Men's Hoops Open B1G Play Against Indiana

Dec. 28, 2012

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Iowa Game Notes

THE SETTING
Iowa (11-2), who has won six-straight games, opens Big Ten competition on Monday when it hosts nationally-ranked Indiana (11-1). Tip-off is set for 3:05 p.m. (CT) on Mediacom Court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The game is sold out; Iowa’s first sellout of the year.

NEW YEAR’S EVE PROMOTIONS
? “Blackout Carver” — Fans are encouraged to wear black clothing.
? Free Black and Gold beads will be distributed to the first 5,000 fans.

BIG TEN OPENER QUICK HITS
? Iowa has won six straight games and has its best start since the 2004-05 season. The Hawkeyes will be gunning for their first seven-game win streak since December 2004.
? Iowa has three players average in double digits the last three games: Roy Devyn Marble (22.7), Mike Gesell (12.3) and Aaron White (12.0).
? Monday will be Iowa’s first game against a nationally-ranked opponent this season.
? Aaron White leads the team in rebounding (6.5), free throws made (67) and attempted (87), and ranks second in scoring (13.6).
? Iowa ranks fourth in the country in free throw makes (18.8) and sixth in attempts (26.4). The Hoosiers rank first in the nation in free throw makes (20.7) and attempts (27.3).
? Monday will feature three of the league’s top freshmen guards: Indiana’s Kevin Ferrell, and Iowa’s Mike Gesell and Anthony Clemmons. Ferrell ranks first among Big Ten rookies in assists (5.1), followed by Clemmons (3.8) and Gesell (3.4).
? Iowa is 16-2 when scoring 80 points or more, the last three seasons. The Hawkeyes are 21-0 when holding opponents to fewer than 60 points, the last three years.
? Anthony Clemmons’ 3.1 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks second in the country among freshmen.

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. Dial Global Sports affiliates across the country will also cover the game, as well as Sirius (123) and XM Radio (190).
Television: Monday’s game will be televised on ESPN2. Jim Barbar and Dan Dakich will call the action. The game is also available online, and on your phone or tablet at WatchESPN.

HAWKEYES CRUISE TO 80-50 WIN OVER COPPIN STATE
? Iowa’s 50 points in the paint equaled Coppin State’s overall point total of 50.
? Aaron White netted a game-high 20 points in only 21 minutes of action. White had six dunks. The sophomore reached the 20-point plateau for the third time this season and fifth time in his career.
? The Hawkeyes pulled down 54 rebounds. Iowa has grabbed 110 rebounds (55.0) the last two outings.
? Anthony Clemmons dished out a career-high nine assists and led the team in steals (3) in only 21 minutes of action.
? Gabriel Olaseni netted a career-high 14 points (6-8 FG, 2-2 FT) and snagged seven rebounds.
? Coppin State failed to have a player reach double figures in scoring.
? Iowa outscored the Eagles 18-3 at the foul line.
? Twelve of Iowa’s 14 players who played netted at least one point.
? Iowa’s bench contributed 28 points. Hawkeye reserves average 26.4 points per game this season.

HAWKEYE FASTBREAKS
? Saturday will be Iowa’s sixth home game in seven outings, with the other game being played on a neutral court in Des Moines.
? Iowa scored exactly 1,000 points in the nonconference.
? Iowa’s last contest was on Dec. 22 (vs. South Carolina State); the Hawkeyes will have had eight days between its last game and the Big Ten opener on Monday.
? Iowa’s RPI entering Big Ten play a year ago was 157. A year later, the Hawkeyes are ranked 66 in the RPI after starting their season 11-2.
? Iowa has posted 80 points or more in each of its last four contests, including scoring 80 in three of the four.
? Iowa has made 28-of-74 (.378) 3-pointers in four games away from home, while the Hawkeyes are 50-of-172 (.291) from long distance at home.
? The Hawkeyes have played 10 players or more in 12 of their 13 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).
? Mike Gesell is one of nine freshmen in the nation averaging 9+ points, 3+ rebounds & 3+ assists.
? Iowa has made (244) more free throws than its opponents have attempted (207), 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: Anthony Clemmons (ninth), Mike Gesell (12th), and Roy Devyn Marble (15th).
? After draining 11 or more 3-pointers against UNI (12) and South Carolina State (11), Iowa failed to drain a triple in 17 tries in its last game versus Coppin State. It marked the first time since March 2, 2011 that the Hawkeyes failed to make at least one trey.
? Iowa has had an attendance figure of 10,500 fans or greater at all nine home contests, including a season-high of 15,127 against Iowa State on Dec. 7.
? 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 six 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.

HOME COOKIN’
Iowa has won 14 of its last 15 home games, including all nine this season, dating back to Feb. 1, 2012. Iowa is one of six Big Ten teams undefeated at home this season. The Hawkeyes have won 10 straight at home, dating back to last March’s win over Dayton in the NIT, an active streak that ranks in the top 20 in the country.

IOWA VS. RANKED TEAMS
Monday will be Iowa’s first game of the 2012-13 season against a ranked opponent. The Hawkeyes collected four wins over top-25 competition a year ago. Iowa has won 10 of its last 20 home games against ranked opponents.

HEATING UP
Roy Devyn Marble’s game has soared as of late, rising to sixth in Big Ten scoring (15.7 ppg) after 13 games. He has scored in double digits in all but one game this year. In Iowa’s last three games, the junior has averaged 22.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.7 assists. During the three-game stretch, Marble is shooting 50 percent from the field (18-of-26), including 48 percent from 3-point range (10-of-21). He drained a season-best 6-of-8 from 3-point range against South Carolina State on Dec. 19.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Indiana holds a 95-74 advantage in the series that began with an 18-12 Hoosier win in 1909. Iowa has won 11 of the last 16 meetings. The two teams split last year’s two meetings, with each team winning on its home court. Iowa leads 44-39 in games played at Iowa City, holding a 19-9 advantage in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa has won seven of the last eight, including the last four, in Iowa City. The two teams have met twice at neutral sites (the Big Ten Tournament), with Iowa winning both, once in Chicago (2001) and once in Indianapolis (2002).

SCOUTING INDIANA
? Monday will be the second game in four days for Indiana after hosting Jacksonville on Friday night in Bloomington.
? Monday will be Indiana’s first true road game of the season. The Hoosiers are 2-1 in neutral site contests and 9-0 at home.
? Indiana is 1-1 in overtime games this season, beating Georgetown but falling to Butler. Iowa has yet to play an overtime contest this year.
? The Hoosiers rank first in the country in scoring (89.1), scoring margin (29.8), second in field goal percentage (.521), fourth in rebounding margin (13.2) and 3-point field goal percentage (.419), 12th in assists (17.3); and 15th in field goal percentage defense (.361). Individually, Victor Oladipo ranks third nationally in field goal percentage (.670) and 18th in steals (2.6). Jordan Hulls ranks fifth in 3-point accuracy (.526) and 13th in assist/turnover ratio (3.36), while Cody Zeller ranks 13th in field goal percentage (.626).
? Indiana has five players average double figures in scoring: Cody Zeller (16.4), Victor Oladipo (13.5), Christian Watford (12.8), Will Sheehey (12.3), and Jordan Hulls (11.1).
? The Hoosiers won their last game, 88-52, over Florida Atlantic on Dec. 21. Cody Zeller paced Indiana with 24 points and six rebounds. The Hoosiers were 26-of-27 (.963) from the free throw line, the best percentage by a conference team this season.
? The Hoosiers have topped 90 points five times, including reaching the 100-point plateau twice. Indiana’s 101 points against Ball State (Nov. 25) is the most points scored by any Big Ten team this season.
? Indiana assistant Tim Buckley was an assistant coach at the University of Iowa during the 2006-07 season when the Hawkeyes posted a 17-14 overall record.

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.

IOWA BEAT INDIANA IN LAST MEETING
Iowa senior Matt Gatens scored 22 of his 30 points in the second half to lift Iowa to a 78-66 victory over No. 18/20 Indiana on Feb. 19, 2012 in Iowa City. Gatens made seven 3-pointers, sinking seven in a row — his last attempt of the first half and all six in the final 20 minutes. The seven triples ties as the sixth-most in a single-game at Iowa. Melsahn Basabe provided a spark off the bench, scoring 13 points, grabbing seven rebounds and blocking a season-high five shots. Roy Devyn Marble netted 10 points, snagged seven rebounds, and posted game bests in assists (seven) and steals (four). Josh Oglesby contributed 11 points; he had two games in double figures against Indiana a year ago (scored a career-high 24 points at Indiana). After yielding 103 points to Indiana in Bloomington on Jan. 29, the Hawkeyes held the Hoosiers to 66 points in Iowa City and forced 14 turnovers.

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 69 rejections (5.3 per contest), which rank second in the conference. Melsahn Basabe and Grabriel Olseni lead the team with 18 blocked shots, while freshman Adam Woodbury has 11. Olaseni, who ranks third in Big Ten blocks (1.5), swatted a career-high four shots in Iowa’s win over South Carolina State. He is the highest ranked player in the Big Ten who is not a starter.

`TIS THE SEASON FOR GIVING
Iowa has done an outstanding job sharing the basketball this season. The Hawkeyes have assisted on 64.9 percent of its field goal makes (220 assists on 339 field goals), a rate that is 14th best in the country. Iowa has assisted on 70 percent of its field goal makes the last six games (124 assists on 176 made field goals) and 73 percent the last three contests (61 assists on 83 field goals).

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).

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 7.5 points and 4.4 rebounds. He also has rejected a team-best 16 shots, blocking four shots in two games (Central Michigan and Western Kentucky). May is averaging 4.4 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists. He dished out a career-high seven assists in Iowa’s win over UNI on Dec. 15. 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 12 games. Last season, May was 15-of-24 (.610) from the foul line in 33 contests. Seventeen of Oglesby’s 20 field goals have come from beyond the arc (80 percent of his scoring). The sophomore averages 5.8 points in the early stages of the season. Oglesby has made two or more triples in five of the last six outings played. He missed Wednesday’s game against South Carolina State due to injury.

HAWKEYE DEFENSE IMPROVING
Last year, Iowa allowed opponents 72.5 points per contest. Through 13 games in 2012, Iowa is yielding 61.2 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.

IN NATIONAL STATISTICS…
Iowa ranks 17th in the country in assists (16.9), 26th in blocked shots (5.3); 22nd in 3-point field goal percentage defense (27.8); and 27th in rebounding margin (8.0). Individually, Anthony Clemmons ranks 27th in assist/turnover ratio (3.1).

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.

IOWA HISTORY
Iowa has played 2,672 games since beginning basketball in 1902. Iowa’s overall record is 1,606-1,066 (.601). That includes a 965-353 (.732) record in home games, a 551-723 (.433) record in contests away from Iowa City, a 711-728 (.494) mark in Big Ten games and a 371-117 (.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 and game highlights, along with news stories and other content.

20-YEAR ANNIVERSARY
January 19, 2012 will mark the 20-year anniversary of the death of former Hawkeye Chris Street. Iowa will host Wisconsin at 7 p.m. that day. Street was killed in an auto accident in Iowa City on Jan. 19, 1993, 15 games into his junior season.

HAWKEYES ARE TOUGH AT HOME
Iowa has won 95 of its 131 games (.725) in Carver-Hawkeye Arena (15,500) over the last nine 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, 8-8 in 2011 and 13-6 in 2012.

J. STREIF ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT
John Streif, a member of the University of Iowa athletic department since 1972, has announced his retirement. Streif served as assistant athletic trainer for 40 years and added the position of travel coordinator in 1980. He has also served as a member of Iowa’s Athlete Assistance Program. “John has served the UI athletic department in a professional manner throughout his career, and to many he is the face of Iowa athletics,” said Gary Barta, the UI’s director of athletics. “John’s service and dedication to our student-athletes, coaches and staff members is second to none. He has touched the lives of so many people, within the University of Iowa, the Big Ten Conference and college athletics. We congratulate John on his retirement and wish him nothing but the best, while knowing he will never be replaced.” A native of Manchester, Iowa, Streif joined the Iowa staff after serving as assistant athletic trainer at West Point Military Academy from 1970-72. Streif also served three summers as assistant athletic trainer at the Detroit Lions pre season camps. “To think that I came to Iowa as a student in 1966, and have been a part of this department for so long, it’s been a great experience,” said Streif. “I feel so fortunate to have been involved with the University of Iowa and this department. It has been an honor and a privilege, and I am grateful to so many individuals, student-athletes and fans, who I have been able to work with throughout the years. They have impacted my life.”

“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 Wednesday (Jan. 2) 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 have five days off before its next game. The Hawkeyes will play its second consecutive top-ten opponent on Sunday, Jan. 6, when they travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., to play Michigan. Tip-off is set for 11 a.m. (CT) at Crisler Arena.