| OPPONENT | SE Missouri State (5-6) at Iowa (7-3) |
| LOCATION | Iowa City, Iowa (Carver-Hawkeye Arena) |
| DATE | Saturday, Dec. 17 |
| TIP-OFF | 7:31 p.m. (CT) |
| RADIO | Hawkeye Sports Network |
| TV | BTN |
The Setting
Iowa (7-3) remains home on Saturday entertaining Southeast Missouri State (5-6) in a nonconference contest. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:31 p.m. (CT) on Mediacom Court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.
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. Mike Hall and Bruce Weber will call the action.
GAME #11 STORYLINES
- Fran McCaffery, in his 27th season as a head coach, won his 500th game on Dec. 8. Coach McCaffery is seeking win No. 250 at Iowa on Saturday.
- Saturday will be the second meeting between Iowa and Southeast Missouri State. The Hawkeyes won the previous contest, 75-41, on Nov. 25, 2008, in Iowa City.
- Iowa has won 82 of its last 87 nonconference home games, dating back to 2012, including all five this season.
- Iowa is 5-0 this season when making nine or more 3-pointers in a game.
- Connor McCaffery has posted double-doubles in two of Iowa’s last four games. He has played in 144 career games as a Hawkeye, second most behind Jordan Bohannon (179).
- Through 10 games, Connor and Patrick McCaffery combine averaging 21.2 points, eight rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 2.1 steals.
- Six of Iowa’s seven victories this season have come by 16 points or more.
- Iowa was without starters Kris Murray (19.4 ppg) and Ahron Ulis (6.4 ppg) in its last game versus Wisconsin on Dec. 11.
- Three Hawkeyes are shooting 50 percent or better from the field: Filip Rebraca (.560), Dasonte Bowen (.543), and Kris Murray (.500).
- Iowa ranks first in the Big Ten and 32nd nationally in scoring offense (81.7). The Hawkeyes have led the league in scoring five of the last nine seasons, including the last four.
- Kris Murray was named the ESPN Men’s Basketball National Player of the Week and Big Ten Co-Player of the Week on Dec. 5. He amassed 31 points, 20 rebounds, four assists, four 3-pointers, and two blocks in Iowa’s win over Georgia Tech last week. He is the first Hawkeye to amass 30 points and 20 rebounds in the same game since Bruce King in 1977. He is also the only NBA, WNBA, or Division I men’s or women’s player in the last 20 years to total 30+ points, 20+ rebounds, 4+ assists, 4+ 3-pointers, and 2+ blocks in the same game.
- Iowa is fifth in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.65), 15th in fewest fouls per game (13.4), 19th in fewest turnovers per game (10.5), and 22nd in assists per game (17.3).
- Kris Murray and Patrick McCaffery were voted to the Emerald Coast Classic All-Tournament Team. Murray averaged a double-double (10.5 points, 11 rebounds), while McCaffery led the team with a career-high 21 points in Iowa’s three-point victory over Clemson.
- Kris Murray is the only Division I player over the last 25 years to have scored 95+ points, grabbed 30+ rebounds, had five or fewer turnovers, shot 60 percent from the field, and 100 percent from the foul line over any four-game span during a season. Murray accomplished the feat in the first four games last month.
- Fran McCaffery has coached a first-team All-Big Ten honoree seven of the last nine years. He has guided Iowa to 20+ wins eight of the last 10 seasons, including four-straight.
- Entering this season, Iowa won 42 games over Big Ten teams — including conference tournament contests — over the past three seasons, second most in the league (Illinois, 47).
SCOUTING SE MISSOURI STATE
- Southeast Missouri State enter Saturday’s game 5-6 overall, including a 2-4 record in true road games. After starting the season 5-1, the Redhawks have lost five consecutive contests, including their most recent outing at Arkansas State Wednesday evening (68-61).
- The Redhawks lead the Ohio Valley Conference in scoring defense (68.4) and 3-point attempts per game (24.3).
- Sophomore guard Phillip Russell leads the conference in assists (47), assists per game (4.7) and free throw percentage (85.7). Russell leads the Redhawks in points (181) and points per contest (16.5).
- Sophomore forward Kobe Clark leads the conference in blocks (14), blocks per game (1.4), and minutes per game (32.2). He also leads the squad in rebound average (10) and steals per game (1.9).
- The team is shooting at 41.4 percent from the field, 33.8 percent from long distance, and 71.4 percent in free throws.
- Brad Korn is in his third season as head coach at Southeast Missouri State. Korn played four years at Southern Illinois, three under Bruce Weber and one under Matt Painter, and was a member of three-straight Salukis’ NCAA Tournament appearances, including reaching the Sweet 16 in 2002.
WISCONSIN EDGES HAWKEYES IN OVERTIME IN BIG TEN OPENER
Iowa went on an 8-0 run over the last 54 seconds of regulation to force overtime, but Wisconsin ultimately prevailed, 78-75, over Iowa on Sunday evening inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
- Four Hawkeyes scored in double figures: Patrick McCaffery (24), Connor McCaffery (17), Tony Perkins (17), and Filip Rebraca (10). Patrick McCaffery’s 24 points is a career high. He sank a game-tying 3-pointer with 15 seconds remaining in regulation and scored eight points in overtime.
- Connor McCaffery posted his second double-double of the season, scoring a season-best 15 points and snagging a team-best 10 rebounds. The sixth-year senior was credited with team bests in assists (5) and steals (2) while playing a career-high 41 minutes.
- Kris Murray (19.4 ppg) and Ahron Ulis (6.4 ppg) did not play due to injury. True freshman Dasonte Bowen earned his first career start in Ulis’ absence.
- Iowa shot 82.4 percent from the foul line (14-of-17).
- Sunday was Iowa’s first overtime contest since a double overtime contest at Penn State on Jan. 31, 2022.
- Sunday was Iowa’s first home loss of the season.
- Sunday was Iowa’s sixth straight game against a team from a Power 5 conference, dating back to Nov. 25.
- Wisconsin made its last six field-goal attempts in overtime, including two 3-pointers.
- Tyler Wahl paced the Badgers with 21 points, seven in overtime, Connor Essegian tallied 14 points, while Steven Crowl contributed 12 points, seven assists, and six rebounds.
- Iowa will resume conference play on Dec. 29, at Nebraska.
PLAYING BIG
Fifth year senior Filip Rebraca has taken his game to another level this season. Rebraca ranks first on the squad in blocks (17) and field goal percentage (.560), second in rebounds per game (8.3), and fourth in points per contest (11.4). He is pulling down 3.2 offensive boards per outing, fourth best in the Big Ten.
The under-sized center (6-foot-9) has netted double figures seven times this year and posted three double-doubles, tying for fifth most in the league. He has rejected multiple shots in five games this season and his 1.7 blocks per game ranks fourth in the conference.
Rebraca has totaled 1,451 career points between North Dakota and Iowa. He is 49 points from reaching career point No. 1,500.
LEADER OF THE PACK
Connor McCaffery is Iowa’s career leader in assist-to-turnover ratio, amassing a 3.42 ratio in 144 career games (434 assists; 127 turnovers), nearly 1.0 above second-place Andre Banks (2.53). His assist-to-turnover ratio last year was 5.0, while he ranked fourth nationally in 2021 with a 3.73 ratio. In 202, he led the country with a 4.6 ratio.
MURRAY NAMED TO PRESEASON LISTS
Junior Kris Murray has been named to the Big Ten Preseason All-Big Ten Team, the Wooden Award Top 50, and the Karl Malone Award.
It marks the fourth straight season that one or more Hawkeyes have been selected to the preseason all-conference squad, voted upon by a selected panel of media. Joe Wieskamp was selected in 2019 and 2020, Luka Garza was tabbed the Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year in 2020, while Kris’ twin brother Keegan was recognized in 2021. Keegan was also the recipient of the 2022 Karl Malone Award.
Murray is averaging a team-best 19.4 points and 10.1 rebounds per outing. Murray has increased his scoring average by 10.7 points per game this season compared to last year. His scoring average of 19.4 points per contest is third best in the Big Ten and 32nd nationally. Murray did not play in Iowa’s last two contests versus Iowa State and Wisconsin due to a lower body injury.
He was Iowa’s leading scorer (9.7) and rebounder (4.3) off the bench last season. He improved his scoring average by 9.1 points and rebounding average by 3.7 per outing. The native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was second on the team in 3-point percentage (.397), blocks per game (0.9) and field goals made (124), third in offensive (1.6) and defensive (2.7) rebounds per contest, and fourth in steals (0.8) per game. Murray made at least one 3-pointer in a team-best 17 consecutive games (Jan. 22-March 13). His 31 blocks and 43 triples rank seventh and eighth, respectively, by a Hawkeye sophomore.
IOWA SCHEDULE NOTES
- The Hawkeyes will play back-to-back conference road games four times.
- Iowa has seven weekend home contests (three on Saturdays and four on Sundays), including six against Big Ten opponents. The Hawkeyes have home games inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena on a Saturday or Sunday four of the final six weekends of the regular season.
- The Hawkeyes have a stretch of four of five league home games in early January. Iowa will host Indiana (Jan. 5), Michigan (Jan. 12), Maryland (Jan. 15) and Northwestern (Jan. 18).
- Iowa is scheduled to play at Penn State on New Year’s Day. The Hawkeyes have played on New Year’s Day 10 previous times, most recently in 2017, versus Michigan in Iowa City. Prior to 2017, Iowa’s last New Year’s Day contest was in 1946 versus Saint Louis. The last time the Hawkeyes played a road game on New Year’s Day was at Toledo in 1940.
- Iowa has three trips to the Tri-State Area, traveling to New Jersey twice (Nov. 16 at Seton Hall and Jan. 8 at Rutgers) and New York once (Dec. 6 versus Duke at Madison Square Garden).
- Iowa will play on Super Bowl Sunday for the fourth straight season and sixth time in eight years, playing its only regular season game against Minnesota in Minneapolis on Feb. 12.
- Five of Iowa’s final eight league games will be on the road.
HAWKEYES WELCOME NEWCOMERS
Iowa welcomes four new faces to the 2022-23 roster: Dasonte Bowen, Josh Dix, Dante Eldridge, and Amarion Nimmers.
Bowen and Dix are true freshman, hailing from Boston and Council Bluffs, respectively. Eldridge and Nimmers are non-scholarship student-athletes. Eldridge, a junior, is the son of assistant coach Courtney Eldridge. Nimmers is redshirting this season.
ANOTHER SIXTH-YEAR PLAYER
After six seasons and multiple broken records, Jordan Bohannon has exhausted his collegiate eligibility. Bohannon is the program’s career leader in four statistical categories: assists (704), 3-pointers made (455), games played (179), and free throw percentage (.887, 370-417). He sank a school and Xfinity Center record 10 3-pointers at Maryland on Feb. 10, 2022. His 455 triples are the most in Big Ten history and 192 more than any other Hawkeye.
Connor McCaffery decided to utilize his COVID bonus year and return for his sixth season with the Hawkeyes.
McCaffery is averaging 7.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, and has made 13-of-31 (.419) from 3-point range this season. He posted 14 points, bolstered by shooting a perfect 8-of-8 from the foul line, in his first start of the season on Dec. 8 against the Cyclones. He registered his first career double-double versus Georgia Tech (10 points; 10 rebounds) and notched his second double-double versus Wisconsin earlier this week (17 points, 10 rebounds).
FRAN MCCAFFERY CONTINUES TO WIN
- With Iowa’s Big Ten Tournament win last March, McCaffery joined Hall of Fame coaches Rick Pitino, Bob Huggins, Eddie Sutton and Lefty Driesell as the only Division I coaches to lead teams to conference tournament titles in four or more different leagues.
- Fran McCaffery has guided Iowa to 20 wins or more in eight of the last 10 seasons. He has led Iowa to Big Ten upper division finishes nine of the last 10 years. Iowa, Michigan State, and Wisconsin have each recorded a Big Ten-best nine first division finishes since 2013.
- Fran McCaffery has coached a first-team All-Big Ten honoree seven of the last nine seasons. He has guided Iowa to 20+ wins seven of the last nine seasons and fifth place or better finishes in the Big Ten six of the last eight years.
STAFF CHANGES
Fran McCaffery has a couple changes to his staff following last season. Assistant Coach Kirk Speraw retired and Assistant Coach Billy Taylor left for a head coaching position at Elon. Replacing Speraw and Taylor are Courtney Eldridge and Matt Gatens. Eldridge was on staff the previous six seasons, most recently as director of player development and recruiting director. Gatens is a former Hawkeye and most recently was an assistant coach at Drake.
Tristan Spurlock, who played basketball at UCF, is the new Director of Player Development. Al Seibert’s title changed to Chief of Staff, while Kyle Denning is now the team’s Director of Operations.
STRONG START FOR PATRICK MCCAFFERY
Patrick McCaffery netted double figures in scoring 11 of the last 18 games played last season. He made at least one trey in 12 of the last 18 games, including sinking multiple triples in six contests during that stretch. McCaffery has carried that momentum over to his junior season, netting double figures in eight of Iowa’s first 10 games of the season. McCaffery scored 21 points in back-to-back games two weeks ago versus North Carolina A&T and Clemson. He poured in a personal-best 24 points — eight in overtime — in Iowa’s last contest against the Badgers.
PROFESSIONAL HAWKEYES
A number of recent Iowa basketball graduates are playing professionally: Keegan Murray (NBA Sacramento Kings), Luka Garza (G League Iowa Wolves), Jordan Bohannon (G League Iowa Wolves), Joe Wieskamp (G League Wisconsin Herd), Jarrod Uthoff (Japan), Devyn Marble (Poland), Tyler Cook (G League Salt Lake City Stars), Anthony Clemmons (Turkey), Gabriel Olaseni (Turkey), Ryan Kriener (Matsuyama), Melsahn Basabe (Nicaragua), and Aaron White (Serbia).