MBB Notes: Chicago State

 

OPPONENT	Chicago State (0-5) at Iowa (4-0)
DATE	Thursday, Nov. 20
LOCATION	Iowa City, Iowa | Carver-Hawkeye Arena (14,998)
KICKOFF	6 p.m. (CT)
STREAM	B1G+
RADIO	Hawkeye Radio Network

 

ON THE AIR
Radio: Games are 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 includes portions of Illinois, Nebraska, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin.  The Hawkeye Radio Network includes a 60-minute pregame show.
Stream: Thursday’s game will be streamed on B1G+ with AJ Reisetter (play-by-play), Jess Settles (color) and Megan Heine (sideline) on the call.

OPENING TIP
• The Hawkeyes bring a 4-0 record into Thursday’s game against Chicago State, the team’s second game in three days.
• Head coach Ben McCollum is the sixth Iowa coach all-time to open his tenure with four consecutive wins.  
• Iowa got a season-high 50 points from its bench in the 99-70 victory over SEMO with all 11 players that saw the court scoring.  The bench is averaging 37.5 points in four games.
• Senior guard Bennett Stirz is the only Hawkeye to reach double figures in all four contests.  He averages 19.8 points with .571/.471/.885 shooting splits, while averaging 6.3 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 2.3 steals. 
• Stirtz ranks in the top six in the Big Ten in points, assists and steals.
• Three players -- Alvaro Folgueiras (16), Cam Manyawu (12) and Trevin Jirak (10) -- all scored season-highs in Tuesday’s win over SEMO.
• The Hawkeyes have shot better than 50 percent from the field in all eight halves this season, which includes five 60 percent halves. Iowa is leading the nation with a .579 field goal percentage, which includes a 68.3 clip from 2-point range. 
• Amongst active players, Stirtz is the only player nationally ranked in the top 10 in points (1,697) and assists (457) and he is one of six to have 1,500 points and 350 assists.  
• Iowa is receiving votes in both the Associated Press and Coaches’ rankings in Week 3.  The Hawkeyes are 38th in both polls.
• Iowa’s 12-player transfer portal class was ranked eighth nationally by 247Sports.
• Stirtz is a preseason All-American by CBS Sports, Field of 68, Jon Rothstein and Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook and he’s on the Wooden, Naismith, Oscar Robertson Trophy and NABC Division I National Player of the Year Watch List.

SCOUTING CHICAGO STATE
• The Cougars bring an 0-5 record into Iowa City with road losses at DePaul, Saint Louis, Butler and Minnesota and a home loss to UIC.  
• CSU fell 66-54 at Minnesota on Tuesday night.  The Cougars led the Gophers, 47-45, with 7:51 to play.
• Marcus Tankersley leads a pair of Chicago State players in double figures, averaging 16.8 points and four rebounds.  He is shooting 47.1 percent from the field and has a team-high 26 free throw attempts.
• Stephen Byard averages 10.4 points, while Braelon Bush (9.8) and Doyel Cockrill II (9.0) are approaching double figures.  
• Chicago State shoots just 41.2 percent from the field and 29.1 percent from 3-point range.  The Cougars have 55 assists on its 119 field goals and have made just 23 triples in five games.
• CSU has 15 more turnovers than assists (70-55) and is -9.0 on the glass, averaging 29.8 rebounds per game.

SERIES HISTORY
• Thursday’s game is the sixth meeting in the all-time series between Iowa and Chicago State.  The Hawkeyes are 5-0 all-time against the Cougars, winning by an average of 40.5 per contest.
• The two teams last met in 2017 -- a 95-62 Iowa victory.
• Iowa is 10-0 all-time against current members of the Northeast Athletic Conference.

LAST GAME: IOWA 81, XAVIER 62
The Hawkeyes scored a season-high 50 bench points in a 99-70 victory over Southeast Missouri on Tuesday in Iowa City.  Iowa shot 61.2 percent from the field and made 10 3-pointers to improve to 4-0 on the season.
• Iowa had four players land in double figures with junior Alvaro Folgueiras leading the way with 16 points on 4-of-6 shooting.  Senior Bennett Stirtz added 15 points and nine assists without committing a turnover, while junior Cam Manyawu (12) and freshman Trevin Jirak (10) both had season highs.

MORE NOTABLES
• Senior Brendan Hausen made a season-high three 3-pointers in Iowa’s Nov. 18 win over SEMO.  It was his 34th career game with 3+ triples.
• Freshman Trevin Jirak recorded his first double-digit scoring game of his career against SEMO, finishing with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting with a 3-pointer.  
• Junior Kael Combs finished with 11 points -- one off a career-high -- and four assists against Xavier, playing a season-high 32 minutes.  Combs has 12 assists in four games.
• The Hawkeyes have shot 50 percent or better from the field in all eight halves this season, including a season-high 64 percent in the first half of the season opener. 
• Iowa is leading the nation in field goal percentage (.579) and is third in effective field goal percentage (.655) through the first four games.  
• Iowa is third in the Big Ten and 26th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (.405).  The team has made 10 3-pointers in a pair of contests.
• Iowa has the sixth-best scoring defense in the conference, allowing 64.8 points per game.  The Hawkeyes are forcing 10.5 turnovers per games -- tops in the Big Ten.
• Iowa is leading the Big Ten in steals at 8.8 per game with Bennett Stirtz ranking third individually with nine steals.  The Hawkeyes have had 10+ steals in two games this season.
• The Hawkeyes attempted 44 free throws (made 36) in the season-opening win over Robert Morris.  Iowa, who has made 25 or more free throws in three games this season, is averaging 25 makes per game -- tops in the Big Ten and sixth-most nationally.