By Hawk Fanatic

IOWA CITY, Iowa – If you prefer offense over defense and playing fast over slow and scoring lots of points in transition, then Friday’s matchup between the Iowa men’s basketball team and Utah State should appeal to you.

Because it’s widely known that Iowa likes to play at a fast pace under veteran head coach Fran McCaffery .

The Hawkeyes averaged 83.1 points per game in 2023-24 — the third-highest scoring average during the McCaffery era. Iowa has averaged 80-plus points per game in four straight seasons for the first time since 1968-72.

Iowa is currently averaging 86.6 points per game this season.

And while that is impressive compared to many teams, Utah State is not like many teams when it comes to scoring points.

The Aggies have the No. 1 scoring offense in the nation, averaging 104 points per game. Utah State scored 117 points in a 117-53 victory over Westminster on Nov. 13.

Iowa and Utah State will meet as part of the NABC Hall of Fame Classic at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri. The game will begin at 7 p.m. (CT) and televised on the Big Ten Network.

Utah State brings a 4-0 record into Kansas City with home victories over Alcorn State, Charlotte, Westminster and Montana. The Aggies have an average margin of victory of 40 points, which is tops in the country.

Utah State is No. 2 in the nation in assists (22.3) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.41). The Aggies rank in the top 10 nationally in 11 team statistics.

Ian Martinez, a preseason All-MWC selection, leads a group of five Utah State players in double figures, averaging 22.8 points on 53.5 percent shooting. He has a team-high 14 3-pointers and 15 assists.

Utah State has eight players averaging at least 7.8 points per game. The Aggies are plus-10.4 on the glass this season and have forced 79 turnovers (19.8 per game).

Utah State was picked to finish sixth in the preseason Mountain West Conference poll. The Aggies went 28-7 and 14-4 in league play to win the MWC regular season title a season ago.

Jerrod Calhoun is in his first season as the Aggie head coach after spending seven seasons in the same position at Youngstown State.

Iowa, meanwhile, is 5-0 for the fourth time in the last five seasons. The last time Iowa started 6-0 was in 2021-22 (7-0 record).

Senior forward Payton Sandfort recorded his second 20-point game of the season, finishing with 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting to go along
with six rebounds and three assists in the win over Rider this past Tuesday.

Iowa has had at least one player (four different players) score 20 or more points in each of its first five games.

Transfers Drew Thelwell, a graduate point guard from Morehead State, and Seydou Traore, a 6-7 forward who played his freshman season for Manhattan, have both played key roles off the bench this season.

Thelwell made two big 3-point shots in the closing minutes in the win over Washington Sate last Friday in Moline, Illinois, while the athletic Traore provided a spark on defense, especially on the front of Iowa’s press.

“Those guys provide athleticism, they provide toughness, they both can score, and they both can defend,” Fran McCaffery said of Taore and Thelwell after Friday’s win.

Iowa has excelled on defense so far this season, holding all five opponents under 50 percent shooting and three opponents under 70 points. The Hawkeyes are 96-3 when holding opponents to fewer than 61 points over the past 14-plus seasons.

But Fran McCaffery’s squad hasn’t been tested like it will be on Friday against Utah State.

SERIES HISTORY

• Friday’s game will be the fifth meeting in the all-time series with the Hawkeyes leading 3-1. Three of the previous four games have been played on neutral courts.
• Iowa won the most recent meeting, winning 94-75 in a neutral site matchup in Sioux Falls, S.D.
• The Aggies’ lone win came in South Padre Island, winning 75-62 during a Thanksgiving tournament in 2007.

Hawkeyesports.com contributed to this report