Hawkeyes Set for Big Ten Tournament

March 4, 2015

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Game Notes: Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals | Big Ten Tournament Central

THE SETTING:
The 14th-ranked University of Iowa women’s basketball team has finished second in the Big Ten and earned the No. 2 seed in the 2015 Big Ten Conference Tournament. The tournament, set for March 4-8 at Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, features a five-day format for the first time in conference history.

Iowa (23-6, 14-4) earned a double-bye in the inaugural 14-team format. The Hawkeyes will open play Friday at 6 p.m. (CT), facing seventh-seeded Nebraska or 10th-seeded Illinois. The winner will play at approximately 8:30 p.m. on Saturday in the semifinals, while the championship game is set for Sunday at 6 p.m.

WATCH THE ACTION:
Friday’s contest will be broadcast live on BTN and BTN2Go. Eric Collins, Christy Winters Scott, and Lisa Byington will call the action. Iowa is 19-2 when playing on BTN since the start of last season.

BTN will carry 10 games of the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, while Wednesday’s opening games will appear on BTN Plus. The championship game will be televised by ESPN.

AUDIO COVERAGE:
Brent Balbinot and Kristi Faulkner will call the action for the Hawkeye Radio Network. Hawkeye fans can listen to the contest on the Hawkeye Radio Network (AM-800 KXIC in Iowa City, AM-1360 KMJM in Cedar Rapids, AM-1040 WHO in Des Moines) or on the Hawkeye All-Access page of hawkeyesports.com. Balbinot is in his 11th season as Iowa’s play-by-play voice. Faulkner ranks 21st in program history in scoring (1,242).

FOLLOW THE ACTION:
Hawkeye fans can also follow the game via live stats (Gametracker). The link can be accessed on the women’s basketball schedule page of hawkeyesports.com. Follow @iowawbb on Twitter for live game updates.

QUICK HITS:
? Samantha Logic (first team), Melissa Dixon (second), Ally Disterhoft (second), and Bethany Doolittle (second) earned All-Big Ten honors. Iowa equaled Maryland for the most all-league selections.
? Iowa advanced to the Big Ten Tournament title game last year. The Hawkeyes have won two tournament titles (1997, 2001), and advanced to four championship games.
? Iowa’s senior class — Melissa Dixon, Bethany Doolittle, Samantha Logic, and Kathryn Reynolds — is the program’s winningest graduating class in 21 years, in terms of total victories over four seasons (90 wins).
? Iowa is ranked No. 14 in the Associated Press Top-25 poll and No. 15 in the USA Today Coaches poll. Iowa has been ranked in all 17 weeks this season. ? Iowa’s NCAA RPI is No. 7. Iowa is 11-5 against teams in the top 57 of the RPI.
? Samantha Logic and Ally Disterhoft were both named Academic All-Americans, representing 2-of-15 student-athletes nationally to earn the honor. Iowa is the only Division I school in the nation to have two honorees.
? Logic, the NCAA’s active career assists leader (853), is the first player in NCAA history to record at least 1,400 career points, 800 rebounds, 800 assists, and 200 steals.
? Iowa is the only Big Ten team, and one of only 14 teams in the country, to appear in the last seven NCAA Tournaments. There are 349 Division I teams.
? Iowa’s Melissa Dixon leads the nation in 3-pointers per game (3.76), while Ohio State’s Kelsey Mitchell is second (3.67).
? Iowa is 50-15 overall and 19-2 in games aired on BTN since the start of last season.
? Iowa set the school record for scoring offense (78.2) last season, leading the league in scoring while notching the second-most points in a season in Big Ten history (2,814). The Hawkeyes rank eighth nationally this season (79.8).

4 HAWKEYES EARN ALL-BIG TEN HONORS:
? Samantha Logic, Melissa Dixon, Ally Disterhoft, and Bethany Doolittle have earned All-Big Ten honors.
? For the second-straight year, Logic has been named a unanimous first team selection by the coaches, and a first team selection by the media.
? Logic becomes the first Hawkeye since Kachine Alexander (2010, 2011) to earn multiple first-team All-Big Ten honors, and the ninth in program history. The team co-captain has been honored by the Big Ten in all four years, earning third team honors as a sophomore, while being named to the All-Freshman Team in 2012.
? Dixon and Disterhoft earned second team honors from both the coaches and the media, while Doolittle earned second team honors from the coaches, and honorable mention honors from the media. Dixon also earned Iowa’s Sportsmanship Award nomination.
? Iowa equaled Maryland for the most all-league selections.
? Iowa’s four selections are the most since 2009. The Hawkeyes have had three All-Big Ten honorees in each of the previous five years.

BIG TEN TOURNAMENT NOTES:
? The Hawkeyes fell short of their quest to win four games in four days in last year’s Big Ten Tournament, falling to Nebraska in the Big Ten title game, 72-65. Iowa defeated Illinois in the first round (81-62), and Purdue in the quarterfinals (87-80), before downing Ohio State in the semifinals (77-73). Ally Disterhoft, Bethany Doolittle, and Samantha Logic were all selected to the Big Ten All-Tournament Team.
? Iowa is 20-18 all-time in the Big Ten Tournament; only three schools have won more tournament games.
? The Hawkeyes have claimed two tournament titles (1997, 2001), and made four championship game appearances.
? Iowa (4-1 all-time as the No. 2 seed) won the tournament as a No. 2 seed in Lisa Bluder’s first season as head coach (2001), and advanced to the semifinals as the second seed in 2008.
? Iowa (No. 9 seed) defeated Minnesota (No. 8 seed), 57-44, in the first ever Big Ten Tournament game in 1995.

SERIES HISTORY/NOTES — ILLINOIS:
? Iowa is 52-18 all-time against Illinois.
? The Hawkeyes dropped a 73-61 decision at Illinois in the only meeting on Jan. 8.
? The Hawkeyes have won 17 of the last 20 meetings against Illinois, dating back to the 2003-04 season.
? Iowa is 4-0 all-time against Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament, including an 81-62 win over the Illini in the first round last year.

SERIES HISTORY/NOTES — NEBRASKA:
? The Hawkeyes are 9-10 all-time against Nebraska.
? Iowa swept the regular season series against Nebraska, winning in Iowa City, 78-72, in overtime on Jan. 26, and in Lincoln, Nebraska, 69-61, on Feb. 12.
? The Huskers have defeated the Hawkeyes in the Big Ten Tournament in each of the last three seasons, including last year’s Big Ten Tournament title game (72-65).
? Iowa sophomore Alexa Kastanek hails from Lincoln, Nebraska, and Lincoln Southeast High School.

LOGIC NAMED BIG TEN AND NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
? Senior point guard Samantha Logic was named Big Ten Player of the Week and ESPN’s National Player of the Week on March 2.
? The laurel marked Logic’s sixth career weekly honor.
? Logic averaged 22 points, eight rebounds, and 11 assists per game last week, leading the Hawkeyes to wins over Wisconsin and Minnesota. Against the Badgers, she finished one assist shy of her sixth career triple-double, registering 20 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists. In the Senior Day win over the Gophers, Logic recorded her 30th career double-double, recording 24 points and 13 assists, to go along with six rebounds.

#COREFOUR:
? The University of Iowa honored seniors Melissa Dixon, Bethany Doolittle, Samantha Logic, and Kathryn Reynolds following the conclusion of Iowa’s win over Minnesota on March 1.
? The group has led Iowa to 90 victories over the last four seasons, and the NCAA Tournament in each of the last three years.
? The #CoreFour is Iowa’s winningest (90 wins in four years) graduating class in 21 years, in terms of total victories. The 1994 class had 94 total wins. The 1990 class holds the record with 105 wins in four seasons.

DISTERHOFT, LOGIC NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICANS:
? Ally Disterhoft and Samantha Logic have been named Capital One Academic All-Americans.
? The Hawkeye duo has been named to the 2014-15 Capital One Academic All-America® Division I third team.
? Disterhoft, a business major, and Logic, a health and human physiology and sports studies major, account for two of the 15 honorees, and represent two of the three honorees from the Big Ten.
? Iowa is the only Division I school in the nation to have two honorees. Disterhoft is the only sophomore to earn the accolade.
? Iowa is the first Big Ten team to have two honorees in the same season since Purdue in 2001.

300 AT IOWA:
? Head coach Lisa Bluder has led the Hawkeyes to 301 wins in her 15 seasons at the helm of the program. She earned her 300th victory at Iowa on Feb. 26 vs. Wisconsin (78-74).
? Two other coaches have won 300 or more games while at a Big Ten school (as a member of the conference): Karen Langeland, Michigan State (376 wins) and Rene Portland, Penn State (335 wins).
? Iowa logged its 20th victory of the season on Feb. 12 at Nebraska. It is the team’s quickest 20-win season since 1995-96.
? Bluder has led Iowa to three consecutive 20-win seasons and eight overall. Iowa has won at least 20 games in seven of the last eight years.
? Bluder owns a 301-172 (.637) mark at Iowa and a 657-314 (.677) overall record in 31 seasons as a head coach.

HAWKEYES AT CARVER-HAWKEYE ARENA:
? The Hawkeyes are 365-101 (.781) all-time inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena, and 11-6 in NCAA Tournament games. Iowa is 105-23 in its last 128 games inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
? The Hawkeyes are 16-0 at home this season, setting a program record for wins at home in a single season.
? Iowa is 1-of-13 teams nationally (out of 349 schools) to finish undefeated at home during the regular season, and 1-of-4 to finish undefeated at home when playing at least 16 home games, joining Baylor, Tennessee, and Wichita State.
? Iowa has won 19-straight regular season home games dating back to last year.
? Iowa last finished undefeated at home during the 1995-96 season (14-0). The Hawkeyes have finished undefeated at home four times (1987-88, 14-0; 1988-89, 14-0; 1992-93, 15-0; 1995-96, 14-0). Iowa advanced to the NCAA Final Four during the 1992-93 season.
? The Hawkeyes are 30-4 at home over the last two years.

HAWKEYES IN BIG TEN PLAY:
Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder is a three-time Big Ten Coach of the Year (2001, 2008 and 2010). She has guided Iowa to 11 upper-division finishes in the Big Ten in 15 seasons. Iowa won a share of the Big Ten regular season championship in 2008 and finished in a three-way tie for second in 2009. The Hawkeyes clinched a share of the title in 2008 with a win at Wisconsin in the regular season finale (March 2, 2008).

Since the 2008 season, Iowa has finished first once, second three times, third twice, fourth once, and seventh once. Iowa finished second in the inaugural 14-team league in 2015.

LOGIC NAMED LIEBERMAN AWARD FINALIST FOR 2ND-STRAIGHT YEAR:
Senior point guard Samantha Logic has been named a finalist for the 2015 Nancy Lieberman Award, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced on Feb. 23. It marks the second-straight year Logic has been named a finalist. The award recognizes the top point guard in women’s NCAA Division I college basketball. Candidates exhibit the floor leadership, play-making and ball-handling skills of Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman.

WBCA HONORS BLUDER WITH 2015 CAROL ECKMAN AWARD:
? Lisa Bluder is the winner of the 2015 Carol Eckman Award, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced Feb. 19.
? The Carol Eckman Award is presented annually to an active WBCA member coach who exemplifies Eckman’s spirit, integrity and character through sportsmanship, commitment to the student-athlete, honesty, ethical behavior, courage and dedication to purpose. The award is named in honor of the late Carol Eckman, the former West Chester State College coach, who is considered the “Mother of the Women’s Collegiate Basketball Championship.” Eckman organized the first women’s basketball championship at West Chester in 1969, and continued to garner recognition and support for the women’s game until her death from cancer in 1985.

#LOGICALCHOICE:
? Hawkeye guard Samantha Logic was named one of 10 finalists for the 2014-15 Senior CLASS Award on Feb. 12.
? Nationwide fan voting has begun to select the winner at seniorclassaward.com. Fans can vote for Logic — the #LogicalChoice — once per day on every device until March 23.
? The Racine, Wisconsin, native is the lone finalist from the Big Ten Conference.
? An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their athletic platforms to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
? To be eligible for the award, student-athletes must be classified as NCAA Division I seniors and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.

BEST START SINCE…:
The Hawkeyes have enjoyed their best start in Big Ten play since the 1997-98 season, and their best start overall since the 1995-96 season. The Hawkeyes finished 27-4 overall and 15-1 in Big Ten action that year while advancing to the Sweet Sixteen. Iowa has won 23 regular season games in each of the last two seasons.

FUN FACTS:
? Iowa is 50-15 overall since the start of last season (27-9 last year; 23-6 this year).
? The Hawkeyes enter postseason action ranked No. 7 (out of 349 schools) in the NCAA RPI.
? Iowa is 11-5 against teams in the top 57 of the RPI.
? Iowa is 21-3 this season when scoring 70 or more points, and 2-3 when failing to reach the 70-point plateau.
? The Hawkeyes are 15-1 when registering more steals than their opponent this year, and 17-3 when recording fewer turnovers.
? Iowa ranks seventh nationally, and first in the Big Ten, in assists per game (18.3). The Hawkeyes are 16-2 when notching more assists than their opponent.
? The Hawkeyes are third nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (39%), 10th in field goal percentage (45.7%), eighth in scoring offense (79.8), sixth in assist to turnover ratio (1.38), and 14th in 3-pointers per game (8.2).

THE TOP 3-POINT SHOOTER IN THE LAND:
? Iowa senior Melissa Dixon leads the nation in 3-point field goals per game, averaging 3.76.
? Dixon is second in the Big Ten and sixth nationally in 3-point percentage (44.9%).
? Dixon has made 109 in 29 games, while Ohio State’s Kelsey Mitchell has made 110 in 30 games. No other player in the country has converted more than 94. Dixon has attempted 243 3-pointers this year, and Mitchell has attempted 294.
? Dixon is third in Big Ten history with 319 career 3-pointers. She is six 3-pointers from the NCAA’s all-time top-25 list, and third in career 3-pointers among active players.
? Dixon made six 3-pointers (6-of-10) in the win at Rutgers on Jan. 4, surpassing Lindsey Meder (261) for the most in Iowa history.
? She scored 31 points in Iowa’s win at Drake on Dec. 21, making 10 3-pointers (10-of-14), setting a new school record. The previous school record was seven, accomplished five times in program history, twice by Dixon; the NCAA and Big Ten record for 3-pointers in a single game is 12.
? Dixon finished 9-of-10 from 3-point range in Iowa’s 102-99 win at Northwestern (Jan. 29).
? Dixon finished 8-of-11 from 3-point range in the Senior Day win over Minnesota (March 1), marking the fourth game this season she has made at least eight 3-pointers in a game (10 at Drake, 8 at Illinois, 9 at Northwestern). The eight 3-pointers set a new Carver-Hawkeye Arena record.

1,000-POINT CLUB:
? Four members of this year’s team have reached, or have the potential to reach 1,000 career points this season.
? Senior Samantha Logic (1,480 points) ranks 11th on Iowa’s all-time scoring list. Kamille Wahlin is 10th (1,483).
? Senior Melissa Dixon (1,414 points) is 14th.
? Senior Bethany Doolittle became the 33rd member of Iowa’s 1,000-point club in the Hawkeyes’ win over Penn State on Dec. 28. She has 1,269 career points to rank 19th.
? Sophomore Ally Disterhoft has 914 career points. She tallied 474 in 36 games as a freshman last year (13.2 per game), and is averaging 15.2 points per game this season.

MOVING UP CAREER CHARTS:
? Samantha Logic (853 career assists) surpassed Cara Consuegra (1997-2001; 576) as Iowa’s all-time assists leader during Iowa’s win at Illinois on March 2, 2014, during the 2013-14 regular season finale. She is third in assists in Big Ten history. Nancy Kennelly of Northwestern is second (892) and Ohio State’s Samantha Prahalis is first (901). She ranks 16th in NCAA history in assists.
? Melissa Dixon is Iowa’s career record holder for 3-pointers (319). She is third in Big Ten history. Kelly Mazzante of Penn State is second (357), while Maggie Lucas of Penn State is the Big Ten record holder (365).
? Bethany Doolittle is second all-time in program history with 260 career blocks. Morgan Johnson is first with 293. Doolittle needs 10 blocks for ninth in Big Ten history.

IOWA RANKED FOR THE 17TH-STRAIGHT WEEK THIS SEASON:
? Iowa is No. 14 in this week’s Associated Press Top-25 poll and No. 17 in the USA Today Coaches poll. Iowa has been ranked in each of the first 17 weeks this year: preseason (19/19), week 2 (18/18), week 3 (17/16), week 4 (22/19), week 5 (24/24), week 6 (23/24), week 7 (23/20), week 8 (20/20), week 9 (17/17), week 10 (22/21), week 11 (20/18), week 12 (20/17), week 13 (16/17), week 14 (14/13), week 15 (13/11), week 16 (17/16), and week 17 (14/15).
? It marks the longest Iowa has been ranked since being ranked for 18-straight weeks during the 1995-96 season.
? Iowa’s No. 11 ranking during week 15 marked its highest in the USA Today Coaches poll since the 1996-97 season.
? In the AP Poll, Maryland is No. 4, followed by Iowa (No. 14), Rutgers (No. 23), and Northwestern (No. 24). Nebraska and Ohio State are receiving votes.
? The Hawkeyes finished the 2013-14 season ranked 19th in the AP Top-25 poll, and 26th (receiving votes) in the USA Today Coaches poll. Iowa was ranked for eight weeks last season in the AP poll, and received votes in nine additional weeks.

MOST B1G VICTORIES:
Head coach Lisa Bluder has 152 career Big Ten victories (152-96), surpassing former Ohio State head coach Jim Foster (136) for the fourth-most in league history. Karen Langeland of Michigan State has the third most (156), while Rene Portland of Penn State is second (176). Former Hawkeye head coach and current Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer is first with 181 wins. She won 169 at Iowa.

TOUGH SCHEDULE:
Iowa has played the 21st toughest schedule in the country this season, and the third-toughest schedule among Big Ten teams (Purdue, Ohio State). Iowa’s schedule this season featured 29 regular season games (18 conference, 11 nonconference). Of those 29 contests, 20 came against teams that played in a postseason tournament last season. Seventeen-of-24 teams the Hawkeyes played this season reached a postseason tournament a year ago.

With the addition of Maryland and Rutgers to the Big Ten, the 14 league teams competed in an 18-game conference schedule, playing five teams both home and away and eight teams once. Each team played four of its single-play opponents at home and four on the road. Iowa played Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, and Wisconsin twice, while playing the other eight league teams once.

NCAA STREAK BEST IN BIG TEN:
Iowa is the only Big Ten team, and one of only 14 teams in the country, to appear in the last seven NCAA Tournaments. There are 349 Division I teams.

Iowa is 1-of-21 teams to advance to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament in each of the last two seasons. The Hawkeyes, a No. 6 seed in the 2014 NCAA Tournament, defeated 11th-seeded Marist in the First Round, 87-65, marking the fourth-largest margin of victory in an NCAA Tournament game in program history.

ANOTHER TOP ATTENDANCE YEAR:
Iowa finished the regular season ranked 15th in average attendance (5,213) and 13th in total attendance (83,406). Iowa ranked 22nd in the country in attendance last season, averaging 4,395 fans per contest. Last year marked the fourth-straight season that Iowa has ranked inside the top 25 in attendance. The Hawkeyes were 19th in attendance in each of the previous two years, and were 13th in 2010.

IOWA HISTORY:
Iowa has played 1,197 games since beginning basketball in 1974. Iowa’s overall record is 742-455 (.620). That includes a 373-187 (.667) mark in regular season Big Ten contests and a 365-101 (.781) mark in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

UP NEXT:
The Hawkeyes will make their eighth-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament.