Hawkeyes to Host Campbell Wednesday

Nov. 22, 2011

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Iowa Game Notes

TIP-OFF
? Iowa (3-1) will host Campbell (4-0) Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. on Mediacom Court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
? Wednesday’s game against Campbell will be the third and final Dale Howard Classic preliminary game.
? Wednesday will be the first ever meeting between the two schools.
? Tickets can be purchased at the door for $12 for adults and $5 for UI students and youths.
? Wednesday is also “UI Faculty/Staff Appreciation Night”. UI faculty and staff receive free admission (with university ID), while any guests they bring will receive $5 admission.
? Iowa is 5-0 when scoring 80 points or more under McCaffery the last two seasons. Furthermore, the Hawkeyes are 10-0 when holding opponents to fewer than 60 points.
? Coach McCaffery coached against Campbell and coach Robbie Laing twice in 2003, both while he was head coach at UNC Greensboro. The Spartans beat the Fighting Camels, 78-66 (Nov. 25, 2003) and 79-61 (Dec. 9, 2003).
? Iowa ranks first in the Big Ten in assists (19.5), second in scoring (84.5), third in steals (10.3) and free throw percentage (.725), and fourth in assist/turnover ratio (1.6).
? Freshman Josh Oglesby averaged 15 points off the bench the last two outings.
? Iowa averaged only 8.5 turnovers its last two games.

HAWKEYES FALL TO CREIGHTON IN DES MOINES
Creighton used scoring runs of 10-0 and 14-0 in the first and second halves, respectively, to post an 82-59 victory over Iowa at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines Sunday afternoon. The Bluejays outrebounded the Hawkeyes by 15 (43-28) and shot 55 percent from the field (32-of-58), including 47 percent (9-of-19) from 3-point range. Iowa shot only 36 percent (21-of-59) from the field and 53 percent (10-of-19) from the foul line. Iowa had two players reach double figures in Josh Oglesby and Matt Gatens. Gatens scored 11 of his 13 points in the first half, while Oglesby scored 13 of his team-high 14 points in the second stanza.

CREIGHTON TIP-INS
? A crowd of 12,746 watched Sunday’s Dale Howard Classic at Wells Fargo Arena.
? Iowa had 10 steals, to Creighton’s four. The Hawkeyes outscored the Bluejays, 15-7, in points off turnovers. Matt Gatens collected season and game-high three steals. Melsahn Basabe, Zach McCabe and Aaron White each had two thefts.
? Redshirt freshman Darius Stokes scored his first points in a Hawkeye uniform on a put-back with 39 seconds left in the game.

TAKING CARE OF THE BASKETBALL
Iowa has done a good job possessing the basketball early in the season. Iowa has had only 17 turnovers the last two games combined. The Hawkeyes are averaging 12.3 turnovers per game through four games, while they are forcing 17.8 turnovers.

BALANCED SCORING
Iowa has six players averaging 8.3 points or more. Matt Gatens is first on the team (15.5), followed by Eric May (13.0), Melsahn Basabe (9.8), Aaron White (9.3), Josh Oglesby (8.5) and Zach McCabe (8.3).

SCOUTING CAMPBELL
? Robbie Laing is in his ninth season as Campbell’s head coach, owning an 88-150 mark (.370).
? Campbell is located in Buies Creek, N.C. Campbell rejoined the Big South Conference this season after competing in the Atlantic Sun Conference from 1994-2011. Tonight will be Iowa’s fourth game against a current member of the Big South. The Hawkeyes are 3-0 against Big South competition, beating Charleston Southern, Liberty and UNC Asheville.
? Campbell started the season 4-0, collecting home wins over Houston Baptist (82-68), East Carolina (76-74) and North Carolina A&T (94-66), and getting a road victory at Chicago State (75-69) Monday night.
? The Camels have three players who average 16 points or more: Darren White (20.0), Eric Griffin (18.8) and Trey Freeman (16.8). White poured in a game-high 25 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field, and 4-6 from 3-point range, at Chicago State Monday.
? Trey Freeman recorded the second-highest scoring game by a Camel freshman in his collegiate debut on Nov. 11 with a 22-point effort against Houston Baptist.
? Campbell has four players with 12 assists or more: Rico Ferguson (18), Trey Freeman (17). Amir Celestin (14) and Darren White (12).
? The Camels are averaging 81.8 points per game, shooting 54 percent from the field and own a +6.5 rebounding margin.
? Wednesday’s game is the second of a three-game Dale Howard Classic road trip for Campbell. The Camels played at Chicago State Monday, play the Hawkeyes Wednesday and conclude the road trip at Creighton on Friday.

HOT SHOT
Freshman Josh Oglesby has led Iowa in scoring the last two games, netting a career-high 16 points against Northern Illinois and 14 versus Creighton. Oglesby becomes the first Hawkeye reserve to lead the team in scoring, in back-to-back games, since Ricky Davis paced Iowa with 25 and 18 on the road at Wisconsin (Feb. 3) and Michigan State (Feb. 7), respectively, in 1998. Like Oglesby, Davis accomplished the feat as a freshman. After shooting 1-of-9 (.111) from the field the first two games, the Cedar Rapids native shot 11-of-17 (.647) the last two outings.

IMPROVEMENT UNDER McCAFFERY IN SECOND YEAR OF PROGRAM
Fran McCaffery-coached teams have posted improved win totals from their first year to second with McCaffery as a head coach. At Lehigh, his team improved by two wins (13 in 1986 to 15 in 1987). His UNC Greensboro team had four more victories from 2000 (15) and 2001 (19). At Siena his team improved by five victories, registering 15 in 2006 to 20 in 2007.

DIALING UP LONG DISTANCE
Iowa made a combined 31 triples its first three games. The 31 treys are the most by a Hawkeye team to start the season. Iowa made 30 triples to start the 1994-95 campaign, making seven against Morgan State, 14 versus Drake and nine against Pepperdine.

FIRE BALLERS
Senior Matt Gatens and junior Eric May have been on fire shooting the ball to start the season. The duo are shooting at a 54 percent clip (42-of-78) from the field and 44 percent (17-of-39) from behind the 3-point arc. May is averaging 13 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists. Gatens is averaging a team-best 15.5 points and is shooting a team-best 55.3 percent (21-of-38) from the field.

SINKING THE FREEBEES
Starters Matt Gatens (10-of-11), Melsahn Basabe (19-of-22) and Bryce Cartwright (7-of-8) are a combined 36-of-41 (.878) from the free throw line. Gatens ranks fourth in Big Ten career free throw percentage. Iowa is 11-of-12 (.917) from the foul line in shots attempted the final five minutes of games.

EXPERIENCED BACKCOURT
Iowa has the most experienced starting backcourt duo in the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes are the only league team with two starting senior guards, Bryce Cartwright and Matt Gatens.

BROMMER RE-INJURES KNEE
Senior Andrew Brommer sprained his knee on Oct. 13 and missed four weeks of preseason practice and Iowa’s season opener against Chicago State. The center returned to practice and played six minutes in Iowa’s game against North Carolina A&T on Nov. 14 before reinjuring the knee. He did not dress in Iowa’s last two games versus Northern Illinois and Creighton. His availability for Wednesday’s contest against Campbell is questionable.

WHITE TABBED BIG TEN CO-FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Iowa freshmen Aaron White was named Big Ten co-Freshman of the Week after his performance in Iowa’s season opening victory over Chicago State (Nov. 11). White shared the weekly honor with Indiana’s Cody Zeller. White shined in his Hawkeye debut, leading all scorers and rebounders with 19 points and 10 rebounds in 18 minutes of action. The native of Strongsville, Ohio, shot 50 percent (6-of-12) from the field and sank all five free throw attempts. The 19 points are the most by an Iowa freshman in a season opener, equaling Dick Ives’ 19 scored against Nebraska in his debut on Dec. 10, 1943. Furthermore, White’s performance marked the first time a Hawkeye posted a double-double, in a season opener, since Dean Oliver had 10 points and 12 assists in a victory over Chicago State in 1997. It was the first time a Hawkeye freshman had a double-double, points and rebounds, since Jess Settles had 13 points and 11 rebounds versus Drake in 1993.

DISHING THE ROCK
Iowa has done an excellent job distributing the basketball so far this season. The Hawkeyes are averaging a Big Ten-best 19.5 assists. Iowa had 22 assists against Chicago State, 20 versus North Carolina A&T and 26 against Northern Illinois. The 26 dimes against the Huskies are the most by a Big Ten team this season and the most by a Hawkeye team since being credited with 26 versus in a 101-59 win over Georgia State on Dec. 20, 2006.

HAWKEYE FAST BREAKS
? Seven of Iowa’s first eight contests will be played at home, with the non-home game during the stretch being played on a neutral floor in Des Moines versus Creighton.
? Coach McCaffery has played at least 10 players in each of Iowa’s first four games. Also, Iowa’s bench averages 36.5 points its first four games.
? Iowa’s 61.9 percent (13-of-21) 3-point percentage and 26 assists against Northern Illinois are the best of any Big Ten team this season.
? Iowa had five players score 12 points or more in its win over North Carolina A&T on Nov. 14. It marked only the fourth time the Hawkeyes had five players tally 12 points or more in a game (UW-Green Bay in 2003, Michigan in 2004, SIU-Edwardsville in 2010 and North Carolina A&T in 2011).
? Matt Gatens is only three points from equaling Chad Calabria (1968-70) for 24th place on Iowa’s career scoring chart and seven points from tying John Johnson (1969-70) for 23rd.
? Iowa saw an increase in its attendance numbers in 2010-11. Compared to 2009-10, last year’s Hawkeyes averaged 2,085 more fans than the previous season, an increase of 20%. Iowa averaged 9,550 fans two years ago, compared to 11,635 last year.

WELCOME NEW HAWKEYES
Iowa has six new faces on the team this season: Gabriel Olaseni, Josh Oglesby, Aaron White, Stephen McCarty, Kyle Denning and Christopher Rickert. Olaseni, Oglesby and White are on scholarship, while Denning, McCarty and Rickert are walk-ons.

COACHING EXPERIENCE
Fran McCaffery has assembled one of the most experienced coaching staffs in the country. Assistant coaches Kirk Speraw, Sherman Dillard and Andrew Francis have over six decades of combined coaching experience. Furthermore, the entire coaching staff combines for 47 years of head coaching experience. Director of Basketball Operations Jerry Strom is in his 31st season as a member of the Iowa basketball staff. Also, former Hawkeye standout and professional basketball player Ryan Bowen is the video coordinator. Bowen was on four NBA rosters (Denver, Houston, New Orleans and Oklahoma City).

HAWKEYES ARE TOUGH AT HOME
Iowa has won 75 of its 105 games (.714) in Carver-Hawkeye Arena (15,500) over the last eight seasons, including win streaks of 21 straight overall and 12 straight Big Ten Conference wins. Iowa has won 10 of its last 20 home games against ranked opponents. Iowa was a perfect 17-0 at home in 2006, 14-2 in 2007, 10-8 in 2008, 13-4 in 2009, 9-9 in 2010 and 8-8 this season.

IOWA IN CARVER-HAWKEYE ARENA
Iowa has compiled a 351-111 (.760) record in Carver-Hawkeye Arena since the facility opened in January, 1983. Iowa is 162-89 (.645) in Big Ten games and 189-22 (.896) in non-Big Ten contests.

IOWA HISTORY
Iowa has played 2,629 games since beginning basketball in 1902. Iowa’s overall record is 1,580-1,049 (.601). That includes a 945-347 (.731) record in home games, a 545-712 (.434) record in contests away from Iowa City, a 703-718 (.495) mark in Big Ten games and a 351-111 (.760) record in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

HAWKEYEBASKETBALL.COM
Check out the Iowa basketball team’s new website, HawkeyeBasketball.com, devoted to everything on-and-off-the-court surrounding the program. HawkeyeBasketball.com, allows fans a chance to go behind the scenes with the Hawkeye basketball program on and off the court. The site is complete with exclusive videos, photo galleries and content featuring the basketball program. HawkeyeBasketball.com will be updated throughout the year with exclusive videos, including game highlights and player features, along with news stories and other content.

ALL-SESSION BIG TEN TOURNAMENT TICKETS ON SALE
All-session tickets for the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament are on sale. Tickets can be purchased at the Conseco Fieldhouse Box Office, Ticketmaster outlets, ticketmaster.com or by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. For more information regarding how to purchase tickets within Iowa’s block, contact the UI Athletic Ticket Office. Conseco Fieldhouse is the site of the men’s tournament from March 8-11, featuring 22 games over eight days. Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament all-session tickets for the lower and club levels are available for $325 through Big Ten university ticket offices only. All-session tickets for the upper levels are available for $240 or $175 (depending on seat location) through Ticketmaster or the Conseco Fieldhouse Box Office only. Orders will be limited to eight all-session tickets. In addition, the men’s tournament will continue to feature a special discounted rate of $50 for all-session tickets available only to students of Big Ten universities. All students must have a valid student ID for entry. Student section seating will be available in eight balcony sections and orders will be limited to one all-session ticket. Details on the student ticket program will be sent to the university ticket offices for distribution directly to students. The Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament will call Indianapolis and Conseco Fieldhouse home this March and again in 2014 and 2016. The 2012 tournament marks the eighth time Indianapolis has hosted the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament at Conseco Fieldhouse.

ON THE HORIZON
Iowa will return to the hardwood Saturday afternoon when it entertains IPFW at noon on Mediacom Court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.