and Texas Tech participated in the NIT. In Big Ten play, Iowa plays Penn State, Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan State just once, with Penn State and Wisconsin visiting Iowa City.

IOWA’S GAZETTE HAWKEYE CHALLENGE
The Gazette Hawkeye Challenge, Friday and Saturday, Dec. 5-6 in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, features Illinois-Chicago meeting Northern Illinois in the opening game on Friday and Iowa hosting Eastern Washington in the second game.

Eastern Washington posted an 18-13 record a year ago and advanced to the NIT after falling in the championship game of the Big Sky Conference Tournament. Eastern Washington, which is the pre-season favorite in the Big Sky this season, is led by Alvin Snow, who has earned first team all-conference honors in each of the past two seasons.

Northern Illinois won 17 games last season and is predicted to contend for the Mid-American Conference title this season. All-Conference performer Marcus Smallwood returns and is a leading candidate for Player of the Year honors in the MAC. With averages of 13.3 points and 10.2 rebounds per game, Smallwood was one of 20 players in the nation to average a double-double last season. The Huskies are coached by former Illinois assistant Rob Judson. Illinois-Chicago is picked to win the Horizon League title this season, returning five starters from the team that won 21 games and advanced to the NIT last season. Guard Martell Bailey led the nation in assists (8.1) last season and Cedric Banks earned all-conference honors after averaging 19 points per game. Both are expected to earn all-conference honors this season. The Flames are coached by former Illini assistant Jimmy Collins and were listed among teams receiving votes in the initial pre-season rankings.

ALFORD’S FIRST CLASS
Four current Iowa seniors, Brody Boyd, Jared Reiner, Sean Sonderleiter and Glen Worley, made up Coach Steve Alford’s first recruiting class at Iowa. The four players have seen increased playing time throughout their career and will be key players during the upcoming season. Iowa won the 2001 Big Ten Tournament when this group were freshmen and returned to the tournament title game the following season. Iowa has been a post-season team in each of the past three seasons. Worley, with 857 career points, could become the newest member of Iowa’s 1,000-point Club, while Reiner led the Big Ten Conference in rebounding a year ago. Worley has seen action in all 101 Iowa games over the past three seasons, while Boyd has played in 99, Reiner 96 and Sonderleiter 92. As a group, the four seniors have scored 2,338 points and totaled 1,243 rebounds in 101 games over the past three seasons, averages of 23.1 points and 12.3 rebounds per game.

REINER & WORLEY ON BLOCKED SHOT CHART
Seniors Jared Reiner (seventh) and Glen Worley (eighth) both rank among Iowa’s career leaders in blocked shots. Reiner had 34 blocked shots in 28 games last season, increasing his career total to 79. Worley, with 34 blocked shots in 31 games a year ago, has 78 career blocks. Career leader Acie Earl blocked 365 shots in his career (1990-93).

REINER GIVES IOWA TOP REBOUNDER
Senior Jared Reiner led the Big Ten in rebounding a year ago, for the entire season and in Big Ten games only. Reiner averaged 8.3 rebounds for the season, and in Big Ten games. With Reiner’s rebounding efforts, Iowa has had the top rebounder in the league for three straight seasons. Reggie Evans led the conference in both 2001 and 2002, for all games and in Big Ten games only. Evans now plays in the NBA with the Seattle Supersonics. Iowa is the first Big Ten team to have the top rebounder in the league for three straight seasons, dating back to 1959 when the Big Ten began recording rebounding statistics.

FRESHMEN POST BIG NUMBERS
Jeff Horner and Greg Brunner played well in their first season a year ago. Both ranked among Iowa’s leaders in scoring and rebounding, while Horner led the team in assists and ranked second in free throw percentage and steals. Brunner ranked second in field goal percentage and rebounding. In 16 Big Ten games the two newcomers together averaged 15 points, 8.9 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.9 steals per game. Horner’s 140 assists is the best total ever for an Iowa freshman and his 4.5 average is also best among Iowa rookies. Horner’s 76.7% free throw percentage ranks second best by an Iowa rookie and his 40 steals tied for fifth best. Brunner’s 52.6% field goal shooting ranks third among Iowa’s best freshmen and his 162 rebounds ranks fifth best.

AFTER THIS
Iowa will host Athletes in Action in its final exhibition game Sunday, Nov. 16 (2:05 p.m.). The Hawkeyes open the regular season Sunday, Nov. 23, hosting North Carolina-Asheville, followed by a home game against Drake on Tuesday, Nov. 25.