Iowa Hosts Texas-San Antonio Monday

Nov. 16, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

THE SETTING
Iowa (1-0) plays its second straight home game to begin the season, hosting Texas-San Antonio (0-1) Monday, Nov. 17. Game time is 7:05 p.m. in Carver-Hawkeye Arena (15,500). Iowa opened the season with a 68-48 win over Charleston Southern Friday. UTSA began the season Friday with a 76-57 loss at Oklahoma State.

ON THE AIR
Radio: Iowa games are broadcast on the Hawkeye Radio Network. The network includes more than 40 stations that blanket the state of Iowa and include portions of Illinois, Nebraska, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin. Gary Dolphin handles the play-by-play, along with color commentator Bob Hansen. The Hawkeye Radio Network coverage includes a 60-minute pre-game show.
Television: Mediacom Connections will televise the game on the Mediacom Connections cable network throughout the state of Iowa. Streaming video of the game can also be viewed via the Big Ten Network website, bigtennetwork.com. Rob Brooks and Mac McCausland will call the action.

IOWA HISTORY
Iowa has played 2,441 games since beginning basketball in 1902. Overall Iowa’s record is 1,452-989 (.595). That includes a 913-316 (.743) record in home games, a 539-673 (.445) record in games away from Iowa City, a 690-677 (.504) mark in Big Ten games and a 319-90 (.780) record in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

IOWA IN CARVER-HAWKEYE ARENA
Iowa has compiled a 319-90 (.780) record in Carver-Hawkeye Arena since the facility opened in January, 1983. Iowa is 151-73 (.674) in Big Ten games and 168-17 (.908) in non-Big Ten games.

OPENING THE SEASON
With Friday’s opening win over Charleston Southern, Iowa has won 31 consecutive season-opening games, dating back to 1978, when it lost a road game to start the season. The Hawkeyes have won 46 straight home openers, dating back to a 62-54 loss to Ohio University to begin the 1962-63 season. Iowa Coach Todd Lickliter is 7-1 in season-opening games as a college head coach, including 2-0 as the Hawkeye head coach.

HAWKEYES ARE TOUGH AT HOME
Iowa has won 43 of its last 53 games (.811 winning percentage) in Carver-Hawkeye Arena (15,500) over the last three-plus seasons, including win streaks of 21 straight overall and 12 straight Big Ten Conference wins. Iowa has won 10 of its last 13 home games against ranked opponents. Iowa was a perfect 17-0 at home in 2006 and 14-2 in 2007 before posting a 10-8 home record a year ago. Iowa has compiled a 19-6 Big Ten Conference record in that time.

HEAD COACH Todd Lickliter
Todd Lickliter is in his second season as the head basketball coach at the University of Iowa and his eighth year overall as a college head coach. Lickliter spent six seasons (2001-07) as the head coach at Butler University. Lickliter holds a career mark of 145-80 (.644), including a 14-19 (.438) record at Iowa. Lickliter posted a 131-61 (.682) record as Butler’s head coach. He led Butler to four post-season tournament berths, including trips to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2003 and 2007. Lickliter was named the 2006-07 Division I Coach of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and was recognized as the High-Major Coach of the Year by collegehoops.net. He was also named 2007 Horizon League Coach of the Year for the second consecutive year after guiding the Bulldogs to a school and league-record 29 victories. He led Butler to the regular season co-championship in the Horizon League in 2007. The Bulldogs advanced to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament before falling to eventual national champion Florida (65-57). Butler during the 2006-07 season won three games over top 25 opponents (Tennessee, Gonzaga, Maryland) and recorded eight victories over teams that participated in the NCAA Tournament. Butler averaged 22 wins per year under Lickliter, winning league titles in 2002, 2003 and 2007 while winning at least 20 games in four of six seasons. Lickliter led the Bulldogs to an unbeaten home record (12-0) in 2002-03, and mentored Butler to a 70-12 (.854) home mark in his six seasons. His Bulldog teams were 6-5 against teams ranked in the “Top 25” and compiled four of the top 10 winning streaks in Butler history. In his first season as Butler’s head coach, Lickliter guided the Bulldogs to a then school-record 26 victories and a third consecutive Horizon League regular season title. Lickliter guided the 2003 Bulldogs to an even more impressive season in his second year as head coach. He led Butler to a 27-6 record, breaking the single-season mark for victories for a second consecutive year. Lickliter served as an assistant coach at Butler and Eastern Michigan and was a high school head coach in Indianapolis and Danville, IL. In his final two seasons as a Butler assistant coach, the Bulldogs compiled a 47-16 record, including “Top 25” wins over 10th-ranked Wisconsin and 23rd-ranked Wake Forest. The win over the Demon Deacons in the 2001 NCAA Tournament was Butler’s first NCAA Tournament victory in 39 years. Lickliter played his final two collegiate seasons at Butler, where he earned a B.S degree in secondary education in 1979. Lickliter has not coached against Texas-San Antonio or UTSA Coach Brooks Thompson.

UTSA COACH BROOKS THOMPSON
Brooks Thompson is in his third year as the head coach at Texas-San Antonio and his fifth season as a college head coach. Thompson has posted a 20-40 mark with the Roadrunners and his career mark stands at 75-54. Thompson served as the head coach at Yavapai, AZ Community College, posting a 55-14 record in two seasons. Thompson played the final two years of his college career at Oklahoma State, earning first team all-Big Eight honors as a senior in 1993-94. He played professional basketball from 1994-98, spending time with Orlando, Utah, Denver, Phoenix and the New York Knicks in the NBA. Thompson spent one season on the staff at Oklahoma State and was an assistant coach at Arizona State (2004-06) following his two seasons at Yavapai. Thompson has not coached against Iowa or Hawkeye Coach Todd Lickliter.

THE SERIES
Iowa holds a 1-0 series advantage over Texas-San Antonio, defeating the Roadrunners 79-46 in Iowa City on Nov. 26, 2005. The win over UTSA was No. 1,400 for the Iowa basketball program.

THE LAST MEETING
Iowa raced to a 36-21 halftime advantage and never looked back in handing Texas-San Antonio a 79-46 loss on Nov. 26, 2005 in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes shot 47.4% from the field and held a 22-2 scoring advantage from the free throw in winning the first meeting every against the Roadrunners. UTSA shot just 35.7% from the field and was guilty of 23 turnovers. Adam Haluska led Iowa’s balanced attack with 15 points and seven rebounds. Greg Brunner added 14 points and six rebounds, Jeff Horner added 13 points and Alex Thompson added 11 points and six rebounds. Andre Owens led UTSA with 15 points and five rebounds and Gabe Bernard added 11 points. Iowa posted a 25-9 mark in 2005-06, winning the Big Ten Conference post-season tournament and advancing to the NCAA Tournament. Iowa’s loss in the NCAA Tournament that season came at the hands of Northwestern State (LA), like UTSA a member of the Southland Conference.

IOWA, UTSA GAMES NOTES

  • UTSA Coach Brooks Thompson was an assistant coach at Arizona State when Iowa defeated the Sun Devils 62-43 in Iowa City on Dec. 17, 2005.
  • UTSA guard Devin Gibson was named Southland Conference Freshman of the Year last season after leading the nation in steals per game (3.32). He ranked 25th nationally in assists (5.1) as well. He is one of 31 candidates on the pre-season watch list for the Bob Cousy Award.
  • Iowa holds a 4-1 record against current members of the Southland Conference.
  • Iowa and UTSA played one common opponent a year ago. Iowa defeated Southeastern Louisiana 57-50 in Iowa City, while UTSA won 61-57 at Southeastern Louisiana.

HAWKEYES STOP CHARLESTON SOUTHERN
Iowa trailed 7-0 in the early going, before using a 20-4 scoring run to gain control on the way to a 68-48 season-opening win over Charleston Southern Friday evening in Iowa City. Freshman Matt Gatens hit a three-point basket at the 17:24 mark for Iowa’s first of the season, and Iowa added nine more points over the next four minutes before the visitors would score again. The Hawkeyes increased the advantage to 11 points with six minutes remaining before CSU closed the gap to 29-25 at halftime. Gatens and fellow freshman Anthony Tucker combined to score Iowa’s first 15 points. Iowa scored the first four points of the second half and led by six or more the rest of the way. Iowa’s biggest margin was 23 points in the final minutes. The Hawkeyes shot 56% from the field in the second half, while holding the visitors to just 26.7%. Iowa shot 51.1% for the game, including 36% from three-point range. The Hawkeyes also shot 73.3% from the free throw line and held a 32-30 rebounding advantage. Charleston Southern shot just 33.3% for the game. Gatens led Iowa with 15 points and five assists, hitting 4-6 field goals, all three of his three-point attempts and all four of his free throw attempts. Tucker and sophomore guard Jake Kelly each added 10 points, while senior forward Cyrus Tate collected nine points and 12 rebounds and sophomore guard Jeff Peterson added nine points and three assists. Kelly saw his first action of the season, as he missed Iowa’s exhibition win over Wayne State due to injury.

UTSA FALLS AT OKLAHOMA STATE
Texas-San Antonio dropped a 76-57 decision at Oklahoma State Friday in its opening game. The Roadrunners trailed by just six points, 31-25, at halftime before Oklahoma State made 17-29 (58.6%) field goal attempts in the second half. For the game the Cowboys shot 51.9% from the field, compared to 38.3% for UTSA. The Roadrunners connected on 10-21 (47.6%) three-point baskets. Oklahoma State also held a 33-30 rebounding advantage and forced 14 turnovers. UTSA featured a balanced scoring attack, as Devin Gibson and Travis Gabbidon each scored 14 points and Omar Johnson added 13. Johnson, Gibson and Demarco Stepter each had five rebounds and Johnson added seven assists.

IOWA SOLID ON DEFENSE
Iowa held Charleston Southern to 48 points in the opening win, as the visitors shot just 33% from the field. Iowa ranked fifth in the nation in scoring defense last season (58.0) and held opponents under 50 points in nine games. Iowa opponents shot 40.4% from the field a year ago.

HAWKEYE GAMES NOTES

  • Iowa is 1-0 when controlling the opening tip, although the Hawkeyes trailed 7-0 in the early going of the 68-48 win over Charleston Southern.
  • Iowa had three players score in double figures in the opening win. In 32 games last season, Iowa had more than three players score in double figures four times.
  • Iowa was guilty of seven turnovers vs. Charleston Southern, matching the season low of last season (vs. Utah State). The Hawkeyes had less than 10 turnovers in just two of 32 games a year ago and had 20 or more turnovers in seven games.

IOWA PROGRAM REACHES 1,400 WINS
The Iowa basketball program reached 1,400 wins (now at 1,452) with a 79-46 victory over Texas-San Antonio on Nov. 26, 2005. Iowa ranks 34th on the all-time list for victories and is one of 41 NCAA Division I programs with as many as 1,400 wins. Iowa’s basketball history includes 73 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.

NEWCOMERS CONTRIBUTE
With seven new players on a 13-man roster, Iowa will rely on newcomers throughout the year. In the opening win over Charleston Southern, Iowa newcomers contributed 37 of 68 points, 12 of 32 rebounds, eight of 14 assists and two of three steals, while playing 118 of the 200 minutes. Three newcomers, all freshmen, were part of the starting line-up. Matt Gatens led the newcomers with 15 points. His total matches the most points scored by a freshman in their first game since Jeff Horner had 15 points in the first game of the 2002-03 season.

TATE & COLE ARE IOWA CAPTAINS
Senior forward Cyrus Tate and sophomore forward Jarryd Cole will serve as Iowa’s captains in 2008-09. Tate averaged 8.3 points and 5.4 rebounds a year ago while starting 19 of the 31 games he appeared in. Tate shot 66.7% from the field for the season and 70.2% in Big Ten games. He led the conference in field goal percentage and was third in rebounding in conference games. Cole started six of the 13 games he played before a knee injury in Iowa’s final non-conference game forced him to miss the final 19 games. Cole averaged 6.6 points and 4.8 rebounds, shooting 66.7% from the field.

LICKLITER TO REDSHIRT
Freshman guard John Lickliter, who joined the Iowa program as a walk-on to play for his father, Coach Todd Lickliter, plans to use the 2008-09 season to redshirt. Lickliter started every game at year ago at Iowa City High, helping the Little Hawks claim the Class 4-A state title.

A YOUNG SQUAD
Iowa’s roster of 13 players includes five freshmen, three sophomores, three juniors and two seniors. The sophomores are Jarryd Cole, Jake Kelly and Jeff Peterson. The freshmen include forward Andrew Brommer (6-9, 235), forward Aaron Fuller (6-6, 210), guard Matt Gatens (6-5, 215), guard John Lickliter (5-11, 175) and guard Anthony Tucker (6-4, 200). In addition, junior guards Devan Bawinkel (6-5, 210) and Jermain Davis (6-4, 200) are both in their first year at Iowa after attending junior colleges a year ago. Along with two players from the state of Iowa, the roster includes two players from Illinois and Indiana, three from Minnesota, two from Missouri and one from Arizona and Tennessee.

IOWA ON THE BIG TEN NETWORK
The majority of Iowa games throughout the 2008-09 season can be seen on the Big Ten Network, a national cable television network that now reaches over 70 million homes in its second year. The Big Ten Network is available on Mediacom, which provides cable service to over 400,000 customers throughout Iowa and the Midwest. Iowa games telecast on the Big Ten Network are also available through the nation’s two satellite television companies, DirectTV and Dish Network.

HAWKEYE SCHEDULE NOTES

  • Along with an opening win over Charleston Southern, Iowa travels to play at The Citadel on Thursday, Nov. 20. Both Charleston Southern and The Citadel are located in Charleston, South Carolina.
  • Iowa’s schedule includes 17 home games, including nine Big Ten Conference games and home dates with in-state opponents Northern Iowa and Iowa State. In conference play, Iowa does not play at Illinois, while Minnesota does not visit Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
  • Iowa’s Big Ten schedule includes five weekend home dates and four games during the week.
  • After playing a number of games a year ago with a start time of 8 p.m., Iowa has just two home games this season that start as late as 7:30 p.m., a non-conference game vs. Bryant University and a Big Ten contest against Wisconsin.
  • Iowa’s schedule includes at least three neutral site games, including two games in the Las Vegas Invitational. Iowa could play between one and four neutral site games while taking part in the Big Ten Conference Tournament in Indianapolis, IN at the end of the season.

POST-SEASON OPPONENTS
Fifteen of Iowa’s 31 games during the regular season are against teams that advanced to post-season play last season. That includes 11 games against teams that participated in the NCAA Tournament. Iowa will play eight games against four Big Ten opponents that appeared in the 2008 NCAA Tournament, along with a single game at Drake and games against West Virginia and either Kentucky or Kansas State. During the non-conference portion of the schedule Iowa will face teams from the Big East (West Virginia), Atlantic Coast (Boston College), Big 12 (Iowa State and possibly Kansas State) and Missouri Valley (Drake and Northern Iowa) conferences, along with a possible opponent (Kentucky) from the Southeastern Conference. Iowa, in 2007-08, played 14 of 32 games against teams that advanced to post-season play. That included five teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament (1-8), three opponents who competed in the NIT (1-3) and one opponent who participated in the initial College Basketball Invitational (0-1).

IOWA IN LAS VEGAS INVITATIONAL
Iowa will play four games while competing in the Las Vegas Invitational. Home games against Oakland University (Nov. 23) and Southeast Missouri State (Nov. 25) are preliminary round games. Once in Las Vegas, Iowa will meet West Virginia on Friday, Nov. 28 and face either Kentucky or Kansas State the following evening. The games in Las Vegas will take place at the Orleans Arena. Kansas defeated eventual national champion Florida in the championship game of the tournament in 2006-07, while North Carolina won the event in 2007-08. For ticket information on the games in Las Vegas, contact the Orleans Arena at (702) 284-7777 or on the web at www.orleansarena.com.

PILING ON THE MILES
During a 13 day period in late November, Iowa will play games in South Carolina, Las Vegas and Boston. Iowa plays at The Citadel (1,097 miles) Nov. 20, travels to Las Vegas (1,535) for the Las Vegas Invitational (Nov. 28-29) and plays at Boston College (1,188) Dec. 1 as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. During that 13-day stretch the Hawkeyes will travel roughly 7,640 miles to play four games, along with hosting games in Iowa City on Nov. 23 (Oakland) and Nov. 25 (SE Missouri State).

NATIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR
Iowa Coach Todd Lickliter was named the 2007 Division I national Coach of the Year by the National Basketball Coaches (NABC) after leading Butler to 29 wins and a spot in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. With Iowa football Coach Kirk Ferentz earning national Coach of the Year in 2002, Iowa is one of seven Division I institutions to have a former football and men’s basketball national Coach of the Year currently coaching their respective team. The others are Florida, Florida State, Kansas, Maryland, SMU and Tennessee. Four current Big Ten Conference head coaches have earned national Coach of the Year honors.

AMONG SINGLE SEASON BESTS
Iowa made 222 three-point field goals while attempting 640 three-point shots a year ago. Both of those figures rank second best at Iowa for a single season. The Hawkeyes set single season records in 1995 when they made 274 of 743 three-point attempts. Iowa’s single game high for three-point attempts in 2008 was 33 at Ohio State. That figure ranks second at Iowa for a single game. The record is 36 attempts, set Dec. 17, 1994 against Long Island.

HAWKEYES FEATURED YOUNG LINE-UP
Iowa’s starting line-up in four games last season included freshmen Jarryd Cole, Jeff Peterson and Jake Kelly. Cole later missed the final 19 games due to injury. Kelly started 25 games and Peterson 11. The three combined for 42 starts. Iowa had not started three freshmen in a game since the 2000-01 season. That season, Brody Boyd, Jared Reiner and Glen Worley started in a game at Illinois. Boyd, Worley and Sean Sonderleiter started in a game at Michigan State and Boyd, Worley and Cortney Scott started in a game at Michigan. Three true freshmen, Aaron Fuller, Matt Gatens and Anthony Tucker, were in the starting line-up for Iowa’s exhibition win over Wayne State

NO THREE-POINTERS
Since the three-point shot became part of the college game, Iowa has played 14 games in which it has failed to make a three-point attempt. Iowa had made at least one three-point basket in 53 straight games before missing all five attempts in a 71-61 home win over Purdue in 2004. Iowa’s current streak includes at least one three-point basket in 151 straight games.

IOWA IN TOURNAMENT PLAY
Iowa has fared well while taking part in regular-season tournaments over the past 26 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 2006 and its own invitational 24 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 2005-06 Guardians Classic, the 2002 Big Ten Conference Tournament and the 2004 Maui Invitational.

HALK TALK WITH Todd Lickliter
Fans of the University of Iowa basketball program may join Iowa Coach Todd Lickliter and radio announcer Gary Dolphin each week during the season for the “Hawk Talk with Todd Lickliter” 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 dates are Nov. 24; Dec. 8, 15, 22; Jan. 5, 12, 19, 26; Feb. 2, 9, 16, 23; and March 2 and 9.

TICKETS ON SALE FOR 2008-09
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. Season tickets are available for 2008-09, including general public ($364), UI faculty and staff ($294) and UI students ($80). Single game tickets for non-conference home games are also on sale. Single game tickets cost $22 for weekday games and $27 for weekend games and the Iowa State game. Youth tickets (high school age and younger) priced at $10 each are available for all non-conference games, except the Iowa State game. Additional ticket packages on sale include the following:

Night Hawk Package ($69) – – includes a ticket to games vs. Oakland (Nov. 23), Bryant (Dec. 5), Wisconsin (Jan. 21) and Northwestern (Feb. 7).

Big Ten Weekend-er ($135) – – includes a ticket to games vs. Indiana (Jan. 3), Northwestern (Feb. 7), Purdue (Feb. 14), Michigan (Feb. 22) and Penn State (Mar. 7), and two complimentary tickets to the Nov. 23 contest vs. Oakland University.

Big Ten Weeknights ($76) – – includes a ticket to games vs. Minnesota (Jan. 8), Wisconsin (Jan. 21), Michigan State (Jan. 29) and Ohio State (Mar. 3-5), and two complimentary tickets to the Dec. 5 contest vs. Bryant University.

Home for the Holidays ($66) – – includes a ticket to games vs. Western Illinois (Dec. 27), Indiana (Jan. 3) and Minnesota (Jan. 8).

Youngsters are Hawk Fans, Too ($10) – – includes a youth ticket to games vs. Texas-San Antonio (Nov. 17), Oakland (Nov. 23), Southeast Missouri State (Nov. 23), Bryant (Dec. 5), Western Illinois (Dec. 27), Minnesota (Jan. 8), Michigan (Feb. 22) and Ohio State (Mar. 3-5).

Beat State ($45) – – includes a ticket to men’s basketball game (Dec. 12), women’s basketball game (Dec. 7) and wrestling meet (Dec. 6) against in-state rival Iowa State in three key events in the annual Hy-Vee Cy-Hawk series (available for purchase until Nov. 30).

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.

IOWA ON THE TUBE
All but one or two Iowa games throughout the 2008-09 season are scheduled to be televised. The only exceptions are the Nov. 20 game at The Citadel and Iowa’s final contest in the Las Vegas Invitational. The title game of that event will be televised, but the consolation game will not. The majority of Iowa games will appear on the Big Ten Network, while Mediacom Connections will telecast five early season contests. Mediacom Connections will televise non-conference games vs. Texas-San Antonio, Southeast Missouri State and West Virginia. Iowa games against Boston College, Northern Iowa, Drake and Western Illinois will appear on ESPNU. Big Ten games against Minnesota (home) and Michigan State (away) will appear on ESPN/ESPN2 and all games in the Big Ten post-season tournament will be televised.

HAWKEYES IN ACC/BIG TEN CHALLENGE
Iowa will travel to Boston College Dec. 2 as part of the 2008 ACC/Big Ten Challenge (6:05 p.m. CT, ESPNU). All 11 games in the Challenge will be televised on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU. Iowa is 2-5 in the Challenge after a 56-47 loss to Wake Forest last season in Iowa City. Iowa lost to Maryland, in Baltimore, in 2000, defeated Georgia Tech in 2001 in Iowa City, lost at Florida State in 2003 and lost to Duke, in Chicago, in 2002. Iowa did not take part in the event in 2003-04 and 2004-05. Boston College won the only previous meeting between the two programs, claiming an 86-81 victory in the consolation round of the Far West Classic on Dec. 30, 1974. Boston College posted a 14-17 record in 2008, including a 4-12 mark in league play. The Eagles are coached by Al Skinner, who has posted a 210-137 record in 11 seasons at Boston College. The Eagles play their home games at the Silvio O. Conte Forum (8,606). Boston College has posted a 2-0 record in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

AFTER THIS
Iowa plays its first road game of the season Thursday, Nov. 20, traveling to face The Citadel (6:05 p.m. CT). The Hawkeye return home to host Oakland University Sunday, Nov. 23 (5:05 p.m., BTN) in the first round of the Las Vegas Invitational.