Men's Basketball Featured in Black and Gold Blowout Saturday

Oct. 25, 2006

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BLACK AND GOLD BLOWOUT SATURDAY
The 15th annual Black and Gold Blowout will be held Saturday, Oct. 28, following the Northern Illinois at Iowa football game. Blowout activities are expected to begin in Carver-Hawkeye Arena approximately 30 minutes following the conclusion of the football game. The Blowout once again will feature a full game scrimmage by the 2006-07 Iowa men’s basketball squad. Cost for the event is $5 and tickets are on sale at the UI athletic ticket office in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Blowout tickets will be on sale Saturday at both Kinnick Stadium and Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

IOWA LINE-UP FOR SATURDAY
Coach Steve Alford and his staff will look at several different player combinations throughout the Blowout, with several players likely to see action for both units. At the start of the scrimmage, the Black Shirts will include Adam Haluska, J.R. Angle, Tony Freeman, Dan Bohall, Justin Johnson, Kurt Looby and Seth Gorney. The Gold Shirts will inculde Josh Crawford, David Palmer, Drew Adams, Brett Wessels, Tyler Smith, Mike Henderson and Cyrus Tate.

HALUSKA NAMED CAPTAIN
Senior Adam Haluska will serve as Iowa’s 2006-07 team captain. Haluska is a native of Carroll, IA who has started every game for the Hawkeyes over the past two seasons. A year ago he earned third team all-Big Ten recognition. Haluska averaged 13.9 points and 4.7 rebounds last season. He has scored 1,225 career points, including 941 in two seasons with the Hawkeyes. He was named to the Guardians Classic all-tournament team a year ago and was an all-tournament selection in Iowa’s Hawkeye Challenge.

HALUSKA EARNS SCHOLAR/ATHLETE AWARD
Senior guard Adam Haluska has been named the recipient of the 2006-07 Anson Mount Scholar/Athlete Award. The award is presented by Playboy Magazine and recognizes a student-athlete who excels in the classroom and on the court. The magazine will donate $5,000 to the University of Iowa general scholarship fund. Haluska earned academic all-America honors last season and is a two-time academic all-Big Ten honoree. The magazine has been presenting the award to a college football and basketball player each year for 20 years. Haluska is the first Hawkeye student-athlete to earn the award.

THE HAWKEYE ROSTER
The Iowa roster includes 14 players. One of those players, David Palmer, will redshirt as a transfer from another Division I program. The squad includes two seniors, three juniors, six sophomores and three freshmen. Nine of the players are in their first year with the Iowa program. Along with the four Iowans on the roster, there are two players from Illinois, Indiana and Tennessee and one from California, Ohio and Texas and St. John’s, Antigua.

THE RETURNING CAST
Iowa returns two starters and five lettermen from 2006. The returning starters include seniors Adam Haluska and Mike Henderson, who each started all 34 games last season. Haluska was a third team all-Big Ten selection and an academic all-American. With just five players returning from a year ago, Iowa returns 38.8% of its scoring, 27.9% of its rebounding, 40.8% of its assists and 41.8% of its steals. Iowa’s returning players shot 42.9% from the field, 34.9% from three-point range and 77.4% from the free throw line.

IOWA SEEKS SEVENTH STRAIGHT
Iowa, in 2007, is seeking its seventh consecutive winning season. The current streak of six straight ranks as the second longest in the history of Iowa basketball. Iowa’s record for 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). Harrison coached Iowa to five straight winning seasons from 1944-48, Lute Olson coached Iowa to 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. Iowa had five consecutive winning seasons on three occasions, 1979-83, 1985-89 and 1995-99. Iowa is one of four Big Ten teams to post a winning record in each of the last six seasons, joining Illinois, Michigan State and Wisconsin. Iowa, in 2006, advanced to post-season play for the sixth straight season and returned to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season.

ALFORD MOVES TO FOURTH
Coach Steve Alford has collected 135 victories as Iowa’s head coach, a total that ranks fourth on Iowa’s list of coaches in career wins. Alford, in 2006, moved past Bucky O’Connor, Iowa’s head coach from 1952-58 (he also was Iowa’s head coach for 11 games in 1950), who earned 114 wins. Iowa’s top three coaches in career wins are Tom Davis (269), Lute Olson (168) and Rollie Williams (139).

IOWA WIN STREAK RANKS THIRD
Iowa begins the 2006-07 season with the third longest home winning streak in the nation. Iowa won all 17 home games a year ago and has won 18 straight dating back to the final home game of the 2005 season. Iowa’s last home loss was a 75-65 decision to Illinois on Feb. 19, 2005. Last season marked Iowa’s first unbeaten home season in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, which opened in 1983. The 17 victories set a school record for home wins in a season. The Hawkeyes lost just one home game in 1993 (15-1) and 1996 (14-1). The 18-game streak is a new mark for Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa’s record for consecutive home wins is 24. That streak began in 1946-47 and ended in 1948-49. Last season marked Iowa’s seventh perfect home season in school history and the first since 1966. Iowa’s current streak of 23 consecutive non-conference home wins ranks 14th-longest among Division I programs. That streak dates back to the final home game of the 2002-03 season, an NIT loss to Georgia Tech.

HAWKEYES HOST EXHIBITION NOV. 10
Following the Black and Gold Blowout, Iowa will host Buena Vista University in its only exhibition game on Friday, Nov. 10. The Hawkeyes open the regular season Monday, Nov.13, hosting The Citadel. The exhibition game will not be televised, but can be heard on the Hawkeye Sports Network, with Gary Dolphin and Bobby Hansen calling the action.

IOWA IN EXHIBITIONS
Iowa is 13-1 in exhibition games under Coach Steve Alford, with the only setback being a 79-76 loss to the Harlem Globetrotters prior to the 2002 season. The Hawkeyes defeated Brock University of Canada and Wartburg College last season.

HAWKEYES IN PARADISE JAM
Iowa will once again participate in one of the top early season tournaments when it takes part in the Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands in mid-November. The eight-team field includes four teams that participated in the NCAA Tournament last season and four teams that won more than 20 games a year ago. The combined record of the eight teams last season was 164-82. Xavier returns five starters from a team that posted a 21-11 mark a year ago, while Toledo (20-11), Alabama (18-13) and College of Charleston (17-11) return four starters. Iowa and Villanova, with two each, return the fewest number of starters from last season.

IOWA PROGRAM REACHES 1,400 WINS
The Iowa basketball program reached 1,400 wins (now at 1,421) with a 79-46 victory over Texas-San Antonio on Nov. 26, 2005. Iowa is one of 34 NCAA Division I programs with as many as 1,400 wins. Iowa’s basketball history includes 72 winning seasons and 24 years in which the Hawkeyes have won 20 or more games. Iowa (with 22) is one of 31 programs to earn more than 20 invitations into the NCAA Tournament.

ANOTHER STRONG SCHEDULE
Playing five of its first six games on the road, Iowa again faces a demanding schedule in 2006-07. After opening the season at home, Iowa travels to the Paradise Jam, meeting Toledo in the first round. Other teams in the field include Alabama, College of Charleston, Middle Tennessee State, Villanova, Virginia Commonwealth and Xavier. Iowa also plays at Arizona State in November and plays at Virginia Tech as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The in-state series includes home dates with Northern Iowa and Iowa State and a visit to Drake before Big Ten play begins in January. Iowa could play as many as 18 games against teams that advanced to post-season play a year ago. That includes two games vs. Illinois (NCAA), Indiana (NCAA), Michigan State (NCAA) Wisconsin (NCAA), Penn State (NIT) and Minnesota (NIT) and single games vs. Northern Iowa (NCAA), Ohio State (NCAA) and Michigan (NIT). Iowa could also meet Alabama (NCAA), Villanova (NCAA) and Xavier (NCAA) in the Paradise Jam.

IOWA HAS STRONG FINISH
Following is a list of Iowa’s accomplishments in 2006:

• Posted 25 wins, which ranks as the second highest total in school history. The Hawkeyes won 30 games in 1987 and 24 games in 1988. The 22 regular season wins tie as the second most in school history. The Hawkeyes won 27 regular season games in 1987 and 22 in both 1988 and 1989.
• Posted 10 wins in 14 games against top 25 teams. Iowa was 3-2 against top 10 teams.
• Prior to tournament play, Iowa was the only Division I team in the nation to record 10 wins against teams that were ranked in the top 25 at the time of the game.
• Posted 11 Big Ten wins, the most for an Iowa team since the 1996-97 team won 12 conference games. The 11 Big Ten wins are the most for Iowa since the Big Ten went to a 16-game league schedule in 1998.
• Won the Big Ten Conference Tournament with three straight wins. Iowa also won the event in 2001 and was second in 2002. Iowa is one of three teams with two tournament titles and Coach Steve Alford is the only Big Ten coach to take three teams to the championship game.
• Earned a tie for second place in the regular season standings. Iowa had not placed as high as second in the regular season since earning a tie for second with a 12-6 record in 1997.
• Earned a third seed in the NCAA Tournament. The three seed is the highest since the Hawkeyes were seeded second in the 1987 event. Iowa was also a three seed in 1981.
• Earned the No. two seed in the Big Ten Tournament. Iowa’s previous best seed in the event was fourth in 2004. Advanced to the title game of the Big Ten Conference Tournament for the third time since 2001.
• Defeated seven top 25 opponents in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa set school records for home wins and total wins over ranked opponents last season.
• Completed its first-ever undefeated home season in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, which opened in 1983, and its first undefeated home season since 1966.
• Completed the seventh season in Iowa history with an undefeated home record. Iowa was also undefeated at home in 1902 (3-0), 1926 (9-0), 1945 (11-0), 1948 (12-0), 1950 (6-0) and 1966 (12-0).
• Established a school record 17 home wins in one season. The previous record of 16 was established in 1985. Improved its overall home winning streak to 18 games, a streak that ranks longest in the Big Ten and fourth best in the nation.

IOWA SCHEDULE NOTES

• Iowa has reached the title game in 11 of 12 in-season tournaments under Coach Steve Alford in the past seven seasons. The Hawkeyes have won their own Hawkeye Challenge in each of the seven years. Iowa was second in the Guardians Classic in both 2002 and 2006, second in the Maui Invitational in 2005 and second in the IKON Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in 2000. In the only event Iowa did not advance to the title game, the Hawkeyes placed third in the Rainbow Classic in 2001. Under Alford, Iowa is 25-5 while playing in tournament events during the season, plus 13-5 in the Big Ten Tournament and a combined 3-6 in the NIT and NCAA tournaments.
• The Hawkeyes, in 2006-07, could meet two teams from Philadelphia (LaSalle and Villanova) and two teams from Charleston, SC (The Citadel and College of Charleston), along with two teams from Virginia (VA Commonwealth and VA Tech).
• Iowa is slated to play two schools which are headed by former University of Iowa presidents. Mary Sue Coleman is the President at the University of Michigan and David Skorton at Cornell University.
• Iowa Coach Craig Neal will see a familiar face should the Hawkeyes meet College of Charleston in the Paradise Jam. Bobby Cremins, who coached Neal when the Hawkeye assistant was playing for Georgia Tech, is in his first season at Charleston.
• Iowa and Alabama both competed in the 2001 Guardians Classic. Missouri defeated Alabama in the semi-finals before defeating Iowa in the title game.
• Herb Sendek, the first year coach at Arizona State, was the head coach at North Carolina State a year ago when the Hawkeyes defeated the Wolfpack 45-42 in Iowa City as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
• Seth Greenberg, now the head coach at Virginia Tech, was the head coach at Long Beach State when Iowa defeated the Forty-Niners101-79 in the finals of the 1993 Hawkeye Challenge.
• Iowa’s single exhibition game is against Buena Vista University, marking the second straight year Iowa will host a member of the Iowa Conference. Buena Vista has won the Iowa Conference post-season tournament in each of the past five seasons and advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament a year ago.

IOWA’S HAWKEYE CHALLENGE
Iowa will once again host its own Hawkeye Challenge on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 1-2. Iowa will meet Texas-Pan American in the second game on Friday, following the opening game that pits Coppin State against LaSalle. LaSalle is making its third appearance in the tournament after placing second in 1996 and fourth in 2001. Texas-Pan American finished fourth in 1992 in its only appearance in the event and Coppin State is taking part in the tournament for the first time. Coppin State played in Iowa City during the 1998-99 season.

HALUSKA OVER 1,000 POINTS
Guard Adam Haluska heads into his final season as Iowa’s most honored player, both on the court and off. Along with earning third team all-Big Ten honors a year ago, Haluska is a two-time academic all-Big Ten honoree and a year ago he was recognized as an academic all-American. Haluska was recently named the recipient of the 2006-07 Anson Mount Scholar/Athlete Award, presented annually by Playboy Magazine. The award includes a $5,000 donation to the UI general scholarship fund. He is one of 50 players named to the pre-season John R. Wooden Award all-American team. Haluska has earned the Chris Street Award, one of the top Iowa team awards presented at the end of each season, in each of the past two years. Last season he was also named to the NABC District 12 all-District second team and he was a member of the all-tournament team in both the Hawkeye Challenge and the Guardians Classic. Haluska surpassed 1,000 career points with his career-high 29-point performance in a win at Penn State. He has 1,225 points in his career, with 941 of those coming in his two seasons with the Hawkeyes. His 185 three-point field goals attempts last season rank sixth best at Iowa. He ranks ninth in career three-point field goals (122) and seventh in career attempts (334). In the 2006 Big Ten Tournament title game he had 15 points and eight rebounds, including three free throws in the final 33 seconds. Haluska led the Hawkeyes with 20 points in the NCAA Tournament vs. Northwestern State. He scored in double figures in 27 of 34 games a year ago and was named co-Big Ten Player of the Week for his play in wins over Indiana and Ohio State. He averaged 13.9 points and 4.7 rebounds and led Iowa in steals in 11 games. Haluska has started all 98 games he has played in his career. His consecutive starts streak ranks 10th longest among all Division I players, according to STATS — Chicago.

HENDERSON NUMBERS IMPROVED
Guard Mike Henderson played a key role in Iowa’s 2006 success, improving his numbers in several categories from his sophomore season while earning the team “Most Improved Award”. Henderson matched his career scoring high with 17 points in the win at Purdue. Henderson led Iowa in a home win over Penn State, collecting 16 points while connecting on 6-7 field goals and 3-4 free throws. Henderson averaged 7.6 points and 3.9 rebounds per outing, improving his shooting to 48.7%. In Big Ten games only, he ranked sixth in league field goal percentage (54.9%). Henderson scored in double figures in 11 games after scoring 10 or more points just three times in his first two seasons.

FREEMAN SOLID IN FIRST SEASON
Guard Tony Freeman had a solid first season with the Hawkeyes a year ago. Freeman played in 33 of 34 games, with four starts in the non-conference season. Freeman averaged 3.4 points and 1.3 rebounds and collected 53 assists and 19 steals. He scored a season-high 10 points in a win over Michigan and had a season-best seven assists in a win over Arizona State.

IOWA ON THE TUBE
Nearly every Iowa game throughout the 2006-07 season will be televised, with the only exception being the Paradise Jam tournament in November. Iowa’s opening round game will not be televised. Fox Sports will televise only the semi-finals, third place game and championship of the eight-team tournament. The majority of Iowa’s non-conference games will be televised on ESPN Regional. Games at Drake and Virginia Tech will be aired on ESPNU and the contest at Arizona State can be seen on Fox Sports. During the Big Ten season, Iowa games vs. Michigan State, Indiana (twice), at Wisconsin and at Penn State will be televised on ESPN. Iowa’s home game with Wisconsin can be seen on CBS and the home finale against Illinois could appear on either CBS or ESPN. All other conference games will be on ESPN Regional, while several conference games will be televised throughout the Big Ten Conference viewing area as part of the Big Ten regional network agreement with ESPN.

BASKETBALL TICKETS AVAILABLE
The following is information on Iowa basketball tickets:

Season tickets are available for 2006-07, including general public ($300), UI faculty and staff ($243) and UI students ($85). Single game tickets are available for $20 and $25, depending on the date of the game. UI students can purchase single game tickets for $15 on the day of the game, when available. There are several options available for fans interested in purchasing tickets for selected games.

• Tickets for the Black and Gold Blowout ($5) are available at the UI athletic ticket office in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
• A three-game package is available for $57 that includes games vs. Northern Iowa, Michigan State and Indiana.
• The Big Ten mid-week package is available for $68 and includes games vs. Michigan State, Penn State, Northwestern and Purdue.
• The Big Ten weekend package includes games vs. Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana and Illinois and is available for $100.
• The pre-Big Ten season package includes both nights of the Hawkeye Challenge and games vs. Iowa State, Texas Southern and Cornell, for $80.
• The Holiday Special package, which includes games vs. Cornell, Michigan State and Minnesota, is $54. Tickets for the two nights of the Hawkeye Challenge are $36.
• “Youth Basketball Nights” have been set for games vs. The Citadel, both nights of the Hawkeye Challenge, Georgia State, Texas Southern, Cornell, Penn State, Northwestern and Purdue. Tickets for students high school age or younger are $10 for these games.
• Discounted tickets to select home games, earmarked for purchase by groups of 20 or more, are also available for purchase. For information about group ticket packages, fans should call the UI Sports Marketing Office at (319) 335-9431.

Fans interested in obtaining men’s basketball tickets can do so at the UI Athletic Ticket Office, located in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, by calling the ticket office at 1-800-IA-HAWKS or by visiting the UI website at hawkeyesports.com.

HAWK 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 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. The show will take place on the following dates: November 6 and 27; December 4, 11 and 18; January 8, 17, 22 and 29; February 5, 12, 19 and 28; March 5 and 12.

COMING UP NEXT
Iowa’s only exhibition game is Friday, November 10 against Buena Vista University. The Hawkeyes open the regular season Monday, Nov. 13, hosting The Citadel. Both games have a 7:05 p.m. start time.