Game Notes: Iowa vs. Northern Iowa

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THE SETTING
No. 22/22 Iowa (7-2, 0-2) will face Northern Iowa (4-5, 0-0) on Saturday at The Hy-Vee Classic. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. (CT) at Wells Fargo Arena (15,424). Drake will face Iowa State in the first game of the doubleheader at approximately 3:30 p.m. (CT).
    Tickets, which range in price from $30-75, are on sale through HyVeeTix.com, 844-55-HYVEE, 22 Hy-Vee Stores in Des Moines and Ames, or the Wells Fargo Arena Box Office. Tickets are good for admission to both games of the doubleheader.
 
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.
TV: Saturday’s contest will be televised nationally on BTN (BTN2GO). Jeff Levering and Shon Morris will call the action.
 
HY-CLASSIC PREGAME PEP RALLY
There will be a four-team Spirit Rally prior to Saturday’s game against Northern Iowa in Des Moines. The Huddle will be held from 1:30-3 p.m. in Veterans Memorial Hall in the Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center (730 Third Street). The convention Center is located across the street from the Wells Fargo Arena.
    Admission to the Huddle is free and it includes cash refreshments and concessions, giveaways, live music, and performances by each school’s band and spirit squads. Visit jointheiclub.com for more information.
    In the spirit of the season the event will be collecting gently used or new winter weather items for those in need in central Iowa. Please feel free to bring hats, gloves, mittens, coats and other winter weather gear to the event and we will donate them to Central Iowa Shelter & Services in Downtown Des Moines.
 
THE HY-VEE CLASSIC STORYLINES
•   Iowa is 5-1 all-time in The Hy-VeeCl assic, beating UNI in 2012 and 2016, and Drake in 2013, 2015, and 2017. The Panthers topped the Hawkeyes in 2014.
•   Last Thursday’s game versus Iowa State concluded a stretch of playing six of seven games against major conference opponents (Nov. 15-Dec. 6).
•   Nicholas Baer has been red-hot shooting the basketball from 3-point range recently. The redshirt senior has made nine of his last 15 attempts over the last four games against Pitt, Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Iowa State.
•   Four of Iowa’s remaining five games in December will be played inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena with the fifth contest being played Saturday in Des Moines on a neutral court.
•   Tyler Cook has 986 career points, 14 shy of becoming the 47th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau.
•   The Hawkeyes rank first in the country in free throw makes per game (24.0) and attempts (31.3). Iowa has made 19 or more free throws in eight of nine contests.
•   Iowa is 11-2 in games in which Connor McCaffery has played, dating back to last season. McCaffery is tops in the Big Ten in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.6) and ninth in assists (3.6).
•   Tyler Cook has led the Hawkeyes in scoring in the last three games: Wisconsin (19 points), Michigan State (15 points), and Iowa State (26 points).
•   Luka Garza surpassed 500 points and 250 rebounds with his game totals against tenth-ranked Michigan State on Dec. 3, in East Lansing, Michigan.
•   Jordan Bohannon made one 3-pointer last Thursday versus Iowa State. The junior now has 199 career 3-pointers, one shy of becoming the seventh Hawkeye with 200 triples.
•   Iowa has had a player post a double-double three of the last four games. Joe Wieskamp versus Pitt (18 points, 11 rebounds), and Tyler Cook against Wisconsin (19 points, 15 rebounds) and Iowa State (26 points, 11 rebounds).
•   Iowa’s 105 points versus Alabama State on Nov. 21, equaled the fourth most point total by the Hawkeyes in a single-game in the Fran McCaffery era.
•   Nicholas Baer is 38 rebounds and eight blocks from becoming the fifth player in program history to total 500 points, 500 rebounds, 100 blocked shots, and 100 steals.
•  Luka Garza (MVP) and Tyler Cook were named to the 2K Empire Classic All-Tournament Team.
 
BAER LIGHTS IT UP AT WELLS FARGO ARENA
Nicholas Baer has provided a spark for the Hawkeyes the last three games played at The Hy-Vee Classic in Des Moines. The redshirt senior averages 11.7 points, 10.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 3.0 blocks, 2.3 steals in two games played versus Drake and one against Northern Iowa.
    In 2015 against Drake, the native of Bettendorf, Iowa, tallied 13 points, seven rebounds, an arena record six blocked shots, two assists, and a steal.
    In 2016 versus Northern Iowa, Baer recorded his first career double-double, 11 points and 11 rebounds, to go along with three assists, two blocked shots and a steal.
    Last year versus Drake, Baer totaled 11 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, five steals, and a block.
 
IOWA BEATS INSTATE RIVAL IOWA STATE
Tyler Cook (26) and Isaiah Moss (20) combined for 46 of Iowa’s 98 points in a 98-84 Iowa win over Iowa State in an Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series contest in Iowa City.
•  Iowa led by as many as 20 points in the second half. The Cyclones closed to within eight points with 6:05 remaining in the contest, but Iowa responded by scoring eight straight points over the next two minutes to seal the win.
•  Iowa outrebounded Iowa State by 20 (44-24) and outscored the Cyclones 23-13 in second-chance opportunities. Over the last two years, Iowa has outrebounded Iowa State, 97-55.
•  The last time Iowa scored 90 points or more against Iowa State was Dec. 10, 1988, in Iowa City (Iowa won 91-71).
•  Isaiah Moss posted season highs in scoring (20) and rebounds (7). Moss scored 18 of his 20 points playing all 20 minutes in the first half.
•  Tyler Cook reached the 20-point plateau for the second time this season, finishing with 26 points. Cook also grabbed a team-best 11 rebounds to post his second double-double of the year and 11th of his career. Cook is the fourth player with a 20-point, 10-rebound performance in an Iowa-Iowa State game since 2002-03 (ISU’s Jared Homan in 2004; Iowa’s Aaron White in 2013; ISU’s Jameel McKay in 2015; Iowa’s Tyler Cook in 2018).
•  Nicholas Baer (14) and Connor McCaffery (12) also scored in double figures for the Hawkeyes. McCaffery was a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line and had five assists, while Baer snagged seven rebounds to go along with his 14 points.
•  Iowa was white-hot shooting the basketball, making 57 percent of its field goal attempts (35-of-61), including 50 percent from 3-point range (9-of-18). Isaiah Moss and Nicholas Baer combined to shoot 8-of-10 from distance, each making 4-of-5 attempts.
•  Four Cyclones scored in double figures: Talen Horton-Tucker (21), Marial Shayok (19), Michael Jacobson (12), and Tyrese Haliburton (10).
•  The home team has won 14 of the last 16 in the series, dating back to 2004.
 
HAWKEYES NATIONALLY RANKED
The Hawkeyes are one of five Big Ten ranked in this week’s AP Top 25: Michigan (5), Michigan State (9), Ohio State (15), Wisconsin (16), and Iowa (22). This marks Iowa’s highest national ranking in the AP Poll this early in the season since being ranked No. 7 on Nov. 26, 2001.
    Iowa is ranked No. 22 in this week’s Coaches Poll and No. 44 in the NCAA NET Rankings.
 
SCOUTING NORTHERN IOWA
•   Northern Iowa (UNI) moved to 4-5 overall after a 75-67 triumph over the University of Dubuque last Saturday in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
•   Freshman AJ Green is the only Panther averaging double figures in scoring (15.8 ppg). Green ranks 12th nationally in free throw accuracy, sinking 92.6 percent of his attempts.
•   As a team, the Panthers rank first in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) in free throw percentage (.757).
•   While AJ Green leads the Panthers with 21 made 3-pointers, Luke McDonnell leads the Panthers in 3-point field goal percentage (.500, 5-of-10).
•   Sophomore Trae Berhow’s 58 rebounds ranks sixth in the MVC, while his 5.7 defensive rebounds rank fifth in the league.
•   The Panthers have rebounded well as a team, hauling in 289 total boards, third most in the MVC.
•   Redshirt senior Wyatt Lohaus, who won an Iowa state high school championship with Connor McCaffery in 2014, netted 10 points in 20 minutes off the bench against the Hawkeyes in the Panthers’ 23-point loss to Iowa in 2016 at The Hy-Vee Classic.
•   Ben Jacobson is in his 13th season as head coach, all at Northern Iowa. Jacobson is the UNI men’s basketball program’s all-time wins leader with 250 victories. He has guided the Panthers to four NCAA Tournament appearances and four NCAA victories.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES RECORDS
Iowa holds a 35-10 advantage in the series with UNI that began with a 51-9 Iowa win in 1906. The two teams have split the last 14 meetings. Saturday will be the fourth meeting between the two teams on neutral floors at The Hy-Vee Classic; Iowa has won twice (2012, 2016) and UNI once (2014).

LAST MEETING
Iowa held Northern Iowa (UNI) to 27 percent shooting from the field en route to a convincing 69-46 win over the Panthers on Dec. 17, 2016, at The Hy-Vee Classic in Des Moines.
•   The 23-point win is Iowa’s largest margin of victory over UNI since Dec. 5, 2000 (74-42 in Iowa City).
•   Peter Jok led all scorers with 21 points. Also scoring in double figures for the Hawkeyes were Nicholas Baer (11) and Cordell Pemsl (10). Pemsl has netted double figures in all five starts this season.
•   The Hawkeyes outrebounded the Panthers by 14 (43-29), led by Nicholas Baer’s 11 rebounds. Baer posted his first career double-double (11 points, 11 rebounds). Peter Jok snagged eight boards.
•   Iowa grabbed 10 offensive rebounds and outscored the Panthers 11-1 in second chance points.
•   UNI senior Jeremy Morgan scored 14 points, grabbed nine rebounds, handed out four assists, and blocked a shot to lead the Panthers. Redshirt freshman guard Spencer Haldeman added 12 points.
 
IOWA IN THE BIG TEN STATISTICS
Iowa ranks first in the Big Ten in free throw percentage (.766), free throw makes (216) and attempted (282); second in scoring offense (82.7); and fifth in steals (6.1). Individually, Luka Garza ranks third in the league in free throw percentage (.871, 27-of-31), Tyler Cook is eighth in rebounding (8.4) and 10th in scoring (16.6), Connor McCaffery ranks first in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.6) and ninth in assists (3.6), while Isaiah Moss is fifth in 3-point percentage (.467).
 
MILESTONES APPROACHING FOR BOHANNON, COOK
Jordan Bohannon and Tyler Cook are closing in on becoming the 47th and 48th Hawkeyes to score 1,000 points. Bohannon is 94 points and 121 assists from becoming the sixth Hawkeye to amass 1,000 points and 500 assists. Cook is 14 points and 57 rebounds from becoming the 26th Hawkeye to total 1,000 points and 500 rebounds.
 
BOHANNON RECEIVED MUSIAL AWARD
Jordan Bohannon was one of the honorees at the 2018 Musial Awards, which celebrated the greatest moments of sportsmanship and those in sports who embody class and character.
    Last February, Bohannon, an Iowa sophomore, was approaching the Hawkeyes’ consecutive free throws made record. The record was held by the late Chris Street, an Iowa basketball legend who died in a car accident in 1993 at age 20. With a chance to break the record, Bohannon intentionally — and selflessly — missed a free throw to honor Street and keep the record in his name.
    The awards ceremony took place in St. Louis on Nov. 17. Bohannon traveled with the Street family from New York to St. Louis after Iowa’s two games in New York City.
    Other honorees included recently-inducted Baseball Hall of Famer Jim Thome, Loyola men’s basketball team chaplain Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, Florida State softball head coach Lonni Alameda, Minnesota high school pitcher Ty Koehn, and Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith.
    The event is named for Stan Musial, the late St. Louis Cardinals legend who was beloved for his approach on and off the field. The mission of the Musial Awards is to encourage selflessness, integrity and civility in sports and society — and to inspire people across the country to be good sports.

HAWKEYES RETURN EXPERIENCE
Iowa returns 90.5 percent of minutes played a year ago, a percentage that is fourth most in the country: Washington (95.2 percent), Wisconsin (93.9 percent), and Syracuse (90.8 percent). Returning Iowa players scored 94.9 percent (2,496 of 2,630) of its offense a year ago and a combined 4,246 career points entering the 2018-19 season.
    Iowa is one of four schools nationally to have all five starters return with all five being its top five scorers in 2017-18 (Syracuse, Brown, Harvard).
 
McCAFFERY REACHES MILESTONES
Iowa’s regular season opener against UMKC was Fran McCaffery’s 700th career game as a head coach. The 2018-19 season is McCaffery’s ninth as Iowa’s head coach and 23rd overall as a collegiate head coach. McCaffery has 409 overall wins and 158 victories while on the Iowa sidelines. He is third on Iowa’s coaching win chart and 11 victories from surpassing Lute Olson for second. Tom Davis is Iowa’s all-time winningest coach with 269 wins.
 
IOWA WELCOMES 4 HAWKEYES TO 2018-19 ROSTER
Iowa added two scholarship and two non-scholarship student-athletes to its 2018-19 roster. Guards CJ Fredrick (Kentucky) and Joe Wieskamp (Iowa) were their respective state’s Gatorade Player of the Year in 2018. Guard Nicholas Hobbs and forward Michael Baer join the Hawkeye roster as walk-on. Baer is the younger brother of senior Nicholas Baer.
 
FAST START FOR WIESKAMP
Joe Wieskamp is off to a fast start for the Hawkeyes as a freshman. The shooting guard ranks third on the team in scoring (10.1 ppg) and second in rebounding (5.3 rpg). Wieskamp is shooting at a 39 percent clip from 3-point range (12-of-31) and 45 percent overall from the field (29-of-65).
    Wieskamp sustained a sprained ankle in the second half of Iowa’s game at No. 10 Michigan State on Dec. 3, and was able to play the following game versus Iowa State totaling seven points, two assists, and one rebound.
    Wieskamp posted his first career double-double versus Pitt on Nov. 27, totaling a team-best in points (18) and rebounds (11).
 
BAER APPROACHING ELITE COMPANY
Redshirt senior Nicholas Baer is 38 rebounds and eight blocked shots from becoming the fifth Hawkeye in program history to amass 500 points, 500 rebounds, 100 blocked shots, and 100 steals. The four other players who have accomplished that feat include Greg Stokes, Acie Earl, Michael Payne, and Ryan Bowen.
    Baer has been red-hot shooting the basketball from 3-point range recently. The native of Bettendorf, Iowa, has made nine of his last 15 attempts over the last four games against Pitt, Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Iowa State.
 
FAMILY AFFAIR
In addition to brothers Nicholas and Michael Baer on the Iowa men’s basketball team, the Baers have two cousins competing on other sports at the University of Iowa. Molly Kelly is a senior on the volleyball team, while Joe Kelly is a freshman on the Iowa wrestling team. Additionally, cousin Kristin Baer is a senior on the Notre Dame volleyball team.
 
BREAKING DOWN IOWA’S BIG TEN SCHEDULE
Of the 10 Big Ten homes games played in Iowa City, eight will be played on weekends: three on Friday nights (Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana), two on Saturday afternoons (Ohio State, Rutgers), three on Sunday afternoons (Nebraska, Illinois, Northwestern).
    Other than playing two straight Big Ten road games one month apart (Michigan State on Dec. 3 and Purdue on Jan. 3), Iowa has only one other back-to-back road game sequence (Wisconsin on March 7 and Nebraska on March 10).
    This season will mark the seventh time in nine years that the Hawkeyes will open league play at home and just the second time in nine years that Iowa will play its regular season finale on the road under head coach Fran McCaffery.
 
MEASURING THE HAWKEYES
Iowa has four players with wingspans over seven feet: Ryan Kriener (7-3), Jack Nunge (7-2), Luka Garza (7-1.5), and Tyler Cook (7-1). Guards Maishe Dailey (6-11) and Joe Wieskamp (6-11) have longest wingspans among backcourt players.
 
NUNGE, FREDRICK TO REDSHIRT
Sophomore forward Jack Nunge and freshman guard CJ Fredrick plan to redshirt the 2018-19 season. Nunge, one of seven forwards on this season’s roster, saw action in all 33 games a year ago, ranking second on the team in blocked shots (25), fourth in steals (21), and fifth in scoring (5.7). Fredrick was the 2018 Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year his senior year at Covington Catholic High School.
 
COOK ATTENDS NIKE BASKETBALL ACADEMY
Tyler Cook attended the prestigious Nike Basketball Academy this past summer in California. The camp provided Cook the opportunity to train alongside some of the best NBA players and coaches. The prestigious skills development camp was limited to 25 of the nation’s top collegiate players, which included a combine experience, drills, off-court workouts, film sessions, and competition.
    Cook is the fourth Hawkeye in five years to be invited to this elite basketball camp, joining Aaron White (2014), Jarrod Uthoff (2015), and Peter Jok (2016).
 
PEMSL RETURNS TO ACTION VERSUS IOWA STATE
After sitting out eight straight games after the season opener due to injury, Cordell Pemsl returned to action in Iowa’s win over instate rival Iowa State on Dec. 6. Pemsl played 16 minutes off the bench, totaling eight points, six rebounds, one assist, and one block.
    After it was announced the Pemsl was  scheduled to have season-ending surgery later this month after final exams to remove hardware near his knee from a previous surgery, the junior forward decided to try to give playing this season a second chance after a few weeks of rest and treatment. Pemsl and the training staff will take it day by day with planning moving forward.
    The native of Dubuque, Iowa, has played in 68 career games, averaging 7.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.
 
CONNOR MCCAFFERY RETURNS HEALTHY
Guard Connor McCaffery received a medical redshirt following last season. McCaffery (6-foot-5, 205 pounds) has four years of men’s basketball eligibility remaining after averaging 13.3 minutes in only four games last December as a true freshman. The native of Iowa City missed two games due to a sprained ankle, eight contests due to mononucleosis, and 19 games after undergoing a tonsillectomy in December.
    McCaffery is the son of head coach Fran McCaffery. Iowa is one of nine Division I teams in which the head coach has a son on the 2018-19 roster (Cal State Bakersfield, Central Connecticut State, Central Florida, Detroit Mercy, Kentucky, Portland, Syracuse, Tennessee Martin).
    Iowa is 11-2 in games in which Connor McCaffery has played, dating back to last season. McCaffery is first on the team in assists (32) and is sixth in scoring (8.1 ppg). The redshirt freshman is shooting 85 percent (40-of-47) from the free throw line, and ranks first in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.6) and ninth in assists per game (3.6).

HAWKEYE FASTBREAKS
•   Junior Tyler Cook is one of 21 players in Iowa history to have 10 or more double-doubles.
•   Iowa has won 56 of its last 60 non-conference home games, dating back to 2012.
•   Iowa is one of 20 schools nationally to have five or more redshirts on their roster. Iowa’s five redshirts are tied for second most in the B1G with Michigan State (Wisconsin, 8).
•   Iowa started 6-0 for the first time since the 2013-14 season.
•  Two Hawkeyes were named to the 2K Empire Classic All-Tournament Team: Luka Garza (MVP) and Tyler Cook. Cook averaged 16.5 points and nine rebounds, while Garza averaged 16 points and 6.5 rebounds in the two victories. Iowa trailed for only two minutes in the two victories over No. 13 Oregon and Connecticut.
•   Iowa is 80-19 when scoring 80 points or more, the last eight seasons. The Hawkeyes are 67-2 when holding opponents to fewer than 61 points, the last eight years.
•   Iowa’s 105 points versus Alabama State, equaled the fourth highest point total by the Hawkeyes in a single-game in the Fran McCaffery era.
•  Iowa torched Alabama State for 68 first-half points, the most points scored by Iowa in a half in the Fran McCaffery era besting a 63-point outburst in the second half at Minnesota a year ago.
•   Fran McCaffery and his coaching staff are the first in program history to win 18 games or more in six straight seasons (2013-18).
•   Fran McCaffery has guided Iowa to upper division finishes in the Big Ten in five of the last six seasons. McCaffery has accumulated 17 first division finishes in 22 years as a head coach.
 
FANS FLOCK TO CARVER-HAWKEYE ARENA
Iowa ranked 28th in the country in average home attendance (12,026) in 2017-18. The Hawkeyes have ranked in the top 30 nationally in attendance each of the past six seasons, including ranking in the top 25 five of the last six years.
    Iowa’s Big Ten opener versus No. 22 Wisconsin was its first sellout of the 2018-19 season.
 
RECENT GRADUATES PLAYING PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL
A number of recent Iowa basketball graduates are playing professionally: Devyn Marble (Italy), Anthony Clemmons (Kazakhstan), Gabriel Olaseni (Germany), Jarrod Uthoff (Russia), Melsahn Basabe (Israel), Peter Jok (NBA G League: Northern Arizona Suns), Adam Woodbury (NBA G League: Stockton Kings), and Aaron White (Lithuania).
 
IOWA VS. RANKED TEAMS
Iowa is 1-2 this season against nationally-ranked teams, beating No. 13 Oregon in New York City, and losing to No. 22 Wisconsin on in Iowa City and No. 10 Michigan State in East Lansing.
   
IOWA, CINCINNATI TO PLAY IN CHICAGO IN 2019
Iowa has signed a contract to play the University of Cincinnati as part of the Chicago Legends next season.
    The Hawkeyes and Bearcats will play on a neutral court at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 21, 2019, as part of a four-team men’s college basketball doubleheader. Dayton will face Colorado in the other contest.
    Iowa and Cincinnati have played eight previous times, with the last contest coming in the 2005 NCAA Tournament in Indianapolis.
    Each of the 2019 teams has advanced to the NCAA Tournament at least twice in the past four seasons. Tickets will go on sale to the general public in 2019.
 
COACHING EXPERIENCE
Fran McCaffery has the most experienced coaching staffs in the country. The Iowa men’s basketball staff has 58 years of combined collegiate head coaching experience and more than 125 years of collegiate coaching under their belts.
 
IOWA HISTORY
Iowa has played 2,782 games since beginning basketball in 1902. Iowa’s overall record is 1,633-1,149 (.587). Iowa’s 1,633 wins are 41st most among Division I programs. That includes a 1,044-367 (.740) record in home games, a 583-779 (.428) record in contests away from Iowa City, a 766-780 (.495) mark in Big Ten games and a 449-141 (.761) record in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
 
ON THE TUBE
All but one of Iowa’s remaining regular season games will be televised nationally on BTN, FS1, or an ESPN network. Iowa’s game versus Savannah State on Dec. 22, will be available on BTN2GO.
 
ON THE HORIZON
Iowa will finish out its nonconference portion of the schedule with home games against Western Carolina (Tues., Dec. 18), Savannah State (Sat., Dec. 22), and Bryant University (Sat., Dec. 29). Tickets are available for all three games ($15 adults; $10 youth/UI Students) at hawkeyesports.com/tickets.