Game Notes: Iowa at Maryland

THE SETTING
Iowa (15-7, 5-6) will hit the road to challenge Maryland (11-12, 3-9) on Thursday. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:01 p.m. (CT) at the Xfinity Center in College Park, Maryland.

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: Thursday’s contest will be televised on ESPN2. Jason Benetti and Robbie Hummel will call the action.

GAME #23 STORYLINES
• Iowa has won three of the last four meetings against Maryland, dating back to 2020.
• Sophomore Tony Perkins earned his first career start in Iowa’s last outing against Minnesota on Sunday. With the insertion of Perkins in the lineup, Jordan Bohannon shifted from off-guard to point.
• Jordan Bohannon (1,854) is five points from tying and six points from surpassing Aaron White (1,859) for third place on Iowa’s all-time scoring chart.
• The Hawkeyes are tops in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.82); and third in fewest turnovers per game (8.8) and turnover margin (6.0).
• Iowa ranks No. 22 in the NCAA NET, while Maryland is ranked No. 101. The Hawkeyes have one Quad 1 (Utah State) and three Quad 2 (Indiana, Minnesota, Virginia) victories on their resume. Five of Iowa’s seven losses have come to teams ranked in the AP Top 25 this week, with another coming on in double overtime at Penn State.
• Keegan Murray is fourth in the country in points per game (22.3); 39th in field goal percentage (.548); 42nd in blocks per contest (2.05); and 54th in double-doubles (6). Murray is a three-time Big Ten Player of the Week honoree and selected to the Wooden Award Late-Season Top 20 List and the Lute Olson National Player of the Year Watch List.
• Keegan and Kris Murray have all 13 of Iowa’s top individual scoring games this season. Keegan has 12, including the top four, while Kris has two.
• Iowa is second in the Big Ten and eighth nationally in scoring offense (82.2). The Hawkeyes have ranked first in the Big Ten in scoring offense the last three seasons. The Hawkeyes have led the conference in scoring four of the last eight seasons.
• Kris Murray leads the squad in 3-point accuracy, making 40 percent (27-of-67) of his attempts, while Patrick McCaffery is second (.348, 23-of-66). Jordan Bohannon is tied for 15th in the NCAA with 411 career 3-point field goals made.
• Jordan Bohannon is Iowa’s career leader in assists (672), free throw percentage (.886) and 3-pointers (411). He is the NCAA all-time leader in games played (165).
• The Hawkeyes have had scoring runs of 10-0 or more a combined 16 times in 22 games.
• Jordan Bohannon (113) and Connor McCaffery (94) rank second and fifth, respectively, in most career wins among active Big Ten players.
• Iowa has been making the most of its trips to the foul line. The Hawkeyes are shooting 76 percent from the foul line, which is tops in the Big Ten and 23rd nationally. The 334 free throw makes are 26th most in the NCAA.
• Fran McCaffery 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 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.

HAWKEYES COMPLETE SEASON SWEEP OVER GOPHERS
Iowa outscored Minnesota by 16 in the second half to rally from a four-point halftime deficit and beat the Gophers, 71-59, on Sunday inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.
• The Hawkeyes completed the season sweep over the Gophers for the second time in three seasons.
• Sophomore forward Keegan Murray posted his team-leading sixth double-double of the year registering game bests in points (24) and rebounds (15). He has tallied 20+ points a team-best 14 times. The 15 rebounds are the second highest total of his career (21 versus N.C. Central).
• Redshirt sophomore Patrick McCaffery netted a season-best 18 points and equaled a career best with seven rebounds.
• The Hawkeyes held Minnesota leading-scorer Jamison Battle, who averages 17.8 ppg, to only two points on 1-of-12 shooting from the field.
• Iowa improved to 12-2 at home this season. The Hawkeyes are a combined 40-6 inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena over the last three seasons.
• Iowa improved to 89-3 when holding opponents to 61 points or fewer in the Fran McCaffery era (since the 2010-11 season).
• Luke Loewe (19) and Paton Willis (16) paced the Gophers combining for 35 of Minnesota’s 59 points. Loewe drained a three-quarter court 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer to give the Gophers a four-point advantage at intermission.

ALL-TIME SERIES RECORDS
Thursday will be the 14th all-time meeting between Iowa and Maryland. The Terrapins own a slim 7-6 advantage in the series. The teams have split the last six overall meetings, dating back to 2018.

Maryland holds a 3-2 advantage against Iowa in games played at the Xfinity Center. The Terrapins recorded wins over Iowa in 2016 (74-68), 2018 (91-73) and 2020 (67-49), while the Hawkeyes beat Maryland in 2017 (83-69) and 2021 (89-67).

SCOUTING MARYLAND
• Maryland (101 NET Ranking) enters Thursday having lost five of its last seven games, including three straight. The two victories during that stretch were impressive, winning by 16 at home over nationally-ranked Illinois and recording an eight-point win at Rutgers.
• Maryland dropped an 82-67 decision on Sunday at nationally-ranked Ohio State. Maryland’s Donta Scott led all scorers with 25 points. The Buckeyes made 50 percent of their field goal attempts, while the Terrapins shot 39 percent.
• Three Terrapins average double figures in scoring: Eric Ayala (15.4), Fatts Russell (12.9), and Donte Scott (12.9). Scott and Qudus Wahab lead the squad in rebounding, averaging 6.3 and 6.1 per contest, respectively.
• Maryland is 7-7 at home this season, with five of the seven losses coming by six points or less, including two setbacks decided by one possession (Wisconsin; Michigan State).
• Maryland ranks first in the Big Ten in free throws made (349), second in free throw attempts (465), and third in fewest fouls per game (14.7).
• Eric Ayala is first in the league and 37th nationally in 3-point attempts (164) and seventh in the conference in minutes per game (34.17). Hakim Hart is fifth in the Big Ten in steals per contest (1.57), while Fatts Russell is seventh in free throw accuracy (.765).
• Mark Turgeon stepped down as Maryland’s head coach on Dec. 3, 2021, after 10+ seasons in College Park. Danny Manning has served as interim head coach, dating back to Dec. 5, 2021. Manning was hired as an assistant coach by Turgeon on April 26, 2021. Manning and Turgeon played three seasons together at Kansas (1984-87).
• Iowa assistant coach Sherman Dillard began his coaching career at Maryland, spending six seasons (1979-85) as an assistant coach. Dillard helped coach the Terrapins to four 20-win seasons and five NCAA Tournaments. The 1980, 1984 and 1985 squads reached the Sweet 16, while the 1984 team won the ACC Tournament.

LAST MEETING AGAINST MARYLAND
Iowa earned its first Big Ten victory on Jan. 3, defending its home court with an 80-75 triumph over Maryland at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.
• Keegan Murray led all scorers with 35 points, tying a personal best. The native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, also sank a personal-best five 3-point field goals.
• Junior point guard Joe Toussaint registered game bests in assists (9) and steals (3), and tallied nine points.
• Senior Filip Rebraca netted a season-high 13 points, to go along with eight rebounds.
• All five Maryland starters reached double figures, led by Eric Ayala’s 19 points.
• Iowa has won three of the last four meetings against the Terrapins.

VALUING THE BASKETBALL
The Hawkeyes are tops in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.82); and third in fewest turnovers per game (8.8) and turnover margin (6.0).

McCaffery has continued his mastery of limiting turnovers in 2021-22 with 35 assists and only seven turnovers, boasting a robust 5.0 assist-to-turnover ratio. Joe Toussaint’s 2.38 ratio is sixth best in the league and 40th nationally.

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).

At Virginia and versus Illinois, the Hawkeyes committed a season-low four turnovers, tying the third fewest total in a single-game in the Fran McCaffery era. The four turnovers against the Cavaliers are the fourth lowest in any Big Ten/ACC Challenge game.

TWICE AS NICE
Sophomores Keegan and Kris Murray rank first and third, respectively, in team scoring. Keegan averages 22.4 points, while Kris averages 10.1 points. Keegan also ranks first on the squad in rebounds per game (8.6), blocks per game (2.0), and free throws made (84), while Kris ranks third on the squad in rebounds per contest (4.4), and first in 3-point accuracy (.403, 27-of-67).

KEEGAN MURRAY GARNERS NATIONAL ATTENTION
Keegan Murray has been selected to the Wooden Award Late-Season Top 20, the Lute Olson National Player of the Year Award Midseason List, Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award semifinalist, Sporting News Second Team All-American, and has been named Big Ten Player of the Week three times this season (Nov. 22; Dec. 20; Jan. 3).

The Hawkeyes have had a student-athlete named to the Wooden Award Late-Season Top 20 three straight years and four of the last seven seasons. Former Hawkeye Luka Garza was the recipient of the 2021 John R. Wooden Award and was a finalist in 2020 award, while Jarrod Uthoff was a semifinalist in 2016. Garza was also the recipient of the 2021 Lute Olson Award.
Murray and former Hawkeye and All-American Luka Garza are the only Hawkeyes to earn three Big Ten Player of the Week accolades in the same season since the award was started in 1981-82.

Murray powered the Hawkeyes to a 94-75 victory over Utah State on Dec. 18, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Murray exploded for a career-best 35 points. He scored 18 straight Hawkeye points spanning 6:08 in the first half. Murray was six points from the arena record. The native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, also totaled a game-best seven rebounds and had two steals, one block, and an assist. Iowa was +22 when Murray was on the court against the Aggies.

Murray averaged 26.5 points, 13.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.5 blocks in a pair of wins over N.C. Central and Alabama State. He had a historic stat line against N.C. Central, totaling 27 points, 21 rebounds, and four blocks. He became the fourth Hawkeye over the last five decades, and first since 1977, to score 20+ points and grab 20+ rebounds. Against Alabama State, Murray amassed 26 points, six rebounds, and a career-high four assists. He sank two of Iowa’s school-record 20 3-pointers in a 26-point win.

Murray posted game bests in points (29), rebounds (10), and blocks (3), while also dishing out three assists in Iowa’s 92-71 win over Western Illinois on Dec. 29. He registered his third double-double of the season and shot a blistering 65 percent from the field, making 13-of-20 attempts.

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 (672), 3-pointers made (411), games played (165), and free throw percentage (.886, 335-378). His 411 triples are the most in Big Ten history and 149 more than any other Hawkeye.

Bohannon (165) became the NCAA all-time leader in career games played at Wisconsin on Jan. 6, surpassing Ohio State’s David Lighty (157 games played between 2007-11). Bohannon ranks fourth in career scoring (1,854) and is six points from surpassing Aaron White (1,859) for third. Bohannon is also approaching Iowa’s Top 10 in field goals made.

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).

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.

STEALING THE ROCK
Iowa ranks first in the Big Ten and 60th nationally in steals per game (8.0). The last time a Hawkeye team led the conference in steals was during the 2016-17 season (8.1 per game).

McCAFFERY CLIMBING WINS CHART
Fran McCaffery and the Hawkeyes have reached 20 wins seven of the last nine seasons. McCaffery and Tom Davis (10) are the only Iowa 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.

HAWKEYE FASTBREAKS
• The Hawkeyes are 12-0 this season when outrebounding their opponents and 7-0 when Iowa shoot 50 percent or better from the field.
• Sophomore Keegan Murray has totaled 25 points or more an NCAA-best nine times this season.
• Iowa is 121-28 when scoring 80 points or more, the last 12 seasons. The Hawkeyes are 89-3 when holding opponents to fewer than 61 points, the last 12 years.
• The Hawkeyes own a +7.2 differential in scoring points off turnovers this season.
• Keegan Murray and Kansas State’s Michael Beasley (2007-08) are the only two players from a major conference to score 24+ points in each of their first five games of the season over the last 15 years. He is one of three Big Ten players since the 2002-03 season with six consecutive 20-point games to start the season.
• Iowa posted school single-game records in 3-pointers made (20) and attempted (44) against Alabama State on Nov. 18, 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).
• The Hawkeyes topped the century mark in three of its first five games (Longwood, Alabama State, Western Michigan). The last time an Iowa team scored 100+ points in three of its first five games was the start of the 1997-98 season.
• 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 five twins on Division I rosters this season (Arizona State, San Diego State, SIUE, and Wisconsin).
• The Hawkeyes have won seven of their last nine, including four straight, Big Ten/ACC Challenge games.
• Virginia has allowed 75+ points at home only six times under head coach Tony Bennett. Iowa has accounted for two of those six (75 in 2021 and 75 in 2013).
• Iowa has won 77 of its last 82 nonconference home games, dating back to 2012.
• The Hawkeyes have won 10 or more Big Ten games six of the last seven seasons.
• 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 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.
• Florida State has won an NCAA-record 13 straight overtime games, dating back to January, 2018. The last team to beat the Seminoles in overtime was Iowa (78-75) on Dec. 2, 2015, in Iowa City. That game featured 21 lead changes.

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).

SPOTLIGHTING KEEGAN MURRAY’S DOMINATING EFFORT
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.

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.

IOWA HISTORY
Iowa has played 2,894 games since beginning basketball in 1902. Iowa’s overall record is 1,707-1,187 (.590). Iowa’s 1,707 wins are 36th most among Division I programs. That includes a 1,094-376 (.744) record in home games, a 613-811 (.431) record in contests away from Iowa City, an 807-811 (.498) mark in Big Ten games and a 498-150 (.768) record in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.