Black and Gold Blowout Is Saturday

Nov. 2, 2004

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ANNUAL BLOWOUT ON SATURDAY
The annual Black and Gold Basketball Blowout presented by Mediacom will be held at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 6, prior to the Purdue at Iowa football game. Carver-Hawkeye Arena doors will open at 10:15 a.m. The Blowout once again will feature a full game scrimmage by the 2004-05 Iowa basketball squad. Cost for the event is $5. Tickets may be purchased in advance at the UI Athletic Ticket office in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Arena ticket windows will open at 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning.

HAWKEYES WILL PLAY BOTH WAYS IN BLOWOUT
Coach Steve Alford will look at a number of line-up combinations during Saturday’s scrimmage, with several players likely to see action for both units. The squad will be divided evenly for a portion of the scrimmage, while Iowa’s first unit will also be on the same squad for part of the game.

EXHIBITION GAMES TO FOLLOW
Iowa’s two exhibition games are slated for Nov. 10 vs. Upper Iowa and Nov. 14 vs. Laval University. Neither of the exhibition games will be televised.

Upper Iowa will be playing its first exhibition when the Peacocks visit Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Upper Iowa posted a 10-15 overall record a year ago and Coach Dave Martin returns two starters for the upcoming season. Laval University is located in Canada and will play several games before visiting Iowa, including a Nov. 13 date at Northern Illinois.

EXPERIMENTAL RULES IN PLACE
Three experimental rules will be used during Iowa’s three games in the EA Sports Maui Invitational in late November. Those rules include a three-point line that is 20 feet, six inches, nine inches behind the normal college three point distance; a free-throw lane that is widened by one and 1/2-feet on each side; and, placing a restricted area arc which is to be two feet from the center of the basket ring.

Iowa will also use these experimental rules during its exhibition contest vs. Laval University on Nov. 14.

TRI-CAPTAINS NAMED FOR 2005
Iowa’s tri-captains for the season include juniors Greg Brunner, Jeff Horner and Pierre Pierce. Pierce, a native of Westmont, IL, started all 29 games a year ago, leading the team in scoring (16.1) while averaging 5.7 rebounds per game. Brunner, a native of Charles City, started 26 of 29 games. His 8.2 rebounds per game were a team best and ranked second in the Big Ten. Horner, a Mason City native, has started all 60 games over the past two seasons. He led the team in assists in each of the last two seasons while also averaging 13 points and 5.3 rebounds last year. Horner and Pierce each earned third team all-Big Ten recognition a year ago and they shared Iowa’s team MVP award.

Brunner was the co-winner of the Chris Street Award last season and also earned academic all-Big Ten recognition.

THE RETURNING CAST
Iowa returns three starters and six lettermen from 2004. Those six returning lettermen last season scored over 1,200 points and totaled over 600 rebounds. The six players, in 2004, scored 60.1% of Iowa’s points, had 56.9% of the rebounds, 67.5% of the assists, 64.4% of the blocked shots and 45.2% of the steals.

In 29 games, a sophomore led Iowa in scoring 26 times and a sophomore was the top rebounder in 22 games. The Hawkeyes return their statistical leader from last season in all categories, with the exception of steals (Brody Boyd).

The 13-man squad includes one senior, six juniors, two sophomores and four freshmen. The roster includes eight Iowans, plus one player from California, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Texas.

NEWCOMERS GAIN ATTENTION
Iowa’s class of newcomers includes seven players. That list includes juniors Doug Thomas and Justin Wieck, sophomore Adam Haluska and freshmen J.R. Angle, Seth Gorney, Carlton Reed and Alex Thompson. The group is ranked as the second best incoming class in the Big Ten and 20th in the nation by Hoop Scoop in the June issue of Basketball Times. Street and Smith’s ranks the group as the top incoming class in the Big Ten and names Thompson on the all-Midwest team on its list of Top 100 Freshman.

Lindy’s rates the incoming class as 14th best nationally and lists Haluska fourth among its top 10 transfers.

Athlon Sport’s also lists Haluska among the top transfers in the nation and rates the overall class fourth best in the Big Ten.

FIRST GAME HAS LATER START
As a reminder, Iowa’s regular season opener, Nov. 19 vs. Western Illinois in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, will start at 8:05 p.m. The contest will follow the opening two games of the KCRG TV-9 Hawkeye Challenge, which has the Iowa women hosting Southern Illinois at 5:30 p.m. and Missouri facing Northern Illinois at 3 p.m.

BASKETBALL TICKETS AVAILABLE
The following is information on Iowa basketball tickets for this season. Iowa basketball ticket 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 annual Black and Gold Blowout are available for $5
• Season tickets for all 18 home games (16 regular season, two exhibitions) are available at a cost of $408
• Season tickets for faculty/staff for 18 home games are $340
• Student tickets for all 18 games are $204, while a partial student ticket that does not include games during the semester break are $144
• Single game tickets are available for all home games for $26 per ticket per game
• Single game tickets for the two exhibition games, Nov. 10 and Nov. 14, are available for $13
• Single game student tickets are available for all home games for $15 per ticket per game
• Semester Break package tickets are available for $120 and include games vs. Western Carolina, Air Force, Saint Louis Michigan and Minnesota
• Additional packages include a Super Seven ($161 for eight games), Pick Three ($60 for three games) and Big Ten ($100 for four games)
• In addition, tickets for Iowa’s meeting with Texas Tech, Dec. 21 at the United Center in Chicago, are also on sale for $35. Those tickets are available through TicketMaster outlets

SEEKING FIVE STRAIGHT IN `05
Iowa is seeking a fifth straight winning season, a streak that would match the second longest consecutive winning seasons record in the history of Iowa basketball. Iowa’s longest streak of consecutive winning seasons is seven, from 1950 through 1956. Pops Harrison, Bucky O’Connor and Rollie Williams all coached the Hawkeyes during those years. Only a 10-10 record in 1949 kept Iowa from 13 consecutive winning seasons (1944-56).

Lute Olson coached Iowa to five straight winning seasons from 1979-83, George Raveling and Tom Davis combined to coach Iowa to winning seasons from 1985-89 and Davis coached Iowa to winning seasons from 1995-99.

ANOTHER STRONG SCHEDULE
As has been the case in recent years, the Iowa schedule is again very demanding. In non-conference action, Iowa takes part in the EA Sports Maui Invitational, an eight-team event that also includes Brigham Young, Chaminade, Louisville, North Carolina, Stanford, Tennessee and Texas. Iowa will meet Louisville in the first round. With the exception of Chaminade, every other team in the field participated in post-season play last season.

The non-conference slate also includes Northern Iowa, Iowa State, Texas Tech, Air Force and Saint Louis, five teams that participated in post-season play a year ago. Northern Iowa, Texas Tech and Air Force all participated in the NCAA Tournament. Iowa also hosts non-conference games vs. Western Illinois and Western Carolina and plays at Drake. The Gazette Hawkeye Challenge includes Centenary College, North Carolina-Greensboro and Southern Mississippi.

All in all, Iowa will likely play 16 games against teams that advanced to post-season play a year ago.

IN THE RANKINGS
The field for the EA Sports Maui Invitational includes four teams who are ranked in the initial coaches poll, North Carolina (3rd), Louisville (13th), Texas (15th) and Stanford (25th).

Three Big Ten teams, Illinois (5th), Michigan State (10th) and Wisconsin (20th), are also in the initial rankings. In addition, three other Iowa opponents, Michigan, Purdue and Texas Tech, are among the teams receiving votes.

IOWA’S GAZETTE HAWKEYE CHALLENGE
The Gazette Hawkeye Challenge, Friday and Saturday, Dec. 3-4 in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, features Southern Mississippi meeting UNC-Greensboro in the opening game on Friday and Iowa hosting Centenary College in the second game. Southern Mississippi, which placed second to Iowa in the event early in 2002, is now coached by former Iowa State Coach Larry Eustachy.

RE-MATCH IN MAUI
Iowa’s first round game vs. Louisville in the EA Sports Maui Invitational will mark the second straight season the two teams have met. Iowa last season defeated Louisville 70-69 in overtime in the Wooden Tradition in Indianapolis, IN.

• Iowa and North Carolina are the only teams in the field that have previously won the Maui Invitational, as the Hawkeyes earned the 1987 title and North Carolina won the 1999 event.

• When Iowa and Tennessee last met, the game was also in Hawaii. Tennessee defeated the Hawkeyes 80-68 in the semi-finals of the Rainbow Classic in December, 2000.

• Overall, Iowa holds a 15-6 record against the other seven teams in the Maui field, having played all seven at least once.

IOWA IN TOURNAMENT PLAY
Iowa has faired well while taking part in regular-season tournaments over the past 22 years. In that time Iowa has won the Great Alaska Shootout (1986-87), the Cal-Irvine Anteater Classic (1986-87), the Maui Classic (1987-88), the San Juan Thanksgiving Shootout (1992-93), the San Juan Christmas Shootout (1997-98), the Big Ten Conference Tournament in 2001 and its own invitational 21 times.

In addition, Iowa was runner-up in the 1985-86 Far West Classic, the 1987-88 All-College Tournament, the 1988-89 Chaminade Classic, the 1991-92 Tampa Tribune Holiday Invitational, the 1994-95 Rainbow Classic, the 1995-96 Great Alaska Shootout, the 1999-00 Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, the 2001-02 Guardians Classic and the 2002 Big Ten Conference Tournament.

IOWA IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
Iowa made its 20th appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2001, defeating Creighton 69-56 in the opening round of the East regional before falling to second-seeded Kentucky 92-79 in the second round.

The Hawkeyes hold an overall record of 27-22 in the tournament, advancing to the Final Four in 1955 (fourth), 1956 (second) and 1980 (fourth). Iowa has advanced to at least the second round in its last 10 tournament appearances, last losing in the first round in 1986. Iowa reached the regional championship in 1987 and lost in the regional semi-final in 1988 and 1999.

HORNER NEAR TOP 10
Junior guard Jeff Horner is on pace to join Iowa’s top 10 list in three categories. Horner begins the season with 106 three-point field goals, just five shy of the top 10. With 301 three-point attempts, Horner is just six attempts away from the top 10. Horner has totaled 263 assists in two seasons, needing just 58 assists to join Iowa’s top 10.

1,000 POINT POSSIBILITIES
Iowa has three players, all juniors, who could reach the 1,000 point plateau this season. Pierre Pierce begins the season with 716 points, Jeff Horner has 632 and Greg Brunner has 550. Some notes on Iowa’s 1,000-Point Club include:

• 35 Hawkeye players have scored over 1,000 points, the most recent being Glen Worley last season
• The last Hawkeye to reach 1,000 points in three seasons was Dean Oliver in 2000
• Iowa has had three 1,000-point scorers on the roster in the same season on three occasions. Jess Settles, Kenyon Murray and Chris Kingsbury in 1996, Roy Marble, B.J. Armstrong and Jeff Moe in 1988 and Marble, Armstrong and Ed Horton in 1989

RETURNING WITH HONORS
Guards Jeff Horner and Pierre Pierce earned all-Big Ten recognition for their play during the 2004 season. Both earned third team honors on the coaches team and the media team.

Pierce led Iowa in scoring at 16.1 points per game. He scored in double figures in 26 of 29 games while also averaging 5.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. Pierce, for all games, ranked sixth in the Big Ten in scoring, 10th in assists per game and 15th in rebounding. He also averaged 15.7 points and 5.4 rebounds in 16 conference games, helping Iowa to a fourth place finish. Pierce scored 20 or more points in eight games, including a career-high 28 vs. Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament. Horner earned third team recognition after being an honorable mention selection as a freshman. Horner averaged 13 points, 4.2 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game. He scored 20 points or more in eight of Iowa’s final 16 games.

Horner improved his play during the Big Ten portion of the season, guiding Iowa to a 9-7 league record. In Big Ten games, Horner shot 50.8% from the field, 51.2% from three-point range and 91.8% from the free throw line, making 56-61 free throws.

Horner in Big Ten games only, ranked first in free throw percentage, second in three-point percentage, third in three-point field goals per game, fourth in assists, ninth in scoring, 12th in field goal percentage and 16th in rebounding.

Proving their consistency, Horner and Pierce have each scored over 200 points and collected over 100 rebounds and 100 assists in each of their two seasons. They are two of just eight players in Iowa history to reach those totals in a single season and they are the only two Hawkeye players to reach those totals in more than one season.

BRUNNER IS TOP RETURNING REBOUNDER
Junior forward Greg Brunner ranked second in the Big Ten in rebounding last season. With Minnesota’s Kris Humphries being a first round selection in the NBA Draft, Brunner is the Big Ten’s top returning rebounder heading into the 2004-05 season.

This marks the third time in the last four seasons Iowa has had the top returning rebounder. Reggie Evans led the league in rebounding in 2001 and returned to defend his title in 2002. Jared Reiner led the Big Ten in rebounding in 2003 and returned in 2004. Reiner played in just 13 games before a stress fracture forced him to miss the remainder of last season. Brunner took over and averaged 8.2 rebounds for the season and 8.6 in league games.

REINER MAKES CHICAGO ROSTER
Former University of Iowa center Jared Reiner made the final roster of the NBA’s Chicago Bulls.

The 6-11 native of Tripp, SD joined the Bulls for pre-season camp and earned a spot on the roster through his play during the exhibition season. Reiner averaged 3.3 points and 3.4 rebounds in eight exhibition games, shooting 40.9% from the field.

Reiner played in just 13 games for Iowa in 2004 due to injury. He averaged 10.5 points and 7.2 rebounds before missing the final 16 games of the season. As a junior he averaged 9.7 points and 8.3 rebounds a game, leading the Big Ten in rebounding.

Reiner scored 618 points and had 507 rebounds while playing in 109 games during his Hawkeye career, helping Iowa post a 75-55 overall record while advancing to post-season play in each of the past four seasons.

IOWA VS. RANKED FOES
After playing six games against ranked opponents in 2003-04, Steve Alford has posted a 15-23 record against ranked opponents as Iowa’s head coach, including a 2-4 mark a year ago. Iowa, in 2003-04, 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, lost 54-52 to 14th-ranked Wisconsin in Iowa City and lost 78-59 to 23rd-ranked Illinois 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 38 games against ranked teams, Alford and his Iowa team are 6-7 in home games, 6-7 at neutral sites and 3-9 when playing ranked teams in their home arena.

NOTES FROM A YEAR AGO

• Iowa is one of four Big Ten teams to post a winning season in each of the last four years, joining Illinois, Michigan State and Wisconsin. Iowa advanced to post-season play for the fourth straight season a year ago.
• Iowa played eight games against seven teams that earned bids to the 2004 NCAA Tournament, posting a 2-6 record. Iowa defeated Louisville in the Wooden Tradition in Indianapolis and Eastern Washington in the Gazette Hawkeye Challenge. The Hawkeyes lost two games to Illinois and single games to Northern Iowa, Texas Tech, Michigan State and Wisconsin.
• Iowa posted a 3-5 record against five teams that participated in the 2004 NIT. That includes two wins over Purdue, a 1-2 record vs. Michigan and losses at Iowa State, at Missouri and Saint Louis. Michigan won the NIT and Iowa State advanced to the semi-finals.
• Iowa’s 9-7 Big Ten record earned a fourth place finish in the conference race, a feat that was accomplished despite the fact that Iowa lost an average of 30 points and 17 rebounds from the team that posted a 9-4 record through its first 13 games of the season.
• For the first time since 1987-88, Iowa did not lose consecutive games in Big Ten play. Michigan State was the only other conference team to avoid consecutive losses during the conference season.
• The Hawkeyes were the only Big Ten team that did not lose a conference game to an opponent with less than a .500 record and only two teams won more conference road games.
• Iowa split its four games against the Big Ten opponents it played just once. Iowa won at Indiana and defeated Penn State at home. The Hawkeyes lost at Michigan State and lost to Wisconsin at home. Iowa defeated Ohio State, Minnesota and Purdue twice, won one of three games with Michigan and dropped two games to Illinois and Northwestern.
• Iowa outscored its opponents 491-397 from the free throw line, attempting 731 free throws compared to 575 for the opponents. Iowa outscored 20 of 29 opponents from the free throw line while averaging 25.2 free throws per outing. In Big Ten games, Iowa made as many free throws (294) as its opponents attempted.
• Iowa had three players, Greg Brunner, Jared Reiner and Kurt Spurgeon, earned academic all-Big Ten honors. Five members of the team had a GPA of over 3.0.
• As a team, Iowa shot over 36% from three-point range for the third time in five seasons under Coach Steve Alford.
• In Big Ten games only, Iowa made 294 free throws, matching the number of free throws the opponents attempted in those 16 games.
• Iowa ranked second in the Big Ten, for all games, in five statistical categories, including scoring offense, field goal defense, three-point field goal percentage, rebounding margin and assists per game.
• Iowa ranked second in the Big Ten in three-point field goal percentage (.365), marking the third time in five seasons under Steve Alford Iowa has shot better than 36% from three-point range.
• Iowa averaged 25.2 free throw attempts per game, including 24.6 attempts in Big Ten games.
• Iowa’s overtime win at Indiana was the first Iowa win in Bloomington since an 89-76 victory in 1997. Iowa lost in overtime at Indiana in 2003. It was also the first win in Bloomington for Iowa Coach Steve Alford, who has led his Iowa teams to wins in seven of 10 opponent arenas in the Big Ten. Alford coached Iowa teams have not won at Illinois, Michigan and Michigan State.
• Iowa’s free throw percentage of 86.7% (13-15) at Indiana was its best percentage of the season, surpassing the 85% (17-20) at Saint Louis and the 83.3% (20-24) shooting at Michigan State.
• Iowa’s single-game bests in 2003-04 included Pierre Pierce with 28 points vs. Michigan, a career-high. Greg Brunner had 14 rebounds in the double-overtime win at Indiana, also a career-high. Jeff Horner had a career-high nine assists in the win over Drake and 2004 senior Brody Boyd had seven steals in Iowa’s win over Northern Illinois.

IOWA ON THE TUBE
Every Iowa game throughout the 2004-05 season is slated for television, with the possible exception being second or third round games at the Maui Invitational. Iowa’s first round contest vs. Louisville in Maui and the Dec. 21 game vs. Texas Tech in Chicago are slated for national cable television on ESPN2. Iowa games not selected for national coverage will be televised regionally by ESPN Plus, while several conference games are scheduled to be carried throughout the Big Ten Conference viewing area as part of the Big Ten regional network agreement with ESPN Plus.

NEXT ON THE SCHEDULE
The first of two exhibition games is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 10 when the Hawkeyes host Upper Iowa. Game time is 7:05 p.m. Iowa’s second and final exhibition vs. Laval University will take place Sunday, Nov. 14 at 2 p.m. Neither of the exhibition games will be televised. Iowa opens the regular season Friday, Nov. 19 with an 8:05 p.m. contest vs. Western Illinois.