MBB Preview \\ Washington \\ Gold Out

OPPONENT	Washington (13-13, 4-11) at Iowa (14-12, 5-10)
LOCATION	Iowa City, Iowa
DATE	Saturday, Feb. 22
TIP-OFF	3 p.m. (CT)
RADIO	Hawkeye Radio Network
TV	FS1

 

The University of Iowa men’s basketball team hosts Washington in its second-to-last home game of the regular season on Saturday at 3 p.m. (CT) on Mediacom Court inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.  The game will be televised on FS1.
• Saturday’s game will be a Gold Out as fans are encouraged to wear gold clothing.  It is also the annual Spirit Squads Day.
• Tickets are available for $35-75 (adults) and $20-25 (youth). 

FOLLOW LIVE
Radio: Saturday’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: Saturday’s game will be televised on FS1 with Connor Onion (play-by-play) and Nick Bahe (color) on the call.

OPENING TIP

• The Hawkeyes will host Washington in its second-to-last home game on Saturday afternoon on Mediacom Court. It is the first meeting between the schools since 1966.
• Head coach Fran McCaffery’s next home win will be his 200th in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
• Leading scorer, rebounder and shot blocker sophomore Owen Freeman underwent season-ending finger surgery on Feb. 3
• In the five games without Freeman, junior Josh Dix is averaging 18 points, 2.8 rebounds and two assists, while senior Payton Sandfort is averaging 17.8 points and a team-best seven rebounds and 3.4 assists.  The duo has six combined 20-point games during the stretch.
• Payton Sandfort and Dix combined for 50 points against No. 7 Purdue on Feb. 4, 46 points in the Feb. 12 road win at Rutgers and 44 points in the two-point loss to Oregon on Feb. 19.
• 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 256 career 3-point field goals, six behind Jeff Horner for second place on Iowa’s all-time list.  He is also eight points shy or reaching 1,500 for his career.  He will be the second Hawkeye all-time with 1,500+ points, 500 rebounds and 250 3s.
• Iowa is second in the Big Ten and 10th nationally, averaging 83.9 points per game.  The Hawkeyes have the second-best field goal (.493) and top effective field goal percentage (.571) in the Big Ten. 
• Sandfort has scored 20+ seven times in the last 12 games, giving him a team-best 11 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 21 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 (18.6, 4th in NCAA) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.85, 2nd in NCAA). The team has had 20+ assists in nine games.

SCOUTING WASHINGTON
• The Huskies have split their last six games, pushing their record to 13-13 overall and 4-11 in Big Ten play.  Washington lost at home to Rutgers, 89-85 in overtime, on Wednesday night.
• Washington is 2-6 in true road games on the year, winning two of its last three road contests.  The Huskies won at Minnesota (71-68) on Feb. 1 and 75-73 at Penn State on Feb. 15.
• The Huskies’ best win came on Jan. 2, downing Maryland, 75-69, at home for their first Big Ten victory.
• Forward Great Osobor leads the team in scoring (15.0), rebounding (8.6), assists (88) and steals (49).  He shootings 47.4 percent from the floor, but just 60.8 percent (104-of-171) from the free throw line.
• Tyler Harris (12.4 points) and Zoom Diallo (11.3) points also average in double figures.  Harris has a team-high 42 3-pointers and 26 blocks, while Mekhi Mason has 41 3-point makes.
• Washington averages 72.4 points per game, while giving up 73.7 points.  The Huskies are -0.2 on the glass this season.
• The Huskies are led by first-year head coach Danny Sprinkle.  Prior to taking over in Seattle, Sprinkle spent one season as the head coach at Utah State (2023-24) and four seasons as head coach at Montana State (2019-23).

SERIES HISTORY

• Saturday’s game is the sixth all-time meeting between Iowa and Washington, dating back to 1955.  It is the first meeting since 1966.
• The Huskies lead the series, 3-2.  
• Iowa last faced Washington on consecutive days in the 1966-67 season.  The Hawkeyes won 66-50 on Dec. 2, 1966, before the Huskies answered with a 76-65 win on Dec. 3.
• Iowa is 1-1 against Washington in Iowa City, hosting the Huskies in 1958 and 1965.  

LAST GAME: OREGON 80, IOWA 78

Junior Josh Dix had a potential step-back game-winning 3-pointer blocked in the closing seconds and Even Brauns’ putback attempt hit front iron as Oregon edged Iowa, 80-78, on Wednesday night in Iowa City.  The Hawkeyes trailed by nine points, 45-37, at the half.
• Iowa had three players finish in double figures with Payton Sandfort and Dix combining for 44 points.  Sandfort scored a game-high 25 points.  Brauns had a career-best game as a Hawkeye, finishing with15 points on 4-of-4 shooting.

IOWA IS...

• 6-0 when scoring 90+ points this season.
• 6-0 when winning the rebounding battle.
• 11-1 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 18 points, 2.8 rebounds, two assists and 1.6 steals over the five 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.
• Dix scored 19 points -- 15 in the first half -- on 8-of-15 shooting while playing all 40 minutes in the two-point loss to Oregon.

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

Last 5 Games
18 ppg., 2.8 rpg., 1.6 spg., 51.4 FG%, 35.5 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 eight points shy of becoming the second player in program history, joining Jeff Horner, to have 1,500+ points, 500+ rebounds and 250+ 3-pointers.  

BRAUNS' BEST GAME

Senior Even Brauns had his best game as a Hawkeye on  Feb. 19 against Oregon, scoring 15 points on 4-of-4 shooting and going 7-of-9 from the free throw stripe.  He played 22 minutes off the bench.
• It was the Iowa City native’s highest point total since posting an 18-point, 12 rebound double-double against Illinois State during the 2021-22 season when he was playing at Belmont.
• Brauns has scored his season-high in consecutive games -- 6 at Maryland, 15 vs. Oregon.