Jan. 30, 2004
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Iowa (10-7, 3-3) returns home to host Penn State (8-8, 2-3) Saturday, Jan. 31. Game time is 7:05 p.m. in Carver-Hawkeye Arena (15,500). Iowa lost to Michigan 90-84 in Ann Arbor Wednesday, while Penn State defeated Northwestern 63-61 in overtime in State College. This is the only meeting of the season between Iowa and the Nittany Lions.
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. Television: ESPN Regional will carry the game to a network of stations that includes KGAN Cedar Rapids, KDSM Des Moines, KWQC Quad Cities, KYOU Ottumwa and KCAU Sioux City. The game can also be seen on cable in Mason City and on Victory Sports in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Larry Morgan and Mac McCausland will call the action.
IOWA HISTORY
Iowa has played 2,298 games since beginning basketball in 1902. Overall Iowa’s record is 1,369-929 (.596). That includes an 855-301 (.740) record in home games, a 514-628 (.450) record in games away from Iowa City, a 651-640 (.504) mark in Big Ten games and a 261-75 (.777) record in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
IOWA IN CARVER-HAWKEYE ARENA
Iowa has compiled a 261-75 (.777) record in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa is 124-62 (.667) in Big Ten games and 137-13 (.913) in non-Big Ten games. Iowa has drawn over five million fans for men’s basketball games since the arena opened in 1983, surpassing the five million mark when 14,268 fans saw Iowa defeat Ohio State in its last home outing. Iowa has posted a 53-20 (.726) home record under Coach Steve Alford, including a 33-4 (.892) mark in non-conference home games.
IOWA VS. RANKED FOES
Having played four games against ranked opponents this season, Steve Alford has posted a 15-21 record against ranked opponents as Iowa’s head coach, including a 5-3 mark in Iowa’s last eight games against ranked foes and a 2-2 mark in 2003-04. Iowa, this season, defeated 16th-ranked Louisville 70-69 in overtime and 24th-ranked Purdue 71-61 in Iowa City. Iowa lost at 22nd-ranked Missouri, 76-56 and at 25th-ranked Illinois, 88-82.
Alford’s Hawkeye teams are 5-8 when playing teams ranked in the top 10, including wins over top-ranked Connecticut (70-68 in 1999-00), second-ranked Missouri (83-65 in 2001-02), fifth-ranked Ohio State (67-64 in 1999-00), seventh-ranked Illinois (78-62 in 2000-01) and 8th-ranked Illinois (68-61 in 2002-03). The eight losses to top 10 teams have been once to No. 1 (Duke, 2001-02), once to No. 3 (Illinois, 2000-01), twice to No. 4 (Michigan State, 1999-00 and 2000-01), twice to No. 5 (Tennessee, 2000-01 and Missouri, 2001-02), once to No. 9 (Kentucky, 2000-01) and once to No. 10 (Illinois, 2002).
In the 36 games against ranked teams, Alford and his Iowa team are 6-5 in home games, 6-7 at neutral sites and 3-9 when playing ranked teams in their home arena.
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 239-142 (.627), including an 83-65 (.561) 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 28-42 (.400) 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. Most recently, Alford was named to ESPN’s Big Ten Conference Silver Anniversary team, honoring Big Ten players from the past 25 years. Alford is 6-3 vs. Penn State and has not coached against PSU Coach Ed DeChillis.
PSU COACH ED DECHILLIS
Ed DeChillis is in his first season as Penn State’s head coach and his eighth year overall as a college head coach. DeChillis is 9-8 at Penn State and his career mark stands at 114-101. He posted a 105-93 record in seven years as the head coach at East Tennessee State. A Penn State graduate, DeChillis led East Tennessee State to the Southern Conference Tournament championship in 2003, earning a spot in the NCAA Tournament. East Tennessee State then lost to No. two seed Wake Forest by a narrow 76-73 margin.
DeChillis began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Penn State, and later was an assistant coach at Salem College in West Virginia. He returned to Penn State as an assistant coach for 10 seasons before taking over at East Tennessee State. As a PSU assistant, DeChillis helped the Nittany Lions advance to post-season play in four straight seasons (1989-92), while posting an 87-40 record in that time.
DeChillis has not coached against Iowa, or Hawkeye Coach Steve Alford, as a head coach.
DECHILLIS AS AN ASSISTANT
Penn State Coach Ed DeChillis served as a Nittany Lion assistant coach from 1986-96, during the time that Penn State moved from the Atlantic 10 Conference to the Big Ten. During his last two seasons as an assistant there, PSU posted a 42-18 record, advancing to the NIT in 1995 and the NCAA Tournament in 1996. During his time as a Penn State assistant DeChillis helped PSU post a 4-3 record against Iowa.
KANASKIE KNOWS IOWA
Penn State assistant Kurt Kanaskie is no stranger to the Iowa basketball program, as he served as the head coach at Drake University in Des Moines for the past seven seasons. He held a 0-7 record vs. Iowa and a 0-10 record vs. Iowa Coach Steve Alford.
THE SERIES
Iowa holds a 14-8 advantage in the series that began with an 82-53 Iowa win in 1955. Iowa won both meetings in 2002-03, 75-55 at State College and 84-71 in Iowa City. The teams split two games in 2002 and Iowa won two of three meetings in 2001, including a 94-74 win in the semi-finals of the Big Ten Conference Tournament.
The Hawkeyes have won six of the last eight meetings, seven of the last 10 and nine of the last 13.
Iowa holds a 7-3 advantage in games played in Iowa City, with all 10 meetings taking place in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes have won five of the last six meetings in Iowa City.
Three of the 22 meetings in the series have been in post-season action. The first meeting in 1955 was in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Evanston, IL, with Iowa winning 82-53. Penn State won 67-64 in Iowa City in 1995 in the semi-finals of the NIT and Iowa won in the Big Ten Tournament in 2001. Iowa’s 67-48 win in 1962 took place in the first round of the Quaker City Tournament in Philadelphia, PA.
COMMON FOES
Iowa and Penn State have played five common foes, all within the Big Ten. Iowa has defeated Minnesota (away) and Ohio State (home), while losing to Illinois (road), Michigan (road) and Northwestern (home). Penn State has defeated Minnesota (home), Ohio State (home) and Northwestern (home) and lost to Illinois (road) and Michigan (home).
IOWA WON BOTH A YEAR AGO
Iowa outscored Penn State 17-2 over the final 8:36 in earning a 75-55 win at Penn State last Feb. 5. Penn State had rallied from a 13-point deficit to trail 56-53 when Iowa’s defense stepped up. Penn State did not score for over seven minutes as Iowa pulled away. Iowa held the Nittany Lions with no points on 12 straight possessions.
The Hawkeyes held just a 30-28 halftime advantage as Iowa held PSU to 26.2% shooting in the opening half. Iowa gained control early in the second half and led 55-42 with 10:47 remaining. Penn State then scored eight straight points in less than a minute to pull within five points and it was a three-point game (56-53) when the Iowa defense took over. Penn State shot just 29% from the field for the night and made just 7-13 (53.8%) free throws. Iowa shot an even 50% from the field (22-44), made 5-15 three-point attempts and 26-37 (70.3%) free throws
Sean Sonderleiter led Iowa with the first double-double of his career, reaching career-high marks in both points (18) and rebounds (11). Chauncey Leslie scored 22 and Brody Boyd had 16. Penn State was led by Sharif Chambliss, who scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half. DeForrest Riley added 11 points and Aaron Johnson led PSU with 11 rebounds.
Iowa enjoyed its best field goal shooting of the season in taking an 84-71 home win over Penn State last Feb. 15. The Hawkeyes shot 59.2% from the field and led from start to finish after scoring the first eight points of the game for the second straight time against the Nittany Lions. Iowa shot 63.2% from the field in the opening half, while holding Penn State to 37.1% accuracy. The Hawkeyes also had a big advantage at the foul line in the opening half, making 17-22 free throws in building a 42-31 halftime advantage.
Penn State cut the margin to single digits several times in the second half, but never got closer than seven points. Iowa outscored PSU 24-8 from the foul line and won the rebounding battle by a 34-30 margin, while also collecting seven blocked shots. Jeff Horner had one of his best all-around games of the season, collecting 12 points and six rebounds while matching career-highs with eight assists and four steals. Chauncey Leslie led Iowa’s scoring with 18 points, while Glen Worley added 15 points and a season-high 10 rebounds. Chambliss led Penn State with 16 points, while Riley and Brandon Watkins each added 15.
AFTER THIS
Iowa travels to face Michigan State Wednesday, Feb. 4 (7:05 p.m. CT) and Indiana Saturday. Feb. 7 (3:37 p.m. CT). The Hawkeyes return home to host Wisconsin Wednesday, Feb. 11 and Michigan Saturday, Feb. 14.