Game preview: Iowa men face Wisconsin Tuesday in Madison
By Hawkeyesports.com
The University of Iowa men’s basketball team opens the 2024 calendar year with a Big Ten road game at No. 23 Wisconsin on Tuesday night at the Kohl Center. The game will tipoff at 6 p.m. (CT) and be televised on BTN.
FOLLOW LIVE
Radio: Tuesday’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: Tuesday’s game will be televised on BTN with Jeff Levering (play-by-play) and Laphonso Ellis (color) on the call.
OPENING TIP
- The Hawkeyes resume Big Ten play on Tuesday at No. 23 Wisconsin. Iowa is 0-2 in Big Ten play after dropping a pair of games at Purdue and at home against Michigan during the early portion of the league schedule in December.
- Tuesday’s meeting with the Badgers will be the Hawkeyes’ third game against a ranked opponent this season — all coming on the road.
- Graduate Ben Krikke notched his team-leading fifth 20 point game this season against Northern Illinois. The forward is Iowa’s leading scorer, averaging 17 points per game, which ranks 10th in the BIg Ten.
- Iowa had three players — Payton Sandfort, Krikke and Brock Harding — post double-doubles in the victory over UMBC — a first for the program since 2013. Harding had his first career double-double — the first points-assists double-double since 2021.
- Harding finished the game with a career-high 12 assists — the most by a freshman since Jordan Bohannon’s 13 in 2017.
- Iowa had a different freshman post double-doubles in consecutive games (Owen Freeman/Brock Harding) for the first time since the 2016-17 season (Tyler Cook/Jordan Bohannon).
- Freeman notched his first career double-double, finishing with 14 points and a career-high 11 rebounds in Iowa’s 88-52 victory over Florida A&M on Dec. 16. It was the first double-double by an Iowa freshman since Joe Wieskamp in 2018.
- Iowa finished with 33 assists — a season-high, the second-most assists in school history and the eighth-most in the nation this season — against UMBC on Dec. 20. The team committed just four turnovers in the game — a season low.
- The Hawkeyes are +32 on the glass in their last three games, including a season-best +14 against FAMU on Dec. 16.
- Iowa is 5-1 when attempting at least 20 free throws, 6-1 when shooting 50+ percent from the field and 5-1 when making eight or more 3-pointers.
- Ahoy 100. Iowa hit the century mark for the second straight game and fourth time this season, scoring 103 points against NIU on Dec. 29. The Hawkeyes have scored 100+ points 13 times since the start of the 2021-22 season.
- Iowa is one the nation’s top offensive teams, averaging 87.8 points in 13 games. The Hawkeyes are leading the Big Ten and rank ninth nationally. The team has scored at least 84 points in nine games, averaging 97.3 points in wins and 72.8 points in losses.
- The Hawkeyes are second in the Big Ten and seventh nationally, averaging 19.7 assists per game. Iowa is leading the league and is fourth nationally with a 2.03 assist-to-turnover ratio.
- McCaffery is three wins from becoming the winningest coach in Iowa basketball history. Tom Davis has 271 victories as Iowa’s head coach. With his next Big Ten victory, McCaffery will also have the most league wins (127) in program history.
- Iowa is one of 10 teams in the country to make the last four NCAA Tournaments and one of only three Big Ten teams to accomplish the feat (Purdue, Michigan State).