Iowa vs. Michigan men’s basketball preview
By Hawkeyesports.com
IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa men’s basketball team begins a stretch of three games in seven days on Saturday at Michigan. The game will be played at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor beginning at 4:10 p.m. (CT).
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 Dave Sims (play-by-play) and Nick Bahe (color) on the call.
OPENING TIP
- The Hawkeyes will hit the road for back-to-back games for the first time since early December, beginning with a Saturday afternoon tilt at Michigan. Iowa looks to split the season series against the Wolverines.
- Iowa will play three of its next four and four of its next six games on the road.
- The Hawkeyes’ coaching staff will be wearing suits with their sneakers for Coaches vs. Cancer on Saturday at Michigan.
- Senior Tony Perkins notched his second straight 20-point game, finishing with 20 points against Maryland on Wednesday. The guard went 11-of-11 from the free throw line and made 4-of-9 field goals en route to his fifth 20 point game this season.
- In Big Ten play, Perkins is seventh in the league in scoring, averaging 17.4 points per game. He also averages 4.4 assists (ninth in the league), 3.5 rebounds and two steals (sixth in the B1G) per game.
- Perkins, who is currently the only player in the Big Ten (and one of 20 nationally) with 250+ points, 75+ assists, 75+ rebounds and 30+ steals, needs just 20 points to become the 52nd member of the 1,000 point club in program history.
- Freshman Owen Freeman is leading the Big Ten with a 69 percent field goal percentage in league contests.
- Head coach Fran McCaffery won his 272nd career game on Jan. 15 at Minnesota to become the winningest coach in program history. McCaffery also has 128 Big Ten victories, the most league wins in the Iowa record books.
- Perkins finished with 11 points and a career-high 15 assists in Iowa’s win over Nebraska on Jan. 12. The 15 assists are tied with B.J. Armstrong for the second-most in a single game in program history.
- Freeman earned his sixth Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor on Jan. 15 after scoring a career-high 22 points and grabbing 10 rebounds to post his third double-double of the season against Nebraska. The six honors are the ninth most in a single season in league history.
- Freeman has three double-doubles this season — the most by a Hawkeye freshman since Luka Garza.
- Iowa is one the nation’s top offensive teams, averaging 85.1 points in 19 games. The Hawkeyes are second in the Big Ten and rank 12th nationally. The team has scored at least 84 points in 12 games, averaging 94.9 points in wins and 71.6 points in losses.
- The Hawkeyes are leading the Big Ten and rank fourth nationally, averaging 19.2 assists per game. Iowa is leading the nation with a 1.90 assist-to-turnover ratio.
- 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).