| OPPONENT | #20 Iowa State (7-1) at Iowa (6-2) |
| LOCATION | Iowa City, Iowa (Carver-Hawkeye Arena) |
| DATE | Thursday, Dec. 8 |
| TIP-OFF | 7:01 p.m. (CT) |
| RADIO | Hawkeye Sports Network |
| TV | FS1 |
The Setting
Iowa (6-2) returns home for a Thursday game versus No. 20 Iowa State (7-1). Tipoff for the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series contest is set for 7:01 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: Thursday’s game will be televised nationally on FS1. Kevin Kugler and Nick Bahe will call the action.
IOWA CORN CY-HAWK SERIES STORYLINES
- Thursday is Iowa’s annual “Black Out.” Fans are encouraged to wear black clothing to the game. The Hawkeyes will be wearing their black uniforms on Thursday.
- Fran McCaffery is in his 27th season as a head coach and is one victory from 500. He has amassed 248 wins at Iowa; 112 at Siena; 90 at UNC Greensboro; and 49 at Lehigh.
- Iowa has won four of the last six meetings against the Cyclones, including three straight inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
- Iowa has won 81 of its last 86 nonconference home games, dating back to 2012.
- Thursday will be Iowa’s second game in three days and fifth consecutive game against a team from a Power 5 conference. The Hawkeyes will play a sixth straight contest against a Power 5 conference on Sunday (Wisconsin).
- Iowa’s next four games will be at home (ISU, Wisconsin, SE Missouri State, Eastern Illinois).
- Kris Murray was named the ESPN Men’s Basketball National Player of the Week and Big Ten Co-Player of the Week on Monday. 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.
- Kris and his brother, Keegan, are the only brothers in Division I in the last 20 years to each have a 20-point/20-rebounds performance at the same school.
- Iowa is tops in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.93) and second in fewest turnovers per game (9.0), 12th in fewest fouls per game (13.2), 20th in turnover margin (+5.1), and 21st in assists per game (17.4), fastbreak points (16.6), and scoring offense (83.4).
- Iowa ranks first in the Big Ten and 21st nationally in scoring offense (83.4). The Hawkeyes have led the league in scoring five of the last nine seasons, including the last four.
- 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.
- Four Hawkeyes are shooting 50 percent or better from the field: Connor McCaffery (.565), Dasonte Bowen (.563), Filip Rebraca (.509), and Kris Murray (.500).
- The Hawkeyes have won 42 games over Big Ten teams — including conference tournament contests — over the past three seasons, second most in the league (Illinois, 47).
- 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.
SCOUTING IOWA STATE
- Iowa State enters Thursday’s game with a 7-1 record. The Cyclones have played two games against ranked opponents, both at the Phil Knight Invitational. Iowa State knocked off top-ranked North Carolina (70-65) and fell to No. 20 Connecticut (71-53).
- Iowa State won its last outing, 71-60, over undefeated St. John’s on Sunday in Ames to conclude the 2022 Big 12/Big East Challenge.
- The Cyclones are shooting 44 percent from the field, 32 percent from 3-point range, and 70 percent from the foul line.
- Iowa State is fifth in the country and first in the Big 12 in forced turnovers (20.75) and steals per game (11.6).
- Iowa State is tops in the Big 12 in and ninth nationally in scoring defense (56.8). They are also first in their league and 15th in the country in 3-point percentage defense (.263).
- Senior guard Jaren Holmes leads the squad in points (118), made field goals (42) and made free throws (24). The transfer from St. Bonaventure has started all eight games.
- Senior guard Caleb Grill has made a team-best 16 3-pointers. Grill had a career-high 31 points in the upset win over No. 1 North Carolina. Grill started his collegiate career at Iowa State, before transferring to play for Coach T.J. Otzelberger at UNLV. Grill followed Otzelberger back to Ames upon him becoming the Cyclones’ head coach.
- T.J. Otzelberger is in his second season at the helm of the Cyclones. Taking over a program that was 2-22 the previous season, he led the Cyclones to the Sweet 16 last season.
DUKE UPENDS IOWA IN JIMMY V CLASSIC
No. 15 Duke outscored Iowa by six points in each half in a 74-72 Blue Devil victory Tuesday evening in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York.
- True freshman Dasonte Bowen posted personal bests in scoring (12) and field goals made (5), all in the second half. Bowen scored eight straight Hawkeye points late in the second half.
- Patrick McCaffery and Dasonte Bowen led Iowa in points (12) and Filip Rebraca led the team in rebounding (8).
- Duke held Iowa to a season low in points (62) and 3-pointers made (3).
- Thursday was the third of three games against ACC opponents over a 12-day span (Clemson, Georgia Tech, Duke).
ALL-TIME SERIES RECORDS
Iowa holds a 47-28 advantage in the series. Iowa has won four of the last six overall meetings.
The home team has won 16 of the last 19 in the series, dating back to 2004, with the Cyclones winning in Iowa City in 2010 and 2015 and the Hawkeyes winning in Ames in 2019.
Iowa holds a 30-7 edge in games played at Iowa City, with the Hawkeyes winning seven of the last nine meetings in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, including three straight. Iowa beat the Cyclones, 101-77, in the last game contested between the two teams in Iowa City in 2020.
IOWA CORN CY-HAWK SERIES
Iowa State enters this week with an 11-2 advantage in the annual Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series. The Cyclones clinched victories in soccer, volleyball, football, and men’s and women’s cross country, while the Hawkeyes won earlier this week in wrestling.
There are three events scheduled for this week with each event worth two points in the standings: women’s basketball (Wednesday), men’s basketball (Thursday), and women’s swimming and diving (Friday). All three events will take place in Iowa City.
LEADER OF THE PACK
Connor McCaffery is Iowa’s career leader in assist-to-turnover ratio, amassing a 3.42 ratio in 142 career games (425 assists; 124 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.
FRESHMAN PROVIDING SPARK OFF THE GLASS
True freshman Dasonte Bowen has provided a spark off the bench after one month. In games in which he has played double-digit minutes (6), he has scored six or more points in each contest. He has netted eight or more points in three of Iowa’s last four games, including totaling a personal-best 12 points against No. 15 Duke Tuesday night in Madison Square Garden.
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 36th nationally.
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 5.3 points and 3.3 rebounds per game, and has made 9-of-16 (.563) from 3-point range this season. He posted his first career double-double last week versus Georgia Tech (10 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 six of Iowa’s first eight games of the season. McCaffery scored a personal-best 21 points in back-to-back games two weeks ago versus North Carolina A&T and Clemson.
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).