Men's Hoops to Host No. 18 Michigan State Thursday

Jan. 8, 2013

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Iowa Game Notes

THE SETTING
Iowa (11-4, 0-2) returns home to entertain No. 18 Michigan State (12-3, 1-1) Thursday night. Thursday’s game will be Iowa’s third consecutive contest against a ranked opponent. Tip-off is set for 6:02 p.m. (CT) on Mediacom Court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Tickets are $22 for adults and $10 for youth and UI students.

THURSDAY PROMOTIONS
? “Dollar Dog Night” — purchase hot dogs for only $1
? “Whiteout Carver” — fans are encouraged to wear white clothing
? Free rally towels will be distributed to the first 5,000 fans

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. Fans can also listen to the broadcast on satellite radio: Sirius (91) and XM Radio (91).
Television: Thursday night’s game will be televised on ESPN2. Joe Tessitore and Sean Farnham will call the action.

GAME #16 QUICK HITTERS
? Thursday marks the second straight season that Iowa will face nationally-ranked teams in back-to-back-back contests. Last year, Iowa faced sixth-ranked Ohio State on Jan. 7, sixth-ranked Michigan State on Jan. 10, and No. 13 Michigan on Jan. 14.
? Iowa has two Michigan natives on its roster: Roy Devyn Marble (Southfield) and Anthony Clemmons (Lansing). Thursday will be Iowa’s only regular season game against Michigan State this season. Iowa only plays Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and Illinois once in 2013.
? Aaron White leads the team in rebounding (6.1), free throws made (69) and attempted (92), and ranks second in scoring (13.2).
? Iowa ranks eighth in the country in free throw makes (18.0) and 12th in attempts (25.3).
? 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.
? Iowa’s underclassmen accounts for 58 percent of Iowa’s scoring. The three rookie starters account for 27 percent of the team’s scoring and 46 percent of its assists.
? Iowa’s Anthony Clemmons and Michigan State’s Keith Appling are tied for second in Big Ten assists with 13 after two games.

HAWKEYES DROP SECOND-STRAIGHT GAME TO RANKED FOE
? No. 2 Michigan used an 8-0 scoring surge at the end of the first half to build a double-digit advantage an ultimately beat Iowa 95-67 in Ann Arbor on Sunday.
? Freshman Anthony Clemmons scored in double figures for the second time this season, netting 12 points to go along with a team-best seven assists.
? Junior Roy Devyn Marble led Iowa in scoring with 14 points. Marble has reached double digit scoring 13 times this year.
? Iowa had a season-low seven turnovers, the third fewest in the Fran McCaffery era.
? After struggling from 3-point range the last two home games (3-of-34, .089), the Hawkeyes found their stroke at Michigan, sinking 7-of-20 (.350).
? Iowa’s reserves scored 21 points, marking the 10th time this season bench players combined to score 20 points or more. Gabriel Olaseni led the Hawkeye reserves with eight points.
? Freshman Adam Woodbury netted eight points and cleared a team-high seven boards.

HAWKEYE FASTBREAKS
? Iowa has won 14 of its last 16 home games, including nine of 10 this season, dating back to Feb. 1, 2012.
? Iowa’s first two Big Ten opponents (Indiana and Michigan) are a combined 29-1 entering this week’s action. The Hawkeyes’ first three opponents (Indiana, Michigan and Michigan State) boast a 41-4 mark.
? Thursday will be only Iowa’s third game in 20 days.
? Iowa has Sunday road games four of the first five weekends of conference play.
? Iowa has made 35-of-94 (.372) 3-pointers in five games away from home, while the Hawkeyes are 53-of-189 (.280) from long range at home.
? Roy Devyn Marble is 15-of-16 (.938) from the foul line after two Big Ten games. He leads the league in both statistical categories after two league contests.
? The Hawkeyes have played 10 players or more in 14 of their 15 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.
? Three of Iowa’s first four Big Ten games are on an ESPN network.
? Freshman Adam Woodbury averaged a team-best 7.5 rebounds the last four games.
? 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 (270) more free throws than its opponents have attempted (244), which is a staple of Fran McCaffery-coached teams.
? The Hawkeyes have four players who have made 12 or more triples: Marble (23), Oglesby (19), Gesell (17), and McCabe (12).
? Iowa has had an attendance figure of 10,500 fans or greater in all 10 home contests, including a sellout of 15,400 against Indiana on Dec. 31.
? 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 eight 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.
? Gabriel Olaseni is averaging 6.7 points and 4.7 rebounds in his last seven games played. Additionally, he blocked at least one shot in six of those seven contests.

IOWA VS. RANKED TEAMS
Thursday will be Iowa’s third game of the 2012-13 season against a ranked opponent. The Hawkeyes fell 69-65 on Dec. 31 to fifth-ranked Indiana in Iowa City, and No. 2 Michigan (95-67) on Jan. 6 in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Hawkeyes collected four wins over top-25 competition a year ago. Iowa has won 10 of its last 21 home games against ranked opponents.

HEATING UP
Roy Devyn Marble’s game has soared as of late, rising to sixth in Big Ten scoring (15.5 ppg) after 15 games. He has scored in double digits in all but one game this year. In Iowa’s last five games, the junior has averaged 19.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.6 assists. During the five-game stretch, Marble is shooting 82 percent from the free throw line (37-of-45) and 42 percent from long distance (13-of-31).

ALL-TIME SERIES
Michigan State holds a 66-53 advantage over Iowa in the series that began with a 52-37 Michigan State win in 1938. Iowa and Michigan State played twice last year, with the Spartans winning twice. Michigan State won on its home court and in Indianapolis at the Big Ten Tournament. The two teams did not play in Iowa City a year ago. Michigan State has won nine of the last 10 meetings, with seven of the 10 meetings coming in either East Lansing or Indianapolis. The Hawkeyes’ lone victory during that span was a 72-52 win on Feb. 2, 2011, in Iowa City, which was Michigan State’s last visit to Iowa City. Iowa holds a 34-21 advantage in games played in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes have won six of the last nine in Iowa City. Overall, Iowa has a 14-12 advantage in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Michigan State, in 1983, won the first basketball game ever played in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Michigan State’s 12 wins in the facility tie Michigan and Purdue for the most by any Iowa opponent. The teams have met four times at neutral sites. Along with Iowa’s wins in the 2005 and 2006 Big Ten tournaments, the Spartans defeated Iowa at the 2000 Big Ten Tournament in Chicago, winning 75-65 on their way to the national title, and at the 2012 Big Ten Tournament.

SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE
? Michigan State is 3-1 in games decided by four points or less this season.
? The Spartans are 2-3 in games away from East Lansing, including a 1-2 mark in true road contests. Michigan State is a perfect 10-0 at home this season.
? Michigan State has two freshmen in its starting lineup: Gary Harris (guard) and Denzel Valentine (guard/forward).
? Michigan State ranks 14th in the country in field goal percentage defense (.370); 15th in rebounding margin (+9.0); 27th in scoring defense (57.7); and 32nd in field goal percentage (.474).
? Keith Appling and Gary Harris lead the Spartans in scoring, averaging 14.3 points and 13.1 points, respectively. Harris’ 13.1 scoring average is the second best among league freshmen (Michigan Nik Stauskas averages 13.5 ppg).
? Adreian Payne ranks fifth in the conference in rebounding (7.5), while Keith Appling ranks fourth in assists (4.4).
? Michigan State dropped its conference opener at nationally-ranked Minnesota (76-63), but beat Purdue in its Big Ten home opener (84-61) last weekend.
? Michigan State converted 18-of-22 (.818) from the free throw line, assisted on 21 of 29 field goals and outrebounded the Boilermakers by nine (44-35) in their last outing.
? The Spartans pulled down a Big Ten season-best 63 rebounds in a win over Tuskegee on Dec. 15, 2012.

CLEMMONS, VALENTINE REUNITE
Iowa freshman Anthony Clemmons and Michigan State rookie Denzel Valentine were classmates at Sexton High School in Lansing, Mich. The duo won three consecutive conference championships (2010-12) and back-to-back Class B state titles (2011-12). Valentine’s father was Clemmons’ high school coach.

MICHIGAN STATE BEAT IOWA IN LAST MEETING
Eventual Big Ten Tournament champion Michigan State knocked off Iowa in the quarterfinal round, 92-75, on March 9 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The 75 points tie for the fourth most by an Iowa team in a Big Ten Tournament game. The Hawkeyes sprinted out of the gates and took an 18-15 lead at the 13:33 mark in the first half off Zach McCabe’s third 3-pointer in the first six-plus minutes of the contest. Michigan State responded with a 21-6 run over the next six minutes to gain a double-digit advantage. The eighth-ranked Spartans took a 55-39 lead at the half and held on throughout the final 20 minutes for the win. Michigan State outscored Iowa 44-20 in the paint and shot 58.2 percent (32-of-55) from the field. Josh Oglesby led Iowa with 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting, including 5-of-7 from 3-point distance. Roy Devyn Marble and McCabe each had 13 points. The Hawkeyes shot 50 percent (10-of-20) from long range and finished at 43.4 percent (23-of-53) from the field. Iowa’s 10 triples is a school record for most 3-pointers in a Big Ten Tournament game.

NUMBER OF THE WEEK — 6
Gabriel Olaseni has given the Hawkeyes a spark off the bench. The sophomore center averages 6.7 points and 4.7 rebounds in his last seven games played. He also has blocked two or more in five of the seven contests.

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 74 rejections (4.9 per contest), which rank third in the conference. Melsahn Basabe and Gabriel Olaseni lead the team with 19 blocked shots each, while freshman Adam Woodbury has 12. Olaseni, who ranks seventh in Big Ten blocks (1.4), swatted a career-high four shots in Iowa’s win over South Carolina State.

`TIS THE SEASON FOR GIVING
Iowa has done an outstanding job sharing the basketball this season. The Hawkeyes have assisted on 62.5 percent of its field goal makes (242 assists on 387 field goals), a rate that is 12th best in the country. Iowa has assisted on 70 percent of its field goal makes the last five contests (92 assists on 131 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, and had 12 points and seven assists in Iowa’s last game at No. 2 Michigan. Clemmons has registered 49 assists to 16 turnovers (3.06 ratio) in his eight starts. Clemmons’ 2.7 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks 38th nationally.

HAWKEYE DEFENSE IMPROVING
Last year, Iowa allowed opponents 72.5 points per contest. Through 15 games in 2012-13, Iowa is yielding 63.9 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. Also, Iowa is holding its opponents to a much lower field goal percentage this season, compared to the first 15 games a year ago. Hawkeye opponents are shooting at a 38 percent clip this season, compared to 44 percent last season.

HAWKEYES ARE TOUGH AT HOME
Iowa has won 95 of its 132 games (.720) 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.

WHITE, WOODBURY RECEIVE PRESEASON RECOGNITION
Sophomore Aaron White has been named preseason third team All-Big Ten by the website College Sports Madness, while Adam Woodbury was named by CBSSports.com as a top 30 freshman to make an impact. White, who was named to the 2012 Kyle Macy Freshman All-America team, averaged 11.1 points and a team-best 5.7 rebounds a year ago. Woodbury, is a three-time all-state honoree, and was tabbed MVP of the NBA Top 100 Camp in 2011. The 7-foot-1 center topped 1,000 career points and rebounds in his prep career for Sioux City East High School.

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 2,674 games since beginning basketball in 1902. Iowa’s overall record is 1,606-1,068 (.601). That includes a 965-354 (.732) record in home games, a 551-724 (.432) record in contests away from Iowa City, a 711-730 (.493) 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.

IN NATIONAL STATISTICS…
Iowa ranks 20th in the country in assists (16.7) and 40th in assist/turnover ratio (1.26). Individually, Anthony Clemmons ranks 38th in assist/turnover ratio (2.7).

ON THE HORIZON
Iowa hits the road for a Sunday game in Evanston, Ill., against Northwestern. Tip-off is slated for 4:35 p.m. (CT)at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Tickets are available at NUSports.com.