Men's Hoops Return to Action on Sunday

Nov. 9, 2013

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Iowa Game Notes

THE SETTING
Iowa will play its second game in three days when it entertains Nebraska-Omaha on Sunday. Tipoff is slated for 3:32 p.m. (CT) on Mediacom Court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena (15,400). Sunday’s game will be played as part of a basketball doubleheader; the Iowa women are scheduled to host No. 14 Dayton at 1:05 p.m. Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets to Sunday’s basketball games in advance. Tickets to the women’s game cost $10 for adults, $6 for youth, while UI students are admitted free. Tickets to the men’s game cost $15 for adults and $5 for boys and girls high school aged and younger, and UI students. Tickets can be purchased online at hawkeyesports.com, over the phone at 1-800 IA-HAWKS, and at the UI Athletics Ticket Office in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

SUNDAY PROMOTIONS
? Veterans Appreciation Day — U.S. veterans can purchase discounted tickets for $5 using the promo code they received or contacting the UI Ticket Office or presenting an ID at the ticket windows.
? FREE mini U.S. flags for the first 5,000 fans
? Free posters, magnets, schedule keytags, mints inside all 4 main entrances, while supplies last

ON THE AIR
Radio: 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.
Webstream: There is no television coverage for Sunday afternoon’s contest. However, fans can watch the game online via ESPN3.com. BJ Schaben and Kevin Lehman will call the action.

HOME COOKIN’
Iowa posted a school-record 18 home wins last season (18-2), the most since posting 17 home victories in 2006. Iowa’s two losses came by less than four points to nationally-ranked teams (Michigan State and Indiana). Iowa was 11-0 against nonconference opponents a year ago at home. The Hawkeyes have won 20-straight home games against unranked opponents, dating back to the Dayton game on March 13, 2012 — the third-longest active streak in the Big Ten.

HAWKEYES OVERWHELM UNC WILMINGTON
? Twelve Hawkeyes scored en route to an 82-39 victory over UNC Wilmington in Iowa City to opener the season. The 43-point victory matched the 37th-largest margin of victory in program history.
? Friday night’s attendance of 15,293 is Iowa’s largest crowd for a home opener since 15,500 saw Iowa beat Maryland-Eastern Shore in the 2001 opener.
? Iowa pulled down 56 rebounds, which equaled the most by a Hawkeye team under Fran McCaffery (56 vs. Brown in 2011 and 56 vs. SC State in 2012).
? The Hawkeyes blocked 12 shots, one shy of the school record of 13 set last season against Illinois. Junior Gabriel Olaseni rejected five shots, all in the first half.
? Iowa’s 36-point halftime advantage over vs. UNC Wilmington is its largest under Fran McCaffery (33 vs. SIU-Edwardsville in 2010).
? Iowa held the Seahawks to 2-of-23 (.087) shooting from 3-point territory and 16-of-72 (.222) from the field overall. The Hawkeyes held the Seahawks’ starting backcourt (Chris Dixon and Freddie Jackson) to 1-of-19 shooting from the field.
? Friday was the 500th all-time men’s basketball game in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes improved the home record to 381-119 (.762) with Friday night’s win.
? Iowa has won three consecutive season openers under Fran McCaffery.

NEWCOMERS PERFORM IN OPENER
Freshman Peter Jok and sophomore transfer Jarrod Uthoff combined for 25 points and 12 rebounds in their first collegiate game of their career. Uthoff also contributed seven rebounds and four blocks, while Jok snagged five boards. Uthoff became only the second Big Ten player since the 1996-97 season to register 14-plus points, seven-plus rebounds and four-plus blocks in his first career game (Ohio State’s Greg Oden, 2006-07).

OGLESBY BREAKS FOOT, OUT APPROXIMATELY 6 WEEKS
Junior Josh Oglesby broke a bone in his right foot during practice on Nov. 6. The shooting guard had surgery on Nov. 8 and is expected to miss approximately six weeks. Oglesby (6-foot-5, 208 pounds) played in 37 contests, including two starts, a year ago. The native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, scored 126 of his 165 points from 3-point territory his sophomore campaign.

IN THE RANKINGS
Iowa is ranked in a couple preseason publications and other college basketball insiders: No. 17 in Lindy’s Sports; No. 23 by The Sporting News; No. 24 by Blue Ribbon. Dick Vitale slots the Hawkeyes 25th, CBS’ Doug Gottlieb and Jon Rothstein have Iowa 23rd and 24th, respectively. Iowa is receiving votes in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches preseason polls.

SCOUTING NEBRASKA-OMAHA
? Nebraska-Omaha comes to Iowa City with a 1-0 record after recording a come-from-behind 68-66 victory at Northern Illinois Friday night. The Mavericks shot 84 percent (27-of-32) from the foul line in the road victory.
? The Mavericks trailed the Huskies 39-28 at halftime, but outscored Northern Illinois 40-27 in the final 20 minutes. CJ Carter led Nebraska-Omaha scoring a game-high 18 points, while also collecting six rebounds and four assists.
? Nebraska-Omaha is a member of The Summit League. The Mavericks finished 11-20 last season and finished sixth in conference with a 6-10 record.
? Darrin Hansen enters his ninth season as head coach of the Mavericks. In his eight years at the helm he has compiled a record of 133-106, and guided the Mavericks to two NCAA Division II Tournament appearances and conference championships before UNO announced its reclassification to Division I.
? The Mavericks return four starters from a year ago including first-team preseason All-Summit selection Justin Simmons. The senior guard averaged 16.7 points, four rebounds, and two assists during 2012-13 campaign.
? The Omaha roster includes West Branch, Iowa native Rylan Murry. The freshman was a two-time first team all-conference selection and was named first-team all-state his junior season.

COACHING EXPERIENCE
Fran McCaffery has one of the most experienced coaching staffs in the country. The Iowa men’s basketball staff has 65 years of combined collegiate head coaching experience and more than 130 years of collegiate coaching under their belts.

WORLD TRAVELERS
Iowa traveled to France and the United Kingdom in August to compete in six exhibition games. The Hawkeyes posted a 5-1 record against professional teams, boasting a +22.0 scoring margin. Aaron White led the team, averaging 13.6 points, followed by Peter Jok (13.3), Melsahn Basabe (12.6) and Roy Devyn Marble (11.2). Prior to traveling with his teammates to Europe in August, White also competed for Team USA at the World University Games in Russia in July. The Hawkeye junior will play in five countries in five months: Russia (July), England (August), France (August), United States (November), and Bahamas (November).

MARBLES RISING AMONG FATHER-SON SCORING COMBOS
Iowa’s Roy Marble (1986-89) and Roy Devyn Marble (2011-present) are rising among the leading father-son scoring duo in collegiate history. Currently, the Marble’s (3,258) rank third among father-son combos, playing at the same school ,behind the Burtt’s of Iona (4,568) and the Perry’s of Holy Cross (3,506). Overall, the Marble’s are 10th.

TICKETS SELLING AT FEVER PITCH
Season tickets for this season surpassed 10,000 for the first time since the 2002-03 season. A number of games are already reaching sellout status: Michigan, Notre Dame, Illinois, Purdue, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Fans interested in purchasing tickets can visit hawkeyesports.com, order in person at the UI Ticket Office located in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, or call 1-800-IA-HAWKS.

STAT LEADERS RETURN
Iowa returns its leading scorer, rebounder, shot blocker, distributor and thief from a year ago. Roy Devyn Marble returns for his senior season after leading the Hawkeyes in scoring (15.0) and assists (3.0). Aaron White had a sensational sophomore campaign, leading the team in rebounding (6.2) and ranking second in scoring (12.8). Melsahn Basabe returns for his final year after leading the team in rejections (1.2), while a healthy Mike Gesell returns for his sophomore season after pacing the Black and Gold with 1.2 steals a year ago. White, who led the Hawkeyes in rebounding in each of his first two seasons, is looking to become the fifth player since 1960 to lead the Hawkeyes in rebounding three consecutive seasons. White would join Don Nelson (1960-62); Kevin Kunnert (1971-73); Bruce King (1975-77); and Greg Brunner (2004-06). Likewise, Basabe led the team in blocked shots in each of his first three seasons with the Hawkeyes. The senior will be looking to become the third Hawkeye since 1980 to lead the squad in rejections four straight seasons. Greg Stokes led the team in blocks 1982-86, while Acie Earl led the team from 1990-93.

HY-VEE BIG FOUR CLASSIC TICKETS ON SALE
The state of Iowa’s four NCAA Division I institutions will host the second annual Hy-Vee Big Four Classic, a men’s college basketball doubleheader at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines Dec. 7. Tickets, priced at $25, $50 and $70, can be purchased at dahlstickets.com the Wells Fargo Arena Ticket Office, all Dahl’s Foods Locations and by calling 866-55-DAHLS.

IOWA FASTBREAKS
? Sophomore Mike Gesell celebrated his 20th birthday on Saturday.
? Iowa’s average starting lineup height is 6-foot-6. The Hawkeye starting lineup consists of two sophomores, one junior, and two seniors.
? Sunday will be the first time Iowa will have played a game on Nov. 10.
? Iowa’s attendance has increased each season since Fran McCaffery’s arrival in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes averaged 11,635 in 16 games in 2011; 11,908 fans in 19 contests in 2012; and 13,625 in 20 games last season. Iowa’s attendance boost from 2012 to 2013 ranked as the eighth-largest in the country.
? Fran McCaffery has guided Iowa to win improvements in each of his first three seasons, going from 11 wins, to 18, to 25 last year. McCaffery’s highest win total as a head coach is when he coached Siena to back-to-back 27-win seasons in 2009 and 2010.
? Roy Devyn Marble and Aaron White have each increased their scoring output each season in an Iowa uniform. Marble averaged 5.7 points as a freshman, to 11.5 his sophomore campaign and 15.0 points last season as a junior. White averaged 11.1 points as a rookie and 12.8 points last year as a sophomore.
? Roy Devyn Marble averaged 20.6 points, 2.4 steals, 4.6 assists and four rebounds in five NIT games last season. He was one of only three Big Ten players to average 15+ points and 3+ assists (Trey Burke of Michigan and D.J. Newbill of Penn State) in 2013.
? Darius Stokes has earned a scholarship after being a walk-on the last three seasons. The Cedar Rapids, Iowa, native is a redshirt junior.
? Okey Ukah has been added to the roster as a walk-on. The Iowa City native is a junior.

HAWKEYEBASKETBALL.COM
Check out the Iowa basketball team’s 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.

ON THE HORIZON
Iowa will open the 2013-14 regular season with five consecutive home games. The Hawkeyes will entertain UNC-Wilmington (W, 82-39); Nebraska-Omaha (Nov. 10); Maryland-Eastern Shore (Nov. 14); Abilene Christian (Nov. 17) and Penn (Nov. 22).