Men's Hoops Hosts Nebraska on Saturday

March 7, 2013

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Iowa Game Notes

THE SETTING
Iowa (19-11, 8-9), who has won five of its last seven, remains home Saturday hosting Nebraska (14-16, 5-12) at 1:21 p.m. (CT) on Mediacom Court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. A limited number of tickets ($27 adults and $15 for youth and UI students) remain as of Thursday. Eric May and Christopher Rickert will be honored before the game for their contributions to the Hawkeye basketball program for “Senior Day”. Iowa will be gunning for win No. 20 on the season, Fran McCaffery will be seeking career victory No. 300, while Roy Devyn Marble will look to score career point No. 1,000.

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 afternoon’s game will be televised on BTN (BTN2GO). Wayne Larrivee and Shon Morris will call the action.

REGULAR SEASON FINALE STORYLINES
? Fran McCaffery is one victory from notching career victory No. 300.
? Eric May will start his third game of the year and 72nd of his career Saturday on “Senior Day”.
? Roy Devyn Marble has averaged 19.3 points the last seven games, which is the third-best scoring average in the Big Ten since Feb. 9. Marble is two points from becoming the 41st Hawkeye to score 1,000 career points and become the first Big Ten father/son duo to amass 1,000+ points.
? Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota and Purdue are fighting for Big Ten positioning 6-9 in the standings.
? Iowa has won 16 straight home games, dating back to last season, against unranked opponents. That streak is third-best in the Big Ten (Ohio State, 66; Michigan State, 30).
? Six of Iowa’s eight Big Ten losses have come by margins of four points or less, including three by three points or less. Two of those three defeats came in overtime (one in double overtime).
? Iowa is the first team since Penn State in 1998-99 to play six Big Ten games decided by six points or less.
? Aaron White is one of only three Big Ten players to average 13.4 points and 6.2 or more rebounds. The other two are Cody Zeller of Indiana and Deshaun Thomas of Ohio State.
? The last three seasons, Iowa is 16-2 when scoring 80 points or more and 26-0 when holding opponents to fewer than 60 points.

HAWKEYES TOPPLE ILLINOIS, 63-55
? Iowa led by as many as 11 points en route to a 63-55 home win over Illinois on Tuesday.
? Roy Devyn Marble posted team highs in scoring (21), rebounds (6) and assists (4). It marked the second game this season the junior led the team in those three statistical categories in a single-game (Northwestern, Feb. 9). Marble has reached the 20-point plateau in back-to-back games and four of the last seven outings. Marble has topped 20 points seven times this season and nine times overall. He has led the team in scoring the last seven games, averaging 19.3 points during that span.
? After missing his first four 3-point attempts, Josh Oglesby came up huge with back-to-back triples late in the contest to stretch a two-point advantage (48-46) to eight (54-46) with 3:19 left. Oglesby finished the contest with 10 points, which equaled his second-highest scoring output in a Big Ten game this season (14 at Northwestern, Jan. 13).
? Iowa established a new school and arena record for blocked shots (13). Iowa had nine blocks in the first half. Sophomore Gabe Olaseni had a career-high seven blocks. The 13 team rejections top the mark of 12 set three previous times in 2004 (St. Louis; UNC-Greensboro; North Carolina). McCaffery was head coach at UNC-Greensboro in 2004.
? Eric May started his second game of the season, while Mike Gesell missed his third straight contest with a foot injury.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Iowa holds a 13-9 advantage in the series that began with a 27-17 Husker win in 1907. Nebraska is 2-1 against the Hawkeyes since joining the Big Ten in 2011. The Huskers posted a 64-60 win over Iowa earlier this season on Feb. 23 in Lincoln, Neb. The Hawkeyes have won nine of the last 14 and six of the last 10 in the series. Iowa is 8-3 in games played between the two schools in Iowa City. Saturday will be Nebraska’s second-ever game played in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes have won five of the last six contests, in the series, played in Iowa City, dating back to 1943.

SCOUTING NEBRASKA
? Eleven of Nebraska’s 14 wins have come on its home court, including four in Big Ten play. The Huskers are 2-9 in true road games, including 1-7 in conference contests.
? The Huskers have scored 64 points or more seven times in Big Ten play, winning four of those seven contests.
? The Huskers are 2-2 in their last four outings, winning both at home, including Wednesday’s 53-51 win over Minnesota. Brandon Ubel (15) and Dylan Talley (12) paced Nebraska in the victory. It was the final game played at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
? Nebraska ranks 11th in the country in fewest turnovers per game (10.8).
? Nebraska has three players average double figures in scoring: Dylan Talley (14.3), Ray Gallegos (12.5), and Brandon Ubel (11.3). Ubel also ranks first in team rebounding (6.7).
? Ray Gallegos ranks first in the Big Ten in 3-pointers made (2.5) and minutes played (37.5); Brandon Ubel ranks sixth in free throw percentage (.808) and seventh in rebounding (6.7); Dylan Talley ranks ninth in scoring (14.3).
? Nebraska is one of two Big Ten schools (Illinois) with a new head coach this season. Tim Miles is on the Nebraska sideline after five seasons as head coach at Colorado State. Miles, who is in his 18th season as a head coach, also served as head coach at North Dakota State (2001-07), SW Minnesota State (1997-01), and Mayville State (1995-97).

NEBRASKA RALLIES TO UPEND IOWA IN LINCOLN
? Iowa led by as many as 19 points in the first half, but Nebraska closed the game on a 42-19 run spanning halves to post a 64-60 win in Lincoln. The game was originally scheduled to take place on Feb. 21, but was moved to Feb. 23 due to a Midwest snow storm.
? Three Hawkeyes scored in double figures: Roy Devyn Marble (18), Aaron White (15), and Eric May (10).
? Aaron White corralled a game and career-high 13 rebounds to go along with his 15 points. The 13 rebounds are the most by a Hawkeye this season, and the double-double was his team-leading third of the season and seventh of his career.
? After holding Nebraska to 34 percent (11-of-32) shooting from the field the first 20 minutes, the Huskers caught fire in the second half shooting 62.5 percent (15-of-24).
? Freshman Mike Gesell dished out all six of his assists in the first half and finished the game with six points. This was Gesell’s last game he played since being sidelined with his foot injury.
? Iowa shot 86.7 percent (13-of-15) from the free throw line, a season best in conference play. The 86.7 percent is its second-best percentage this season (.895 vs. South Dakota).
? Iowa’s bench outscored Nebraska’s reserves 19-0.

CLOSE CALLS
Iowa has lost six Big Ten games by four points or less for the first time since 1984. Four of the six defeats (MSU, Purdue, Wisconsin, and Minnesota) have come with the Hawkeyes having a late with under two minutes left. Iowa is the first team since Penn State in 1998-99 to play six Big Ten games decided by six points or less. In total, Iowa has played a Big Ten-leading eight games decided by four points or less (2-6).

MARBLE IN THE ZONE
Roy Devyn Marble has led or shared the team lead in scoring in each of the seven games, averaging 19.3 points. He scored 20 points or more in four of the seven contests, including the last two games (Indiana and Illinois). Iowa has won five of its last seven games. During the span, the junior is shooting 48 percent (42-of-88) from the field and 91 percent (41-of-45) from the free throw line. The 19.3-point average the last seven outings, ranks as the third-best Big Ten scoring average since Feb. 9. Over the last two games, Marble is averaging three first-half points and 17.5 in the second stanza. Marble is two points from becoming the 41st player in Iowa history to score 1,000 points and 29th Hawkeye to accomplish the feat in three years or less. Marble’s father, Roy, is Iowa’s all-time leading scorer with 2,116 points. The Marbles are believed to become the first father-son duo to join the 1,000-point club in Big Ten history.

HAWKEYE FASTBREAKS
? Iowa concludes the regular season playing 3-of-4 at home, including two-straight this week. Iowa and Ohio State are the only Big Ten teams finishing with 3-of-4 at home.
? Iowa has won 20 of its last 23 home games, including 15-of-17 this season, dating back to Feb. 1, 2012. The Hawkeyes’ two losses this season have come to nationally ranked teams (Indiana and Michigan State).
? The Hawkeyes have won each of their last 28 games when holding opponents to 61 or fewer points, the longest active streak in the Big Ten.
? Iowa is 13-2 when scoring 70 points or more; 16-1 when having a higher field goal percentage than its opponents; 16-4 when recording more rebounds than its opponents.
? Iowa ranks sixth in the country in free throws made (17.7) and 13th in attempts (24.4).
? Hawkeye reserves are averaging 24.2 points per game. The Hawkeyes have played 10 players or more in all but two games this season (Iowa State and Illinois).
? Roy Devyn Marble averages 15.8 points in Hawkeye wins this year and 11.7 in losses.
? Iowa shoots 31 percent (102-of-329) from 3-point territory in its victories, but 28 percent (55-of-199) from long distance in losses this season.
? For the second time in the last two decades, the men’s basketball team has nine players logging 16 minutes or more per game, and 10 players averaging 10 minutes or more. Iowa’s 1998-99 team, that advanced to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament, had 10 players average 17 minutes or more.
? Co-captain Eric May has posted his best offensive rebound average, assist rate, turnover rate, and free throw percentage of his career this season. May has led or shared the team lead in rebounding in two of the last four contests.
? Seven of the 12 Big Ten teams enter this weekend’s with nine or more losses in league play. The Big Ten is the No. 1 rated conference by the RPI.
? Last season, Iowa had eight different players post double digits in one game or more. This year, 11 different players have scored double figures for the Hawkeyes.
? Iowa has made (530) nearly more free throws than its foes have attempted (538).

BASABE… SPICY!
Melsahn Basabe’s play has been so good the last month that he was moved to the starting lineup in Iowa’s vs. Penn State (Jan. 31). The junior has averaged 7.1 points and 5.2 rebounds in his last 14 games. Basabe posted his first double-double of the season in Iowa’s win over Penn State (10 points and 10 rebounds) on Jan. 31. Overall, Basabe ranks fourth in team scoring (6.9), first in blocks (1.1) and third in rebounding (4.5). He grabbed career rebound No. 500 in Iowa’s win over Purdue on Feb. 27. Basabe ranks fourth among active players in the Big Ten in blocks (111).

DISHING THE ROCK
The Hawkeyes have assisted on 63.4 percent of their field goal makes (454 assists on 716 field goals), a rate that is 16th-best in the country.

ON THE RISE…
Iowa’s win over Illinois on Tuesday gives the Hawkeyes their 19th win of the season. The 19 victories surpasses last season’s total (18-17). The last time Iowa had 18 or more wins in back-to-back seasons was 2005-06. In four stops as head coach, Fran McCaffery, has engineered win improvement in each of the first three seasons. Iowa and Michigan rank second in the Big Ten with three consecutive season win improvements. Indiana ranks first with a four-season streak.

WHITE HOT!
Aaron White has averaged 13.4 points and 6.1 rebounds the last 11 games. The sophomore is averaging almost a double-double the last three games played (13.5 points and 8.5 rebounds). White scored a career-high 27 points against Penn State (Jan. 31), moving to the small forward position. The sophomore is one of just three Big Ten players to average better than 13.4 points and 6.2 rebounds this season, with the other two being Cody Zeller of Indiana and Ohio State’s Deshaun Thomas. White has scored 39 percent (157/403) of his points from the free throw line, which ranks fourth-best in the country. White leads the team in rebounding and is seeking to become the first Hawkeye to lead the team in rebounding both his freshman and sophomore seasons since Michael Payne in 1981-82 (7.4 rpg) and 1982-83 (7.5 rpg). White led Iowa last season (5.7 rpg) and ranks first this year (6.2 rpg). Iowa is 9-1 this season when White scores 16 points or more.

DEFENSE IMPROVEMENT
Last year, Iowa allowed opponents 72.5 points per contest. Through 30 games in 2012-13, Iowa is yielding 63.2 points. The 9.3 point differential from last year to this season ranks 13th-best in the nation. Iowa is holding its opponents to a much lower field goal percentage this season, compared to a year ago. Hawkeye opponents are shooting at a 38.7 percent clip this season, compared to 45.7 percent last season. The 38.7 field goal percentage defense is the lowest clip the Hawkeyes have held their opponents since the 2005-06 season (38 percent, 732-of-1924). Additionally, the seven percent improvement ranks second-best in the country. Iowa is on pace to record just its second sub-.400 defensive field goal percentage (.380 in 2005-06) in the last 50 years.

IN NATIONAL STATISTICS…
Iowa ranks sixth in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.286); 36th in assists (15.1); and 37th in field goal percentage defense (.387).

DEFENSE IMPROVEMENT, PART 2
Iowa has improved its 3-point field goal percentage defense by 5.9 percent this season compared to last. That improvement is tops in the Big Ten and eighth-best in the country. Additionally, the Hawkeyes are on pace to shatter a new school record in 3-point field goal percentage defense. The current single-season record is 31.8 percent set in 2005-06; opponents are shooting 28.6 percent from long distance this season.

FANS FLOCKING TO CHA
Iowa has had an attendance figure of 10,500 fans or greater in all 17 home contests, including sellouts of 15,400 against Indiana on Dec. 31, Wisconsin on Jan. 19, and Minnesota on Feb. 17. Iowa averages 13,312 fans this season, which is its best average attendance figure since the 2002-03 season (13,235). Iowa has one remaining home contest (Saturday) to boast its average.

HAWKEYES ARE TOUGH AT HOME
Iowa has won 99 of its 138 games (.717) in Carver-Hawkeye Arena (15,400) over the last eight seasons, including win streaks of 21 straight overall and 12 straight Big Ten Conference wins. Iowa is 15-2 at home this season, marking the most home victories in Carver-Hawkeye Arena since 2006 (17-0). 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.

FREEBIES
Iowa has attempted 25 or more free throws eight times during Big Ten play and 16 times total this season. The Hawkeyes rank sixth in the country in free throws made (17.7) and 13th in attempts (24.4). Aaron White, who ranks 18th in the country and second in the Big Ten in free throw attempts (7.2), has attempted double-digit foul shots in seven games this season, including two of the last four games. White is 157-of-216 (.727) from the foul line, which is the most makes and attempts by a Hawkeye sophomore in school history. The 216 attempts rank overall as the 11th-most by a Hawkeye in a single-season. He is two attempts from 10th (Charles Darling, 218 in 1952). Roy Devyn Marble has made 29 of his last 30 free throw attempts, dating back to the Minnesota game (Feb. 17). He was 10-of-10 is Iowa’s win over Illinois on Tuesday night.

BLOCK PARTY
Iowa established a school single-game record for blocks in a game when it rejected 13 against Illinois on March 5. The 13 blocks are the most in a Big Ten game in 2013 and match Minnesota’s 13 against North Florida, for all games, this season in the league. Gabriel Olaseni’s seven blocks equal Jared Berggren’s seven set against Iowa on Feb. 6 for the most by a Big Ten player this season. The seven swats are the most by a Hawkeye in a game since Melsahn Basabe had five vs. Indiana on Feb. 19, 2012. Iowa has blocked 144 shots this season, the most since the 2005-06 campaign (167).

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.

“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 final show will take place Monday (March 11) 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.

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.

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. Iowa also overcame a 16-point first-half deficit on Sunday to Minnesota and ultimately won by 21 points — a 37-point swing!

ON THE HORIZON
All 12 Big Ten teams will converge in Chicago next week for the conference tournament, March 13-17. The tournament will take place at the United Center. The tournament is sold out. Iowa will open tournament play Thursday against an opponent to be determined after regular season competition concludes this weekend.