MBB Preview \\ Oregon

OPPONENT	Oregon (18-8, 7-8) at Iowa (14-11, 5-9)
LOCATION	Iowa City, Iowa
DATE	Wednesday, Feb. 19
TIP-OFF	7:30 p.m. (CT)
RADIO	Hawkeye Radio Network
TV	BTN

 

The University of Iowa men’s basketball team returns home to host Oregon on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. (CT) on Mediacom Court inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.  The game will be televised on BTN.
• Tickets are available for $20-50 (adults) and $10-15 (youth).

FOLLOW LIVE
Radio: Wednesday’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: Wednesday’s game will be televised on BTN with Kevin Kugler (play-by-play), Robbie Hummel (color) and Andy Katz (sideline) on the call.

OPENING TIP

• The Hawkeyes return to Carver-Hawkeye Arena to host Oregon on Wednesday. It is the first meeting between the two schools as conference foes and the first since a second round NCAA Tournament contest in 2021.
• Leading scorer, rebounder and shot blocker sophomore Owen Freeman underwent season-ending finger surgery on Feb. 3 and graduate guard Drew Thelwell has missed the last two games because of injury.
• In the four games without Freeman, junior Josh Dix is averaging 17.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists, while Payton Sandfort is averaging 16 points and a team-best 7.5 rebounds.
• Sophomore Pryce Sandfort has scored in double figures in three consecutive games, averaging 13 points during the stretch.  He has led the team in scoring in two of the three contests.
• Payton Sandfort and Dix combined for 50 points against No. 7 Purdue on Feb. 4 and 46 points in the Feb. 12 road win at Rutgers.  
• Sandfort was named to the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Midseason top 10 on Feb. 5. He is one of two players from the Big Ten Conference on the list along with Rutgers’ Ace Bailey.  
• Sandfort has 252 career 3-point field goals, 10 behind Jeff Horner for second place on Iowa’s all-time list.  
• Iowa is second in the Big Ten and 10th nationally, averaging 84.1 points per game.  The Hawkeyes have the top field goal (.493) and top effective field goal percentage (.571) in the Big Ten, ranking 10th nationally in both categories. 
• Sandfort has scored 20+ six times in the last 11 games, giving him a team-best 10 20+ point games this season.  
 • Iowa has shot better than 50 percent from the floor 12 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 10-2 when shooting at least 50 percent from the field.
• The Hawkeyes have made at least eight 3-point field goals in 20 games, including 10+ in 12 contests -- the most in a season since 2022-23 (13 games). Iowa is second in the Big Ten (28th nationally), averaging 9.9 per game.  
• Iowa is leading the Big Ten in assists (18.7, 4th in NCAA) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.83, 3rd in NCAA). The team has had 20+ assists in nine games.

SCOUTING OREGON
• Oregon has won two straight games -- home victories over Northwestern and Rutgers -- to improve to 18-8 overall and 7-8 in Big Ten play.  The Ducks beat Rutgers, 75-57, on Sunday behind 19 points from Jackson Shelstad and a double-double (15/10) from Nate Bittle.
• Prior to the winning streak, the Ducks lost five consecutive games --four on the road and at home against Nebraska.  
• Oregon is 4-4 in true road games this season, which includes league road victories at USC, Ohio State and Penn State.
• The Ducks have three players averaging in double figures and five averaging at lead 9.3 points. Shelstad leads the team in scoring (13.7) and 3-point field goals (50), while ranking second in assists (72).
• Bittle averages 12.6 points and seven rebounds, while swatting a team and Big Ten-best 52 shots.  T.J. Bamba averages 10.3 points and has team-highs in assists (73) and steals (49).  The 49 steals are third-most in the Big Ten.
• Oregon averages 76.4 points, shooting 45.7 percent from the floor and 34.4 percent from long range (7.3 makes per game).  The Ducks allow 71.5 points and are just +1.6 on the glass this season in 26 games.

SERIES HISTORY

• Wednesday’s game will be the ninth meeting all-time between Iowa and Oregon dating back to 1949 -- a 81-54 Hawkeye victory in Iowa City.
• Iowa leads the all-time series, 6-2.
• It is the first meeting since March 22, 2021, when the seventh-seeded Ducks defeated No. 2 seed Iowa, 95-80, in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament in Indianapolis.
• Oregon is making its second trip all-time to Iowa City.  
• Iowa and Oregon met five times between 1949-62.  The Hawkeyes played the Ducks in the NIT in 2012 and in New York City at Madison Square Garden in the 2K Classic in 2018.

LAST GAME: NO. 25 MARYLAND 101, IOWA 75

No. 25 Maryland used a 23-4 run over the first six minutes of the second half turning a 51-47 halftime deficit into a 101-75 win on Sunday in College Park.  The Terps outscored Iowa, 54-24, in the second half after shooting 59.5 percent from the floor. 
• Iowa had four players land in double figures with Pryce Sandfort leading the way with 15 points.  Payton Sandfort posted a double-double, finishing with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

IOWA IS...

• 6-0 when scoring 90+ points this season.
• 6-0 when winning the rebounding battle.
• 11-0 when shooting more free throws than its opponents.
• 10-3 when leading at the half.

JD STEPS UP

In Freeman’s absence, junior Josh Dix’s offensive production has sharply increased.  The Council Bluffs, Iowa, native is averaging 17.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.5 steals over the four games with two 20-point contests.
• He scored 27 points on 10-of-16 shooting against No. 7 Purdue in the first game post-Freeman and he finished with 26 points on 11-of-17 shooting in the road win at Rutgers.  The 11 field goals were a career high.

First 21 Games
13.3 ppg., 3.1 rpg., 0.9 spg., 52.4 FG%, 45.2 3PT% 

Last 3 Games
17.8 ppg., 3.3 rpg., 1.5 spg., 50.9 FG%, 36.0 3PT%

PAYTON JOINS 1,000/500 CLUB; APPROACHES ELITE GROUP

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.
• Sandfort is 33 points shy of becoming the second player in program history, joining Jeff Horner, to have 1,500+ points, 500+ rebounds and 250+ 3-pointers.  

CENTER BY COMMITTEE

When Iowa lost sophomore Owen Freeman to season-ending surgery, it lost its top scorer (16.7 points), rebounder (6.7) and shot blocker (35).  The Hawkeyes have gone to a center-by-committee of Riley Mulvey, Ladji Dembele and Even Brauns.
• The trio is averaging 10.3 points and 7.3 rebounds on 62.1 percent (18-of-29) shooting in the four games Freeman has been sidelined.
• Dembele has scored 27 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in his last three games, making 11-of-19 field goals.  He scored nine points at Rutgers and had 11 points and eight rebounds at Maryland.