Feb. 23, 2004
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THE SETTING
Iowa (14-9, 7-5) hosts Illinois (18-5, 9-3) Wednesday, Feb. 25 as the Hawkeyes play their final two home games this week. Game time is 6:05 p.m. CT in Carver-Hawkeye Arena (15,500). Iowa defeated Ohio State 78-67 in Columbus Feb. 18, while Illinois defeated Penn State 66-56 Saturday in State College. Illinois defeated Iowa 88-82 when the teams met Jan. 17 in Champaign.
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 and KYOU Ottumwa. The game can also be seen on cable in Omaha/Council Bluffs, Mason City and Sioux City and on Victory Sports in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Larry Morgan and Doug Altenberger will call the action.
IOWA HISTORY
Iowa has played 2,304 games since beginning basketball in 1902. Overall Iowa’s record is 1,373-931 (.596). That includes an 857-302 (.739) record in home games, a 516-629 (.451) record in games away from Iowa City, a 655-642 (.505) mark in Big Ten games and a 263-76 (.776) record in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
IOWA IN CARVER-HAWKEYE ARENA
Iowa has compiled a 263-76 (.776) record in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa is 126-63 (.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 Jan. 24, 2004. Iowa has posted a 55-21 (.724) home record under Coach Steve Alford, including a 33-4 (.892) mark in non-conference home games.
WORLEY SURPASSES 1,000 CAREER POINTS
Senior Glen Worley has scored 1,028 points to become the 35th player at Iowa to reach 1,000 career points. The native of Coralville, who attended Iowa City West HS, played in all 101 games during the first three years of his Iowa career before missing the first four games of this season due to injury. He is averaging 8.6 points over the 120 games he has played for the Hawkeyes. He had a season-high 20 points in Iowa’s double-overtime win at Indiana and a season-high 10 rebounds in the win at Ohio State.
Worley has also totaled 525 career rebounds, becoming the 20th Hawkeye player to surpass both 1,000 points and 500 rebounds. Worley is also the third Iowa player to reach 1,000 career points while playing for Coach Steve Alford. The most recent addition to Iowa’s 1,000-Point Club was Reggie Evans, who scored 1,054 points and had 794 rebounds during his two-year career (2001-02). Dean Oliver (1998-01) ranks seventh on Iowa’s career scoring list with 1,561 points. Oliver played his final two seasons under Alford and reached the 1,000-point plateau near the end of his junior season.
IOWA VS. RANKED FOES
Having played five games against ranked opponents this season, Steve Alford has posted a 15-22 record against ranked opponents as Iowa’s head coach, including a 5-4 mark in Iowa’s last nine games against ranked foes and a 2-3 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, at 25th-ranked Illinois, 88-82 and lost 54-52 to 14th-ranked Wisconsin in Iowa City.
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), 2nd-ranked Missouri (83-65 in 2001-02), 5th-ranked Ohio State (67-64 in 1999-00), 7th-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 top-ranked (Duke, 2001-02), once to 3rd-ranked (Illinois, 2000-01), twice to 4th-ranked (Michigan State, 1999-00 and 2000-01), twice to 5th-ranked (Tennessee, 2000-01 and Missouri, 2001-02), once to 9th-ranked (Kentucky, 2000-01) and once to 10th-ranked (Illinois, 2002).
In the 37 games against ranked teams, Alford and his Iowa team are 6-6 in home games, 6-7 at neutral sites and 3-9 when playing ranked teams in their home arena.
IOWA VS. RANKED TEAMS
These are Iowa’s most recent wins vs. nationally ranked opponents:
At Home: 71-61 over 24th-ranked Purdue, 1/7/04; On the Road: 67-63 over 20th-ranked Tulsa, 12/28/02; Neutral Court: 70-69 (OT) over 16th-ranked Louisville; at Wooden Tradition in Indianapolis, 11/29/03
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 243-144 (.630), including an 87-67 (.565) 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 32-44 (.421) 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 is 2-5 vs. Illinois and 2-1 vs. Illini Coach Bruce Weber.
ALFORD NAMED TO ESPN TEAM
Iowa Coach Steve Alford was named to ESPN’s Big Ten Conference Silver Anniversary team, honoring Big Ten players from the past 25 years. Alford led Indiana to the 1987 NCAA championship and was a member of the 1984 USA Olympic team that won the gold medal.
Other members of ESPN’s team are Kevin McHale, Minnesota, Glenn Robinson, Purdue, Mateen Cleaves, Michigan State and Jim Jackson, Ohio State.
ILLINOIS COACH BRUCE WEBER
Bruce Weber is in his first season as the head coach at Illinois, but he is no stranger to Big Ten basketball. Weber was an assistant coach at Purdue from 1981-98 before taking over as the head coach at Southern Illinois prior to the 1998-99 season. Weber is now in his sixth year as a head coach and his career mark stands at 121-59, including a 105-54 mark in his five seasons at Southern Illinois. Weber also served as an assistant coach for one season at Western Kentucky (under Gene Keady) before his stint at Purdue.
Weber led Southern Illinois to three post-season appearances in his five years, including NCAA Tournament invitations in 2002 and 2003. The Salukis earned Missouri Valley Conference titles in both 2002 and 2003 and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2002.
Weber is 1-0 against Iowa and he holds a 1-2 record vs. Hawkeye Coach Steve Alford.
THE SERIES
Illinois holds a 69-64 advantage in the series that began with a 46-36 Iowa win in 1908. Illinois defeated Iowa 88-82 Jan. 17 in Champaign in the first meeting, giving the Illini five wins in the last seven meetings. The teams met just once in each of the past two seasons, with Illinois taking a 77-66 win in Champaign in 2002 and Iowa winning 68-61 in Iowa City on 1/15/03.
Iowa holds a 50-15 advantage in games played in Iowa City, including a 15-5 margin in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa has won the last two meetings in Iowa City after the Illini scored a 69-58 win in 2000.
GAME NOTES
Illinois and Iowa played just one common opponent in non-conference play. Illinois defeated Missouri 71-70 at a neutral site in St. Louis, while Missouri later posted a 76-56 win over Iowa in Columbia.
Both Iowa Coach Steve Alford and Illinois Coach Bruce Weber were head coaches in the Missouri Valley Conference before taking their current positions in the Big Ten. Alford was the head coach at Southwest Missouri State for four seasons and Weber was the head coach at Southern Illinois for five years. The two coaches met twice during the 1998-99 season, with Alford’s team winning 76-62 and 72-68 (OT).
Illinois Coach Bruce Weber was an assistant coach at Purdue when Iowa Coach Steve Alford was a player at Indiana. Purdue won five of eight meetings against Indiana during Alford’s playing career.
Iowa’s roster includes two players from Illinois, sophomore Pierre Pierce from Westmont and freshman Ben Rand from Rochelle.
Illinois’ Jack Ingram is a transfer from Tulsa. Ingram played against Iowa early in the 2000-01 season as a freshman, when Iowa scored a 66-65 win in the finals of the Gazette Hawkeye Challenge. Ingram had three rebounds in that contest and three rebounds earlier this season when Illinois defeated Iowa in Champaign. Prior to 2001-02, Iowa and Illinois had met at least twice in every season since 1974.
IOWA FALLS AT ILLINOIS
Illinois used a 10-0 scoring run to start the second half and shot 68% from the field over the final 20 minutes in taking an 88-82 win over Iowa Jan. 17 in Champaign. The Hawkeyes played well in the first half, building a 43-38 advantage at halftime. Iowa used a 14-0 scoring run in the first half to rally from a six-point deficit, shooting 57.1% from the field and 88.9% (16-18) from the free throw line.
Brody Boyd made two free throws midway through the second half to give Iowa its final lead, and the score was tied for the final time at 59-59 with 9:32 remaining. Illinois went ahead by six points before Iowa pulled within two, with 1:47 to play, for the final time. Two costly turnovers in the final two minutes cost Iowa a chance for the win as the Illini connected on 9-10 free throws in the final four minutes and Iowa missed its only two attempts.
Illinois, after shooting just 38.2% in the first half, made 17-25 field goal attempts in the second half to rally for the win. The Illini also made 3-5 three-point attempts and 13-15 free throws in the final 20 minutes. Iowa shot a season-best 55.3% from the field and a season-best 80.6% (25-31) from the free throw line. The Hawkeyes also won the rebounding battle by a 29-26 margin, but were guilty of 19 turnovers, eight more than Illinois.
Pierre Pierce led Iowa’s scoring attack, matching a career-high with 26 points. Brody Boyd added 20 points, including career-highs in free throws made (9) and attempted (11). Greg Brunner led Iowa with seven rebounds. Roger Powell led the balanced Illinois attack with 20 points and five rebounds. Nick Smith added 18 points, Deron Williams 17, Dee Brown 14 and Luther Head 13.
AFTER THIS
Iowa’s final home game is Saturday, Feb. 28 when the Hawkeyes host Minnesota at 3:37 p.m. Iowa closes the regular season at Northwestern (Mar. 3) and Purdue (Mar 6).