Men's Hoops Close Out Nonconference vs Coppin St

Dec. 20, 2012

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Iowa Game Notes

THE SETTING
Iowa (9-2), who has won five-straight games, remains home to host Coppin State (3-9) on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 12:06 p.m. (CT) on Mediacom Court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Tickets are $14 for adults, and $5 for youth and UI students. Saturday is “UI Dance Marathon Day” — $10 tickets are available for all UI Dance Marathon family members.

GAME #13 QUICK HITS
? Iowa has won five straight games and has its best start since the 2004-05 season. The Hawkeyes will be gunning for their first six-game win streak since December 2004.
? Roy Devyn Marble has averaged 28.5 points over the last two games, bolstered by 10-of-17 shooting from long distance (58.8 percent).
? Iowa has three players average in double digits the last three games: Roy Devyn Marble (21.0), Mike Gesell (13.0) and Aaron White (11.3). White also averages 7.7 boards the last three games.
? Iowa’s first 12 games have been decided by seven points or more. Five of the Hawkeyes’ 10 victories have come by a margin of 20 points or more.
? Aaron White leads the team in rebounding (6.8), and free throws made (61) and attempted (80), and ranks second in scoring (13.1).
? Iowa ranks sixth in the country in free throw makes (18.8) and 14th in attempts (26.0).
? Iowa is 15-2 when scoring 80 points or more, the last three seasons. The Hawkeyes are 20-0 when holding opponents to fewer than 60 points, the last three years.
? Iowa has won 13 of its last 14 home games, including all eight this season, dating back to Feb. 1.
? Anthony Clemmons’ 3.1 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks second in the country among freshmen.

HAWKEYES ROUT SOUTH CAROLINA STATE
? Iowa held South Carolina State to 46 points, which is the third fewest output by a Hawkeye opponent under Fran McCaffery.
? Junior Roy Devyn Marble poured in 27 points, bolstered by 6-of-8 shooting from behind the arc, in only 22 minutes of action in a 90-46 victory over South Carolina State.
? Iowa outscored the Bulldogs 17-5 at the free throw line and drained 11 triples compared to only five for the visitors. The 11 treys are the third most by a Hawkeye team under Fran McCaffery.
? Sophomore Gabriel Olaseni posted career bests in rebounds (10) and blocks (4). He also made all four free-throw attempts to improve to a perfect 12-of-12 for the season.
? The backcourt duo of Mike Gesell and Anthony Clemmons combined for 14 assists and only three turnovers. Gesell also had personal bests in rebounds (6) and steals (3).
? Twelve of Iowa’s 13 players who saw action scored two points or more.
? The Hawkeyes grabbed a season-high 56 rebounds. The 56 boards equal the most by an Iowa team under Fran McCaffery (Brown on Dec. 3, 2011).
? Sophomore Josh Oglesby did not see action due to injury. It is hopeful he will return on Saturday.
? Sophomore walk-on Kyle Kenning registered career bests in scoring (6) and assists (2).
? Iowa’s bench contributed 39 points, which is the second highest output this season (44 against A&M-Corpus Christi). Iowa’s reserves average 26.3 points per game this year.

HAWKEYE FASTBREAKS
? Saturday will be Iowa’s fifth home game in six outings, with the other game being played on a neutral court in Des Moines.
? Iowa’s RPI was ranked 174 on Dec. 16, 2011. A year later, the Hawkeyes are ranked 62 in the RPI after starting their season 10-2.
? Iowa has posted 80 points or more in each of its last three contests (83.3 avg.).
? The Hawkeyes have played 10 players or more in 11 of their 12 games. The only contest in which it did not play 10 players was Iowa State (nine players). Iowa has nine players who average 16 minutes or more of action.
? Freshman guards Mike Gesell and Anthony Clemmons have combined to post eight assists to one or fewer turnovers three times. Gesell against South Carolina State (8:1), and Clemmons vs. South Dakota (8:0) and Iowa State (8:1).
? Iowa has made (226) more free throws than its opponents have attempted (201), which is a staple of Fran McCaffery-coached teams.
? The Hawkeyes have four players who have made 10 or more triples: Marble (20), Oglesby (17), Gesell (15), and McCabe (12).
? Iowa is the only team with three players ranked in the Big Ten top 15 in assists: Mike Gesell (43), Anthony Clemmons (40), and Roy Devyn Marble (36).
? The Hawkeyes have drained 11 or more 3-pointers in their last two games, making 12 against UNI and 11 versus South Carolina State.
? Iowa has had an attendance figure of 10,500 fans or greater at all eight home contests, including a season-high of 15,127 against Iowa State on Dec. 7.
? 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).
? Iowa’s 12 triples vs. UNI are the second most by a Fran McCaffery-coached Iowa team. Roy Devyn Marble’s 30 points and 14 free throws made rank third and first, respectively, the last three seasons under Fran McCaffery.
? Iowa started three freshmen in its last five 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.

HEATING UP
Roy Devyn Marble’s game has soared as of late, rising to fourth in Big Ten scoring (16.1 ppg) after 12 games. He has scored in double digits in all but one game this year. In Iowa’s last three games, the junior has averaged 21 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and one steal. The last two outings, he scored a combined 57 points (28.5 avg.), bolstered by 10-of-17 (.588) shooting from long distance. He drained a season-best 6-of-8 from 3-point range on Wednesday against South Carolina State.

`TIS THE SEASON FOR GIVING
Iowa has done an outstanding job sharing the basketball this season. The Hawkeyes have assisted on 64.6 percent of its field goal makes (199 assists on 308 field goals), a rate that is 14th best in the country. Iowa has assisted on 71 percent of its field goal makes the last five games (103 assists on 145 made field goals). The Hawkeyes assisted on 85.7 percent of their field goals versus UNI (18 assists on 21 field goals) and 71 percent against South Carolina State (22 assists on 31 field goals).

ALL-TIME SERIES
Iowa is 2-0 all-time against Coppin State; beating the Eagles 87-73 on Dec. 23, 1998 and 83-67 on Dec. 2, 2006. Both games were played in Iowa City. Coppin State is a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). The Hawkeyes are 12-0 all-time against current teams from that conference, including beating Howard (66-36) and South Carolina State (90-46) earlier this season.

SCOUTING COPPIN STATE
? Saturday will be the fifth contest of a seven-game road trip for Coppin State. The Eagles won Wednesday night at Towson, 64-61. After Saturday, Coppin State will visit Arizona State and Akron.
? The Eagles enter Saturday’s winners of two of their last three games, beating UMBC (80-61) and Towson (64-61), but falling to Wagner in overtime (77-65).
? Junior Michael Murray averages a double-double (13.5 points and 10.7 rebounds). Murray ranks second in the country in double-doubles (nine).
? Three Eagles scored in double figures in their 3-point win at Towson on Wednesday: Patrick Cole (16), Michael Murray (15), and Andre Armstrong (14).
? Coppin State ranks 18th in the country in steals (9.8). Troy Franklin ranks 15th nationally in thefts (2.6).
? Coppin State freshman Zach Burnham hails from Davenport, Iowa (Central HS).
? The Eagles played at then-No. 1 Indiana on Dec. 1, falling 87-51.
? Coppin State is 2-7 in games away from home this year (0-2 on neutral courts).

CLEMMONS PROVIDING SPARK
Since Anthony Clemmons was first inserted into the Hawkeye starting lineup (Dec. 1), he has provided a spark. 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 27 assists to only six turnovers (4.5 ratio) in his four starts. Clemmons’ 3.1 assist-to-turnover ratio this year ranks 26th nationally and second-best among freshmen (James Robinson, Pittsburgh).

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 64 rejections (5.3 per contest), which rank second in the conference. Melsahn Basabe leads the team with 17 blocked shots, sophomore Gabriel Olaseni has 16, while freshman Adam Woodbury has 11. Olaseni, who ranks fifth in Big Ten blocks (1.5), swatted a career-high four shots in Iowa’s win over South Carolina State.

NUMBER OF THE WEEK — 6
Gabriel Olaseni has given the Hawkeyes a spark off the bench. The sophomore center averages six points and six rebounds in his last four games played. He also has blocked an average of 2.8 blocks during that span, rejecting two or more in all four contests.

ON THE HORIZON
The Hawkeyes will open Big Ten play on New Year’s Eve Day (Dec. 31) against nationally-ranked Indiana. Tip-off is set for 3 pm.. (CT) on Mediacom Court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.