MBB Preview -- Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series at Iowa State

The University of Iowa men’s basketball team hits the road for its second straight road contest, traveling to Ames on Thursday for an Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series matchup against Iowa State. The game will begin at 6:30 p.m. (CT) from Hilton Coliseum.

FOLLOW LIVE

Radio: Thursday’s game will be broadcast on the Hawkeye Radio Network with Gary Dolphin (play-by-play) and Bobby Hansen (color) on the call. 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 includes a 60-minute pregame show.
TV: Thursday’s game will be televised on ESPNU with Rich Hollenberg (play-by-play) and Jon Crispin (color) on the call.

OPENING TIP

• The Hawkeyes head to Ames, Iowa, for the annual Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series matchup against Iowa State on Thursday. Iowa has won four of the last five meetings in the series against Iowa State.
• Following Thursday’s game, three of Iowa’s next four games will be at home.
• Ahoy 100. Iowa hit the century mark for the second time this season, scoring 103 points in the Nov. 29 victory over North Florida. The Hawkeyes have scored 100+ points 11 times since the start of the 2021-22 season.
• Graduate Ben Krikke and senior Tony Perkins notched Iowa’s sixth and seventh 20-point scoring outputs in the win over UNF, as both players finished with 21 points. The Hawkeyes have had four different players hit the 20-point mark this season.
• Iowa has four players averaging in double figures. The team has had at least four players reach double digits in six of eight games this season.
• Krikke is leading the team with an 18.4 scoring average and he’s the only Hawkeye to score in double figures in every game. The Valparaiso transfer has made a team-high 58 field goals and is shooting 60.4 percent from the floor, which are third and fourth in the Big Ten.
• Big O… freshman Owen Freeman scored a career-high 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting to go along with five rebounds, five blocks and three steals in Iowa’s win over UNF. The five blocks are the most by a Hawkeye since Keegan Murray in 2019. Freeman has been named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week three times this season, tying Aaron White (2011-12) for the most honors in program history.
• Iowa is one the nation’s top offensive teams, averaging 87.9 points in eight games. The Hawkeyes are tops in the Big Ten and 12th nationally. The team has scored at least 84 points in six games, including 110 points in the season opener against North Dakota.
• Iowa’s newcomers have accounted for 298 points (37.3 percent of scoring) in eight games.
• Share & Take Care: Iowa has 148 assists to 71 turnovers in eight games, assisting on 59.2 percent of its field goals.
• Iowa has won 87 of its last 93 nonconference home games, dating back to 2012.
• McCaffery is six wins from becoming the winningest coach in Iowa basketball history. Tom Davis has 271 victories as Iowa’s head coach. With his next Big Ten victory, McCaffery will also have the most league wins in program history.
• Iowa is one of 10 teams in the country to make the last four NCAA Tournaments and one of only three Big Ten teams to accomplish the feat (Purdue, Michigan State).

LAST GAME | NO. 4 PURDUE 87, IOWA 68

The Hawkeyes ran into a buzz saw in West Lafayette, falling, 87-68, against the fourth-ranked Boilermakers. Purdue built a 45-24 halftime advantage and led by as many as 35 in the second half. Iowa outscored the Boilermakers, 44-42, in the second 20 minutes. Graduate Ben Krikke led the team with 16 points and seven rebounds, while Tony Perkins was the only other Hawkeye in double figures, scoring 12. Iowa shot 38.5 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from 3-point range in the game.

MORE NOTABLES…

• Iowa is 4-0 inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena this season and 18-3 in its last 21 home games.
• The Hawkeyes shot 50 percent or better in four straight halves in games against Seton Hall and North Florida. The team shot 63.3 percent (19-of-30) in the second half in the win over UNF — its best shooting half of the season.
• Iowa is 3-1 this season when shooting 50 percent or better from the floor.
• Iowa has held two opponents to under 40 percent shooting this season.
• Junior Payton Sandfort has attempted 53 3-point field goals — the most in the Big Ten. He has 18 makes — fifth-most in the conference.
• The Hawkeyes are third in the Big Ten in free throw percentage, making 76.4 percent of their attempts this season.
• Junior Payton Sandfort has been Iowa’s leading rebounder (or tied for the team lead) in six of eight games this season. The forward is averaging 7.9 rebounds per game, which rank eighth in the Big Ten.
• The Hawkeyes have earned four Big Ten weekly honors this season — Ben Krikke (Player of the Week – 11/20) and Owen Freeman (Freshman of Week (11/13, 11/20, 12/4). Freeman is the first Hawkeye freshman to earn the award in consecutive weeks and the three honors tie Aaron White for the most in a single season in program history.
• Sophomore Dasonte Bowen has 27 assists to five turnovers this season. His 5.40 assist-to-turnover ration is leading the Big Ten and ranks fifth nationally.
• Senior Tony Perkins is a preseason second-team All-Big Ten selection by THE ALMANAC, while junior Payton Sandfort is ranked as the 89th-best player nationally by the publication.
• The Hawkeyes have placed fifth or better in the Big Ten standings in five straight and 10 of the last 11 years, and the program has won 10 or more Big Ten games in eight of the last nine seasons.

CONSISTENT KRIKKE

Graduate Ben Krikke is the only Hawkeye to reach double figures in every game this season. The Canada native is leading the team, averaging 18.4 points on a team-best 60.4 percent shooting.
• Krikke ranks in the top 10 in the Big Ten in five categories — third in field goals (58), fourth in field goal percentage (.604), fifth in points (147), seventh in free throws (30) and eighth in scoring average (18.4).
• He has shot 60 percent or better from the field in four games and he has two games with 10 or more field goals. He made 8-of-10 field goals (80 percent) in the win over Seton Hall on Nov. 24.
• He has a team-high three 20-point games. He scored 24 points (11-of-18 shooting) at No. 8 Creighton and a season-high 25 points (10-of-14 FG), nine rebounds and four steals in the win over Arkansas State. Against UNF, Krikke scored 21 points (5-of-9) shooting — 17 in the second half — and went 11-for-11 from the free throw line.
• Krikke is the first Hawkeye to go perfect from the free throw line (at least 10 makes) since Jordan Bohannon (10-for-10) in 2019.

FREEMAN: B1G FOW X 3

Forward Owen Freeman is the first Hawkeye to earn back-to-back Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors and he has been recognized three times this season (Nov. 13, Nov. 20, Dec. 4), tying Aaron White for the most in a single season in program history.
• The Moline, Illinois, native averaged 11 points and three rebounds in wins over North Dakota and Alabama State before putting up 7.5 points, 2.5 blocks and two rebounds in games against No. 8 Creighton and Arkansas State. He scored 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting and had five rebounds, five blocks and three steals in a win over North Florida.

TP SHINES

Playing with a heavy heart following the death of his grandmother earlier in the week, senior Tony Perkins delivered his best game of the season in Iowa’s 103-78 victory over North Florida on Nov. 30. The Indianapolis native scored 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting with two of his field goals coming from 3-point range. He scored 12 points before the game was eight minutes old.
• Perkins has reached double figures in seven of eight games this season, including two 15+ point contests. He is third on the team with a 12.8 scoring average, while being second on the team in rebounding (5.3), tied for second on the team in steals (9) and third in assists (20).