Men's Hoops Hosts Indiana State on Wednesday

March 18, 2013

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Iowa Game Notes

THE SETTING
Iowa (21-12, 9-9) earned a No. 3 seed in the 2013 National Invitation Tournament and will host sixth-seeded Indiana State on Wednesday. Tipoff is scheduled for approximately 6:03 p.m. (CT) on Mediacom Court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The winning team will face the winner of No. 2 seed Massachusetts and seventh-seeded Stony Brook in the next round.

There will be a Hancher shuttle on Wednesday night, running the same schedule as during the regular season contests (starts 90 minutes prior to tip-off with limited service during the game, and resuming after game is finished). Parking will be $5 around the arena. Gates will open at 4:30 p.m.

ON THE AIR
Radio: All Iowa games in the NIT will be 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: Wednesday night’s NIT game will be televised on ESPN2 (WatchESPN). Carter Blackburn and Dan Dakich will call the action.

NIT FIRST ROUND STORYLINES
? This marks the second straight season Iowa will be hosting a first-round NIT game. Last year, Iowa beat Dayton as a No. 7 seed, but ultimately fell at third-seeded Oregon in the second round.
? Tickets are $15 for adults, and $5 for UI students and younger. Tickets can be purchased at the UI Ticket Office, over the phone at 1-800-IA-HAWKS or online at hawkeyesports.com.
? Iowa won 6-of-8 to finish the regular season. The last time an Iowa team finished the regular season winning 6-of-8 Big Ten contests was the 1995-96 season. Iowa is 7-3 in its last 10 contests.
? Roy Devyn Marble became just the sixth Hawkeye ever to amass 1,000+ points, 300+ rebounds and 200+ assists as a junior.
? Iowa has four top-50 RPI wins and six top-100 RPI victories.
? Seven of Iowa’s eight losses to Big Ten competition came by margins of four points or less, including four by three points or less. Two of those four came in overtime (one in double overtime).
? Roy Devyn Marble (coaches) and Aaron White (media) are third team All-Big Ten honorees.
? Aaron White is one of four Big Ten players to average 13.2 points and 5.9 or more rebounds. The other three are Cody Zeller and Victor Oladipo of Indiana and Deshaun Thomas of Ohio State.
? Fran McCaffery notched career victory No. 300 on March 9; his 50th win at Iowa on March 14. Wednesday will be his 100th game as head coach of the Hawkeyes.

HAWKEYES FALL TO MICHIGAN STATE IN BIG TEN TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINALS
? Iowa lost its first game as a No. 6 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, falling 59-56 in the quarterfinals to Michigan State last Friday in Chicago. The Spartans have bounced Iowa in the tournament quarterfinals the last two seasons.
? All 10 players who played made at least one field goal. For the first time this year, and first time since Jan. 7, 2012, no Iowa player finished in double figures. Mike Gesell paced the team with nine points. The freshman has led Iowa in scoring five times this season.
? Junior Melsahn Basabe had eight points and eight rebounds. Basabe led Iowa in rebounding nine times this season, including the last three outings.
? Iowa made 11-of-12 (.917) from the free throw stripe, a season best in percentage.
? Iowa held Michigan State to 20 points in the first half. In the past six games, Iowa’s opponents have averaged just 24.5 points in the opening frame.
? The Hawkeyes had a 24-2 advantage in bench points.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Wednesday will mark only the second ever meeting between Iowa and Indiana State. The two teams met over seven decades ago in Iowa City on Dec. 16, 1940, with the Hawkeyes posting a 39-37 victory. Iowa is 123-43 (.741) all-time against current members of the Missouri Valley Conference. The Hawkeyes faced two MVC teams this year, knocking off UNI in Des Moines and falling to Wichita State in Cancun.

SCOUTING INDIANA STATE
Indiana State recorded an 18-14 overall record and finished fifth in the Missouri Valley with a 9-9 mark. The Sycamores are led by junior Jake Odum, who was a first team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection. Odum is only the sixth player in Indiana State history to earn first team All-MVC honors. He is averaging 13.8 points, 4.6 assists, shooting 47.9 percent from the field and 36.7 percent from 3-point range. He ranks in the top-10 in the conference in scoring, assists and steals. Odum (7.09) ranks 20th in the nation in free throw attempts. Manny Arop is next on the team with 12.4 points per game and averaging a team-best 5.2 rebounds. Indiana posted four top-50 RPI wins this season, which include victories over Miami, Creighton, Wichita State and Ole Miss. The Sycamores also downed UNI twice. Indiana State and Iowa potentially will play each other next season. Both teams are in the eight-team 2013 Great Alaska Shootout field. Brackets for that tournament will be released later this summer.

IOWA-INDIANA STATE TIES
Head coach Greg Lansing returned to Indiana State after a seven-year stint at Iowa. During Lansing’s seven years as an assistant coach, the Hawkeyes went 135-92, earned three NCAA Tournament bids, made three NIT appearances and won a pair of Big Ten tournament titles, the first of which came on four wins in four games making Iowa the first team in the Big Ten to accomplish such a feat. In 2005-06, Iowa posted a 25-9 record, the second-most wins in school history, the first undefeated (17-0) home record in the school’s history and a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Greg’s father, Dave Lansing, coached high school basketball for 33 years in Iowa. Dave Lansing was inducted into the Iowa High School Athletic Association Coaches Hall of Fame during the 1999 Iowa boys state basketball tournament. Lansing’s dad, his mother, Diane, his sister, Angela, and his nephew, Jordan, live in West Des Moines. Also, Iowa assistant coach Sherman Dillard received his first head coaching opportunity at Indiana State (1994-97). Dillard hired Lansing as an assistant coach while with the Sycamores.

HAWKEYE TIP-INS FROM THE BIG TEN TOURNAMENT
? Iowa’s 48 rebounds vs. Northwestern equaled the most rebounds a Hawkeye team has ever had in a Big Ten Tournament contest (48 vs. Penn State in 2001).
? Iowa averaged 7.5 blocks in its two games.
? The Northwestern win was Fran McCaffery’s 50th victory at the University of Iowa.
? Junior Melsahn Basabe amassed 10 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks in Iowa’s win over Northwestern. Basabe became just the second player in Big Ten history to amass 10+ points, 10+ rebounds and 5+ blocks in a game (D.J. White of Indiana in 2005).
? Senior Eric May’s thunder dunk against Northwestern was No. 4 on ESPN’s SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays of the Day.
? Freshman guard Mike Gesell returned to action after missing the last four games with a stress reaction in his right foot. Gesell averaged 11 points in Iowa’s two Big Ten Tournament games, starting both.
? Aaron White is five rebounds from snagging board No. 200 this season, which would rank seventh in Iowa single-season history for a sophomore.

CLOSE CALLS
Iowa has lost seven games against Big Ten competition by four points or less for the first time since 1984. Iowa is the first team since Penn State in 1998-99 to have played six Big Ten regular season games decided by four points or less. In total, Iowa played a Big Ten-leading nine games decided by four points or less (2-7).

HAWKEYES EARN ALL-BIG TEN RECOGNITION
Roy Devyn Marble and Aaron White earned postseason all-conference recognition by the Big Ten. Marble was named to the coaches’ third team, while White was voted to the media’s third team. Marble was a media honorable mention selection, while White made the coaches’ honorable mention list. The duo were also named to College Sports Madness’ third All-Big Ten team. The All-Big Ten honor is the first for Marble, while White was tabbed on the All-Big Ten Freshman Team a year ago. White leads the Hawkeyes in rebounding (5.9), free throws made (168) and attempted (229) and steals (36), and ranks second in scoring (13.2). The native of Strongsville, Ohio, is one of only four Big Ten players to average 13.2 points and 5.9 rebounds or more. White has led the team in scoring a team-best 15 times, rebounds 11 times, and steals nine times. Marble is Iowa’s leading scorer, averaging 14.1 points, and has made the most 3-pointers (42). The native of Southfield, Mich., has netted double figures a team-best 24 times this season, including 20+ points seven times. Additionally, he has led the squad in assists a team-best 12 times.

DISHING THE ROCK
The Hawkeyes have assisted on 63.5 percent of their field goal makes (500 assists on 787 field goals), a rate that is 19th-best in the country.

MILESTONES REACHED IN 2013
? Fran McCaffery won his 300th career game as a head coach on March 9, when Iowa registered a 74-60 triumph over Nebraska in the regular season finale. McCaffery has posted season win improvements in each of his first three seasons the last four schools he has coaches (Lehigh, UNC-Greensboro, Siena, and Iowa).
? Iowa’s win over Nebraska on March 9 was its 20th of the season, marking the program’s first 20-win season since the 2005-06 campaign (25-9).
? Roy Devyn Marble became the sixth Hawkeye to amass 1,000+ points, 300+ rebounds, and 200+ assists by his junior season. Marble netted his 1,000th career point in Iowa’s last game versus Nebraska. His father, Roy (1986-89) is Iowa’s all-time leading scorer (2,116); the duo became the first father/son duo to record 1,000+ points at the same school in the Big Ten.
? Iowa blocked a school-record 13 shots in Iowa’s 63-55 win over Illinois on March 5; nine of the 13 blocks came in the first half.
? Iowa’s 166 blocks this season are the third-most by any Hawkeye team in history.

DYNAMIC DUO
Iowa’s Aaron White and Roy Devyn Marble are fourth-highest scoring duo in the Big Ten, averaging 26.9 points.

MARBLE IN THE ZONE
Roy Devyn Marble has led or shared the team lead in scoring eight of Iowa’s last 10 games, averaging 16.8 points. He scored 20 points or more in four of those 10 contests. During the last 10 games, the junior is shooting 43 percent (51-of-118) from the field and 86 percent (50-of-58) from the free throw line. Marble, who is a third team All-Big Ten performer, became the 41st player in Iowa history to score 1,000+ points and 29th Hawkeye to accomplish the feat in three years or less. The native of Southfield, Mich., also became just the sixth Hawkeye to amass 1,000+ points, 300+ rebounds, and 200+ assists as a junior. Marble’s father, Roy (1986-89), 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.

FANS FLOCKED BACK TO CHA
Iowa has had an attendance figure of 10,500 fans or greater in all 18 home contests, including sellouts of 15,400 against Indiana on Dec. 31, Wisconsin on Jan. 19, Minnesota on Feb. 17, and Nebraska on March 9. Iowa averaged 13,428 fans this season, which is its best average attendance figure since the 2001-02 season (15,207).

HAWKEYE FASTBREAKS
? Iowa played 10 NCAA Tournaments teams this season, going 5-10 against those teams.
? Iowa finished the regular season ranked 30th by KenPom.com; 35th by Sagarin; 49th in the BPI and 72nd in the RPI.
? The Hawkeyes have lost only one game by more than four points since Jan. 23 (March 2 at Indiana, 73-60).
? Iowa won six of its last eight regular season games for the first time since 1996.
? Iowa has won 21 of its last 24 home games, including 16-of-18 this season, dating back to Feb. 1, 2012. The Hawkeyes’ two losses this season have come to nationally ranked teams (Indiana and Michigan State).
? Iowa has won 17 straight home games, dating back to last season, against unranked opponents. That streak is third-best in the Big Ten (Ohio State, 67; Michigan State, 31).
? The Hawkeyes had their streak of winning 30 games when holding foes to 61 or fewer points snapped in their last loss to No. 7 Michigan State (59-56) in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.
? Iowa is 16-2 when scoring 70 points or more; 19-2 when having a higher field goal percentage than its opponents; 19-4 when recording more rebounds than its opponents.
? Iowa ranks seventh in the country in free throws made (17.4) and 17th in attempts (24.0).
? Center Adam Woodbury has averaged 7.3 points in Iowa’s last four games.
? Iowa has three players averaging 11 points in its last three games: Mike Gesell, Aaron White, and Roy Devyn Marble.
? Hawkeye reserves are averaging 24 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 15.4 points in Hawkeye wins this year and 11.4 in losses.
? Iowa shoots 31 percent (113-of-360) from 3-point territory in its victories, but 28 percent (60-of-217) 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.
? 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 nearly made more free throws (575) than its foes have attempted (586).
? The Hawkeyes averaged 8.8 blocks in their last four games.

HAWKEYES ARE TOUGH AT HOME
Iowa has won 100 of its 139 games (.719) 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 posted a 16-2 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.

BASABE… SPICY!
Melsahn Basabe has averaged 7.6 points and 6.2 boards the last 17 games. He has led the team in rebounding in each of Iowa’s last three contests and averaged 10 boards at the Big Ten Tournament. Basabe has posted three double-doubles this season, including in two of Iowa’s last three contests. He posted his first double-double of the season in Iowa’s win over Penn State (10 points and 10 rebounds) on Jan. 31, his second in the regular season finale versus Nebraska (11 points and 13 rebounds) and his third against Northwestern at the Big Ten Tournament (10 points and 12 rebounds). Overall, Basabe ranks fourth in team scoring (7.2), first in blocks (1.2) and third in rebounding (5.1). He grabbed career rebound No. 500 in Iowa’s win over Purdue on Feb. 27. Basabe has been credited with 119 career blocked shots, a total that ranks sixth-best in school history.

ON THE RISE…
Iowa’s win over Nebraska in the regular season finale gave the Hawkeyes their 20th win of the season. After beating Northwestern at the Big Ten Tournament, its 21 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. Also, it marks the program’s first 20-win season since the 2006 campaign (25-9). 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. Fran McCaffery has now posted seven 20-win seasons as a head coach, including five in the last seven years.

WHITE HOT!
Aaron White has averaged a team-best 13.8 points and 6.1 rebounds the last 12 games. White, who is a third-team All-Big Ten performer, scored a career-high 27 points against Penn State (Jan. 31), moving to the small forward position. The sophomore is one of just four Big Ten players to average better than 13.2 points and 5.9 rebounds this season, with the other three being Cody Zeller and Victor Oladipo of Indiana and Ohio State’s Deshaun Thomas. White has scored 38.5 percent (168/436) of his points from the free throw line, which ranks fourth-best in the country. White leads the team in rebounding and will 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 (5.9 rpg). Iowa is 10-1 this season when White scores 16 points or more.

DEFENSE IMPROVEMENT
Last year, Iowa allowed opponents 72.5 points per contest. This season, Iowa is yielding 62.9 points. The 9.6 point differential from last year to this season ranks 10th-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.

DEFENSE IMPROVEMENT, PART 2
Iowa has improved its 3-point field goal percentage defense by 5.5 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 29 percent from long distance this season.

ALL-AROUND SKILLS
Mike Gesell is one of only three Hawkeye freshmen to total 260 points, 75 rebounds and 75 assists in a single season. Gesell suffered a right foot injury, missing Iowa’s last four regular season games. Gesell returned for the Big Ten Tournament, starting both games averaging 11 points in Iowa’s two contests.

IOWA NIT HISTORY
This marks Iowa’s seventh appearance in the NIT. Iowa also appeared in the 1995, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2012 tournaments. The Hawkeyes’ best finish in the NIT was in 1995 when Iowa advanced to the quarterfinals. The Hawkeyes have played 11 games all-time in the NIT and hold a record of 5-6. Ten of its 11 NIT games have been decided by nine points or less. Last year, Iowa beat Dayton in the first round in Iowa City, 84-75, but lost at Oregon in the second round, 108-97. Iowa’s win over Dayton was the school’s first postseason win since beating Iowa State (54-53) on March 21, 2003 in the NIT first round. Aaron White’s double-double vs. Dayton (25 points, 11 rebounds) marked the fifth double-double by a Hawkeye in an NIT game. Also, the 11 boards tied Ryan Bowen for the most boards by a Hawkeye in an NIT game. Bowen had 11 boards vs. Georgia on March 11, 1998. Zach McCabe tallied 20 points, bolstered by a perfect 9-of-9 from the field and 1-of-2 from the foul line. Roy Devyn Marble had his best game as a Hawkeye, statistically, at Oregon last year scoring a career-high 31 points. Marble’s 31 points are the most ever by a Hawkeye in an NIT game and the most in a postseason contest since Ed Horton netted 32 against NC State in the second round of the 1989 NCAA Tournament. He also went 7-of-8 from 3-point range. The seven triples are the most ever by an Iowa player in any postseason game.

FREEBIES
Iowa has attempted 25 or more free throws 17 times this season. The Hawkeyes rank seventh in the country in free throws made (17.4) and 17th in attempts (24.0). Aaron White, who ranks 26th in the country and second in the Big Ten in free throw attempts (6.94), has attempted double-digit foul shots in seven games this season. White (227) has attempted two fewer free throws than Indiana State’s Jake Odum (229). White is 168-of-229 (.734) from the foul line, which is the most makes and attempts by a Hawkeye sophomore in school history. The 229 attempts rank overall as the ninth-most by a Hawkeye in a single-season. He is four attempts from eighth (Sam Williams, 232 in 1966). Roy Devyn Marble has made 38 of his last 43 free throw attempts (.883), dating back to the Minnesota game (Feb. 17). He was 10-of-10 in Iowa’s win over Illinois on March 5.

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 been credited with 166 blocks this season, which ranks third-best in school history, and is one shy of second place (167 set in 2006) and eight from the school record of 174 established in the 2004-05 season. The Hawkeyes have rejected 8.8 shots the last four games.

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.

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.

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!