Iowa Travels to Face Wisconsin Wednesday

Feb. 7, 2005

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THE SETTING
Iowa (15-6, 3-5) is back on the road Wednesday, Feb. 9, traveling to Wisconsin (15-5, 6-3). Game time is 7:05 p.m. at the Kohl Center (17,142).

The Hawkeyes lost to #10 Michigan State 75-64 Saturday in Iowa City. Wisconsin lost at Minnesota 60-50 Saturday.

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, KYOU Ottumwa and KWQC Quad Cities. Larry Morgan and Mike Kelley will call the action.

IOWA HISTORY
Iowa has played 2,331 games since beginning basketball in 1902. Overall Iowa’s record is 1,390-941 (.596). That includes an 869-305 (.740) record in home games, a 521-636 (.450) record in games away from Iowa City, a 660-650 (.504) mark in Big Ten games and a 275-79 (.777) record in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

IOWA IN CARVER-HAWKEYE ARENA
Iowa has compiled a 275-79 (.777) record in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa is 130-66 (.663) 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 67-24 (.736) home record under Coach Steve Alford, including a 42-4 (.913) mark in non-conference home games.

IN THE RANKINGS
Iowa, in the Jan. 31 rankings, was listed among teams receiving votes in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today coaches polls. The Hawkeyes were ranked for nine consecutive weeks, reaching as high as 14th in the Associated Press poll on Jan. 3. Iowa began the season receiving no votes in either poll. The Hawkeyes are 34th in the RPI rankings and 22nd in the Sagarin Ratings. Wisconsin was ranked 19th in both polls a week ago.

IOWA HAS 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 during non-conference action 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.

ILLINOIS START TIME MOVED UP
The start time of the Illinois at Iowa contest on Saturday, Feb. 19 has moved to 11:06 a.m. The contest was originally slated to begin at 11:17 a.m.

The game was originally selected as an ESPN Plus game to be telecast throughout the Big Ten area. The game will now be televised nationally on ESPN. The game will be shown on the usual and customary ESPN Plus regional outlets in Iowa and Illinois, and on ESPN throughout the remainder of the country.

RECOGNITION ON THE NET
Iowa’s basketball program was 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 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 260-154 (.628), including a 104-77 (.575) 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 37-51 (.420) 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 4-7 vs. Wisconsin (3-7 while at Iowa) and 3-5 vs. Badger Coach Bo Ryan.

WISCONSIN COACH BO RYAN
Bo Ryan is in his fourth season at Wisconsin after leading the Badgers to back-to-back Big Ten regular season titles in 2002 and 2003. The Badgers won the Big Ten Tournament title last season. He was named Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year in both 2003 and 2004. Ryan has posted an 83-33 record with the Badgers.

Ryan is in his 21st season as a college head coach, with a career record of 466-136. Ryan moved to Madison after posting a 30-27 record in two seasons at Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Ryan’s UW-Milwaukee team posted a 15-13 record in 2001, including a narrow 83-79 loss to Iowa in Iowa City.

Ryan was the head coach at Wisconsin-Platteville for 15 seasons, leading that school to four NCAA Division III national titles (1991, 1995, 1998, 1999) and eight conference titles. Overall his record at Platteville was 353-76.

Ryan has been named national Coach of the Year four times. He is the winningest coach in Division III history and was the winningest coach in the NCAA (all divisions) in the 1990’s. He served as an assistant coach for the gold-medal winning USA team at the 1995 World University Games and an assistant coach for the gold-medal winning North team at the 1993 U.S. Olympic Festival.

Ryan previously was an assistant at Wisconsin for eight seasons (1977-84), working under Bill Cofield and Steve Yoder. Ryan is 4-3 vs. Iowa (4-2 while at Wisconsin) and 5-3 vs. Hawkeye Coach Steve Alford.

COACHES MET FOR DIVISION III TITLE
Iowa Coach Steve Alford and Wisconsin Coach Bo Ryan first coached against each other in the NCAA Division III championship game in 1995. In that game, Ryan’s Wisconsin-Platteville team defeated Alford’s Manchester College team by a 69-55 margin. That contest marks the only time in Division III history that two undefeated teams met for the national title.

Alford and Ryan also met in 2001 when Alford’s second Iowa team opened the season with an 83-79 win over Ryan’s Wisconsin-Milwaukee team in Iowa City.

THE SERIES
Iowa holds a 75-66 advantage in the series that began with a 30-9 Wisconsin win in 1909. Wisconsin won 54-52 in Iowa City in the only meeting last season. The Badgers won both meetings in 2003, 74-61 in Madison and 61-53 in Iowa City. Iowa won two of three meetings in 2002, the first time that the teams had ever met three times in the same season. In 2002, the Hawkeyes won in Iowa City and lost in Madison before defeating the Badgers in the quarter-finals at the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis. Iowa and Wisconsin have split two games at the Big Ten Tournament, with the Badgers winning in 1999 in Chicago and Iowa winning in Indianapolis in 2002.

Wisconsin holds a 43-27 advantage in games played in Madison and the Badgers have won the last three meetings there. Iowa is 2-3 at the Kohl Center, winning there in 2000 (61-55) and 1998 (79-76) before dropping games there in 2001, 2002 and 2003.

IOWA, BADGER NOTES

• Iowa’s Steve Alford holds a 12-6 record vs. Wisconsin as a player and coach. Indiana won all eight games vs. Wisconsin during Alford’s playing career. As a coach, Alford is 4-6 vs. the Badgers. Alford’s Southwest Missouri State team defeated Wisconsin in the first round of the 1999 NCAA Tournament and Wisconsin has won six of the nine meetings since Alford became the Iowa coach.
• Iowa and Wisconsin played two common opponents in non-conference action. Iowa defeated UNC Greensboro (83-58) and Western Carolina (88-75) in Iowa City, while the Badgers defeated UNC Greensboro (85-53) and Western Carolina (89-49) in Madison.
• Wisconsin Assistant Coach Gary Close was an assistant coach at Iowa for 13 seasons (1987-99). He later was the head boys basketball coach at Regina High School in Iowa City for three years, leading his team to the state tournament his last two seasons.
• Duffy Conroy, Wisconsin’s Director of Basketball Operations, was the athletic director and head boys basketball coach at Assumption HS in Davenport last year. He is a native of Davenport and a graduate of St. Ambrose College.

CHAMBLISS VS. IOWA
Wisconsin guard Sharif Chambliss is in his first season at Wisconsin after playing the first three years of his career at Penn State. Iowa won five of seven games against the Nittany Lions when Chambliss was playing there from 2001-03. Iowa won two of three in 2001, the teams split two games in 2002 and Iowa won both meetings in 2003.

Chambliss saw action in five of the seven games, averaging 12.4 points and 1.4 rebounds, with a best of 18 points in Iowa’s 75-55 win in 2003. Chambliss scored in double figures in four of the five games in which he played.

WISCONSIN WON IN IOWA CITY
Iowa rallied from a 15-point deficit in the second half, but came up just short in a 54-52 home loss to Wisconsin last Feb. 11 in Iowa City. Trailing 44-29 with 13:17 remaining, Iowa rallied by holding the Badgers to 10 points the rest of the way. A three-point basket by Glen Worley pulled Iowa to within two with 42 seconds remaining. Wisconsin then ran the shot clock down to the end before Greg Brunner grabbed the rebound off a missed shot and the Hawkeyes had a final shot. Pierre Pierce drew the defense to the top of the key and found Jeff Horner on the right wing, but Horner’s potential game-winning attempt was just off the mark as time expired.

Wisconsin scored the final five points of the first half to take a 32-27 advantage at the midway point as Iowa did not score in the final four minutes of the half. The Badgers used a 10-0 scoring run over a four minute period in the second half to build their biggest margin before Iowa rallied.

Statistically, the game was as even as the score. Iowa shot 41.2% from the field, Wisconsin 39.3%. Iowa made 3-4 free throws, the Badgers made 3-6. Iowa made 7-16 treys, Wisconsin made 7-24. Iowa won the rebounding battle by a 38-30 margin, but the Hawkeyes committed 19 turnovers compared to 13 for Wisconsin. Both teams had six steals. Pierce led Iowa’s scoring attack with 20 points, and he also added five rebounds and four assists. Brunner collected 10 points and 13 rebounds for his third straight double-double. Glen Worley added seven rebounds and six points, becoming the 35th Iowa player to surpass 1,000 career points.

Devin Harris led Wisconsin with 16 points, while Mike Wilkinson added 12 points and nine rebounds and Clayton Hanson scored 12 points.

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 260-154. Alford is 104-77 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).

MICHIGAN STATE HOLDS OFF IOWA
Iowa rallied in the final 16 minutes after trailing by as many as 20 points, but came up short in a 75-64 loss to the 10th-ranked Spartans Saturday in Iowa City. Iowa closed to within 67-64 on a basket by Jeff Horner with 1:08 remaining, but he was also called for a charging foul on the play. Michigan State then scored the final eight points by making eight straight free throws to close out the win.

After leading 39-27 at intermission, Michigan State used a 14-4 scoring run over the first five minutes of the second half to build the 20-point margin. The Spartans led 57-37 with 13:26 remaining when Iowa scored 10 straight points over a four minute span to get back in the contest. MSU led by 12 with 5:41 to play when Iowa started its final rally, but three points was as close as the Hawkeyes could get.

Michigan State shot 43.6% from the field, but just 34.6% in the second half after shooting 51.7% in the first half. The Spartans made 23-29 (79.3%) free throws, the most made by an Iowa opponent this season, and held a 40-36 rebounding advantage.

Iowa was held to its lowest shooting percentage of the season at 28.8% from the field. The Hawkeyes shot just 22.7% in the first half and for the game made just 2-15 (13.3%) three-point attempts, also a season low. Iowa stayed in the game by hitting 32-42 free throws and committing just eight turnovers, including only one in the second half. Iowa’s made free throws and free throw attempts were both season high marks.

Adam Haluska led Iowa’s scoring attack with a career-high 24 points, as he hit 9-11 free throws and also had six rebounds. Greg Brunner, limited to just 23 minutes due to foul trouble, added 16 points and seven rebounds. Jeff Horner contributed 13 points, four rebounds and three assists and reserve Doug Thomas led Iowa on the boards with eight rebounds.

WISCONSIN FALLS AT MINNESOTA
Minnesota shot 61.5% from the field in the second half in taking a 60-50 win over Wisconsin Saturday in Minneapolis. Trailing 24-22 at intermission, the Gophers hit 16-26 field goals attempts in the second half. Wisconsin, on the other hand, struggled with its shooting throughout the day, shooting 32.8% from the field and 27.3% from three-point range.

Wisconsin held Minnesota to 31% shooting in the first 20 minutes before the Gophers caught fire in the second half. Minnesota’s defense, along with holding the Badgers to poor shooting, collected nine steals while forcing 17 Wisconsin turnovers. Minnesota scored 23 points following the Badger mistakes, while Wisconsin won the rebounding battle by a 40-32 margin.

Minnesota’s Vincent Grier led all scorers with 32 points, collecting 26 of his points in the second half. Wisconsin was led by Mike Wilkinson with 14 points and nine rebounds. Alando Tucker added 10 points and six rebounds and Kammron Taylor added seven points

NOT GETTING THE CLOSE ONES
Iowa, in eight Big Ten games, has lost two games in overtime and another by two points at home. The Hawkeyes lost to Michigan 63-65 to open Big Ten play, and have lost overtime games at top-ranked Illinois (68-73) and at Northwestern (74-75). Iowa’s three conference wins, all at home, have been by six, 14 and 15 points.

On the season, Iowa is 7-3 in games decided by 10 points or less, but the three losses have all come in conference action.

HAWKEYES AMONG NCAA LEADERS
As a team, Iowa ranks 10th nationally in blocked shots per game (6.0) and 25th in assists (16.3) per game Individually, center Erek Hansen is fourth in blocked shots (3.4) and guard Jeff Horner is 14th in three-point field goal percentage (44.8%) and 29th in assists per game (5.6).

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.

The Hawkeyes have 126 blocked shots in 21 games. Iowa’s top three season totals for blocked shots include 165 in 1993, 161 in 1992 and 153 in 1991.

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 21 games. The newcomers are averaging 22.7 points and 11.9 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 and Northwestern. Thomas added eight points and five rebounds vs. North Carolina, he had six rebounds in the win over Texas and five rebounds at Illinois. In the win over Purdue, Thomas matched his scoring high with 14 points and added nine rebounds, and he had eight rebounds vs. Michigan State.

Sophomore Adam Haluska has scored in double figures in 15 of 21 games, including a career-high 24 points vs. Michigan State, 21 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. Seth Gorney played a key defensive role and had five rebounds in a win over Minnesota and Reed had a career-best five assists in the win over Purdue and added eight points at Northwestern.

Newcomers contributed 31 points and 13 rebounds vs. Western Illinois, 37 points and 11 rebounds vs. North Carolina, 39 points and 15 rebounds in the win at Drake, 29 points and 18 rebounds vs. Michigan State, 27 points and 19 rebounds vs. UNC Greensboro, 28 points and 19 rebounds vs. Purdue and 22 points and 15 rebounds vs. Centenary.

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 8-4 against teams that were in post-season play a year ago, including a 5-3 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 Hawkeyes lost to top-ranked Illinois in overtime and lost to 10th-ranked Michigan State 75-64 in their fifth game of the season against a ranked opponent. 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 17-26 record against ranked opponents as Iowa’s head coach, including a 2-3 mark in 2004-05. Iowa, this season, has defeated 11th-ranked Louisville 76-71 and 13th-ranked Texas 82-80, with losses to 11th-ranked North Carolina (92-106), at No. 1 ranked Illinois (68-73), in overtime and to 10th-ranked Michigan State (64-75) at home. Alford’s Hawkeye teams are 5-11 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 11 losses to top 10 teams have been twice to top-ranked (Duke, 2001-02 and Illinois, 2004-05), 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 three times to 10th-ranked (Michigan State, 2000, Illinois, 2002 and Michigan State, 2005).

In the 43 games against ranked teams, Alford and his Iowa team are 6-8 in home games, 8-8 at neutral sites and 3-10 when playing ranked teams in their home arena.

HANSEN ON BLOCKS CHART
Junior center Erek Hansen has collected 68 blocked shots in 20 games, moving among Iowa’s leaders in blocks for a season and career. A year ago Hansen blocked 40 shots in 22 games. The 68 blocks rank fifth best for a single season and his 108 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 games, and he is averaging six points and 2.7 rebounds while shooting 44.2% from the field and 75.8% 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 JUST MAKES IT HAPPEN . . .
Junior guard Jeff Horner has been Iowa’s most versatile player, ranking among national leaders in assists and three-point field goals while averaging 13.5 points per game. Horner is averaging 5.6 assists, 4.5 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.

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 21 points in the win at Drake and 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.

Horner played 40 of 45 minutes at Northwestern, collecting seven points and six assists, with no turnovers, and he added 16 points, nine assists and just one turnover in the home win over Indiana. Against Michigan State he had 13 points with just one turnover.

He is shooting 43.1% from the field, 44.8% from three-point range and 77.1% from the free throw line. Horner was named to the all-tournament team at the Maui Invitational and he was co-MVP of Iowa’s Gazette Hawkeye Challenge.

Horner’s career totals include 916 points, 386 rebounds and 380 assists. By the end of the season he could become the only member of Iowa’s 1,000-point Club to also total over 400 rebounds and 400 assists.

. . . WITHOUT MANY MISTAKES
As Iowa’s point guard, Jeff Horner leads Iowa in minutes played (35.6 per game), and he handles the ball the majority of the time. In Iowa’s most recent four games, Horner is averaging 12.2 points and 3.9 rebounds, with 21 assists and just three turnovers, while playing 148 of the possible 165 minutes.

Horner had nine assists and just one turnover in a win over Indiana and six assists and no turnovers in an overtime loss at Northwestern. Horner is averaging one turnover every 49.3 minutes in the last four games. For the season, he has one or no turnovers in eight of 21 games and he is averaging just one turnover for every 15.3 minutes of action.

BRUNNER WORKING THE BOARDS
Junior forward Greg Brunner is Iowa’s top returning rebounder from a year ago. He is averaging 8.1 rebounds for the season and nine in conference games, ranking third in the Big Ten for all games and second in league games. Brunner ranks second among current Big Ten players with eight scoring and rebounding doubles-doubles this season and he is tied for first with 17 in his career.

Brunner had a career-high 28 points at Northwestern, hitting 11-17 field goals and 6-8 free throws, and he also had three blocked shots. Brunner has raised his career total to 73 blocks, moving in to 10th on Iowa’s list of career leaders.

Brunner had 13 points and 11 rebounds vs. Minnesota, 16 points and 11 rebounds in the overtime loss at Illinois and 13 points and nine rebounds vs. Indiana. 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 he has 11 rebounds in six games. He had 10 rebounds vs. Louisville, nine vs. UNC Greensboro and Indiana and eight on three occasions. Brunner has scored in double figures in 19 games, with 16 points and seven rebounds vs. Michigan State. He is shooting 53.8% from the field and 71.7% 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 24 points in the loss to Michigan State, including 9-11 free throws, and he added six rebounds. Haluska scored 21 points in wins over Texas Tech and Drake and he has scored in double figures in 15 of 21 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.

He scored 15 points and collected two steals in a win over Minnesota, he added 12 points, six rebounds and two steals at Illinois and he had 12 points and two assists at Northwestern.

In his first season at Iowa, Haluska is shooting 46.1% from the field and 80.7% from the free throw line while averaging 13 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.

THOMAS HELPS ON THE GLASS
Junior Doug Thomas is making a major contribution to Iowa’s rebounding efforts, as he is third on the team with an average of 4.8 per game. Thomas has collected 28 rebounds in Iowa’s last four games, matching a career-best with 10 vs. Northwestern. He had nine rebounds and 14 points in a win over Purdue and eight rebounds vs. Michigan State.

Thomas had nine rebounds in his first game as a Hawkeye and added 10 in a win over UNC Greensboro. Thomas had six points and six rebounds in the win over Texas Tech, he had five rebounds in the overtime loss at Illinois and he had eight points vs. Indiana. The 14 points vs. Purdue matched his season high. Thomas is averaging 4.8 points while shooting 5685.2% from the field.

SCORING BY HALVES
Iowa has outscored its opponents 727-666 in the first half and 863-750 in the second half, and the Hawkeyes have been outscored 17-11 in two overtime periods. Iowa has led at halftime in 13 of 21 games and the Hawkeyes have outscored their opponent in the second half in 15 games.

HAWKEYE TIDBITS

• Iowa has played two overtime games, losing in single overtime at Illinois and at Northwestern. Iowa was 2-0 in overtime games a year ago, defeating Louisville in single overtime on a neutral court and winning at Indiana in two overtimes.
• Iowa suffered consecutive Big Ten losses for the first time since 2003 when it dropped games to Michigan and Ohio State. In 2003, Iowa 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 attempted more free throws than its opponent in its first 15 games of the season before Minnesota (30-29) and Illinois (31-12) both had more attempts than the Hawkeyes in consecutive games. In games vs. Northwestern and Indiana, the free throw attempts were equal. In two of the last five games, both overtime losses, Iowa did not attempt a free throw in the opening half.
• Iowa is 12-1 when scoring between 70-89 points and 6-0 when holding its opponent to less than 60 points.
• Iowa’s two overtime losses are the only time in 13 games the Hawkeyes have lost when having more assists than the opponent.
• Iowa’s home losses to Michigan and Michigan State are the only times in 14 games the Hawkeyes have lost when having fewer turnovers and the only times in 12 games they have lost when collecting more steals.
• Iowa has had four players or more score in double figures in 12 of 21 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, 8-2 when four reach double figures, 3-3 with three in double figures and 2-1 when two are in double figures.
• Iowa has four players averaging between 13 and 17.8 points per game and four players averaging between 4.5 and 8.1 rebounds per outing.
• Iowa is 12-1 when leading at halftime and 3-5 when trailing at intermission.
• Iowa is 9-4 when controlling the opening tip and 6-2 when not controlling the tip.
• Iowa is 7-3 in games decided by 10 points or less, including 0-2 in overtime.
• Under Steve Alford, Iowa is 32-6 when shooting at least 50% from the field, including 7-1 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.

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.

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: Feb. 7, 14, 21, 28; and Mar. 7.

AFTER THIS
Iowa will host Northwestern Saturday at 7 p.m. before visiting Purdue Wednesday, Feb. 16.