Men’s Hoops to Play UNI in Des Moines

Dec. 11, 2012

• Download your Iowa Hawkeye iPad/iPhone app!
• Download your Iowa Hawkeye Android app!
• Big Ten Network: Free Hawkeye Video
• 24 Hawkeyes to Watch

Iowa Game Notes

THE SETTING
Iowa (7-2) will travel to Des Moines after final exams this week to participate in the inaugural Hy-Vee Big 4 Classic. The Hawkeyes will face the UNI Panthers (6-3) on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:31 p.m. (CT) at Wells Fargo Arena (14,606). Iowa State and Drake will play the doubleheader nightcap at approximately 4 p.m. (CT). Iowa and Iowa State will be the “home” teams this year and will be wearing their white uniforms. Tickets can be purchased at the Wells Fargo Box Office or online at dahlstickets.com. Prices are $25, $50 and $70, depending on the seat location. Tickets are good for both games.

Game 11 | UNI vs. Iowa (Hy-Vee Big 4 Classic)
Date	Saturday, Dec. 15 | 1:31 p.m. (CT)
Location	Des Moines, Iowa | Wells Fargo Arena
TV	BTN (BTN2GO)
Radio	Hawkeye Radio Network
Live Coverage	Live Stats | Twitter Game Updates
All-Time Series	Iowa leads, 33-9

HY-VEE BIG 4 CLASSIC QUICK HITS
? Iowa and UNI enter Saturday’s game each riding three-game win streaks.
? Iowa played at Wells Fargo Arena a year ago, falling to Creighton (82-59) on Nov. 20, 2011.
? The Hawkeyes will not leave the state of Iowa until Jan. 6 when they travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., to face nationally-ranked Michigan.
? PG Anthony Clemmons ranks 15th in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.8).
? Iowa’s first 10 games have been decided by eight points or more. Four of the Hawkeyes’ eight victories have come by a margin of 20 points or more.
? Roy Devyn Marble and Aaron White have scored in double figures in nine of 10 games.
? Aaron White leads the team in scoring (14.1), rebounding (6.5), and free throws made (55) and attempted (70).
? The Hawkeyes have attempted 20 or more free throws in seven of their 10 games, including attempting 39 (made 31) against Wichita State.
? Iowa is 13-2 when scoring 80 points or more, the last three seasons. The Hawkeyes are 19-0 when holding opponents to fewer than 60 points, the last three years.
? Iowa has won 12 of its last 13 home games, including all seven this season, dating back to Feb. 1.

ON THE AIR
Radio: All Iowa games are broadcast on the Hawkeye Radio Network. Gary Dolphin handles the play-by-play, along with color commentator Bob Hansen. The network includes more than 40 stations that blanket the state of Iowa and include portions of Illinois, Nebraska, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin. The Hawkeye Radio Network coverage includes a 60-minute pregame show.
Television: Saturday’s Iowa contest will be televised on BTN. Eric Collins and Shon Morris will call the action. The game is also available online, and on your mobile or tablet at BTN2GO.

HAWKEYE HOOPS HUDDLE
Iowa fans traveling to Des Moines for Saturday’s Hy-Vee Big 4 Classic should make plans to attend the “Hawkeye Huddle” before the game. The Hawkeye Huddle is presented by the National I-Club and the UI Alumni Association. The Huddle will be held from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at Hy-Vee Hall in the Iowa Events Center, located at 730 3rd Street in Des Moines. Admission to the Hawkeye Huddle is free and includes cash refreshments, snacks, door prizes, cheerleaders and Herky. Visit jointheiclub.com for additional information.

HAWKEYE DEFENSE IMPROVING
Last year, Iowa allowed opponents 72.5 points per contest. Through 10 games in 2012, Iowa is yielding 62.6 points. Iowa held Howard to 36 points on Nov. 15, which were the fewest points a Hawkeye team allowed since a 61-36 win over Bryant on Dec. 5, 2008.

HAWKEYES BEAT IN-STATE RIVAL IOWA STATE
? Iowa trailed by one (36-35) at halftime but started the second half on an 8-0 run and never looked back en route to an 80-71 triumph over in-state rival Iowa State on Dec. 7 on Mediacom Court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeye win snapped a three-game losing streak to the Cyclones.
? Iowa outscored Iowa State a combined 21-8 in the first five minutes of each half.
? Iowa State, who entered the game ranked sixth in the country in rebounding margin, was outrebounded by the Hawkeyes, 37-35. The Hawkeyes also outscored the Cyclones, 15-12 in second chance opportunities.
? The Hawkeyes made 15-of-18 from the free throw line. Freshman Mike Gesell made all four free throw-attempts in the final minute to help preserve the victory.
? Aaron White led the Hawkeyes with 18 points and seven rebounds.
? Freshman Anthony Clemmons had another stellar performance scoring a personal-best 14 points and dishing out eight assists, while committing only one turnover.
? Iowa held Iowa State’s leading scorer Will Clyburn (16.1 ppg) scoreless (0-of-5 FG).
? Iowa athletic teams beat Iowa State in four different competitions last week: wrestling, men’s and women’s basketball and women’s swimming and diving. The Hawkeyes now lead the annual Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series 10-9 with three events remaining (women’s gymnastics, softball and women’s tennis). The winning team is awarded two points for each remaining event.

HAWKEYE FASTBREAKS
? The Hawkeyes have played 10 players or more in nine of their 10 games. The only contest in which it did not play 10 players was Iowa State (nine players).
? Aaron White is attacking the rim, averaging a team-best 7.0 free-throw attempts per game. He is averaging 5.5 free-throw makes per outing. His 55 makes and 70 attempts are superior in the Big Ten, both ranking first by a wide margin.
? Iowa has made (183) more free throws than its opponents have attempted (176), which is a staple of Fran McCaffery-coached teams.
? Aaron White has scored a season-high 21 points in two of Iowa’s last four outings. White had 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting and 5-of-6 from the foul line at Virginia Tech. He had 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting (1-of-1 from distance) and 6-of-6 from the charity stripe versus South Dakota. The sophomore has reached the 20-point plateau four times in his career.
? The Hawkeyes have four players who have made 10 or more triples: Oglesby (15), Gesell (11), Marble (10), and McCabe (10).
? Iowa has three players with 33 assists or more: Anthony Clemmons (34), Roy Devyn Marble (33), and Mike Gesell (33).
? Iowa has had an attendance figure of 10,500 fans or greater at all seven home contests, including a season-high of 15,127 in its last outing against Iowa State.
? Iowa blocked 10 shots vs. UT-Pan American in its season opener, the most by an Iowa team since Nov. 14, 2005 (Md.-Eastern Shore).
? Roy Devyn Marble scored 15 of his season-high 22 points in the first half against Howard. It marked the third time in his career the junior reached the 20-point plateau.

CLEMMONS PROVIDING SPARK
Since Anthony Clemmons was first inserted into the Hawkeye starting lineup (Dec. 1), he has provided a spark. Last week, Clemmons averaged nine points, eight assists and had only one turnover. The native of Lansing, Mich., had a personal-best 14 points, including making two key buckets in the later stages of the second half, against Iowa State. Clemmons has registered 21 assists to only two turnovers in his three starts.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Iowa holds a 33-9 advantage in the series with UNI that began with a 51-9 Iowa win in 1906. The two teams have split the last 12 meetings. Each team has defended its home court in the last four meetings. Saturday will be the first-ever meeting on a neutral floor. The teams did not meet between 1917-1980. Iowa holds a 19-8 advantage since the series resumed.

LAST MEETING
UNI went on a 21-2 surge during a six-minute span midway through the second half to propel the Panthers to an 80-60 victory over the Hawkeyes last year in Cedar Falls. Fifteen of the 21 points were scored at the foul line. Iowa raced out to a 10-0 advantage, making its first five field goal attempts. UNI chipped away at the Hawkeyes’ early lead and finished the first half on a 7-2 run to take a five-point advantage (32-27) into halftime. Roy Devyn Marble and Eric May led Iowa offensively, scoring 14 and 10 points, respectively. Marble scored 14 and dished out four assists. UNI converted 29-of-33 (.879) free throws, including 23-of-24 (.958) in the second half. Iowa was 3-of-9 (.333) from the foul line.

UNI COACH BEN JACOBSON
Ben Jacobson is in his seventh season as the UNI head coach. It is Jacobson’s first head coaching position at the college level. Jacobson led the Panthers to four-straight postseason tournaments (NCAA Tournament in 2009 and 2010, CIT in 2011 and NIT in 2012). UNI’s NIT appearance a year ago was its first ever in that tournament. In 2010, UNI posted a 32-8 record, won the Missouri Valley Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16, registering victories over UNLV and top-seeded Kansas. Jacobson’s career record stands at 135-74 (.646). With Jacobson serving as UNI’s top assistant from 2001-06, the Panthers won 20 or more games and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in three straight seasons. Jacobson has 12 years of experience as a college assistant, serving one season at North Dakota State before moving to UNI. He was an assistant at North Dakota (1996-2000) after serving as both a student assistant and graduate assistant on the North Dakota staff. Jacobson was a two-year starter and four-year letterman at North Dakota, concluding his career as UND’s career assist leader.

SCOUTING UNI
? UNI will be gunning for its first four-game win streak of the season on Saturday. The Panthers have won their last three contests (Milwaukee, Northern Colorado and George Mason) after losing three games in the Bahamas (Louisville, Stanford and Memphis).
? The Panthers have won two games in overtime: Toledo and George Mason. UNI beat Toledo, 84-81, in Cedar Falls on Nov. 14 and at George Mason, 82-77, on Dec. 8.
? UNI has two players average in double figures: Deon Mitchell (12.5) and Marc Sonnen (10.0). Jake Koch leads the team in rebounding (6.3).
? The Panthers rank 12th in the country in free throw percentage (.774) and 16th in fewest fouls per game (14.2).
? Marc Sonnen and Matt Bohannon are the the team’s top 3-point threats, sinking 25 and 15 triples, respectively. Sonnen, who has made at least one 3-pointer in 19-straight games, made seven of his team-leading 25 treys at George Mason (7-of-10). The seven 3-pointers were one shy of a school single-game record.
? UNI snapped George Mason’s 14-game home win streak with an 82-77 overtime win on Dec. 8. Seniors Marc Sonnen and Anthony James combined to score 40 points.
? The Panthers made all eight free throws in the overtime session at George Mason.

HAWKEYE AVERAGES VERSUS UNI
Eric May averages nine points and 3.3 rebounds in three games against UNI. Melsahn Basabe averages 11 points and 6.5 rebounds in two games, while Roy Devyn Marble averages eight points in two contests.

WHITE HOT
Aaron White has been white-hot the last four games. During that stretch he is averaging 16.5 points, shooting 58.5 percent from the floor (24-of-41) and 90 percent from the foul line (17-of-19), and grabbing 6.5 rebounds.

THIS TIME LAST YEAR…
Iowa’s RPI was ranked 194 on Dec. 9, 2011. A year later, the Hawkeyes are ranked 73 in the RPI after starting their season 8-2.

BASABE, MAY, OGLESBY LEADING HAWKEYE RESERVES
Junior Melsahn Basabe, sophomore Josh Oglesby, and senior Eric May have been Iowa’s leaders off the bench. Basabe is averaging 8.1 points and 4.7 rebounds. He also has rejected a team-best 15 shots, blocking four shots in two games (Central Michigan and Western Kentucky). May is averaging 4.6 points and 3.7 rebounds. His scoring numbers have been aided by his ability to attack the basket and get to the free throw line in the early stages of the season. May is 18-of-23 (.783) from the charity stripe through 10 games. Last season, May was 15-of-24 (.610) from the foul line in 33 contests. Fifteen of Oglesby’s 18 field goals have come from beyond the arc. The sophomore averages 5.8 points in the early stages of the season.

BLOCK PARTY
Last season, Iowa amassed 199 blocks in 35 games (3.4 per game). So far this season, the Hawkeyes have been credited with 51 rejections (5.1 per contest), which rank second in the conference. Melsahn Basabe leads the team with 15 blocked shots, freshman center Adam Woodbury has 11, while sophomore Gabriel Olaseni has eight.

NUMBER OF THE WEEK — 3
Iowa started three freshmen in its last two outings: Anthony Clemmons, Mike Gesell and Adam Woodbury. The last time the Hawkeyes started three rookies (Aaron Fuller, Matt Gatens and Anthony Tucker) was on Dec. 2, 2008 at Boston College.

IOWA POSTS LARGEST COMEBACK IN SCHOOL HISTORY
Iowa trailed Gardner-Webb by 23 points (38-15) with 13 seconds left in the first half on Nov. 17 in Iowa City. Sophomore Josh Oglesby drained three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point attempt with one second remaining in the half to cut the deficit to 20 (38-18) at halftime. The Hawkeyes rallied in the second half and ultimately won by nine points (65-56), which is a 32-point swing. The comeback is believed to be the largest in school history. The last team in the country to overcome a 20+ halftime deficit was Harvard, which trailed Brown by 22 points (53-31) and won 85-78 on Feb. 12, 2011. The last Big Ten team to overcome a 20+ halftime deficit was Illinois, which trailed at Clemson by 20 points (47-27) and won 76-74 on Dec. 2, 2009.

WELCOME FRESHMEN
Iowa welcomes five newcomers to the fold for 2012-13. The newest Hawkeyes include guards Anthony Clemmons, Pat Ingram and Mike Gesell; forward Kyle Meyer and center Adam Woodbury. The class ranks 25th in the nation by ESPN.com.

HAWKEYES SPLIT AT CANCUN CHALLENGE
Iowa split its two games at the Cancun Challenge. The Hawkeyes beat Western Kentucky 63-55 in the semifinals, but fell to Wichita State 75-63 in the championship. Aaron White and Roy Devyn Marble were named to the all-tournament team. The Hawkeyes had three players score 21 points each in the two games (10.5 avg.): Eric May, Mike Gesell and Marble. White tied the Cancun Challenge record for most free throws made in the four tournament games with 28. White tied Ryan Thompson of Rider (2009). Iowa won preliminary round games against Howard and Gardner-Webb in Iowa City.

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 48 years of head coaching experience. Director of Basketball Operations Jerry Strom is in his 32nd season as a member of the Iowa basketball staff. Additionally, Iowa’s video coordinator, Al Seibert, has 18 years of collegiate coaching experience.

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 and game highlights, 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 for the “Hawk Talk with Fran McCaffery” radio call-in show. The next show will take place Monday (Dec. 17) 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.

ON THE HORIZON
Iowa will return to Iowa City to close out non-conference action with a pair of home games. The Hawkeyes will host South Carolina State on Dec. 19 (8 p.m.) and Coppin State three days later on Dec. 22 (Noon). Both games will be televised on BTN.