Hawkeyes Host Brown Saturday

Dec. 1, 2011

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Iowa Game Notes

TIP-OFF
? Saturday will be the second ever meeting between Iowa and Brown. Iowa won the previous meeting 109-61 in 1988 at Iowa City.
? After playing seven of its first eight games at home, Saturday will be Iowa’s last home contest until it hosts Drake on Saturday, Dec. 17.
? Tickets for Saturday’s game are $12 for adults, $5 for youths and UI students.
? Saturday is “Camper Reunion Day”, where 2011 campers receive free admission. Youths will also be able to pick-up the second-of-four Hawkeye trading cards.
? Iowa has collected 10 steals or more in five of its seven games. The Hawkeyes are averaging 10.3 thefts per contest, which ranks 12th best in the country.
? Matt Gatens and Josh Oglesby have led the team in scoring a team-best three times.
? Iowa is 20-3 in games played on Dec. 3.
? Iowa is 6-0 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.
? Iowa has won its four contests by 10 points or more and by a combined margin of 29.5 points.

HAWKEYES FALL TO CLEMSON IN BIG TEN/ACC CHALLENGE
Only one Hawkeye reached double figure scoring in a 71-55 loss to Clemson Tuesday in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge in Iowa City. Freshman Josh Oglesby came off the bench to score 15 points for the Hawkeyes. Iowa was plagued by poor shooting, as the home team shot a season-low 29 percent (16-of-56) from the field. Conversely, Clemson shot 52 percent (28-of-54), including 11 of its 21 three-point attempts. The Tigers outscored the Hawkeyes 33-9 from beyond the arc. Iowa did find success at the free throw line, making 91 percent (20-of-22) of its attempts. It marked the first time since Feb. 25, 2009 that an Iowa team made at least 90 percent of its free throws (12-of-13, .923, at Michigan State). Iowa took care of the basketball, recording only 10 turnovers, while forcing 19 on defense. Tuesday was the fourth game this season in which the Hawkeyes had 10 turnovers or fewer.

IOWA, CLEMSON TIP-INS
? Iowa’s bench outscored its starters Tuesday. The reserves scored 29, led by Josh Oglesby’s 15, while the starting unit tallied 26.
? Clemson’s Andre Young led all scorers with 19 points. Tanner Smith posted game highs in rebounding (14) and assists (8).
? Iowa missed its first seven 3-point attempts before Josh Oglesby made the Hawkeyes’ first at the 9:56 mark of the second half.

BIG TEN/ACC CHALLENGE RESULTS
The Big Ten Conference won the Big Ten/ACC Challenge for the third straight year. Eight Big Ten teams collected wins: Indiana, Illinois, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State and Purdue. Clemson, North Carolina, Virginia and Wake Forest notched victories for the ACC.

BIG TEN RANKINGS
Iowa ranks first in the Big Ten in steals (10.3), second in turnover margin (+6.9), third in assists (15.7), and fourth in scoring (76.6) and free throw percentage (.741).

SCOUTING BROWN
? Jesse Agel is in his fourth year as a collegiate head coach, all at Brown. Agel, who is a 1984 graduate of Vermont, owns a 31-57 career record.
? Brown is a member of the Ivy League and is located in Providence, R.I. The Hawkeyes are 11-1 all-time against Ivy League schools: Cornell (3-0), Dartmouth (2-0), Harvard (1-0), Princeton (2-0), Brown (1-0) and Penn (2-1).
? Brown has posted four victories this season, dropping Johnson and Wales (86-66), Hartford (59-52), Monmouth (79-71) and Rhode Island (65-56).
? The largest crowd Brown has played in front of this season has been 1,772 fans, which was its last game at home against Rhode Island on Wednesday.
? Sophomore guard Sean McGonagill scored 19 points and junior guard Stephen Albrecht added 17 points to lead Brown to a 65-56 upset win over Rhode Island Wednesday, beating the Rams for the first time since 2001. Albrecht `s 17 came mostly behind the 3-point line, connecting on 5-of-10 treys. Bears’ forward Andrew McCarthy, posted a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds.
? Brown returns three starters from last year’s squad. Junior forward Tucker Halpern is the team’s top returnee, averaging 12.6 points and 4.5 rebounds, but has yet to play a game this season after being diagnosed with mononucleosis.
? Sean McGonagill averages a team-best 14.5 points and 5.6 assists, and also pulls down 4.4 boards per game. Stephen Albrecht averages 11.8 points per game, while Matt Sullivan averages 10.6.
? Brown has three starters from the state of Illinois on its roster: Tyler Ponticelli (Northbrook), Matt Sullivan (Wilmette) and Sean McGonagill (Brookfield).
? Coach McCaffery coached against Brown one previous time when he was head coach at Lehigh. Lehigh beat the Bears 102-92 on Jan. 7, 1988 in Bethlehem, Pa.

BALANCED SCORING
Iowa has eight players averaging seven points or more. Matt Gatens is first on the team (15.6), followed by Josh Oglesby (8.7), Eric May (8.6), Zach McCabe (8.3), Aaron White (7.3), Bryce Cartwright (7.1) and Roy Devyn Marble (7.0).

STEALING THE ROCK
Iowa is averaging 10.3 steals this season, collecting 10 steals or more in five of the seven games. Last season, the Hawkeyes averaged 6.7 thefts. The 10.3 steals are best in the Big Ten and rank 12th in the country.

HOT SHOT
Freshman Josh Oglesby led Iowa in scoring in three games: Northern Illinois (16) Creighton (14) and Clemson (15). Oglesby and Matt Gatens have led the team in scoring a team-best three times. 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 19-of-35 (.543) the last five outings.

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. Iowa has made 49 triples, 7.0 per game to rank seventh in the Big Ten.

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.

SINKING THE FREEBEES
Starters Matt Gatens (30-of-33), Melsahn Basabe (19-of-22) and Bryce Cartwright (14-of-14) are a combined 63-of-69 (.913) from the free throw line. Gatens was 8-of-9 from the charity stripe against IPFW and 6-of-7 versus Clemson. The senior ranks third in Big Ten career free throw percentage.

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.

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).

HAWKEYE FAST BREAKS
? Roy Devyn Marble has 19 assists to only four turnovers this season. His 4.75 assist/turnover ratio ranks 10th in the nation.
? Zach McCabe has collected two assists or more in each of the last two games.
? 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 seven games. Also, Iowa’s bench averages 34.1 points in its seven outings.
? 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’ 22 points versus IPFW propelled him past Bill Logan (1954-56), Dave Gunther (1957-59) and Kevin Boyle (1979-82) into 18th place on Iowa’s all-time scoring chart. The senior is 18 points from tying Kenyon Murray (1993-96) and 36 from Jeff Moe (1985-88). Gatens has 1,212 points entering Saturday’s contest against Brown.
? 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.

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.

HAWKEYES ARE TOUGH AT HOME
Iowa has won 76 of its 108 games (.704) 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 in 2011.

IOWA IN CARVER-HAWKEYE ARENA
Iowa has compiled a 351-113 (.757) record in Carver-Hawkeye Arena since the facility opened in January, 1983. Iowa is 162-89 (.645) in Big Ten games and 189-24 (.887) in non-Big Ten contests.

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.

IOWA HISTORY
Iowa has played 2,632 games since beginning basketball in 1902. Iowa’s overall record is 1,581-1,051 (.601). That includes a 946-349 (.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 352-113 (.757) 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.

“HAWK TALK WITH Fran McCaffery”
University of Iowa basketball fans may join Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery and radio announcer Gary Dolphin during the season for the “Hawk Talk with Fran McCaffery” radio call-in show. The show takes place at Carlos O’Kelly’s Mexican Cafe in Iowa City from 7-8:30 p.m. Fans can call in and ask the coach a question by calling 1-877-464-2957. The first show will take place this Monday, December 5.

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 begins a two-game in-state road trip Tuesday when it travels to Cedar Falls to play Northern Iowa (7 p.m.). The Hawkeyes will then visit Ames Friday and compete against Iowa State (7 p.m.).