MBB Preview \\ at Northwestern

OPPONENT	Iowa (15-13, 6-11) at Northwestern (15-13, 6-11)
LOCATION	Evanston, Ill.
DATE	Friday, Feb. 28
TIP-OFF	8 p.m. (CT)
RADIO	Hawkeye Radio Network
TV	FS1

 

The University of Iowa men’s basketball team heads to Evanston to face Northwestern on Friday at 8 p.m. (CT) at Welsh-Ryan Arena.   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.
TV: Friday’s game will be televised on FS1 with Connor Onion (play-by-play) and LaPhonso Ellis (color) on the call.

OPENING TIP

• The Hawkeyes will play their second double play opponent of the season on Friday in Evanston.  Iowa downed Northwestern, 80-79, in its Big Ten opener on Dec. 3 in Iowa City. 
• The Hawkeyes rallied from nine down in the second half to beat Washington on Feb. 22. It was the team’s sixth comeback victory of the season.
• Payton Sandfort and Josh Dix are combining to average 34.2 points per game in February. 
• Sandfort has scored 20+ in three of five and four of seven games in February.  He surpassed 1,500 career points against the Huskies and is currently 14th in career scoring (1,526).
• In seven games in February, Sandfort is averaging 17.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists, while Dix is averaging 16.6 points on 50 percent shooting with 14 3-pointers.
• The duo combined for 50 points against No. 7 Purdue on Feb. 4, 46 points in the Feb. 12 road win at Rutgers, 44 points in the two-point loss to Oregon on Feb. 19 and 42 points in the win over Washington.
• Iowa’s reserves scored 36 points in the win over Washington -- a season-high in a Big Ten game.
• Sandfort has 258 career 3-point field goals, four behind Jeff Horner for second place on Iowa’s all-time list.  He is the second Hawkeye all-time with 1,500+ points, 500 rebounds and 250 3s.
• Iowa is third in the Big Ten and is 17th nationally, averaging 83.1 points per game.  The Hawkeyes have the top effective field goal percentage (.568) and second-best field goal (.490) in the Big Ten. 
• Sandfort has scored 20+ eight times in the last 14 games, giving him a team-best 12 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 22 games, including 10+ in 13 contests -- the most in a season since 2022-23. Iowa is second in the Big Ten (30th nationally), averaging 9.8 per game.  
• Iowa is leading the Big Ten in assists (18.3, 5th in NCAA) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.80, 4th in NCAA). The team has had 20+ assists in nine games.  The Hawkeyes have had fewer than 10 turnovers in four of their last six games.

SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN
• The Wildcats have won two straight games -- both on the road -- to improve to 15-13 overall and 6-11 in Big Ten play.  Northwestern won at Ohio State (70-49) on Feb. 20 before winning at Minnesota (75-63) on Feb. 25.
• Northwestern is 11-4 at Welsh-Ryan Arena this season, but 4-4 in Big Ten play.  
• Nick Martinelli leads the Big Ten in scoring (20.1) and is second in field goals (213), while also averaging six rebounds per  game.  The forward has scored 20+ in 14 games on the year, including 29 points in last game in Minneapolis.  He plays 37:24 minutes per game.
• Brooks Barnhizer hasn’t played since Jan. 29 and Jalen Leach hasn’t played since Feb. 4.  Before going down with injury, Barnhizer averaged 17.1 points and 8.8 rebounds, while Leach averaged 14.3 points and 3.4 assists.
• Northwestern is third in the Big Ten, averaging 11.36 offensive rebounds per game.  The Wildcats also have the fourth-best scoring defense (69.4 points).
• The Wildcats commit just 9.9 turnovers per game, fewest in the Big Ten and 23rd fewest nationally.

SERIES HISTORY

• The Hawkeyes are 126-61 all-time against Northwestern, including winning 11 of the last 12 meetings.
• Iowa downed Northwestern, 80-79, in the first meeting this season in both team’s Big Ten openers.
• The Hawkeyes won nine straight in the series from 2018-23 and has won 18 of the last 22 overall.
• Iowa went to Evanston and downed the Wildcats, 87-70, on March 2, 2024.  Iowa is 4-1 at Welsh-Ryan Arena in its last five contests.
• Head coach Fran McCaffery is 18-8 all-time against
Northwestern.

FIRST MEETING: IOWA 80, NORTHWESTERN 79

Josh Dix’s catch-and-shoot game-winning 3-pointer from 33 feet with 0.8 seconds remaining sent the Hawkeyes to an 80-79 Big Ten opening victory over Northwestern on Dec. 3 in Iowa City. Dix led all scorers with 22 points in the game, making 9-of-16 field goals
and three 3s.
• Iowa led by as many as 17 points in the first half and took a 45-34 lead into the break. Northwestern erased the deficit and led by six points with 2:15 left before Iowa rallied for its first Big Ten opening victory since 2020.
• Payton Sandfort scored 20 points and had seven rebounds and four assists, while Owen Freeman (16) and Brock Harding (12) also landed in double figures.
• Iowa shot 54.5 percent from the field and made nine 3-pointers in the victory, but was outrebounded, 36-26.

LAST GAME: ILLINOIS 81, IOWA 61

Illinois held the Hawkeyes to a season-low 61 points in an 81-61 victory on Tuesday night in Champaign.  The Illini led 37-30 at half and outscored Iowa, 44-31, over the final 20 minutes.
• Brock Harding led a pair of Hawkeyes in double figures, finishing with 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting.  It was his third-highest output of the season.
• Illinois forced Iowa into committing 16 turnovers, tying a season high.

IOWA IS...

• 6-0 when scoring 90+ points this season.
• 7-1 when winning the rebounding battle.
•12-1 when shooting more free throws than its opponents.
• 10-3 when leading at the half.

MORE NOTABLES

• Head coach Fran McCaffery has the most victories in Iowa history with 295, including a record 142 Big Ten wins.  McCaffery won his 200th career game in Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Feb. 22 against Washington. 
• The Hawkeyes have had multiple 20-point scorers in seven games this season.
• Redshirt junior Carter Kingsbury played a career-high 28 minutes in the win over Washington on Feb. 22.  
• Iowa has rallied to win six games this season when trailing in the second half.  Iowa came back from being 15 down in the overtime win over Nebraska on Jan. 7 in Iowa City.  
• Senior Payton Sandfort has started 62 consecutive games dating back to the start of his junior season.
• Iowa is second in the Big Ten and 31st nationally, averaging 13.82 fast-break points. 
• The Hawkeye reserves have outscored their counterparts in 16 games.  Iowa got 57 points from its reserves in the 112 point outburst against New Hampshire on Dec. 30.  
• Iowa has held 19 opponents under 50 percent shooting (and three under 40 percent), has forced at least 18 turnovers in six games and has held five opponents under 70 points.   The Hawkeyes are 98-3 when holding opponents to fewer than 61 points over the past 14+ seasons.
• The Hawkeyes have had 10 games decided by single digits (4-6 record) and four games decided by a single possession (2-2 record).
• The Hawkeyes have had six players hit the 20-point mark in a game this season -- Payton Sandfort (12), Josh Dix (6), Owen Freeman (4), Drew Thelwell (2), Pryce Sandfort (1) and Brock Harding (1).
• Harding has 151 assists to 68 turnovers in 28 games His 5.4 assists per game are fourth in the Big Ten and 40th nationally.  He has had five or more assists in 18 games and 8+ in six contests.  
• Sandfort currently has an 89.4 career free throw percentage (252-of-282), which is the best mark in program history.  He made 18 straight free throws from Nov. 22-Dec. 21 and is fifth in the league with an 88.4 free throw percentage on the year.

PAYTON WATCH

Senior Payton Sandfort currently is 14th in program history with 1,526 career points, while ranking third in the record books with 258 career 3-point field goals.  He is four 3-point field goals shy of tying Jeff Horner for No. 2 in program history.
• He is 109 points shy of moving into the top 10 in program history in career scoring.
• With 41 points, Sandfort will become the 12th player in program history -- the first since Luka Garza -- to have back-to-back 500-point seasons.