Tip Time Preview: Northern Illinois at Iowa
NORTHERN ILLINOIS (6-5) at IOWA (7-5)
TIME: 6:00 p.m.
TV: BTN+– AJ Reistter on the call
SERIES: Iowa is 9-0 against Northern Illinois. The Hawkeyes are 28-6 all-time against Mid-American Conference schools.
THE LINE: Iowa is a 15 point favorite
THE NUMBERS
OFFENSE: NORTHERN ILLINOIS – 80.5 PPG, 47.8% FG, 33.1% 3 PT FG. IOWA – 86.6 PPG, 47.7% FG, 33.5% 3 PT FG.
DEFENSE: NORTHERN ILLINOIS – 76.2 PPG, 42.0% FG, 34.4% 3 PT FG. IOWA – 77.5 PPG, 43.9% FG, 34.2% 3 PT FG.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS
5-11 guard David Coit – 17.5 points and 4.2 assists per game.
6-7 guard Philmon Gebrewhit – 9.5 points and 2.0 rebounds per game.
6-7 guard Zarique Nutter – 15.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.
6-8 forward Xavier Amos – 11.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.
6-11 forward Yanic Konan Niederhauser – 8.5 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.
IOWA
6-10 forward Owen Freeman – 9.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.
6-4 guard Tony Perkins – 13.5 points and 3.3 assists rebounds per game.
6-7 forward Payton Sandfort – 13.7 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.
6-9 forward Patrick McCaffery – 10.2 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.
6-9 forward Ben Krikke – 16.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.
PLAYER TO WATCH – Ben Krikke – With Iowa heading into Big Ten play the rest of the way after this game, Iowa needs to get Krikke clicking. He’s had some big games and his mid-range game is outstanding. But he will need to get his post up game working and continue to hit the glass more consistently.
KEY MATCH-UP – Tony Perkins vs. David Coit – In the last game of the Hawkeyes, Perkins started out sleepy and elevated his game quickly for a strong 23 point performance against UMBC. When Perkins is good, Iowa is better. Coit is the guy who makes the Huskies go and Perkins needs to keep him in check.
STATS AND NOTES
Fran McCaffery is 4 wins from becoming the winningest coach in Iowa basketball history. Tom Davis has the record with 271 victories.
Iowa is adding eight newcomers to their roster, including six new scholarship players. The transfers are Ben Krikke and Even Brauns. The freshmen are Brock Harding, Pryce Sandfort, Owen Freeman, and Ladji Dembele. Harding and Sandfort were Mr. Basketball in their home states of Illinois and Iowa.
Freshman big man Owen Freeman was named Freshman of the Week by the Big Ten four times in the early portion of the college basketball season. He is averaging 9.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. He has moved into the starting lineup recently, making his first start against Michigan. Fellow freshman Brock Harding posted his first career double-double with 10 points and 12 assists against UMBC.
The Hawkeyes are one of ten teams in the country to make the last four NCAA Tournaments. Iowa has placed fifth or better in the Big Ten in five straight years.
Iowa went 3-0 on a foreign tour of France and Spain. They had victories over the Paris All Stars, Valencia All Stars, and Barcelona All Stars. Iowa averaged 127 points per game in the three victories.
This season, Iowa is 2-1 on games played on a Friday. The Hawkeyes are 37-17 in games on Friday in the McCaffery era. Iowa is 2-0 this year on the Big Ten Network Plus. In the McCaffery era, Iowa is 112-88 in games played on the Big Ten Network.
KenPom.com has Iowa ranked 57th in his rankings. Northern Illinois is ranked 218th. Northern Illinois is 191st in the NET rankings and Iowa is 66th. KenPom.com has Iowa winning this game 92-77.
THE PICK
Last year in the final non-conference game of the regular season, Iowa suffered perhaps the worst loss of the Fran McCaffery era. It was a few days before Christmas and the Hawkeyes lost 92-83 to an awful Eastern Illinois team.
These games right before and right after Christmas can be trap spots. We saw that last season before the holiday break and then Iowa scored only 50 points in a loss at Nebraska right after Christmas.
Which brings us to this game against Northern Illinois. Iowa cannot afford a bad loss with conference play right around the corner. While this won’t be a game like UMBC or Florida A&M, which were easy victories. It should still be a comfortable win, but it will be a bit more challenging.
One thing NIU has is some pretty decent size and athletic ability in their starting lineup. They have one smaller guard, but the rest of the lineup is 6-7 or better and they rebound pretty well, which is an area of weakness of the Hawkeyes this season. Iowa will need to make a strong effort to get on the glass, particularly on the defensive end of the floor.
Iowa will be well prepared. They didn’t spend their time away without getting in work. I look for the Hawkeyes to start a bit slow, but they will go to their extended defense and create a few turnovers that gets them going and finish it off with a solid win. IOWA 89 NIU 77
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