Game Notes: Iowa vs Western Michigan

THE SETTING
The Hawkeyes’ six-game homestand to open the 2021-22 season continues on Monday when Iowa (4-0) hosts Western Michigan (1-2). Tipoff is set for 7:33 p.m. (CT) on Mediacom Court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena (15,056). Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for youth and UI Students. Terrace Club tickets are also available for purchase for $36.25.

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: Monday’s game will be televised on the Big Ten Network. Kevin Kugler and former Hawkeye Jess Settles will call the action.

GAME #5 STORYLINES
• Jordan Bohannon sank his 375th career 3-pointer last Thursday to surpass Ohio State’s Jon Diebler (2008-11) to become the Big Ten’s all-time 3-point leader.
• Iowa has won 74 of its last 79 nonconference home games, dating back to 2012.
• Sophomore forward Keegan Murray ranks first in the Big Ten in points per game (25.5), fifth in free throw percentage (.923), and sixth in rebounds per game (9.5).
• Keegan Murray is one of three players from a major conference to score 24+ points in each of their first four games of the season over the last 15 years. In addition to Murray, Kansas State’s Michael Beasley (2007-08) and Arizona’s Allonzo Trier (2017-18) accomplished the feat.
• Keegan Murray exploded for 27 points, 21 rebounds, four blocks, and two assists in last Tuesday’s win over North Carolina Central. He is the first Hawkeye to total 25+ points and 20+ rebounds in a game since Bruce King in 1977. King had 31 points and 21 rebounds vs. Ohio State in 1977.
• Iowa has been making the most of its trips to the foul line through four games. The Hawkeyes are shooting a Big Ten-best 82.2 percent from the foul line, making 83-of-101 attempts. Three Hawkeyes have missed two attempts or less (Keegan Murray, 24-of-26; Patrick McCaffery 11-of-12; Tony Perkins 10-of-11).
• Fran McCaffery coached in his 800th career game as a head coach last Thursday versus Alabama State. He has coached a first-team All-Big Ten honoree six of the last eight years. He has guided Iowa to 20+ wins seven of the last nine seasons and fifth place or better finishes in the Big Ten five of the last seven years.
• Iowa is the only Division I program with two sets of brothers on the 2021-22 roster, with one being identical twins. Connor and Patrick McCaffery are two years apart, while Keegan and Kris Murray are identical twins. The Murray twins are one of four twins on Division I rosters this season (Arizona State, San Diego State, and SIUE).
• Jordan Bohannon is back for his sixth season. He is Iowa’s career leader in assists (642), free throw percentage (.889), games played (147), and 3-pointers (378).
• Iowa has won 14 home games each of the last three seasons. The Hawkeyes have averaged just over 13 home victories since Fran McCaffery’s arrival in Iowa City in 2011.
• Iowa ranked first in the Big Ten in scoring offense for the third straight season; Iowa’s 83.7 points per game average in 2021 is its highest since the 1988-89 season (89.6). The Hawkeyes have led the conference in scoring four of the last eight seasons.
• Fran McCaffery has guided Iowa to 20 wins or more in seven of the last nine seasons. He has led Iowa to Big Ten upper division finishes eight of the last nine years. Iowa, Michigan State, and Wisconsin have each recorded a Big Ten-best eight first division finishes since 2013.

IOWA SWATS HORNETS IN FOURTH CONSECUTIVE VICTORY
Iowa led start-to-finish and led by as many as 35 points in a convincing 108-82 triumph over Alabama State Thursday evening in Iowa City.
• Iowa posted school single-game records in 3-pointers made (20) and attempted (44), besting the previous records of 19-of-43 against Savannah State on Dec. 22, 2018.
• Iowa’s 20 3-pointers made equals the Carver-Hawkeye Arena record (20 by Purdue on Jan. 20, 2018). Nine different Hawkeyes made at least one 3-pointer.
• Jordan Bohannon sank his 375th career 3-pointer to surpass Ohio State’s Jon Diebler (2008-11) to become the Big Ten’s all-time 3-point leader with 17:56 remaining in the first half. Bohannon finished the game with four triples.
• Keegan Murray led the team in scoring for the fourth straight game. The Big Ten’s leading scorer totaled 26 points, six rebounds, four assists, and one block.
• Freshman Payton Sandfort netted a career-high 21 points, bolstered by a personal-best five 3-pointers made.
• Junior guard Joe Toussaint posted a season-high 11 points and a career-high 11 assists to notch his first career double-double.
• Sophomore Kris Murray registered career bests in scoring (17) and rebounding (8).
• Iowa scored 63 first-half points, equaling the second highest point total in a half by a Hawkeye team in the Fran McCaffery era. Iowa netted 68 first-half points against Alabama State in 2018 and 63 second-half points at Minnesota in 2018.
• Redshirt sophomore Patrick McCaffery did not play due to a lower body injury.
• The Hawkeyes had one 10-0 scoring run. Iowa has had scoring runs of 10-0 or more a combined seven times in four games.
• Iowa improved to 4-0 all-time against Alabama State.

ALL-TIME SERIES RECORD
Monday will be the fifth meeting between the two teams and first since 1951.

The all-time series is tied 2-2. The Hawkeyes won games in 1941 (49-48) and 1951 (72-68). The Broncos were victorious in 1935 (48-35) and 1950 (58-49).

Iowa is 1-0 in games played between the two teams in Iowa City (72-68 in 1951).

SCOUTING WESTERN MICHIGAN
• Western Michigan competes in the Mid-American Conference. Last season, the Broncos posted a 5-16 overall record and finished in ninth place in their league with a 4-12 conference mark.
• The Broncos lost their last game to Saginaw Valley State (80-63) last Thursday in Kalamazoo. Junior guard Lamar Norman Jr. poured in a career-high 25 points, bolstered by a career-best seven 3-point field goals on 12 attempts. Western Michigan was outscored by 15 at the foul line (21-6).
• Lamar Norman is the only player who averages double figures in scoring, averaging 17.7 points per contest. Markeese Hastings averages a team-best 7.3 rebounds per game.
• Western Michigan has struggled from the free throw line in its first three games, making 23-of-40 attempts (.575). Norman (13), Mack Smith (5), and Josiah Freeman (4) combine to total 22 of the team’s 26 3-pointers.
• Western Michigan’s roster of 14 is comprised of two seniors, three juniors, three sophomores, and six freshmen.
• B. Artis White, who stands 5-foot-10, is the team’s returning leading scorer and was and All-MAC honorable mention a year ago.
• Clayton Bates was named Western Michigan’s 14th head coach in March of 2020. He has spent a considerable portion of his coaching career (17 seasons) as an assistant with the Broncos. Bates played at the University of Florida under Lon Kruger and served as an administrative assistant with him at the University of Illinois in 1997 when the Illini advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
• Iowa’s Kirk Speraw was on Lon Kruger’s staff as an assistant coach when Bates was recruited and played for the Gators.

SPOTLIGHTING KEEGAN MURRAY’S DOMINATING PERFORMANCE
Keegan Murray posted 27 points, 21 rebounds, four blocks, and two assists in Iowa’s win over North Carolina Central on Nov. 16. He accomplished something that has not been done in over four decades by a Hawkeye.

Murray is the first Hawkeye to total 25+ points and 20+ rebounds in a game since Bruce King in 1977. King had 31 points and 21 rebounds vs. Ohio State in 1977.

Murray is one four players over the last five decades to post a 20-20 game: Kevin Kunnert (24-23) vs. Illinois in 1972; Fred Haberecht (29-20) vs. Wisconsin in 1975; Bruce King (42-20) vs. Pittsburgh in 1976; Bruce King (31-21) vs. Ohio State in 1977.

The last Big Ten player to have a 20-20 performance was Purdue’s Trevion Williams at Michigan on Jan. 9, 2020 (36-20).

Murray is the first Hawkeye since Greg Brunner in 2006 to grab 20+ rebounds in a game; Brunner had 23 against Minnesota on Jan. 18, 2006.

Murray is the first major conference player with 27+ points, 21+ rebounds, and 4+ blocks since Kansas State’s Michael Beasley versus Sacramento State on Nov. 9, 2007.

TOUSSAINT RETURNS TO STARTING LINEUP
Joe Toussaint shined in the season opener on Nov. 9, in his first start since a true freshman in 2019. The native of Bronx, New York, was all over the floor against Longwood tallying nine points, four assists, and four of Iowa’s six steals. This past Thursday versus Alabama State, he totaled a career-high 11 assists and a season-high 11 points.

Toussaint ranks second in the Big Ten in assists per game (5.75). He has already matched his 3-point field goals made mark from a year ago through four games this season (3).

Toussaint started 20 of Iowa’s 31 games in 2019. His role changed to coming off the bench last year with a roster filled with upperclassmen.

TWICE AS NICE
Sophomores Keegan and Kris Murray rank 1-2 in team scoring. Keegan averages a Big Ten-best 25.5 points, while Kris averages 13 points.

The Murray’s combined for 40 points, 14 rebounds, seven blocks, and two assists in the opener against Longwood on Nov. 9. The identical twins were efficient shooting the basketball, shooting a combined 15-of-19 (.789) from the field, including 5-of-8 (.625) from 3-point range, and 5-of-6 (.833) from the free throw line.

The twins combined for 31 points, nine rebounds, two blocks, and three steals against Kansas City on Nov. 12.

They had another terrific game versus Alabama State on Nov. 18. The duo combined for 43 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and one block.

2021-22 SCHEDULE NOTES
• Iowa plays its first six regular season games at home on Mediacom Court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
• The Hawkeyes will play back-to-back games away from home five times in 2020-21. beginning with the Big Ten/ACC Challenge at Virginia on Nov. 29, and the Big Ten opener at Purdue on Dec. 3.
• Iowa’s final two games of the regular season will be on the road at Michigan (March 3) and at Illinois (Dec. 6). It marks the second time in three seasons that the Hawkeyes will be on the road for their final two contests.
• Iowa will host a three-game Big Ten homestand in mid-February hosting Nebraska (Feb. 13), Michigan (Feb. 17), and Michigan State (Feb. 22).
• The Hawkeyes’ conference opener will be on Monday, Dec. 6 versus border-rival Illinois.
• Iowa has won 14 home games each of the previous three seasons.

JORDAN BOHANNON HOLDS 4 IOWA ALL-TIME RECORDS
Jordan Bohannon, competing in his sixth season, is the program’s career leader in four statistical categories: assists (642), 3-pointers made (378), games played (147), and free throw percentage (.889, 296-333). His 378 triples are the most in Big Ten history and 116 more than any other Hawkeye.

Bohannon, an honorable mention all-conference honoree in 2021, is one of 30 Division I players over the last 25 years to make 75+ 3-pointers in four seasons.

Bohannon ranked first in the league in 3-point accuracy (.394) and second in 3-pointers made per game (2.58) in 2021. He was second in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.07) and fourth in assists per contest (4.4).

Bohannon’s 80 3-pointers in 2021 are fourth most and his 135 assists are ninth most by a senior in program history.

Eighty percent of his made field goals last season were 3-pointers (80-of-100). He is one of only three Division I players since the 1992-93 season to amass more than 625 assists and 360 3-pointers.

Bohannon is one of only three Hawkeyes to post four 100-assist seasons (Jeff Horner, Dean Oliver).

He has accumulated seven points-assists double-doubles, the most in school history. Bohannon registered a school-record eight games with 10 or more assists.

GIVE ME THREE OF THESE, PLEASE
Iowa established a new single-season 3-point field goals made record last season, sinking 301 to best the previous benchmark of 300 set four seasons ago in 2017. Iowa made 38.6 percent of its attempts (301-of-780), its highest percentage since the 1996-97 season (218-of-543). Iowa’s 38.6 percentage from long distance in 2020-21 is impressive considering the Hawkeyes attempted 237 more attempts than the 1997 squad. The school record for 3-point percentage in a single-season is 41.5 percent (188-of-453) in 1987-88; that team attempted 327 fewer 3-point shots.

KEEGAN MURRAY TABBED PRESEASON ALL-BIG TEN
Sophomore forward Keegan Murray was named to the 2021-22 Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year.

It marks the third straight season that one or more Hawkeyes have been selected to the preseason list, voted upon by a selected panel of media. Joe Wieskamp was selected in 2019 and 2020, while Luka Garza was tabbed the Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year in November, 2020.

Murray is one of the league’s top emerging players after being named to the five-player All-Big Ten Freshman Team a year ago. The Cedar Rapids, Iowa, native was one of only five players nationally — and only bench player — to amass 200 points, 35 blocks, 25 steals, and 15 3-pointers. He was the team’s leading scorer (7.8) and rebounder (5.5) off the bench in conference play. Murray led team in blocks 12 times and steals five times. The 6-foot-8 forward was second on the team in steals (26) and ranked 11th in the Big Ten in blocked shots per game (1.26). His 39 blocks tie for fourth most by a freshman in program history.

Murray totaled 13 points, seven rebounds, four blocks, three assists, and a steal in Iowa’s first-round victory over Grand Canyon to become the first Hawkeye ever to stuff the stat sheet with those numbers in an NCAA Tournament contest.

HAWKEYE FASTBREAKS
• Iowa has topped 100 points in two of four games (Longwood, Alabama State).
• Iowa has limited its turnovers in each of the first four games this season. The Hawkeyes have committed just 34 combined turnovers in four contests (8.5), an average that is third best in the Big Ten.
• Iowa is 113-26 when scoring 80 points or more, the last 12 seasons. The Hawkeyes are 85-2 when holding opponents to fewer than 61 points, the last 12 years.
• The Hawkeyes have won 10 or more Big Ten games six of the last seven seasons.
• Jordan Bohannon, Bob Hansen, Kevin Boyle, and Mark Gannon are the only Hawkeyes to win four games over the Cyclones.
• The Hawkeyes have won six of their last eight ACC/Big Ten Challenge games.
• Iowa has won an NCAA Tournament game each of its last four tournament appearances.
• Iowa has qualified for five NCAA tournaments over the last seven completed seasons (2014-16, 2019, 2021) and eight postseason tournaments over the last nine completed seasons (5 NCAA; 3 NIT).
• Iowa earned a No. 2 seed in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, matching its highest seed ever in NCAA Tournament history (No. 2 seed in the 1987 Tournament).

COACHING EXPERIENCE
Fran McCaffery has the most experienced coaching staffs in the country. The Iowa men’s basketball staff has 75 years of combined collegiate head coaching experience and more than 125 years of collegiate coaching under their belts.

VALUING THE BASKETBALL
Iowa ranked first in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.02) last season. The Hawkeyes had two players ranked high nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio. Connor McCaffery was fourth in the country with a 3.73 ratio (112 assists; 30 turnovers), while Jordan Bohannon was 13th with a 3.07 ratio (135 assists; 44 turnovers).

IOWA HISTORY
Iowa has played 2,876 games since beginning basketball in 1902. Iowa’s overall record is 1,696-1,180 (.589). Iowa’s 1,696 wins are 36th most among Division I programs. That includes a 1,086-374 (.743) record in home games, a 610-806 (.431) record in contests away from Iowa City, a 802-805 (.499) mark in Big Ten games and a 490-148 (.768) record in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

McCAFFERY CLIMBING WINS CHART
Fran McCaffery and the Iowa Hawkeyes have reached the 20-win plateau seven of the last nine seasons. McCaffery and Tom Davis (10) are the only Iowa head coaches to win 20 or more games in at least seven seasons.

Among Iowa’s head basketball coaches, McCaffery ranks second in tournament appearances behind Davis (9). Davis is Iowa’s all-time winningest coach, while McCaffery is second.

RECENT GRADUATES PLAYING PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL
A number of recent Iowa basketball graduates are playing professionally: Joe Wieskamp (NBA San Antonio Spurs), Luka Garza (NBA Detroit Pistons), Jarrod Uthoff (Japan), Devyn Marble (Israel), Tyler Cook (NBA Chicago Bulls), Anthony Clemmons (Italy), Gabriel Olaseni (Turkey), Ryan Kriener (Matsuyama), Bakari Evelyn (Germany), Peter Jok (France), Melsahn Basabe (Puerto Rico), and Aaron White (Serbia).