MBB Preview \\ at UCLA

The University of Iowa men’s basketball team closes out its West Coast road trip, facing UCLA on Friday at 8 p.m. (CT) at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles.  The game will be televised on FS1.

FOLLOW LIVE
Radio: Friday’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.
Television: Friday’s game will be televised on FS1 with Guy Haberman (play-by-play) and Don MacLean (color) on the call.

OPENING TIP

• The Hawkeyes fell to 0-3 in true road games with a 99-89 road loss at USC on Tuesday night at the Galen Center in Los Angeles.  Iowa rallied to within five points after being down 19 in the second half.  
• Iowa has scored 80+ points in 11 consecutive games, the longest stretch since the 1988-89 season (13 straight games). Iowa has scored 80+ in all but two games this season.
• Iowa is leading nation in scoring, averaging 89.5 points per game.  The team’s 51.0 field goal percentage is second-best in the league (sixth in country).
• Sophomore Owen Freeman netted a career-high 23 points on 11-of-14 shooting in the road loss at USC.  It was his third 20-point game this season.
• Senior Payton Sandfort, who was the Big Ten Co-Player of the Week on Jan. 13, has registered three-straight 20-point contests.  He is averaging 24.3 points and five rebounds with .553/.500/.850 shooting splits during the stretch.
• In his last three second halves, Sandfort has scored 66 points (30 vs. Nebraska, 21 vs. Indiana, 15 at USC). 
• The Hawkeyes rallied from 15 down in the second half to force overtime en route to a 97-87 victory over Nebraska on Jan. 7 in Iowa City.  Iowa has come from behind to win four games this season when trailing in the second half.  
• 30x2... junior Josh Dix (31 points, 7 3s) and Payton Sandfort (30, 6 3s) combined for 61 points and 13 3s against the Huskers as they became the first Hawkeye duo since 2022 (Jordan Bohannon (30), Keegan Murray (30), at Maryland) to both score 30+ in a single game.
 • The Hawkeyes have shot better than 50 percent from the floor nine times and better than 60 percent three times, including a season-best 62.7 percent in the win over New Orleans on Dec. 15.  The team is 8-1 when shooting at least 50 percent from the field.
• Sophomore Owen Freeman is third in the Big Ten and 10th nationally with a 64.3 field goal percentage. He is averaging 17.1 points (10th in Big Ten) and 6.7 rebounds per game. He is the only Hawkeye to score in double figures in every game he has played. 
• The Hawkeyes have made at least eight 3-point field goals in 15 games, including 10+ in 10 contests. Iowa made 18 in the win over Southern -- the most since 2022 -- and 17 in the win over Nebraska .  Iowa is tops in the Big Ten (13th nationally), averaging 10.8 per game.  
• Iowa is leading the Big Ten in assists (19.8, 3rd in NCAA) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.91, 2nd in NCAA). The team has had 20+ assists in eight games.

SCOUTING UCLA
• After winning 11 of its first 13 games, UCLA has dropped four straight contests to see its record fall to 11-6 overall and 2-4 in Big Ten play. 
• The Bruins have lost their last four Big Ten games by eight, 19, 18 and seven points in games at Nebraska, at home against Michigan, at Maryland and at Rutgers.
• UCLA played at Rutgers on Monday in Piscataway, falling 75-68.
• The Bruins have three players averaging in double figures and four scoring at least 8.1 points per game. Tyler Bilodeau leads the team, averaging 14.4 points and has a team-high 19 3-pointers, while Eric Dailey, Jr., averaged 11.6 points on 51.5 percent shooting.
• Kobe Johnson averages 8.1 points and a team-high 5.7 rebounds, while also having a team-best 54 assists and 34 steals.  Johnson played the last three seasons at USC.
• UCLA averages 74.6 points per game, shooting 45.9 percent from the floor.  The Bruins average 6.9 3s per game, shooting at a 33.2 percent clip from long range.
• The Bruins surrender just 63.4 points per game, which is tops in the Big Ten and 18th nationally.  UCLA forces 17.12 turnovers per game (6th-best in the nation), while averaging 8.8 steals. 

SERIES HISTORY

• Friday’s game is the ninth in the all-time series between Iowa and UCLA, dating back to 1950.  The Hawkeyes lead the series, 5-3.
• Iowa last faced the Bruins during the 1990-91 season, winning 88-71 in Iowa City.  
• Iowa has lost its last three games against UCLA in Los Angeles in the 1971-72, 1973-74 and 1981-82 seasons.  
• The Hawkeyes are 2-3 at UCLA all-time, including 0-3 at Pauley Pavilion.
  

LAST GAME: USC 99, IOWA 89

USC never trailed, handing Iowa a 99-89 loss on Tuesday night at the Galen Center.  The Trojans build a 19 point lead with 10:51 to play before the Hawkeyes closed to within five points twice with around five minutes remaining.
• Sophomore Owen Freeman scored a career-high 23 points and grabbed six rebounds, while senior Payton Sandfort scored 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting with four 3s.  
• Iowa shot 53.3 percent from the field and made 11 3-pointers, but USC finished with a 64.9 field goal percentage -- a season high by a Hawkeye opponent -- and out-rebounded Iowa, 37-20.

PAYTON JOINS 1,000/500 CLUB

Senior Payton Sandfort is the 29th player in program history with 1,000+ career points and 500+ rebounds. He is the first Hawkeye since Joe Wieskamp in 2021 to join the club.

POINTS-ASSISTS DUBS

Sophomore Brock Harding collected his second points-assists double-double of the season (third of his career) in Iowa’s 85-60 win over Indiana on Jan. 11.  He finished the game with 10 points and 10 assists.
•  It was Harding’s third career 10+ assist game, which are tied for the sixth-most in program history.
• Harding’s three career points-assists double-doubles are tied for the fourth most in program history along with Ronnie Lester and Andre Woolridge. He trails Jordan Bohannon (7), B.J. Armstrong (5) and Jeff Horner (5) in the record books.

SANDFORT NAMED B1G CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Senior Payton Sandfort was named the Big Ten Co-Player of the Week on Jan. 13 after averaging 26 points, six rebounds and 3.5 assists, while shooting 55.6 percent from the floor and 52.6 percent from 3-point range.  He tied a career-high with 30 points (all in second half and OT) in the win over Nebraska and scored 23 (21 in the second half) in the 25-point victory over Indiana.  
• It is the second Player of the Week honor of Sandfort’s career.

THELWELL APPROACHES 1K
Graduate transfer Drew Thelwell has scored 979 career points in 130 career games at Morehead State and Iowa.  He is 21 points shy of the 1,000 point milestone.