MBB Game Notes: vs Indiana

SCOUTING INDIANA

• Indiana (19 NET Ranking) enters Thursday’s game 10-3 overall, and 1-1 in conference play. The Hoosiers’ conference loss came to Rutgers on the road (63-48), while their win came at home against Nebraska (81-65).
• Thursday will be Indiana’s first game since beating Kennesaw State (69-55) on Dec. 23.
• The Hoosiers lead the conference in five categories: assists per game (17.3), bench points per game (28.31), effective field goal percentage (.567), fast break points (14.23), and field goal percentage (50.7).
• Senior forward Trayce Jackson-Davis leads the Big Ten in blocks (27), blocks per game (2.7), and is tied for first in triple-doubles (1). Jackson-Davis is third in the conference in field goal percentage (63.4) and fourth in double-doubles (4).
• Starting guard Xavier Johnson underwent foot surgery in December and is out indefinitely. Jackson-Davis missed Indiana’s last two games (Elon and Kennesaw State).
• The Hoosiers are shooting at 50.7 percent from the field, 36.5 percent from 3-point range, and 69.9 percent from the free-throw line.
• Indiana has had just two games decided by two possessions or less. The Hoosiers won at Xavier (81-79) on Nov. 18 and lost at Rutgers (63-48) on Dec. 3.
• Freshman CJ Gunn and Iowa junior Tony Perkins played together at Lawrence North HS in Indianapolis.
• The Hoosiers resume conference play alternating their next 10 games home and away.
• Former All-American and Indianapolis native Mike Woodson is in his second year as Indiana’s head coach. Woodson returns to Bloomington after playing 11 seasons in the NBA and serving as a coach in the league for seven NBA franchises, including nine years combined as a head coach with the Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks.

ALL-TIME SERIES RESULTS

Indiana holds a 106-80 advantage in the series, dating back to 1909. The two teams have split the last eight overall meetings, dating back to 2018.

The Hawkeyes swept the Hoosiers last season, winning in Iowa City (83-74) on Jan. 13, and at Indianapolis in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals (80-77) on March 12.

Iowa leads, 47-43, in games played at Iowa City, holding a 22-13 advantage in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa has won 10 of the last 15 meetings in Iowa City.

LAST MEETING AGAINST INDIANA

Iowa overcame a nine-point deficit with five minutes remaining capped by a Jordan Bohannon 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds left to lift Iowa to an 80-77 win over Indiana on March 12, 2022, in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament.

• Jordan Bohannon drained a game-winning 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds remaining to lift Iowa to victory. The sixth-year senior netted all 12 of his points via the 3-point shot, making three of his four triples over the final 2:30 of the second half.
• Iowa trailed by six points (71-65) and outscored the Hoosiers 15-6 over the final 3:27 of the second half.
• The Hawkeyes sank four of their 14 3-pointers over the final 2:30 of the second half.
• Iowa made nine of its final 11 field goal attempts and both free throw attempts over the final 6:30.
• All-American Keegan Murray tallied a game-best 32 points, bolstered by shooting a blistering 8-of-10 from 3-point range, and pulled down a team-best nine rebounds.
• Iowa made 10-of-12 (.833) from the free throw line. The Hawkeyes missed only four free throws over their last two games (35-of-37, .946).
• Trayce Jackson-Davis led the Hoosiers, netting a team-best 31 points on 15-of-21 shooting from the field and 1-of-3 from the foul line, and grabbing a game-best 10 rebounds. Xavier Johnson contributed 20 points and a game-best nine assists.

HAWKEYES FALL AT PENN STATE

Penn State’s Jalen Pickett (26) and Andrew Funk (20) combined for 46 points in an 83-79 win over Iowa on Sunday in State College, in the only regular season meeting between the two teams.

• Iowa had possession down two points with 10 seconds left in regulation, but Seth Lundy stole the ball away from Tony Perkins in the paint with five seconds remaining.
• Junior Kris Murray scored a game and career-best 32 points, playing all 40 minutes. Murray has tallied 30+ points three times (31 vs. Georgia Tech; 30 vs. Omaha). Murray scored 22 of his 32 points in the second half. He has tallied 20+ points a team-best five times and reached double figures nine times this season. He also grabbed a team-best nine rebounds.
• Filip Rebraca and Tony Perkins reached double figures in scoring for the 11th and ninth time, respectively, this season. Rebraca netted 13 points, while Perkins scored 17.
• Five of the last seven Iowa-PSU games have been decided by seven points or less.
• Iowa made six of its seven 3-pointers in the second half.
• Sunday was Iowa’s 11th game played on New Year’s Day in program history and first time away from home on New Year’s Day since 1940.
• Connor McCaffery missed his first and only free throw attempt, snapping a consecutive streak of 19 made in a row.
• Junior center Josh Ogundele was unavailable due to injury (knee).

PLAYING BIG

Fifth-year senior Filip Rebraca has taken his game to another level this season. Rebraca ranks first on the squad in blocks (20) and field goal percentage (.603), and second in rebounds (8.4) and points per game (14.1). He is pulling down 3.29 offensive boards per outing, third best in the Big Ten and 32nd nationally. His field goal percentage (.603) ranks 30th in the country.

Rebraca netted career point No. 1,500 against Eastern Illinois (Dec. 21). He has scored 405 points the last two seasons as a Hawkeye (50 games) and 1,129 points in three seasons at North Dakota.

The under-sized center (6-foot-9) has netted double figures a team-best 11 times this year and posted four double-doubles, tying for fourth most in the league. He has rejected multiple shots in five games this season and his 1.43 blocks per game ranks sixth in the conference.

Rebraca earned Big Ten Player of the Week accolades after his career night against Southeast Missouri State (Dec. 17). The fifth-year senior posted career bests in points (30) and assists (6), while also snagging a game-best nine rebounds. He only missed one field goal attempt (12-of-13).

Rebraca had another stellar outing versus Eastern Illinois. He tallied a game-best 24 points, collected a career-high five steals, and snagged eight rebounds. At Nebraska, he totaled 16 points and grabbed a season-high 13 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season.

LEADER OF THE PACK

Connor McCaffery is Iowa’s career leader in assist-to-turnover ratio, amassing a 3.39 ratio in 147 career games (441 assists; 130 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 20.4 points and 9.8 rebounds per outing. Murray has increased his scoring average by 11.7 points per game this season compared to last year. Murray did not play in four contests in December (Iowa State; Wisconsin; Southeast Missouri State; Eastern Illinois) due to a lower body injury.

Murray returned to the lineup last Thursday at Nebraska, registering game bests in points (17) and blocks (3), while also clearing eight rebounds. He scored 22 of his game and career-best 32 points in the second half at Penn State on Sunday.

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 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

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 16-of-42 (.381) 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 (17 points, 10 rebounds). He did not play in Iowa’s nonconference finale on Dec. 21 (Eastern Illinois) due to a wrist sprain.

McCaffery has only missed two free throws this season (23-of-25). He made 19 consecutive free throws from Nov. 29 to Dec. 29, before missing his first and only attempt at Penn State on Jan. 1.

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.

TAKING THE NEXT STEP

Patrick McCaffery averaged 10.5 points and 3.6 rebounds as a sophomore. As we approach the midway point of his junior season, McCaffery is averaging 12.8 points and 4.8 rebounds.

He has netted double figures 10 times. McCaffery scored 21 points in back-to-back games a month ago versus North Carolina A&T and Clemson. He poured in a personal-best 24 points — eight in overtime — against the Badgers. He then tallied 20 points and grabbed a career-best eight rebounds against Southeast Missouri State.

McCaffery’s free throw percentage of 80.7 percent ranks eighth best in the conference.

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).