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sandhill_husker
Huskers!
The Iowa Hawkeyes come to Lincoln playing some of their best basketball of the season in the last two weeks. Iowa is 17-9 on the season and 6-7 in Big Ten play, but has won three straight games, including a 72-51 win over Minnesota on Sunday.
The Hawkeyes were one of the Big Ten's most experienced teams coming into the season, bringing back four starters from a team that went 18-17 and reached the second round of the NIT. Head Coach Fran McCaffery is in his third season at Iowa after serving stints at Lehigh, UNC Greensboro and Siena.
This season, Iowa went 11-2 in non-conference action, losing only to Wichita State and Virginia Tech, while its best wins were against the teams from its own state, earning triumphs over Iowa State and Northern Iowa.
The Hawkeyes struggled against the meat of their Big Ten slate, going 2-5 to begin conference play, including losses to Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State. Iowa then lost a couple of heartbreakers, including a double OT loss at Wisconsin. Since then, the Hawkeyes have rebounded with wins over Northwestern, Penn State and Minnesota. Against the Gophers, Iowa trailed 21-5 before out-scoring UM, 67-30 the rest of the way.
Iowa is one of the most balanced teams in the league, as the Hawkeyes play 10 players and no player averages more than 30 minutes per game. Junior guard Roy Devyn Marble leads the Hawkeyes in scoring at 13.6 ppg and is second on the team with 71 assists. Marble was in a scoring slump for most of Big Ten play, but has rebounded with three straight solid efforts. Sophomore forward Aaron White joins Marble in double figures by averaging 13.4 points and a team-high 5.8 points per game. Iowa starts a pair of freshmen in point guard Mike Gesell (9.1 ppg; 2.8 apg) and center Adam Woodbury (5.0 ppg; 5.2 rpg).
Huskers Host Hawkeyes Saturday Afternoon - Huskers.com - Nebraska Athletics Official Web Site
Noon central tip.