Iowa to Host Iowa State Friday

Dec. 9, 2004

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THE SETTING
Iowa (7-1) hosts Iowa State (4-1) Friday, Dec. 10 in the third and final contest against in-state rivals. Game time is 7:05 p.m. in Carver-Hawkeye Arena (15,500).

Iowa improved to 7-1 with a 76-73 win over Northern Iowa Tuesday in Iowa City, while Iowa State defeated Virginia 81-79 Monday in Ames.

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, KCAU Sioux City and KYOU Ottumwa. Larry Morgan and Mac McCausland will call the action.

IOWA HISTORY
Iowa has played 2,318 games since beginning basketball in 1902. Overall Iowa’s record is 1,382-935 (.596). That includes an 862-303 (.740) record in home games, a 520-633 (.451) record in games away from Iowa City, a 657-644 (.505) mark in Big Ten games and a 268-77 (.777) record in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

IOWA IN CARVER-HAWKEYE ARENA
Iowa has compiled a 268-77 (.777) record in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa is 127-64 (.665) in Big Ten games and 141-13 (.916) in non-Big Ten games. Iowa has drawn over five million fans for men’s basketball games since the arena opened in 1983. Iowa has posted a 60-22 (.732) home record under Coach Steve Alford, including a 38-4 (.905) mark in non-conference home games.

IN THE RANKINGS
Iowa is ranked 17th by the Associated Press and the Hawkeyes are 24th in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll. Iowa began the season receiving no votes in either of the rankings.

TWO STRAIGHT OVER RANKED TEAMS
Iowa’s back-to-back wins over Louisville and Texas marks the second time Iowa has won consecutive games against ranked opponents under Coach Steve Alford. The Hawkeyes, during the 2002-03 season, defeated 20th-ranked Michigan State 68-64 and 8th-ranked Illinois 68-61.

IOWA COACH Steve Alford
Steve Alford (pronounced ALL-ford) is in his sixth season as the head coach at the University of Iowa and his 14th season as a college head coach. Alford holds a career record of 252-149 (.628), including a 96-72 (.571) 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. Alford ranks sixth among Iowa’s head basketball coaches in career wins and he is 34-46 (.425) in Big Ten games at Iowa. Alford is 8-5 in the NCAA Tournament (3-2 in Div. I and 5-3 in Div. III) and 2-4 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 2002, 2003 and 2004. 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 8-4 in his five 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. A year ago he was one of five players selected to ESPN’s Big Ten Conference Silver Anniversary team, honoring Big Ten players from the past 25 seasons.

Alford holds a 3-3 record vs. Iowa State and a 2-1 record vs. ISU Coach Wayne Morgan.

ALFORD CLIMBS WIN CHARTS
Iowa Coach Steve Alford collected victory number 250 as a head coach with the 88-53 win over Centenary. His career mark stands at 252-149 record.

Alford has a 96-72 record at Iowa, moving into sixth place on the Iowa list for coaching victories. Pops Harrison (1943-50) ranks fifth with 98 wins.

ISU COACH WAYNE MORGAN
Wayne Morgan is in his second season as the head coach at Iowa State and his eighth season overall as a head coach. Morgan has led the Cyclones to a 24-14 mark and his career record stands at 115-98. Morgan compiled a 91-84 record in six seasons as the head coach at Long Beach State (1997-02) and he served as an assistant at Iowa State for one season before taking the head position. At Long Beach State he led his 1999-00 team to a first place finish in the Western Division of the Big West Conference while earning an NIT bid. He was the 2000 NABC District 15 Coach of the Year. Before taking over at Long Beach State Morgan served as an assistant at Syracuse (1984-96), Xavier (1979-84), Dartmouth College (1975-79) and Ithaca College (1973-74). He served one season (1974-75) as the head coach at Dutchess (NY) Community College. He is a graduate of St. Lawrence University. Morgan is 1-0 vs. Iowa and 1-2 vs. Hawkeye Coach Steve Alford.

THESE COACHES HAVE MET
Iowa Coach Steve Alford and Iowa State Coach Wayne Morgan faced each other as head coaches on two occasions before last season. Both of the previous meetings came when Alford was the head coach at Southwest Missouri State and Morgan was the head coach at Long Beach State. Southwest Missouri State defeated Long Beach State on two occasions in which there was an Alford vs. Morgan coaching match-up. The Bears earned a 90-75 win on Jan. 9, 1997 at Long Beach and won again at Southwest Missouri State by an 80-52 margin on Dec. 12, 1998.

THEY ALSO MET IN TITLE GAME
Iowa Coach Steve Alford, as a player at Indiana, helped the Hoosiers win the 1987 NCAA national title with a 74-73 win over Syracuse. Alford scored 23 points in that contest, including an NCAA-record seven three-pointers, while earning a spot on the Final Four all-tournament team. Iowa State Coach Wayne Morgan was an assistant on the Syracuse coaching staff at that time.

HY-VEE CY-HAWK SERIES
Iowa leads the inaugural Hy-Vee Cy-Hawk Series 7-4, with the next event being the Friday evening men’s basketball contest. Iowa recorded a 17-10 football victory, an 89-80 win in women’s basketball and a 214-85 win in women’s swimming and diving. Iowa State has posted a 6-1 women’s soccer victory and a 19-16 wrestling victory.

A point system will track each institution’s performance and will culminate in one institution winning the annual trophy for the Hy-Vee Cy-Hawk Series. Intercollegiate athletic teams from Iowa and Iowa State will square off in head-to-head competition nine different times during the 2004-05 academic year. The competition this year is in men’s basketball, women’s basketball, wrestling, women’s gymnastics, women’s soccer, softball and women’s swimming and diving. An additional two points will be available for an institution if the student-athlete graduation rate for all student-athletes is greater than the national average for all student-athletes.

The remaining events include women’s gymnastics (Jan. 28 and Feb. 19) and softball (Apr. 19).

THE SERIES
Iowa holds a 39-18 advantage in the series that began with a 30-27 Hawkeye win in 1910. Iowa State won 84-76 in Ames a year ago and the teams split two games in 2003. That marked the first time since 1921 that the teams met twice in the same season and it was the first time the teams met in post-season action.

Iowa has won three of the last five meetings and five of the last eight. Just six of the last 15 games, including the last three in a row, have had a final margin of eight points or less. The visiting team has won seven of the last 11 meetings, including Iowa State’s 73-69 on its last visit to Iowa City early in the 2002-03 season.

Iowa holds a 23-5 advantage in games played in Iowa City, including a 7-4 mark in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa holds a 16-13 margin in games played in Ames. Iowa has won on four of its last six meetings in Hilton Coliseum.

IN-STATE SERIES CONTINUES
Both Iowa and Iowa State are playing their third and final game in the state series. Iowa won at Drake (91-75) and defeated Northern Iowa 76-73 in Iowa City. Iowa State defeated Drake 73-46 in Ames and lost 99-82 to Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls.

Northern Iowa plays at Drake Jan. 29 and hosts the Bulldogs Feb. 16. A year ago, Iowa defeated Drake in Iowa City, but lost games at Northern Iowa and Iowa State.

COACH ALFORD VS. ISU
Iowa Coach Steve Alford played two games against Iowa State during his Indiana playing career. In 1985 the Hoosiers won 69-67 in Ames and the following season Indiana won 86-65 in Bloomington. Alford in the first meeting had 22 points and five rebounds, while the following year he had 24 points and six rebounds.

IOWA, ISU NOTES

• Iowa’s all-time record against current members of the Big 12 Conference is 85-45, including an 82-80 win over Texas earlier this season in the EA Sports Maui Invitational. Iowa will meet a third Big 12 team, Texas Tech, Dec. 21 at the United Center in Chicago. Iowa was 0-3 vs. the Big 12 a year ago.
• Iowa State is 44-87 all-time against current members of the Big Ten Conference.
• Iowa’s 14-man roster includes nine players from the state of Iowa. Iowa State’s roster of 15 players includes four players from the state of Iowa.
• Iowa and Iowa State have played two common opponents. Both teams defeated in-state rival Drake, Iowa by a 91-75 margin in Des Moines and Iowa State by a 73-46 margin in Ames. Iowa State lost at Northern Iowa 99-82, while Iowa defeated the Panthers 76-73 in Iowa City.

ISU WON AT HOME LAST YEAR
Iowa State used scoring runs at the end of each half to take an 84-76 win over Iowa in Ames last January. Iowa State scored the final eight points of the first half to take a 43-34 halftime advantage, as Iowa shot just 37.5% from the field in the first period.

Iowa rallied early in the second half, using an 8-0 scoring run to tie the score at 52-52 with 14:41 to play. The teams traded leads over the next six minutes before Iowa took its biggest advantage, 68-63, with 4:43 remaining. From there Iowa State used a 17-2 spurt over the next four minutes to take control. Iowa played well in several areas in its third straight road game, but 23 turnovers proved costly. Iowa won the rebounding battle by a 46-39 margin, but Iowa State took advantage of 19 offensive rebounds and committed just nine turnovers.

Iowa shot 55.6% from the field in the second half to end the game at 45.8%, compared to 41.4% for Iowa State. ISU made 16-30 free throws, compared to 10-15 for Iowa.

Jeff Horner scored a then career-high 26 points to head Iowa’s scoring, while Brody Boyd added 14 points, Glen Worley 13 and Pierre Pierce 12. Worley and Greg Brunner led Iowa with nine rebounds each, while Sean Sonderleiter added eight and Pierce seven. Iowa State was led by Jake Sullivan with 22 points and Jackson Vroman with 18 points, 16 rebounds and five assists. Curtis Stinson added 12 points and five assists and Damion Staple added 11 points and four steals.

HAWKEYES ADD TO THE ROSTER
Ryan Kennedy (6-7, 210) is a sophomore forward who has joined the Iowa basketball team as a walk-on. Kennedy attended Roosevelt High School in Des Moines as a prep.

Kennedy earned honorable mention all-conference recognition as a prep senior, serving as team captain and earning team MVP honors.

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Two Hawkeyes currently rank among national leaders, according to statistics on cbssportsline.com. Junior guard Jeff Horner ranks fourth in the nation in three-point field goals (28), 13th in steals (20) and 20th in assists (50). Junior center Erek Hansen ranks 11th in the nation with 3.6 blocked shots per game.

HORNER EARNS BIG TEN HONOR
Guard Jeff Horner was named Big Ten Conference Player of the Week on Nov. 29 for his efforts in Iowa’s three games in the EA Sports Maui Invitational.

Horner, a 6-3 junior from Mason City, led Iowa to wins over Louisville and Texas before the Hawkeyes lost to North Carolina in the championship game. Horner, who was a member of the Maui all-tournament team, had 27 points in the semi-final win over Texas and scored 18 points vs. Louisville and North Carolina. He led the tournament in scoring with 63 points and tied for second (with Iowa teammate Pierre Pierce) with 17 assists. Horner in the three games shot 65.2% (15-23) from three-point range, hitting 6-7 in the title game.

The honor is the second of Horner’s career. He earned the honor last Feb. 9 after leading Iowa to a double-overtime win at Indiana.

IOWA HOLDS OFF NORTHERN IOWA
Iowa led nearly the entire game, but had to hold off a Northern Iowa rally in the final six minutes to take a 76-73 win Tuesday night in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes trailed 9-4 early in the contest and the game was tied three times before a three-point basket by Pierre Pierce gave Iowa a 16-13 advantage seven minutes into the game. The Hawkeyes led by as many as 13 in the opening half before taking a 40-32 halftime advantage.

The Panthers hit eight of their first 11 field goal attempts in the second half, but Iowa also shot well and built the advantage back to 13 points with 9:28 remaining. Iowa still held a 70-61 lead with 5:50 left when UNI rallied. The Panthers closed to within one point with 34 seconds to play and had a shot for the lead after Iowa missed a free throw. The Hawkeyes came up with a defensive stop in the final 10 seconds and Jeff Horner connected on two free throws with 4.5 seconds remaining for the final margin. A final desperation shot by the Panthers at the buzzer was off the mark.

Both teams shot 52.6% (30-57) from the field, but Iowa had a 10-8 advantage in three-point baskets and a 6-5 advantage from the foul line. UNI won the rebounding battle by a 33-29 margin, but Iowa was guilty of just seven turnovers.

Forward Greg Brunner led Iowa’s attack with 23 points, hitting 10-13 field goals. Horner added 16 points and Pierce and Erek Hansen each scored 14. Horner led Iowa with nine rebounds and Pierce added five assists.

THREE EARN ALL-TOURNEY HONORS
Three Iowa players, Greg Brunner, Jeff Horner and Pierre Pierce, all juniors, were named to the all-tournament team of the Gazette Hawkeye Challenge, with Horner and Pierce sharing MVP honors.

Pierce scored 36 points in the two games, including 19 in the championship tilt. He also had 11 rebounds, eight assists and six steals. Horner, who had a career-high 11 assists in the title game, had 23 points, seven rebounds, 18 assists and five steals in the two wins. Brunner led Iowa with 15 rebounds in the two games, while adding 26 points, five blocked shots and four assists.

HAWKEYES SET TOURNEY RECORDS
As a team, Iowa set two Gazette Hawkeye Challenge tournament records and tied a third, in the win over UNC Greensboro. The Hawkeyes set a tournament record and tied their own school record with 12 blocked shots. That record was set earlier this season in a loss to North Carolina. Iowa also shot 57.9% (11-19) from three-point range to set a tournament record and the 11 three-point field goals tied a tournament mark.

IOWA STATE STOPS VIRGINIA
Iowa State rebounded from its only loss of the season to take an 81-79 win over 19th-ranked Virginia Monday in Ames. A basket by guard Curtis Stinson gave the Cyclones their final advantage and Virginia failed to convert on its final shot attempts as time expired.

Iowa State shot 58.3% from three-point range, with Stinson hitting 5-6 treys to lead the way. For the game, Stinson added 5-7 free throws, leading ISU with 30 points. Jared Homan added 14 points and seven rebounds, while Robert Faulkner and Will Blalock each scored 10 points.

HAWKEYES SET BLOCK RECORD
Iowa set its second single-game record of the season in a loss to North Carolina and tied that record in a win over North Carolina-Greensboro. The Hawkeyes blocked 12 shots in each of those two games, and junior center Erek Hansen led the way in both games with five each. The previous record of 11 blocked shots was set in an 80-65 win at Drake on Jan. 4, 1993.

IOWA SETS FREE THROW MARK
Iowa set school and Carver-Hawkeye Arena records in its opening win over Western Illinois by making all 20 of its free throw attempts. Six Hawkeyes contributed to the record, with Pierre Pierce and Erek Hansen each making four. The previous best for a perfect free throw percentage (18-18) came in a win at Indiana in 1979. The previous record for Carver-Hawkeye Arena was 94.7%, when Iowa made 18-19 attempts vs. Wisconsin in 2001.

NEW FACES CONTRIBUTE EARLY
Several new faces have been big contributors in Iowa’s first seven games. The newcomers are averaging 26.7 points and 13.4 rebounds per outing.

Junior college transfer Doug Thomas scored 14 points and led Iowa with nine rebounds in the opening win over Western Illinois, and he added 10 rebounds vs. UNC Greensboro. Thomas added eight points and five rebounds vs. North Carolina and he had six rebounds in the win over Texas.

Sophomore Adam Haluska has scored in double figures in five of eight games, including a career-high 21 points in a win at Drake, and he leads the team in free throws and free throw attempts.

In the win at Drake, freshman Carlton Reed scored 14 points, while freshman Alex Thompson added four points and three rebounds in two of Iowa’s last four games.

Newcomers contributed 31 points and 13 rebounds in the opening win, 37 points and 11 rebounds vs. North Carolina, 39 points and 15 rebounds in the win at Drake, 22 points and 15 rebounds vs. Centenary and 27 points and 19 rebounds vs. UNC Greensboro.

IOWA VS. RANKED FOES
Steve Alford has posted a 17-24 record against ranked opponents as Iowa’s head coach. Iowa, this season, has defeated 11th-ranked Louisville 76-71 and 13th-ranked Texas 82-80, with a loss to 11th-ranked North Carolina. Those three games were at the Maui Invitational.

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 41 games against ranked teams, Alford and his Iowa team are 6-7 in home games, 8-8 at neutral sites and 3-9 when playing ranked teams in their home arena.

HORNER OFF TO FAST START
Junior guard Jeff Horner is off to a fast start through eight games, leading the team with an 16.6 scoring average. Horner also is averaging 6.3 assists, 5.8 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game. Horner had a career-high 27 points in the win over Texas and he led the Maui Invitational in scoring with 63 points in three games. He added 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists in a win at Drake.

Horner made 15-23 three-point attempts in the three games in Hawaii, moving into Iowa’s top 10 in both three-pointers and three-point attempts. Through eight games he is shooting 51.3% from the field, 53.8% from three-point range and 79.3% from the free throw line.

He added his first career scoring and assist double-double in the win over UNC Greensboro with 14 points and career-best 11 assists and he added 16 points and nine rebounds in the win over Northern Iowa. Horner scored Iowa’s final five points in the last 95 seconds against the Panthers.

Horner was named to the all-tournament team at the Maui Invitational and he was co-MVP (with teammate Pierre Pierce) of Iowa’s Gazette Hawkeye Challenge.

PIERCE WELL BALANCED
Junior guard Pierre Pierce is proving to be a very versatile player through Iowa’s first eight games. Pierce is averaging 16 points, 4.8 assists and five rebounds per game. He has scored in double figures in all eight games, has at least six assists in four of eight games and five or more rebounds in five games.

Pierce made a three-point basket in the final minute to lead Iowa in a win over Texas, scoring 18 points vs. the Longhorns and 16 points vs. Louisville in Iowa’s first two games of the Maui Invitational. He had 13 points vs. North Carolina, 15 in a win at Drake and 19 vs. UNC Greensboro. Pierce was named co-MVP (along with teammate Jeff Horner) of Iowa’s Gazette Hawkeye Challenge.

BRUNNER WORKING THE BOARDS
Junior forward Greg Brunner is Iowa’s top returning rebounded and he is averaging 5.9 rebounds after eight games. Brunner, who ranked second in the Big Ten in rebounding last season, had a season-best 10 rebounds in the win over Louisville, he had nine vs. UNC Greensboro and eight in the win over Texas. Brunner has scored in double figures in seven of Iowa’s eight games, with a season-high of 23 in the most recent win over Northern Iowa. He is shooting 62.3% from the field and 72.4% from the foul line. He was named to the all-tournament team of Iowa’s Gazette Hawkeye Challenge.

HANSEN BLOCKING THE WAY
Junior center Erek Hansen has picked up where he left off a year ago, making an art of blocking shots. Hansen led the Big Ten in blocked shots last season and has 25 blocks in seven games this year. Hansen did not play in the win at Drake after suffering a bruised hip in practice the day before the game.

Playing with added confidence at both ends of the floor, Hansen scored a career-high 14 points in the win over Northern Iowa, hitting his first six shots of the game. Hansen is averaging 9.4 points and three rebounds per game, shooting 53.1% from the field and 66.7% from the foul line. He had 13 points in the opening win over Western Illinois and added 11 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots in a win over Texas. Hansen has blocked five shots in three games and is the main reason Iowa set (and later tied) a single-game record of 12 blocked shots.

HALUSKA HITS NEW HIGH
Sophomore Adam Haluska reached a career-high 21 points in the win at Drake, and he also had eight rebounds, two assists and two steals. Haluska had 19 points in the loss to North Carolina and 17 points vs. UNC Greensboro. He matched his career-high of four assists in the win over Northern Iowa and played an outstanding defensive game. In his first season at Iowa, Haluska has scored in double figures in six of eight games. Haluska is shooting 82.9% from the free throw line and he leads the team with 29 free throws and 34 attempts. He is averaging 12.5 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.

THOMAS HELPS ON THE GLASS
Junior Doug Thomas is making a major addition to Iowa’s rebounding efforts, as he is third on the team with an average of 5.5 rebounds per game. Thomas had nine rebounds in his first game as a Hawkeye and added a season-best 10 in a win over UNC Greensboro. Thomas is averaging 5.1 points while shooting 56.5% from the field and 78.9% from the foul line.

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 very demanding. In non-conference action, Iowa took part in the EA Sports Maui Invitational early in the season, defeating #11 Louisville and #13 Texas, while falling to #11 North Carolina.

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 included wins over Centenary College and North Carolina-Greensboro.

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

1,000 POINT POSSIBILITIES
Iowa has three players, all juniors, who could reach the 1,000 point plateau this season. Pierre Pierce has scored 844 points, Jeff Horner has 765 and Greg Brunner has 659. 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

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.

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 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.

SCORING BY HALVES
Iowa has outscored its opponents 322-276 in the first half and 351-302 in the second half. Iowa has led at halftime in five of eight games and the Hawkeyes have outscored their opponent in the second half in six of eight games.

HAWKEYE TIDBITS

• Iowa’s contest at Drake is the only true road game for the Hawkeyes in non-conference play. Iowa played three neutral site games at the EA Sports Maui Invitational and will play Texas Tech at a neutral site (Dec. 21 at the United Center in Chicago).
• Iowa has had four players or more score in double figures in seven of eight games, with a season-best six players in double figures in the win over Western Illinois. Iowa is 1-0 when six players score in double figures, 5-1 when four reach double figures and 1-0 when two are in double figures.
• Iowa has four players averaging between 12.5 and 16.6 points per game and four players averaging between 5.0 and 5.9 rebounds per outing.
• Iowa is 5-0 when leading at halftime and 2-1 when trailing at intermission.
• Iowa is 3-1 when controlling the opening tip and 4-0 when not controlling the tip.
• Iowa is 3-0 in games decided by 10 points or less, and has not played an overtime game.
• Under Steve Alford, Iowa is 29-6 when shooting at least 50% from the field, including 4-1 this season.
• North Carolina and Northern Iowa are the only Iowa opponents to shoot over 50% from the field this season. Last season, Iowa was 0-5 when its opponent shot at least 50% from the field.

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’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.
• Iowa collected four Big Ten road wins in 2004 and seven in the last two seasons. In Big Ten play, only Illinois (six) and Michigan State (five) won more road games a year ago as Iowa won at Indiana, Purdue, Ohio State and Minnesota. The Hawkeyes won three road games in 2003. Under Steve Alford, Iowa has won at least three Big Ten road games in three of five seasons.
• 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’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 Brody Boyd had seven steals in Iowa’s win over Northern Illinois.

IOWA IN TOURNAMENT PLAY
Iowa has faired well while taking part in regular-season tournaments over the past 23 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 22 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, the 2002 Big Ten Conference Tournament and the 2004 Maui Invitational.

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. Iowa, which earned the Big Ten’s automatic bid, was seeded seventh in the East.

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.

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 Café in Iowa City. The show airs from 6-7:30 p.m. on the following dates: Dec. 13; Jan. 3, 10, 17, 24, 31; Feb. 7, 14, 21, 28; and Mar. 7.

IOWA ON THE TUBE
Every Iowa game throughout the 2004-05 season is slated for television. Iowa appeared on national cable television (ESPN and ESPN2) in three games in the Maui Invitational and the Dec. 21 game vs. Texas Tech in Chicago is 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.

AFTER THIS
After hosting Iowa State, Iowa will break for final exams and return to action Dec. 18, hosting Western Carolina. Iowa’s final non-conference games include Texas Tech (Dec. 21) in Chicago and home dates with Air Force (Dec. 28) and Saint Louis (Dec. 31).