MBB Preview — at Indiana

 

OPPONENT	Iowa (12-8, 4-5) at Indiana (12-8, 4-5)
LOCATION	Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall | Bloomington, Ind.
DATE	Tuesday, Jan. 27
TIP-OFF	6 p.m. (CT)
RADIO	Hawkeye Radio Network
TV	BTN

The University of Iowa men’s basketball team hits the road for its second straight game, traveling to Bloomington to face Indiana on Tuesday night. The game will begin at 6 p.m. (CT) at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

FOLLOW LIVE

Radio: Tuesday’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: Tuesday’s game will be televised on BTN with Kevin Kugler (play-by-play) and Brian Butch (color) on the call.

OPENING TIP

• The Hawkeyes will look for their third straight road win on Tuesday in Bloomington. Iowa has won its last two meetings against Indiana in Assembly Hall and four straight overall in the series.
• Iowa will play five of its next eight games on the road before playing two of its final three games at home.
• Senior Tony Perkins notched his third straight 20-point game at Michigan, finishing with 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting. The guard became the 52nd player in Iowa history to surpass the 1,000 career points mark in the win.
• In Big Ten play, Perkins is seventh in the league in scoring, averaging 18.1 points per game. He also averages 4.4 assists (eighth in the league), 3.2 rebounds and 2.1 steals (sixth in the B1G) per game.
• Perkins is currently the only player in the Big Ten (and one of eight nationally) with 300+ points, 80+ assists, 75+ rebounds and 35+ steals.
• Junior Payton Sandfort scored a career-high 26 points at Michigan, making 10-of-14 field goals and a career-best six 3-pointers. The 26 points are a high by a Hawkeye this season.
• Iowa tied a single game free throw percentage school record by making 18-of-18 free throw attempts at Michigan. Perkins has made 15 consecutive free throws over his last two games.
• Freshman Owen Freeman is leading the Big Ten with a 67.2 percent field goal percentage in league contests.
• Head coach Fran McCaffery is the winningest coach in program history, winning 273 career games, including 129 Big Ten victories.
• Freeman earned his sixth Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor on Jan. 15 after scoring a career-high 22 points and grabbing 10 rebounds to post his third double-double of the season against Nebraska. The six honors are the ninth most in a single season in league history.
• Freeman has three double-doubles this season — the most by a Hawkeye freshman since Luka Garza.
• Iowa is one the nation’s top offensive teams, averaging 85.3 points in 20 games. The Hawkeyes are second in the Big Ten and rank 11th nationally. The team has scored at least 84 points in 13 games, averaging 94.3 points in wins and 71.6 points in losses.
• The Hawkeyes are second in the Big Ten and rank sixth nationally, averaging 19 assists per game. Iowa is leading the nation with a 1.87 assist-to-turnover ratio.
• 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).

SCOUTING INDIANA

• The Hoosiers have dropped three straight games — all to nationally ranked opponents — to fall to 12-8 overall and 4-5 in league play. Indiana lost 70-62 at No. 10 Illinois on Saturday in Champaign.
• Since the calendar turned to 2024, Indiana is 2-5 overall. The two wins were at home over Ohio State (71-65) and Minnesota (74-62).
• Indiana is 10-2 at home this season with losses to Kansas and Purdue.
• Four Hoosier players are averaging in double figures with Malik Reneau leading the team with a 16.7 scoring average. He is shooting a team-best 57.8 percent from the field.
• Kal’lel Ware averages 14.2 points, 9.4 rebounds and has 27 blocks, but he has missed the last two games with an ankle injury. Freshman Mackenzie Mgbako adds 10.9 points with a team-high 26 3s, while guard Trey Galloway averages 10.5 points to go along with a team-high 75 assists and 25 steals.

SERIES HISTORY

• Tuesday’s game will be the 189th all-time between Iowa and Indiana in a series that began in 1909. The Hoosiers lead, 106-82.
• Tuesday’s game in Bloomington is the lone meeting between the two schools in 2023-24.
• The Hawkeyes have won four straight over Indiana for the first time since 2010-11.
• Iowa posted a 90-68 win at Indiana last season, matching its largest margin of victory in Bloomington (1947).

 

LAST GAME | IOWA 88, MICHIGAN 78

Senior Tony Perkins and junior Payton Sandfort combined for 50 points to lead Iowa to an 88-78 road victory at Michigan on Jan. 27. The Hawkeyes trailed by as many as nine points in the first half before outscoring the Wolverines, 46-34, over the final 20 minutes. Sandfort scored 21 points in the second half and made six 3-point field goals in the game. Iowa shot 53.4 percent as a team and went 18-for-18 at the foul stripe.

MORE NOTABLES…

• The Hawkeyes are 23rd nationally in pace of play in 2023-24, averaging 75.6 possessions per 40 minutes.
• Iowa is 0-6 in Quad 1 games, 4-0 in Quad 2, 1-2 in Quad 3 and 7-0 in Quad 4 games this season.
• Senior Tony Perkins has started 67 consecutive games dating back to the 2021-22 season.
• Iowa has played one game decided by seven or fewer points this season.
• The Hawkeyes have had six players hit the 20-point mark this season (Ben Krikke, Tony Perkins, Payton Sandfort, Patrick McCaffery, Owen Freeman and Josh Dix).
• Iowa has three players ranked in the top 16 in the Big Ten in scoring — Krikke (12th), Perkins (13th), Sandfort (16th).
• Since joining the starting lineup on Dec. 10 against Michigan, freshman Owen Freeman is averaging 12.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks, while shooting 65.5 percent from the field.
• Ahoy 100. Iowa has reached the century mark in four games this season. The Hawkeyes have scored 100+ points 13 times since the start of the 2021-22 season.
• The team is 6-1 when attempting at least 20 free throws, 9-2 when shooting 50+ percent from the field and 7-1 when making eight or more 3-pointers.
• Iowa has had at least four players reach double digits in 12 games this season.
• The Hawkeyes are 8-3 inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena this season and 22-6 in its last 28 home games.
• Iowa has won 89 of its last 95 nonconference home games, dating back to 2012.
• The Hawkeyes have held four opponents under 40 percent shooting this season. The team is undefeated in the four contests.
• Iowa held Florida A&M to 52 points on Dec. 16 in Des Moines — the fewest points allowed since giving up 51 points to Portland State in 2021.
• Senior Tony Perkins has four games with seven or more assists this season and seven games with at least five assists. He is leading the team with 83 assists against 30 turnovers.
• Junior Payton Sandfort has attempted 140 3-point field goals — the most in the Big Ten. He has 55 makes — second-most in the conference.
• The Hawkeyes are second in the Big Ten in free throw percentage, making 76.8 percent of their attempts this season. The team tied a single game free throw percentage (min. 13 makes) school record, making all 18 of its free throw attempts at Michigan on Jan. 27.
• Sandfort has been Iowa’s leading rebounder (or tied for the team lead) in eight games this season. The forward is averaging a career-best 6.9 rebounds per game, which ranks 12th in the Big Ten.
• The Hawkeyes have earned seven 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, 12/18, 1/8, 1/15). Freeman is the first Hawkeye freshman to earn the award in consecutive weeks and the six honors are a single season school record.
• Iowa has 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.
• The Hawkeyes have led the Big Ten and was 18th nationally in scoring offense (80.1). Iowa has led the league in scoring in seven of the last 11 seasons, including six straight years.

B1G TONY

Senior Tony Perkins is averaging a team-best 18.1 points, 4.4 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists in Big Ten play. The guard is shooting 49.6 percent from the floor and 85.7 percent from the charity stripe.
• Over his last three games, Perkins is averaging 22.7 points on 57.5 percent shooting, while making 90.5 percent (19-of-21) of his free throw attempts. He also averages 3.7 assists (against four combined turnovers), three rebounds and 2.3 steals.
• The Indianapolis native has scored in double figures in every Big Ten game with four 20-point contests and six 15+ games. He has five games with three or more steals against league opponents.
• Perkins ranks sixth in league games in steals (2.1), seventh in scoring (18.1), eighth in assists (4.4) and sixth in field goal percentage (.465).
• Overall, Perkins has been in double figures in 11 straight games and in 18 of 20 games this season.

PAYTON CATCHES FIRE

After scoring a season-low six points in the home loss to Maryland on Jan. 24, junior Payton Sandfort responded in a big way in a road win at Michigan.
• The Waukee, Iowa, native matched a career-high, scoring 26 points on 10-of-14 shooting. He went 6-of-8 from 3-point range, tying a career-high with six makes.
• In the second half, Sandfort was deadly. He made eight of his 10 field goal attempts, including 5-of-6 3-pointers. He played all 20 minutes of half No. 2.
• The performance honored his grandmother, who passed away prior to the game against the Terps.