Game Notes: Iowa vs. Oral Roberts

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THE SETTING
Iowa (1-1) will host Oral Roberts (1-2) on Friday at 7:01 p.m. (CT) on Mediacom Court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena (15,056). Tickets are $15 for adults, and $5 for youth and UI students. 

FRIDAY PROMOTION
•    Fans can purchase four tickets, four hot dogs & four drinks for $55 (must purchase by Thursday at 7 p.m. CT at the UI Athletic Ticket Office or bit.ly/2CB8gjJ).

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: Friday night’s game will be streamed on mobile devices on BTN+ for a small fee. Jon Rawson and Mac McCausland will call the action.

GAME #3 STORYLINES
•     Iowa and Oral Roberts have played only once before, with Iowa winning in a shootout (126-94) on Dec. 3, 1987 in the All-College Tournament in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
•     Iowa is getting production up and down its roster through two contests. Iowa reserves have scored a combined 73 points through two games, averaging 36.5 points per outing.
•    Luka Garza is averaging a double-double through two games (17 ppg and 10 rpg). Garza is the only Hawkeye to score in double figures in each of its first two contests. The junior posted the first double-double in an Iowa season opener (20 points & 12 rebounds versus SIUE) since Aaron White versus Chicago State (19 points & 10 rebounds) on Nov. 11, 2011.
•    The Hawkeyes have made 79.7 percent of its free-throw attempts through two games, making 51 of their 64 attempts.
•    Iowa has won 60 of its last 65 nonconference home games, dating back to 2012. 
•     Iowa has led the Big Ten in scoring offense two of the last six years, including last season.
•    Freshman walk-on Aidan Vanderloo will redshirt the 2019-20 season.
•    Last season, Iowa went undefeated in regular season nonconference play for the first time since the 1986-87 season, winning all 11 games by a margin of 16.9 points. 
•    Iowa has qualified for four NCAA tournaments over the last six years (2014, 2015, 2016, 2019) and seven postseason tournaments over the last eight seasons (4 NCAA; 3 NIT).
•    Iowa won 23 games a year ago, its second highest total in 13 seasons, and most victories under Fran McCaffery for an NCAA Tournament team.
•    Iowa was nationally-ranked for 16 straight weeks in either the Associated Press or Coaches Poll (Nov. 19, 2018 – Feb. 25, 2019).
•    Fran McCaffery has guided Iowa to 20 wins or more in five of the last seven seasons and upper division finishes in the Big Ten six of the last seven seasons. Only Michigan State (7) has more first division finishes than Iowa (6) and Wisconsin (6) since the 2013 season.
•    In only three-plus seasons, Jordan Bohannon (265) surpassed Jeff Horner (262) to become Iowa’s all-time leader in 3-point field goals made.
•    Jordan Bohannon led the Big Ten in free throw percentage each of the last two seasons. 
•    Jordan Bohannon is the 10th player in all of Division I basketball since 1992, to post at least 79 triples and 118 assists per season in each of his first three seasons.
•    Luka Garza joins Aaron White, Tyler Cook, and Jess Settles as the only Hawkeyes to total more than 800 points and 350 rebounds through their sophomore season.

HAWKEYES FALL IN GAVITT TIPOFF GAMES CONTEST TO DEPAUL
DePaul sprinted out to a 19-2 advantage and never looked back in a 93-78 Gavitt Tipoff Games victory over Iowa on Monday evening on Mediacom Court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
•    Four Hawkeyes netted double figures, led by redshirt freshman CJ Fredick’s 16 points. Also scoring in double digits were Luka Garza (14), Ryan Kriener (13) and Joe Toussaint (13). Garza has scored in double figures in Iowa’s first two games of the season.
•    Fredrick netted 13 of his 16 points in the final 20 minutes of play, while Kriener tallied 11 of his 13 points in the first half. Kriener made all five of his field goal attempts.
•    Forwards Luka Garza and Ryan Kriener combined for 27 points (10-17 FG, 5-7 FT) and 16 rebounds against the Blue Demons.
•    For the second game in a row, the Hawkeyes attempted 32 free throws. Iowa mde 24 of the 32 attempts (.750) against the Blue Demons on Monday.
•    The loss snapped Iowa’s streak of 18 straight nonconference home wins inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena, dating back to Dec. 3, 2016 versus Omaha (L, 98-89).

BOHANNON JOINS 1,000-POINT CLUB
Jordan Bohannon is 25 assists from becoming the sixth Hawkeye to amass 1,000 points and 500 assists. Bohannon also surpassed Jeff Horner for first in career triples made as a Hawkeye with his three treys in Iowa’s last contest of the 2018-19 season against No. 6 Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament second round. The Hawkeye senior enters Friday night’s game versus Oral Roberts with 265 3-pointers.
 
SCOUTING ORAL ROBERTS
•    Oral Roberts enters Friday’s game against the Hawkeyes with a 1-2 record, beating Houston Baptist (95-81), but falling on the road at Oklahoma State (80-75) and at Tulsa (74-67).
•    In its last outing at Tulsa on Tuesday, Oral Roberts’ Kevin Obanor posted a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Also scoring in double figures was Max Abmas (12), Elijah Lufile (10), and Emmanuel Nzekwesi (10). The Golden Eagles (10) made six more 3-pointers than the Golden Hurricanes (4).
•    Three Golden Eagles average double figures in scoring: Deondre Burns (16.7), Max Abmas (15.3), and Emmanuel Nzekwesi (14.7).
•    Oral Roberts has been credited with 30 steals through three games (10.0 per game). Emmanuel Nzekwesi leads the squad with six, while Kevin Obanor and R.J. Fuqua each have five.
•    Nearly half of Oral Roberts’ 13-player roster is comprised of upperclassmen (five seniors and one redshirt junior).
•    Paul Mills is in his third season as head coach at Oral Roberts (23-44, .343). Prior to being named head coach in 2017, Mills served 14 years on staff at Baylor. Mills has led the Golden Eagles to a fifth-place finish in The Summit League in each of his first two seasons. While on the staff at Baylor, Mills helped lead Baylor to a pair of NCAA Elite Eights, four Sweet 16’s and four straight NCAA Tournament appearances (2014-17).

2 HAWKEYES NAMED TO PRESEASON WATCH LISTS
Junior Luka Garza and sophomore Joe Wieskamp have been named to preseason watch lists. 
    Garza is one of 20 players named to the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award Watch List. The honor recognizes the top center in men’s college basketball. Garza was an honorable mention All-Big Ten honoree after ranking second on the team in scoring (13.1) and fourth in rebounding (4.5) a season ago. Garza enters Friday’s game versus Oral Roberts with 853 career points, 147 shy of the 1,000-point milestone.
    Wieskamp is one of 20 players named to the Jerry West Award Watch List. The honor recognizes the top shooting guard in men’s college basketball. Wieskamp was named to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team last season after ranking second in the Big Ten in 3-point field goal percentage (.424, 59-of-139) and ranking third on the team in scoring (11.1) and steals (32), and second in rebounding (4.9). Wieskamp opened the 2019-20 season with a 16-point effort against SIUE.
    Both lists will be narrowed down to 10 in mid-February and then five finalists will be selected in March that will be presented to Abdul-Jabbar and West and the selection committees.

WIESKAMP NAMED PRESEASON ALL-BIG TEN
Sophomore shooting guard Joe Wieskamp is one of 10 men’s basketball players selected to the 2019-20 Preseason All-Big Ten team as selected by a media voting panel. 
    Wieskamp was named to the five-player All-Big Ten Freshman Team a season ago, leading the team the team and finishing second in the Big Ten in 3-point field goal percentage (.424, 59-of-139). He ranked third on the team in scoring (11.1) and steals (32), and second in rebounding (4.9). The Muscatine, Iowa, native joins Ayo Dosunmu of Illinois and Maryland’s Jalen Smith as the only underclassmen recognized on the 10-player team. Wieskamp is the third Hawkeye in the last five seasons to be named Preseason All-Big Ten (Peter Jok, 2016; Jarrod Uthoff, 2015).

McCAFFERY’S JOIN LIST OF BROTHERS ON SAME TEAM
Redshirt sophomore Connor McCaffery and freshman Patrick McCaffery are one of 16 brothers nationally who are playing on the same Division I team this season. The McCaffery’s at Iowa join brothers playing at Oklahoma State, Ohio, Northwestern State, Vermont, Pepperdine, Eastern Washington, Mount St. Mary’s, Navy, Maryland, Coppin State, Boston College, Robert Morris, Ohio State, SIUE, and The Citadel.
    Iowa is one of 13 father/coach and son/player duos in Division I in 2019-20 (Cal Poly, Central Connecticut State, Davidson, Detroit Mercy, Illinois, Oregon State, Portland, Syracuse, Texas Southern, UT Martin, Utah, and Wright State. Of the 13 schools, the McCaffery’s are the only program with a father/coach and two sons on the roster.

BOHANNON RECOVERS FROM HIP SURGERY
Senior guard Jordan Bohannon has been recovering from hip surgery in May. Bohannon entered the 2019-20 season with 96 consecutive starts, which tied for the eighth-longest active streak in the country. The streak was snapped in Iowa’s opener last Friday when Bohannon played 19 minutes off the bench versus SIUE.
    Bohannon (6-foot-1, 185 pounds) suffered the injury early his junior season and managed the injury until the end of the season. 
    A third-team All-Big Ten performer last season, Bohannon was credited with a team-best 118 assists, becoming just the seventh Hawkeye to register three 100-assist seasons. The native of Marion, Iowa, is one of 10 Division I basketball players since 1992, to total at least 79 3-pointers and 118 assists in each of his first three seasons. As a junior, Bohannon ranked third on the team in scoring (11.6 ppg) and led the Big Ten in free throw accuracy during league play. Bohannon is Iowa’s all-time leader in 3-point field goals made (264). Last season, Bohannon netted 85 points over the final two minutes of regulation and two minutes of overtime to rank among the nation’s best.
    Bohannon became the seventh Hawkeye to register three 100-assist seasons (Dean Oliver, Jeff Horner, B.J. Armstrong, Andre Woolridge, Mike Gesell, Devyn Marble).

GARZA JOINS ELITE COMPANY
Luka Garza has put up numbers that few Hawkeyes have done through their sophomore season. Garza joins Aaron White, Jess Settles, and Tyler Cook as the only Hawkeyes to total more than 800 points and 350 rebounds through their sophomore year.
    Garza’s sophomore campaign started with surgery in early September to remove a benign cyst in his abdomen. The native of Washington, D.C., recovered in time to start the season opener and have another stellar season for the Hawkeyes. Garza was an honorable mention all-conference honoree and was voted the MVP of the 2K Empire Classic in New York City.
    Garza achieved single season bests in points per game (13.1), field goals made per game (4.9), and free throw percentage (.804). He ranked second on the squad in scoring (13.1) and fourth in rebounding (4.5). 
    Garza tallied 20 or more points a team-best eight times, including four straight games (at Penn State, Illinois, No. 6 Michigan State, at Minnesota), becoming the first Hawkeye to do so since Aaron White in 2015.
    Garza reached double digits in both NCAA Tournament games, including a game-high 20 points in Iowa’s first round win over Cincinnati. He became the sixth Hawkeye in history to have 20 points and seven rebounds in their NCAA Tournament debut. 

3 HAWKEYES RETURN AFTER REDSHIRT YEAR
Forwards Jack Nunge and Cordell Pemsl, along with guard CJ Fredrick are on this season’s active roster after redshirting a year ago.
    Nunge saw action in all 33 games as a freshman, ranking second on the team in blocked shots (25), fourth in steals (21), and fifth in scoring (5.7). Pemsl played in two nonconference games before undergoing a procedure to remove hardware near his knee last December. He has played in 68 career games, averaging 7.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.
    Fredrick was the 2018 Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year his senior year at Covington Catholic High School.
    Joining the three redshirts on the roster this season will be newcomers: Bakari Evelyn, Joe Toussaint, Patrick McCaffery, and Aidan Vanderloo. Evelyn is a graduate transfer from Valparaiso, while Toussaint, McCaffery and Vanderloo (walk-on) are true freshmen.

2019-20 SCHEDULE NOTES
•     Iowa will play 14 games against teams who finished in the Top 50 of the NCAA NET Rankings last season. Furthermore, the Hawkeyes will potentially play seven straight games against teams who finished in the Top 100 of the NCAA NET Ranking a year ago from Nov. 28 to Dec. 21 (Texas Tech, possibly Creighton at Las Vegas Invitational, Syracuse, Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa State, Cincinnati).
•     Iowa will play games in three different time zones and ten states, including games in Las Vegas, Chicago, Indianapolis, Philadelphia, and New York.
•     From Nov. 28-Jan. 4, the Hawkeyes will travel 8,362 total miles (Las Vegas, Syracuse, Ann Arbor, Ames, Chicago, Philadelphia).
•     Iowa’s first five games of the season will be played at home at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, from Friday, Nov. 8 to Sunday, Nov. 24. The last time Iowa opened with five straight home games was the 2013-14 season.
•     Iowa will visit the Palestra in Philadelphia on Jan. 4, for a Big Ten game against Penn State. It will mark the Hawkeyes’ first visit to the historic building since 1961. Fran McCaffery played inside the Palestra for three years while a guard at Penn (1980-82).
•     Iowa will open Big Ten play versus Michigan in Ann Arbor on Dec. 6. The last time the Hawkeyes opened league play against the Wolverines in Ann Arbor was the 1968-69 season.
•     Iowa will play three straight Big Ten home games for the first time since 2003. The Hawkeyes will host Michigan on Jan. 17; Rutgers on Jan. 22; Wisconsin on Jan. 27.
•     Iowa’s Big Ten home opener will be against Minnesota on Dec. 9. The last time the Hawkeyes hosted the Golden Gophers in their first league home game was the 1995-96 season.
•     The Hawkeyes will play Cincinnati for the second straight season on Dec. 21 (Chicago), after beating the Bearcats in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last March in Columbus. Four of the previous nine meetings against Cincinnati have come on a neutral floor. 
•     Iowa will host nine weekend home games inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena, including five Big Ten games on Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

IOWA HISTORY
Iowa has played 2,810 games since beginning basketball in 1902. Iowa’s overall record is 1,650-1,158 (.587). Iowa’s 1,650 wins are 36th most among Division I programs. That includes a 1,054-371 (.740) record in home games, a 590-786 (.429) record in contests away from Iowa City, a 776-788 (.496) mark in Big Ten games and a 459-145 (.760) record in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. 

FRAN McCAFFERY SIGNS FIRST GRAD TRANSFER
Fran McCaffery enters his 10th season as head coach of the Hawkeyes and signed his first graduate transfer this past July. Bakari Evelyn, a native of Detroit, played the previous two seasons at Valparaiso (2017-18) and his freshman year at Nebraska (2016). 
    Last season at Valparaiso, Evelyn tied for first on the team in 3-pointers made (48), ranked second in assists (68) and fifth in scoring (8.4 ppg). He led the team in steals and assists in six games, and scoring three times. 
     As a sophomore, Evelyn was a Missouri Valley Conference All-Newcomer Team selection and was named co-MVP of the Savannah Invitational. He was the only Crusader to start all 32 games, ranking second on the team in scoring (12.6 ppg) and first in assists (93). 
    Evelyn saw limited action in 18 games as a freshman at Nebraska.

PATRICK McCAFFERY GRANTED #22
Patrick McCaffery has been granted uniform No. 22 to wear by All-American Bill Seaberg (1954-56) in honor of his friend Austin “Flash” Schroeder, who passed away in 2015.
    McCaffery started wearing No. 22 when his father was the coach at Siena and it was the number of his favorite Siena player, Rick Rossiter. McCaffery has worn that number for each team he has played for at every level. It also was the number that Schroeder wore in baseball.
    Cancer touched both of their lives. McCaffery had surgery on March 19, 2014, to remove a tumor on his thyroid. On that same day, while on a family spring break trip to Mexico, Austin discovered a large lump in his groin. Two days after Patrick’s surgery, doctors informed his family that the tumor was malignant. A second surgery was scheduled in April. That month, Schroeder started chemotherapy for T-Cell lymphoma. Schroeder was 15 when he passed away on April 28, 2015. 
    Seaberg’s No. 22 hasn’t appeared for 63 seasons and 1,845 games. McCaffery wrote Seaberg a letter, explaining what No. 22 means to him. Seaberg agreed to let McCaffery wear it, with the stipulation that it return to retired status after McCaffery’s playing career ends at Iowa.

FRAN McCAFFERY SIGNS FIRST GRAD TRANSFER
Fran McCaffery enters his 10th season as head coach of the Hawkeyes and signed his first graduate transfer this past July. Bakari Evelyn, a native of Detroit, played the previous two seasons at Valparaiso (2017-18) and his freshman year at Nebraska (2016). 
    Last season at Valparaiso, Evelyn tied for first on the team in 3-pointers made (48), ranked second in assists (68) and fifth in scoring (8.4 ppg). He led the team in steals and assists in six games, and scoring three times. 
     As a sophomore, Evelyn was a Missouri Valley Conference All-Newcomer Team selection and was named co-MVP of the Savannah Invitational. He was the only Crusader to start all 32 games, ranking second on the team in scoring (12.6 ppg) and first in assists (93). 
    Evelyn saw limited action in 18 games as a freshman at Nebraska.

LUTE OLSON TO BE ENSHRINED IN HALL OF FAME
Former Iowa head men’s basketball coach Lute Olson will be enshrined in the College Basketball Hall of Fame in Kansas City on Nov. 24. Olson coached Iowa for nine seasons (1974-83), taking the Hawkeyes to five straight NCAA Tournaments, including the 1980 Final Four. He left as the Hawkeyes’ winningest coach — his 165 wins now rank third most in school history. Olson was instrumental in the vision and construction of Carver-Hawkeye Arena, which opened on Jan. 5, 1983. Olson went on to coach at the University of Arizona for 25 years (1983-2008).

RYAN KRIENER TOOK THE NEXT STEP
Ryan Kriener registered single-season bests in nearly every statistical category as a junior last year. His scoring (5.7) and rebounding (3.0) averages improved, along with his shooting percentages. Kriener tallied double figures seven times in 2018-19.
    The native of Spirit Lake, Iowa, is off to a good start in 2019-20 ranking second on the team in scoring (11.0) and rebounding (6.5). He has made seven of his nine field goal attempts (.778) and 8-of-10 (.800) from the charity stripe.

MAKING THE FREEBIES
Iowa made 49 more free throws than any other Big Ten team in 2018-19. The Hawkeyes made 627 fouls shots, while Minnesota was second behind Iowa with 578 makes. Iowa made more free throws than six Big Ten teams attempted (Rutgers, Northwestern, Penn State, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin). The Hawkeyes ranked fifth in the country in free throw makes (627) and ninth nationally in free throw attempts (849).
    Individually, Jordan Bohannon ranked second in the conference and 23rd nationally in free throw accuracy (.872, 102-of-117), while Luka Garza was seventh in the Big Ten (.814, 92-of-113). 
    Bohannon led the Big Ten in free throw percentage each of the last two seasons. He is one of only four Big Ten players to lead the league in free throw accuracy in consecutive seasons. The native of Marion, Iowa, missed only seven free throws in 20 league games this season (64-of-71, .901). Bohannon was 37-of-39 (.949) his sophomore campaign.

RECENT GRADUATES PLAYING PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL
A number of recent Iowa basketball graduates are playing professionally: Jarrod Uthoff (NBA G League: Memphis Hustle), Nicholas Baer (NBA G League; Raptors 905), Tyler Cook (NBA; Cleveland Cavaliers), Devyn Marble (NBA G League; Santa Cruz Warriors), Adam Woodbury (NBA G League: Grand Rapids Drive), Anthony Clemmons (Monaco), Gabriel Olaseni (Turkey), Melsahn Basabe (Slovakia), Peter Jok (France), and Aaron White (Italy).

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 is one of two programs nationwide who have four current/former Division I head coaches on their active coaching staffs (Pitt).

McCAFFERY RECORDS WIN NO. 20
Fran McCaffery and the Iowa Hawkeyes reached the 20-win plateau for the fifth time in seven seasons. McCaffery joins Lute Olson (6) and Tom Davis (10) as the only Iowa head coaches to win 20 or more games in at least five seasons. Both Olson and Davis had 20 or more victories over a span of six of seven seasons.
    McCaffery has taken Iowa to the NCAA Tournament four times. Among Iowa’s head basketball coaches, McCaffery ranks third in tournament appearances behind Davis (9) and Olson (5). Davis is Iowa’s all-time winningest coach, while McCaffery moved past Olson into second place earlier this season.

HAWKEYE FASTBREAKS
•     Iowa won 21 games in the 2018-19 regular season, matching the highest total in 13 seasons (2015 and 2016).
•     Iowa posted five victories over nationally-ranked opponents in 2018-19, equaling Iowa’s highest total in the Fran McCaffery era and the most since 2006 (8).
•     Iowa rallied from a 15-point deficit with 4:15 remaining to win 80-79 over Northwestern on Feb. 10, 2019.
•      Iowa has won its last three NCAA Tournament first round games (2015 vs. Davidson; 2016 vs. Temple; and 2019 vs. Cincinnati).
•    Riley Till and Michael Baer earned Dean’s List recognition for their academic achievements in the Fall of 2018.
•      Iowa won the 2K Empire Classic in New York City with wins over Oregon and Connecticut. The last time Iowa won an in-season tournament outside of the state of Iowa was the 1998 San Juan Christmas Shootout.
•    Iowa is 87-21 when scoring 80 points or more, the last nine seasons. The Hawkeyes are 71-2 when holding opponents to fewer than 61 points, the last nine years.
•    Fran McCaffery has guided Iowa to upper division finishes in the Big Ten in six of the last seven seasons. McCaffery has accumulated 18 first division finishes in 23 years as a head coach.

ON THE HORIZON
Iowa’s five-game homestand to open the season continues next Thursday night when the Hawkeyes entertain North Florida. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. (CT) on Mediacom Court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa will also welcome Cal Poly to Iowa City on Nov. 24 (4 p.m.) prior to Thanksgiving Break. 
    Ticket prices for each game are $15 for adults, and $5 for youth and UI Students.