Game Notes: Iowa vs. Savannah State

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THE SETTING
No. 23/21 Iowa (9-2) remains home for a non-conference contest against Savannah State (3-10) on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 12:01 p.m. (CT) on Mediacom Court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena (15,056). Tickets are available for $15 for adults, and $5 for UI students and youth 18-and-under.
 
UGLY SWEATER GAME
Fans are encouraged to wear their ugly holiday sweaters to the game on Saturday.
 
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.
Stream: Saturday’s contest will streamed for a fee on BTN Plus on BTN2GO. There is no television coverage of this game. Rob Brooks and Zach Mackey will call the action.

GAME #12 STORYLINES
•   Iowa has won 57 of its last 61 non-conference home games, dating back to 2012.
•   Iowa has won all nine of its non-conference games this season with two more non-league contests remaining. The last time an Iowa team won all of its non-conference games was the 1986-87 season.
•   Tyler Cook has 1,021 career points, becoming the 47th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau in last Saturday’s win over Northern Iowa.
•   Luka Garza’s 10 made 3-pointers are tied for the fifth most in the country among players 6-foot-11 or taller.
•   Nicholas Baer is 32 rebounds and three blocks from becoming the fifth player in program history to total 500 points, 500 rebounds, 100 blocked shots, and 100 steals.
•   Iowa has led by as many as 20 points in each of Iowa’s last three games (Iowa State, Northern Iowa, Western Carolina).
•   Iowa has had a player post a double-double four of the last six games. Joe Wieskamp versus Pitt (18 points, 11 rebounds), and Tyler Cook against Wisconsin (19 points, 15 rebounds), Iowa State (26 points, 11 rebounds), and UNI (17 points, 13 rebounds).
•   Jordan Bohannon made three 3-pointers last Saturday versus UNI. The junior now has 203 career 3-pointers, becoming the seventh Hawkeye with 200 triples.
•   Two of Iowa’s remaining games in December will be played in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
•   The Hawkeyes rank first in the country in free throw makes per game (22.9) and attempts (30.3). Iowa has made 19 or more free throws in nine of 11 contests.
•   Iowa is 13-2 in games in which Connor McCaffery has played, dating back to last season. McCaffery is second in the Big Ten in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.9), ninth in free throw percentage (.825, 47-of-57), and ninth in assists (3.45).
•   Tyler Cook has led the Hawkeyes in scoring in the last five games: Wisconsin (19 points), Michigan State (15 points), Iowa State (26 points), Northern Iowa (17 points), and Western Carolina (18 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.
•   Luka Garza (MVP) and Tyler Cook were named to the 2K Empire Classic All-Tournament Team.

 HAWKEYES WIN THIRD STRAIGHT GAME, TOP WESTERN CAROLINA
Iowa led by as many as 27 points to remain unbeaten in non-conference play in a 78-60 triumph over Western Carolina on Tuesday on Mediacom Court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
•  Three Hawkeyes netted double figures: Tyler Cook (18), Luka Garza (15), and Joe Wieskamp (10). Cook led the Hawkeyes in scoring for the fifth straight contest.
•   Western Carolina shot 66.7 percent from the field (11-of-17) and 3-point range (4-of-6) in the first half, but trailed the Hawkeyes by 19 points at halftime (48-29). Iowa scored 18 points following 15 first-half turnovers by the Catamounts.
•  Iowa converted 27-of-37 (.730) from the free throw line, compared to 11-of-18 (.611) for Western Carolina. Connor McCaffery was 7-of-10 from the foul line.
•   Nicholas Baer posted game bests in blocked shots (4) and steals (3) to go along with four points and two rebounds. Baer’s four blocks moved the Hawkeye senior into tenth place on Iowa’s all-time blocks list (97).
•   Iowa posted season bests in forced turnovers (26) and blocked shots (8).
•   Five different Hawkeyes sank a 3-pointer (Bohannon, Wieskamp, Garza, Moss, Baer).
•   Iowa improved to 3-0 all-time against Western Carolina.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES RECORDS
Iowa has played Savannah State once before, beating the Tigers, 116-84, on Nov. 13, 2016, in Iowa City.
 
SCOUTING SAVANNAH STATE
•    Savannah State is in the middle of a 12-game road trip. Saturday’s contest will be the Tigers’ ninth straight game away from home. Savannah State lost 91-80 at Tennessee Tech on Thursday before traveling to Iowa City. The Tigers are 0-9 in true road games.
•     The Tigers rank first in the country in 3-point attempts (43.6) and third in 3-point makes per game (12.5). Savannah State also ranks 15th in offensive rebounds per game (14.23) and 36th in rebounds per game (40.46).
•     Three Tigers average in double figures in scoring: Jaquan Dotson (13.2), Zach Sellers (11.3), and Zaquavian Smith (10.6). Dotson also leads the squad in rebounding (5.8), while Sellers is first in assists (5.0).
•     Savannah State (567) has attempted 321 more 3-pointers than Iowa (246). Seven Tigers have attempted 55 or more 3-pointers, while Jordan Bohannon is the only Hawkeye over 55 3-point attempts (56). Jaquan Dotson leads the team with 32 made triples.
•     Savannah State has allowed its opponents 100 points or more in five games, including the two of its last three outings (139 at South Dakota State; 101 at Wisconsin).
•    In 14 seasons as head coach of Savannah State, Horace Broadnax has compiled a 174-238 record and a 216-326 overall mark in 19 seasons as a head coach. Broadnax was head coach at Bethune Cookman for five years (1998-2002). Broadnax played college basketball at Georgetown and was a member of the 1984 men’s national championship team. He was also on the 1985 men’s national championship runner-up team. 
 
LAST MEETING
Iowa made a school-record 18 3-pointers en route to a 116-84 triumph over Savannah State on Nov. 13, 2016, on Mediacom Court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
•  All 13 players who saw action scored with four players reaching double figures: Brady Ellingson (23), Cordell Pemsl (18), Tyler Cook (14), and Peter Jok (13).
•  Iowa’s bench scored 76 of its 116 points.
•  Savannah State was outrebounding the Hawkeyes by eight (26-18) at half, but Iowa was +20 on the glass in the second half finishing the game with a +12 advantage (52-40).
•  Nicholas Baer was credited with a career-high six assists. He also had nine points.
 
HAWKEYES NATIONALLY RANKED
The Hawkeyes are one of seven Big Ten ranked in this week’s AP Top 25: Michigan (4), Michigan State (10), Ohio State (15), Wisconsin (16), Indiana (22), Iowa (23), and Nebraska (25). 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. 21 in this week’s Coaches Poll and No. 38 in the NCAA NET Rankings.
 
IOWA IN THE BIG TEN STATISTICS
Iowa ranks first in the Big Ten in free throw percentage (.757), free throw makes (252) and attempted (333); second in scoring offense (81.7); fourth in 3-point percentage defense (.296); fifth in steals (6.5); sixth in assists (15.1). Individually, Luka Garza ranks fourth in the league in free throw percentage (.842, 32-of-38), Tyler Cook is eighth in rebounding (8.5) and eighth in scoring (16.7), Connor McCaffery ranks second in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.9) and ninth in assists (3.5), while Nicholas Baer is 13th in blocks (1.1) and steals (1.2).
 
COOK ELEVATING HIS GAME
Tyler Cook has posted double-doubles in three of the last five games, leading the Hawkeyes in scoring in each of those five games and leading the squad in rebounding in three of the five. Cook recorded career point No. 1,000, in last Saturday’s win over Northern Iowa.
    Cook is one of three Big Ten student-athletes to average better than 16.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, joining Wisconsin’s Ethan Happ and Lamar Stevens of Penn State. Cook ranks in the top ten in the league in both scoring and rebounding.
 
MILESTONES APPROACHING FOR BOHANNON, COOK
Jordan Bohannon is closing in on joining classmate Tyler Cook in the 1,000-point club. Bohannon is 81 points and 119 assists from becoming the sixth Hawkeye to amass 1,000 points and 500 assists. Cook is 39 rebounds from becoming the 26th Hawkeye to total 1,000 points and 500 rebounds.
 
BAER APPROACHING ELITE COMPANY
Redshirt senior Nicholas Baer is 32 rebounds and three 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.
 
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 411 overall wins and 160 victories while on the Iowa sidelines. He is third on Iowa’s coaching win chart and nine victories from surpassing Lute Olson for second. Tom Davis is Iowa’s all-time winningest coach with 269 wins.
 
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 fourth in rebounding (4.6 rpg). Wieskamp is shooting at a 40.5 percent clip from 3-point range (15-of-37) and 47 percent overall from the field (36-of-76).
    Wieskamp posted his first career double-double versus Pitt on Nov. 27, totaling a team-best in points (18) and rebounds (11).
 
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.
 
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.
 
PEMSL HAS SEASON ENDING SURGERY
Junior forward Cordell Pemsl underwent season-ending surgery on Dec. 18.
    “Cordell’s procedure removed hardware near his knee from a previous surgery when he was in high school,” said McCaffery.
    Pemsl (6-foot-8, 230 pounds) has seen action in only two games this season, playing 13 minutes against UMKC (Nov. 8) and 18 minutes versus Iowa State (Dec. 6).
    “I tried to give playing this season another shot in the Iowa State game, but after a week of rest and recovery, the chronic irritation caused by the hardware has remained resulting in my inability to play in Saturday’s game versus UNI. After further discussions with the medical staff, we determined that the best course of action is to correct the problem at this time.”
    The native of Dubuque, Iowa, has played in 68 career games, averaging 7.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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).
 
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 HISTORY
Iowa has played 2,784 games since beginning basketball in 1902. Iowa’s overall record is 1,635-1,149 (.587). Iowa’s 1,635 wins are 41st most among Division I programs. That includes a 1,045-367 (.740) record in home games, a 584-779 (.428) record in contests away from Iowa City, a 766-780 (.495) mark in Big Ten games and a 450-141 (.761) record in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
 
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 13-2 in games in which Connor McCaffery has played, dating back to last season. McCaffery is first on the team in assists (38) and is sixth in scoring (7.5 ppg). The redshirt freshman is shooting 82.5 percent (47-of-57) from the free throw line, and ranks second in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.9) and 10th in assists per game (3.5).
 
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).
 
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.
   
HAWKEYE FASTBREAKS
•   Iowa is 22-8 all-time in games played on Dec. 22.
•   Junior Tyler Cook is one of 21 players in Iowa history to have 10 or more double-doubles.
•   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 69-2 when holding opponents to fewer than 61 points, the last eight years.
•  Iowa posted 98 points in its 14-point win over Iowa State on Dec. 6. The last time Iowa scored 90 points or more against Iowa State was Dec. 10, 1988, in Iowa City (Iowa won 91-71).
•  Iowa improved to 6-1 all-time in The Hy-Vee Classic with its 77-54 win over Northern Iowa on Dec. 15 in Des Moines. In the seven-year history of four-team Hy-Vee Classic, Nicholas Baer is the only player to win four games in four years. Baer averaged 10 points, nine rebounds, 2.75 assists, 2.5 blocked shots, and two steals in four games played.
•   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.
 
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, 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.
 
ON THE HORIZON
Iowa will finish out its nonconference portion of the schedule on Saturday, Dec. 29, versus Bryant University. Tickets are available for $15 adults, and $5 for youth and UI Students) at hawkeyesports.com/tickets.