Jan. 11, 2005
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THE SETTING
Iowa (12-3, 0-2) returns home to host Minnesota (10-3, 0-0) Saturday, Jan. 15, as the Hawkeyes honor the Silver Anniversary of the 1980 Final Four squad. Game time is 1:32 p.m. in Carver-Hawkeye Arena (15,500).
Iowa lost at Ohio State 81-69, Jan. 8 in its last outing. Minnesota opened Big Ten play with an 83-62 home win over Penn State. The Gophers host Purdue Wednesday, Jan. 12.
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 throughout the Big Ten Conference viewing area, including KGAN in Cedar Rapids. Craig Coshun and Greg Kelser will call the action.
IOWA HISTORY
Iowa has played 2,325 games since beginning basketball in 1902. Overall Iowa’s record is 1,387-937 (.597). That includes an 866-304 (.740) record in home games, a 521-634 (.451) record in games away from Iowa City, a 657-646 (.504) mark in Big Ten games and a 272-78 (.778) record in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
IOWA IN CARVER-HAWKEYE ARENA
Iowa has compiled a 272-778 (.778) record in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa is 127-65 (.661) in Big Ten games and 145-13 (.918) 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 64-23 (.736) home record under Coach Steve Alford, including a 42-4 (.913) mark in non-conference home games.
IN THE RANKINGS
Iowa is ranked 24th by the Associated Press and 23rd in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll. Iowa began the season receiving no votes in either poll. The Hawkeyes are 18th in the RPI rankings and 24th in the Sagarin Ratings.
IOWA OFF TO FAST START
With 12 wins in its first 13 games, Iowa enjoyed its best start under Coach Steve Alford. Iowa, in 2001, posted a 10-1 mark to start the season and ended the year with a 23-12 overall record. Iowa began both the 1997-98 and 1998-99 seasons with a 13-1 record.
Iowa’s nine-game win streak matched the best streak for an Iowa team under Alford, as the Hawkeyes opened the 2000-01 season with nine straight wins. The Hawkeyes also had six-game win streaks in 2003-04 and 2001-02.
Iowa has 12 non-conference wins (not including post-season) for the first time since 1988-89.
PIERCE CLOSING IN ON 1,000 POINTS
Junior guard Pierre Pierce is just 16 points away from becoming the 36th player in Iowa basketball history to reach 1,000 career points. Pierce has scored 984 points in 79 games, an average of 12.5 per outing. Pierce had a career-high 31 points in the recent loss at Ohio State, becoming the first Hawkeye player to scored over 30 points in a game since Luke Recker had 31 points in a win at Missouri in December, 2001.
Guard Dean Oliver is the most recent Iowa player to reach 1,000 points in three seasons, surpassing the milestone in his junior season in 1999-00. Glen Worley, a senior a year ago, is the most recent member of the 1,000-Point Club.Along with Pierce at 984 points, junior Jeff Horner currently has 846 career points and junior Greg Brunner is at 745 points.
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
RECOGNITION ON THE NET
Iowa’s basketball program has been well recognized on the internet for its play during the non-conference portion of the season.
On espn.com, ESPN analyst Dick Vitale selected the Hawkeyes as his “Team of the Week” for their 83-53 win over Texas Tech.
CollegeInsider.com selected sophomore guard Adam Haluska as its “Star of the Week” for his play in the win over Texas Tech. Haluska matched his career high with 21 points, hitting 7-9 field goals, 3-3 three-pointers and 4-5 free throws.CollegeInsider.com selected Coach Steve Alford for its “Mid Season” Jim Phelan Coach of the Year honor. The Jim Phelan Coach of the Year honor is awarded in March.Gregg Doyel, writing for cbssportline.com, recently featured the Iowa guard court of Jeff Horner, Pierre Pierce and Adam Haluska as one of the best in the nation.
IOWA TO HOST FINAL FOUR RE-UNION
The Iowa basketball program and the National Iowa Varsity Club are sponsoring a re-union of Iowa’s 1980 Final Four team when the Hawkeyes host Minnesota Saturday. The Silver Anniversary of the Final Four team is part of Letterman’s Day, as all former men’s basketball lettermen have been invited to attend the Big Ten Conference game.Game time is 1:32 p.m. and tickets are available at the UI Athletic Ticket Office in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, by calling 1-800-IA-HAWKS or ordering online at www.hawkeyesports.com.
Members of the 1980 Final Four team will be recognized during the game and will be available from 12:15 to 1 p.m. Saturday for an autograph session on the concourse of Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Iowa’s most recent trip to the Final Four came in 1980 in Indianapolis, IN, with the Hawkeyes losing to eventual national champion Louisville in the semi-finals and Purdue in the consolation game. The Hawkeyes began their tournament run with wins over Virginia Commonwealth and North Carolina State in Greensboro, NC. Iowa moved on to Philadelphia, PA, where it scored wins over Syracuse and Georgetown. The Hawkeyes ended the season with a 23-10 overall record.
Members of the 1980 Final Four team included seniors Mike Arens and Ronnie Lester, juniors Greg Boyle, Vince Brookins, Mike Henry, Steve Krafcisin and Steve Waite, sophomores Kenny Arnold, Kevin Boyle and John Darsee and freshmen Mark Gannon, Tom Grogan, Bob Hansen and Mike Heller.
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 257-151 (.630), including a 101-74 (.577) 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 fifth among Iowa’s head basketball coaches in career wins and he is 34-48 (.415) 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 is 6-3 vs. Minnesota and Gopher Coach Dan Monson.
MINNESOTA COACH DAN MONSON
Dan Monson is in his sixth season at Minnesota and his eighth season as a college head coach. Monson holds a career mark of 142-95 and a record of 90-78 at Minnesota, before hosting Purdue Wednesday. Monson posted a 52-17 record in two seasons at Gonzaga, taking his team to the Elite Eight in 1999 before losing to eventual national champion Connecticut. Monson was an assistant coach at Alabama-Birmingham and Gonzaga before becoming a college head coach. Monson, a 1985 graduate of the University of Idaho, is 3-6 vs. Iowa and Hawkeye Coach Steve Alford.
THE SERIES
Minnesota holds a 92-83 advantage over Iowa in the series that began with a 47-10 Gopher win in 1902. Iowa won both meetings last season, 83-68 Jan. 13 in Minneapolis and 66-62 Feb. 28 in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes have won six of the last eight meetings. The teams met just once in 2002 and 2003, with Minnesota winning both meetings.Iowa holds a 49-37 advantage in games played in Iowa City and a 14-7 advantage in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa has won four of the last five meetings in Iowa City. The teams meet Feb. 23 in Minneapolis.
IOWA WON BOTH A YEAR AGO
Iowa played well in nearly all phases of the game in taking an 83-68 win at Minnesota last Jan. 13. The Hawkeyes shot 59.1% from the field in building a 34-28 halftime advantage, that after trailing 15-11 in the first five minutes. Iowa used a 10-0 scoring run early in the second half to maintain control. The Hawkeyes led by as many as 20 in the second half and Minnesota was never closer than nine points in the final minutes. Iowa connected on 27-33 free throws in the second half and scored 20 straight points from the charity line at one point late in the game.
Iowa shot 53.5% from the field for the game, including 45.5% from three-point range, and converted 32-41 (78%) free throws. Iowa held Minnesota to 41.3% shooting from the field and won the rebounding battle by a 38-26 margin.
Jeff Horner, who began the game with a pair of three-pointers, led Iowa’s scoring with 23 points, a career-high at the time. Brody Boyd added 15 points and Glen Worley and Jared Reiner each added 11. Reiner led Iowa with eight rebounds. Kris Humphries led Minnesota with 17 points and eight rebounds and Adam Boone added 13 points and five assists.
Iowa controlled the action for 30 minutes in building a 57-38 advantage, then held off Minnesota down the stretch in taking a 66-62 win Feb. 28 in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes shot 55.2% from the field in the first half and started off the same way over the first 10 minutes of the second half. Taking advantage of numerous steals and fast break opportunities, Iowa had its biggest lead with 11:23 remaining. From there the Hawkeyes did not make a field goal for over seven minutes as Minnesota cut its deficit to 60-56 with 2:41 remaining. The Hawkeyes made 6-8 free throws in the final three minutes to secure the win.
Iowa started fast, jumping to an 11-4 advantage in the first three minutes. Minnesota rallied to tie the score at 22-22 before Iowa moved out to a 39-30 halftime advantage. Minnesota shot 41.4% from the field in the first half, but made just 35.7% of its attempts in the final 20 minutes. The Gophers converted just 10-30 three-point attempts.Iowa ended the game shooting 44.4% from the field, but helped keep Minnesota in the game by making just 50% of its free throw attempts, including 10-21 (47.6%) in the second half.
Boyd led Iowa’s scoring with 16 points, while Horner scored 14, Greg Brunner 13 and Pierre Pierce 12. Pierce had one of his best all-around games of the season, adding 10 rebounds for his first career double-double, and seven assists. Brunner led Iowa with 12 rebounds as Iowa held a 40-36 rebounding advantage. Michael Bauer led Minnesota with 16 points, Adam Boone added 14 and Aaron Robinson scored 12.
IOWA, GOPHER NOTES
Iowa Coach Steve Alford and Minnesota Coach Dan Monson, who are close friends, are both in their sixth year in the Big Ten Conference.Prior to the 2001-02 season, Iowa and Minnesota had played two basketball games each season since 1971. The teams met only in Iowa City in 2002 and only in Minneapolis in 2003. The 2001 season marked the first time the teams met three times in one season, with the third meeting taking place in the Big Ten Conference Tournament.Iowa’s roster includes nine players from the state of Iowa and the Golden Gopher roster includes 11 players from the state of Minnesota.Iowa and Minnesota both played just one true road game in non-conference action. Iowa won at Drake, while Minnesota won at Nebraska. Iowa played three games in the EA Sports Maui Invitational in Hawaii and met Texas Tech in Chicago, while Minnesota played three games in the Great Alaska Shootout. The visit to Iowa City marks Minnesota’s first game away from Williams Arena since the Dec. 8 win at Nebraska.The two teams played just one common opponent in non-conference action. Iowa defeated UNC Greensboro 83-58 in Iowa City and Minnesota defeated UNC Greensboro 94-59 in Minneapolis.Iowa won nine straight games during non-conference action, while Minnesota carries a nine-game winning streak into the Wednesday night home game vs. Purdue.Iowa’s Erek Hansen ranks fifth in career blocked shots (94), while Jeff Hagen ranks seventh on the Minnesota career list with 115 career blocks.Iowa’s Pierre Pierce and Minnesota’s Vincent Grier have both scored in double figures in every game this season.
FIRST HALF OPPOSITES
Iowa has trailed by 10 points or more at halftime in its three losses this season, including its most recent two games vs. Michigan and Ohio State. The Hawkeyes have led at halftime in nine of their 12 wins. The halftime deficits have been 19 points vs. North Carolina, 14 vs. Michigan and 15 vs. Ohio State. In each of the three games, the opponent has shot better than 50% from the field in the opening half.
Minnesota is 9-1 when leading at halftime and the Gophers have led by an average of 16 points at halftime in their last six wins.
ALFORD REACHES 100 HAWKEYE WINS
Coach Steve Alford collected win No. 100 as Iowa’s head coach in the 73-63 victory over Air Force. Career victory No. 250 came in the 88-53 win over Centenary in early December. His career mark stands at 257-151.Alford is 101-74 at Iowa, moving into fifth place on the Iowa list for coaching victories.Iowa’s top four coaches in career wins include Tom Davis (269), Lute Olson (168), Rollie Williams (139) and Bucky O’Connor (114).
IOWA FALLS AT OHIO STATE
A cold spell late in the first half proved to be decisive for the second straight game as Iowa lost an 81-69 decision at Ohio State. Iowa trailed by eight points in the early going before a three-pointer by Pierre Pierce tied the score at 24-24 with nine minutes remaining. From there Ohio State scored 12 straight points over a five minutes period to take control, eventually building a 47-32 halftime advantage.
The Buckeyes built the advantage to 18 points early in the second half before Iowa rallied. The Hawkeyes closed to within nine points on two occasions, the last with 13 minutes to play, but could get no closer.
OSU shot 51.5% from the field and made eight three-point baskets in the first half. For the game the Buckeyes shot 47.5% from the field and 42.9% (12-28) from three-point range.
Iowa shot well (50%) in the first half before falling to 40.7% in the second half. Iowa made just 4-12 (33.3%) of its three-point attempts, but did make 17-20 free throws. Ohio State won the rebounding battle by a 34-29 margin and Iowa was guilty of 16 turnovers, 10 in the first half.
Pierce led Iowa with a career-high 31 points, and he added five rebounds and three steals. Forward Greg Brunner added his fifth double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Jeff Horner added nine points and Doug Thomas eight.
MINNESOTA SHOOTS PAST PENN STATE
Minnesota held Penn State to just eight field goals in the opening half and went on to an 83-62 win over the Nittany Lions Saturday night in Minneapolis. The Gophers shot 44.1% from the field in the opening half while hitting six three-point baskets in building a 41-28 advantage. Penn State shot 42% in the opening half, but fell to just 30.3% from the field in the second half. Minnesota also held a 42-33 rebounding advantage and scored 34 of its 83 points in the paint.
Center Jeff Hagen led the Gophers with 18 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four blocked shots. Hagen was a perfect 8-8 from the field. Aaron Robinson contributed 19 points, including 6-11 treys, and four assists and Vincent Grier added 13 points. All five Minnesota starters collected at least three assists.
HAWKEYES AMONG NCAA LEADERS
As a team, Iowa ranks seventh nationally in blocked shots per game (6.4), 18th in assists (16.7), 23rd in three-point percentage (40.2%) and scoring (79.1) and 25th in field goal percentage (482).
Individually, center Erek Hansen is fourth in blocked shots (3.9) and guard Jeff Horner is ninth in three-point field goal percentage (48.8%), 15th in assists per game (5.9) and 21st in three-point field goals per game (2.6).
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.
HAWKEYES TIE BLOCK RECORD, AGAIN
Iowa set its second single-game record of the season in a loss to North Carolina and tied that record in wins over North Carolina-Greensboro and Saint Louis. The Hawkeyes blocked 12 shots in each of those games to break the previous record of 11, set in an 80-65 win at Drake on Jan. 4, 1993.
Junior center Erek Hansen led the way with five blocks against the North Carolina and UNC Greensboro, and he had seven in the win over Saint Louis.
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 15games. The newcomers are averaging 23 points and 11.5 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 11 of 15 games, including a career-high 21 points vs. Drake and Texas Tech and 20 in a home win over Iowa State.
In the win at Drake, freshman Carlton Reed scored 14 points, while freshman Alex Thompson added five rebounds in the win over Texas Tech.
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.
ANOTHER STRONG SCHEDULE
As has been the case in recent years, the Iowa schedule is very demanding. Eight of Iowa’s 13 non-conference games were against teams that advanced to post-season play a year ago. Iowa this season is 7-2 against teams that were in post-season play a year ago, including a 5-1 record vs. teams that were in the 2004 NCAA Tournament.
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 included Northern Iowa, Iowa State, Texas Tech and Air Force and Saint Louis, teams that participated in post-season play a year ago.
Iowa will play 16 games against teams that advanced to post-season play a year ago.
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 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.
HANSEN ON BLOCKS CHART
Junior center Erek Hansen has collected 54 blocked shots in 14 games, moving among Iowa’s leaders in blocks for a season and career. A year ago Hansen blocked 40 shots in 22 games. The 54 blocks rank seventh best for a single season and his 94 career blocks ranks fifth among Iowa’s career leaders. Hansen had a career-best seven blocked shots vs. Iowa State and Saint Louis and he had six blocks in a win over Texas Tech and a loss to Michigan. He has blocked five or more shots in seven of the 13 games he has played, and he is averaging 7.4 points and 3.3 rebounds while shooting 46.1% from the field and 70.4% from the free throw line. He had a career-high 14 points vs. Northern Iowa and he had 11 points and six rebounds vs. Texas.
HORNER OFF TO FAST START
Junior guard Jeff Horner is off to a fast start, ranking among national leaders in assists and three-point field goals while averaging 14.3 points per game. Horner is averaging 5.9 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.7 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. Horner was named Big Ten Player of the Week for his play in Maui. The honor is the second of Horner’s career, as he earned it last Feb. 9 after leading Iowa to a double-overtime win at Indiana.He added his first career scoring and assist double-double in the win over UNC Greensboro with 14 points and a career-best 11 assists. 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 and he added 12 points and seven assists in a win over Iowa State.
He is shooting 46% from the field, 48.8% from three-point range and 78.3% from the free throw line. 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.
BRUNNER WORKING THE BOARDS
Junior forward Greg Brunner is Iowa’s top returning rebounder and he is averaging 7.9 rebounds this season. Brunner ranks second among current Big Ten players with five scoring and rebounding doubles-doubles this season and 14 in his career.
Brunner, who ranked second in the Big Ten in rebounding last season, had a season-best 13 rebounds in the win over Iowa State and 11 vs. Western Carolina, Saint Louis and Ohio State. He had 10 rebounds vs. Louisville, nine vs. UNC Greensboro and eight on three occasions. Brunner has scored in double figures in 13 games, with a season-high 23 in the win over Northern Iowa. He is shooting 54.6% from the field and 71.4% from the foul line. He was named to the all-tournament team of Iowa’s Gazette Hawkeye Challenge.
HALUSKA HITS NEW HIGH
Sophomore Adam Haluska scored a career-high 21 points in wins over Texas Tech and Drake as he has scored in double figures in 12 of 15 games. Playing against his former school, he added 20 points in a win over Iowa State, hitting 4-8 treys. 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 is shooting 50.4% from the field and 82.5% from the free throw line while averaging 13 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.
THOMAS HELPS ON THE GLASS
Junior Doug Thomas is making a major contribution to Iowa’s rebounding efforts, as he is fourth on the team with an average of 4.2 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 had six points and six rebounds in the win over Texas Tech. Thomas is averaging 4.7 points while shooting 61% from the field and 80.8% from the foul line.
SCORING BY HALVES
Iowa has outscored its opponents 538-490 in the first half and 648-546 in the second half. Iowa has led at halftime in nine of 15 games and the Hawkeyes have outscored their opponent in the second half in 12 games.
HAWKEYE TIDBITS
Iowa has suffered consecutive Big Ten losses for the first time since 2003, when the Hawkeyes lost at Indiana (in OT) on Mar. 1 and at Michigan State Mar. 5. This marks the first season Iowa has lost its first two conference games of the season since 1993-94, when the Hawkeyes lost their first four league games.Iowa’s contest at Drake was 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 played Texas Tech at the United Center in Chicago.In the 70-63 win over Iowa State, Iowa held the Cyclones without a three-point basket as ISU missed all six of its attempts. That marks the first time an Iowa opponent did not make at least one three-point basket since early in the 2001-02 season, when Iowa State missed all eight of its three-point attempts in a 78-53 loss to Iowa in Ames.As a team, Iowa set two Gazette Hawkeye Challenge tournament records and tied a third, in a 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 has had four players or more score in double figures in 11 of 15 games, with a season-best six players in the win over Western Illinois.Iowa is 1-0 when six players score in double figures, 1-0 when five players score 10 points or more, 7-2 when four reach double figures, 1-0 with three in double figures and 2-1 when two are in double figures.
Iowa has four players averaging between 13 and 17.9 points per game and four players averaging between 4.2 and 7.9 rebounds per outing.Iowa is 9-0 when leading at halftime and 3-3 when trailing at intermission.Iowa is 7-2 when controlling the opening tip and 5-1 when not controlling the tip.Iowa is 6-1 in games decided by 10 points or less, and has not played an overtime game.Under Steve Alford, Iowa is 31-6 when shooting at least 50% from the field, including 6-1 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.
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 Iowa basketball history. 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.
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 69 games over the past three 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.
IOWA PHOTOS AVAILABLE
Up-to-date head shots of all Iowa players and coaches, plus a 2004-05 team photo, are available on the internet at pics.hawkeyebasketball.com. Contact the Iowa Sports Information office if you are in need of additional photos.
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: Jan. 17, 24, 31; Feb. 7, 14, 21, 28; and Mar. 7.
IOWA ON THE TUBE
Every Iowa game throughout the 2004-05 will be televised. Iowa appeared on national cable television (ESPN and ESPN2) in three games in the Maui Invitational and the Dec. 21 game vs. Texas Tech was a national cable telecast 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
Iowa travels to Illinois Thursday, Jan. 20 for a 6:05 p.m. contest on ESPN. The Hawkeyes return home to host Purdue Saturday Jan. 22 at 1:32 p.m.