Tip Time Preview
Luka Garza and Kaleb Wesson go head to head on Thursday night.
Tom Kakert • HawkeyeReport
Publisher
@hawkeyereport
OHIO STATE (17-8, 7-7) vs. IOWA (18-8, 9-6)
TIME: 6:00 p.m.
TV: ESPN – Jason Benetti and Robbie Hummel on the call.
SERIES: Ohio State holds a narrow 81-80 edge in the overall series between the two schools. Iowa has a 50-28 advantage in the series in games played in Iowa City and a 20-13 edge in games played at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa has won three of the last four in Iowa City, including last year’s contest.
THE LINE: Iowa is a 2.5 point favorite.
THE NUMBERS
OFFENSE: OHIO STATE – 71.5 PPG, 45.1% FG, 38.2% 3 PT FG, IOWA – 78.2 PPG, 45.1% FG, 34.9% 3 PT FG.
DEFENSE: OHIO STATE – 61.4 PPG, 38.4% FG, 33.3% 3 PT FG. IOWA – 71.7 PPG, 43.1% FG, 32.3% 3 PT FG.
THE LINEUPS
OHIO STATE
6-1 guard C.J. Walker – 7.6 points and 3.2 assists per game
6-3 guard Luther Muhammad – 6.4 points and 1.8 rebounds per game
6-8 forward Kyle Young – 7.7 points and 5.8 rebounds per game
6-6 forward Andre Wesson – 9.0 points and 4.1 rebounds per game
6-9 forward Kaleb Wesson – 14.1 points and 9.4 rebounds per game
IOWA
6-0 guard Joe Toussaint – 6.4 points and 2.8 assists per game
6-5 guard Connor McCaffery – 6.0 points and 4.3 rebounds per game
6-6 guard Joe Wieskamp – 14.9 points and 6.2 rebounds per game
6-10 forward Ryan Kriener – 7.3 points and 4.1 rebounds per game
6-11 center Luka Garza – 23.7 points and 9.7 rebounds per game
PLAYER TO WATCH – Joe Wieskamp – The Iowa sophomore is getting a lot of attention from opposing defenses, especially with C.J. Fredrick sidelined. On Sunday, Minnesota held Wieskamp to just 2 points in the game. However, he did make up for the lack of points with solid defense and 8 rebounds. One thing Wieskamp has done this season is when he has struggled scoring the ball, he usually bounces back with a strong performance in the next game.
KEY MATCHUP – Luka Garza vs. Kaleb Wesson – This is the year of the big man in the Big Ten and we have another marquee head to head battle coming up on Thursday night. Garza is having a Player of the Year level season and has been a dominant performer no matter the opponent or defense, having scored 20 or more points in 11 straight games. Wesson is a wider body post player who can score around the basket and he has the ability to step out and knock down three point shots.
STATS AND NOTES
This will be the only regular season meeting between the Hawkeyes and the Buckeyes.
KemPom.com rates Iowa as the 22nd best team in college basketball. Ohio State is rated by KenPom.com as the 9th best team in college basketball. Iowa is ranked 29th in the NCAA’s NET ranking. Ohio State is ranked 17th in the NCAA’s NET ranking. KenPom.com projects Iowa to win the game 74-72.
Redshirt freshman guard C.J. Fredrick continues to deal with a sprained ankle that he sustained last week at Indiana. He is limited in practice and is listed as day to day and will be a game time decision on Thursday.
Iowa senior guard Jordan Bohannon had surgery on his left hip in December and will be out for the season. This was his second hip surgery in less than a year with a repair to his right hip back in May. He averaged 8.8 points per game this year in ten games.
Jordan Bohannon is the Hawkeyes all-time leader in three point field goals made with 284. He is also 6th on the all-time assist list with 504. Bohannon has led the Big Ten in free throw percentage made the last two years.
Bohannon how has scored over 1,000 points and dished out 500 assists in his Iowa career. He joins five other former Hawkeyes in achieving those numbers. Bohannon is now 22nd on Iowa’s all-time scoring list with 1,310.
Luka Garza went over the 1,000 career point mark while scoring a career best 44 points in the first meeting with Michigan. The 44 points was the third most points scored by a player in Iowa basketball history. Garza has now scored 1,436 points in his Iowa career, which is 17th on Iowa’s all-time list and he pulled down his 600th career rebound recently. Garza is the 8th Iowa player to reach 1,400 points and 600 rebounds in his career.
This season, Garza became the first Iowa player to receive player of the week honors from the USBWA and was named a mid-season first team All American by The Sporting News. Garza was named to the top 20 for the Wooden Award, which is given annually to the top player in college basketball. He was also named as a finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, which is given to the top center in the country.
Joe Wieskamp was one of ten players selected to the All Big Ten preseason team. Last season he was named to the All Freshman team in the league, averaging 11.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. Wieskamp is finalist for the Jerry West Award, which goes to the top shooting guard in college basketball. Last Saturday the sophomore wing scored a career high 30 points in a win over Nebraska.
Starting forward Jack Nunge tore his ACL at the end of the first half in the win over Cal Poly. He will be sidelined for the remainder of the 2019-20 season. Nunge was averaging 6.0 points and 4.6 rebounds coming off a redshirt season last year.
Iowa’s Connor McCaffery is first in the country in assist to turnover ratio, 4:26 this season. McCaffery is also the only player from a major conference with 95 or more assists and less than 25 turnovers.
Iowa is 3-2 this season in games played on Thursday. They are 28-31 in the McCaffery era in Thursday games. This is Iowa’s first game this season on ESPN. Iowa is 11-17 in games on ESPN during the McCaffery era.
THE PICK
The Hawkeyes pulled off a 1-1 week with a loss at Indiana followed up by a come from behind win over Minnesota on Sunday.
With five games left in the regular season, Iowa is playing to improve their seed in the Big Ten Tournament. The first step in that challenge comes on Thursday night when the Hawkeyes host Ohio State for the first time this year.
The Buckeyes have had an interesting season. They started out 10-0 and went as far as 12-1 and in the top five in the national polls. Then they hit the skids and lost four straight and six of seven. The Buckeyes come to Iowa City riding another streak, winning five or their last six games to get to 7-7 in conference play.
Ohio State is an interesting team. Coming into the game they have the strongest defensive team in the conference, allowing just over 61 points per game. While I wouldn’t say they have defensive stoppers, what they have is a collective system that works well for them.
Offensively they focus on working through Kaleb Wesson in the post and he has the ability to score on the low block as well as step out and knock down three point shots. He is also a very good passer in the post and can find shooters if the opposing team runs double teams in his direction.
Iowa really needs to win all three home games if they want to entertain the idea of getting a double bye in the Big Ten Tournament.
This game will be another challenge for the Hawkeyes, particularly if they are without C.J. Fredrick, who has been out with a sprained ankle. Iowa will need to once again work their offense towards Luka Garza. He’s been red hot in the scoring column in the last month, reaching 20 or more points in 11 straight games. While he might have lulls in scoring, Garza has the ability to score 10 points in a short period of time and that’s something Iowa is going to continue to ride.
The deciding factor in the game from the Iowa perspective will probably come down to two things. First, can Joe Wieskamp get freed up to take and make shots? Minnesota used a very physical approach with the Iowa wing and he was limited in shot attempts and makes. He admitted this week he needs to fight through those barriers and I suspect he will find more openings and get off to a fast start against the Buckeyes.
Then the second key factor will be the “other guys”. Ryan Kriener was a difference maker on Sunday, scoring ten points and helping Iowa deal with foul trouble for Garza. Connor McCaffery will need to hit a few shots and continue to distribute the ball and the guys off the bench, Cordell Pemsl and Bakari Evelyn, will need to combine to reach double figures in points.
Since the DePaul game early in the season, Iowa has been unbeaten at home and won most of the games in fairly convincing fashion. I suspect the Hawkeyes will come out and play well in this one and pick off another Big Ten victory. IOWA 76 OHIO STATE 68
Luka Garza and Kaleb Wesson go head to head on Thursday night.
Tom Kakert • HawkeyeReport
Publisher
@hawkeyereport
OHIO STATE (17-8, 7-7) vs. IOWA (18-8, 9-6)
TIME: 6:00 p.m.
TV: ESPN – Jason Benetti and Robbie Hummel on the call.
SERIES: Ohio State holds a narrow 81-80 edge in the overall series between the two schools. Iowa has a 50-28 advantage in the series in games played in Iowa City and a 20-13 edge in games played at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa has won three of the last four in Iowa City, including last year’s contest.
THE LINE: Iowa is a 2.5 point favorite.
THE NUMBERS
OFFENSE: OHIO STATE – 71.5 PPG, 45.1% FG, 38.2% 3 PT FG, IOWA – 78.2 PPG, 45.1% FG, 34.9% 3 PT FG.
DEFENSE: OHIO STATE – 61.4 PPG, 38.4% FG, 33.3% 3 PT FG. IOWA – 71.7 PPG, 43.1% FG, 32.3% 3 PT FG.
THE LINEUPS
OHIO STATE
6-1 guard C.J. Walker – 7.6 points and 3.2 assists per game
6-3 guard Luther Muhammad – 6.4 points and 1.8 rebounds per game
6-8 forward Kyle Young – 7.7 points and 5.8 rebounds per game
6-6 forward Andre Wesson – 9.0 points and 4.1 rebounds per game
6-9 forward Kaleb Wesson – 14.1 points and 9.4 rebounds per game
IOWA
6-0 guard Joe Toussaint – 6.4 points and 2.8 assists per game
6-5 guard Connor McCaffery – 6.0 points and 4.3 rebounds per game
6-6 guard Joe Wieskamp – 14.9 points and 6.2 rebounds per game
6-10 forward Ryan Kriener – 7.3 points and 4.1 rebounds per game
6-11 center Luka Garza – 23.7 points and 9.7 rebounds per game
PLAYER TO WATCH – Joe Wieskamp – The Iowa sophomore is getting a lot of attention from opposing defenses, especially with C.J. Fredrick sidelined. On Sunday, Minnesota held Wieskamp to just 2 points in the game. However, he did make up for the lack of points with solid defense and 8 rebounds. One thing Wieskamp has done this season is when he has struggled scoring the ball, he usually bounces back with a strong performance in the next game.
KEY MATCHUP – Luka Garza vs. Kaleb Wesson – This is the year of the big man in the Big Ten and we have another marquee head to head battle coming up on Thursday night. Garza is having a Player of the Year level season and has been a dominant performer no matter the opponent or defense, having scored 20 or more points in 11 straight games. Wesson is a wider body post player who can score around the basket and he has the ability to step out and knock down three point shots.
STATS AND NOTES
This will be the only regular season meeting between the Hawkeyes and the Buckeyes.
KemPom.com rates Iowa as the 22nd best team in college basketball. Ohio State is rated by KenPom.com as the 9th best team in college basketball. Iowa is ranked 29th in the NCAA’s NET ranking. Ohio State is ranked 17th in the NCAA’s NET ranking. KenPom.com projects Iowa to win the game 74-72.
Redshirt freshman guard C.J. Fredrick continues to deal with a sprained ankle that he sustained last week at Indiana. He is limited in practice and is listed as day to day and will be a game time decision on Thursday.
Iowa senior guard Jordan Bohannon had surgery on his left hip in December and will be out for the season. This was his second hip surgery in less than a year with a repair to his right hip back in May. He averaged 8.8 points per game this year in ten games.
Jordan Bohannon is the Hawkeyes all-time leader in three point field goals made with 284. He is also 6th on the all-time assist list with 504. Bohannon has led the Big Ten in free throw percentage made the last two years.
Bohannon how has scored over 1,000 points and dished out 500 assists in his Iowa career. He joins five other former Hawkeyes in achieving those numbers. Bohannon is now 22nd on Iowa’s all-time scoring list with 1,310.
Luka Garza went over the 1,000 career point mark while scoring a career best 44 points in the first meeting with Michigan. The 44 points was the third most points scored by a player in Iowa basketball history. Garza has now scored 1,436 points in his Iowa career, which is 17th on Iowa’s all-time list and he pulled down his 600th career rebound recently. Garza is the 8th Iowa player to reach 1,400 points and 600 rebounds in his career.
This season, Garza became the first Iowa player to receive player of the week honors from the USBWA and was named a mid-season first team All American by The Sporting News. Garza was named to the top 20 for the Wooden Award, which is given annually to the top player in college basketball. He was also named as a finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, which is given to the top center in the country.
Joe Wieskamp was one of ten players selected to the All Big Ten preseason team. Last season he was named to the All Freshman team in the league, averaging 11.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. Wieskamp is finalist for the Jerry West Award, which goes to the top shooting guard in college basketball. Last Saturday the sophomore wing scored a career high 30 points in a win over Nebraska.
Starting forward Jack Nunge tore his ACL at the end of the first half in the win over Cal Poly. He will be sidelined for the remainder of the 2019-20 season. Nunge was averaging 6.0 points and 4.6 rebounds coming off a redshirt season last year.
Iowa’s Connor McCaffery is first in the country in assist to turnover ratio, 4:26 this season. McCaffery is also the only player from a major conference with 95 or more assists and less than 25 turnovers.
Iowa is 3-2 this season in games played on Thursday. They are 28-31 in the McCaffery era in Thursday games. This is Iowa’s first game this season on ESPN. Iowa is 11-17 in games on ESPN during the McCaffery era.
THE PICK
The Hawkeyes pulled off a 1-1 week with a loss at Indiana followed up by a come from behind win over Minnesota on Sunday.
With five games left in the regular season, Iowa is playing to improve their seed in the Big Ten Tournament. The first step in that challenge comes on Thursday night when the Hawkeyes host Ohio State for the first time this year.
The Buckeyes have had an interesting season. They started out 10-0 and went as far as 12-1 and in the top five in the national polls. Then they hit the skids and lost four straight and six of seven. The Buckeyes come to Iowa City riding another streak, winning five or their last six games to get to 7-7 in conference play.
Ohio State is an interesting team. Coming into the game they have the strongest defensive team in the conference, allowing just over 61 points per game. While I wouldn’t say they have defensive stoppers, what they have is a collective system that works well for them.
Offensively they focus on working through Kaleb Wesson in the post and he has the ability to score on the low block as well as step out and knock down three point shots. He is also a very good passer in the post and can find shooters if the opposing team runs double teams in his direction.
Iowa really needs to win all three home games if they want to entertain the idea of getting a double bye in the Big Ten Tournament.
This game will be another challenge for the Hawkeyes, particularly if they are without C.J. Fredrick, who has been out with a sprained ankle. Iowa will need to once again work their offense towards Luka Garza. He’s been red hot in the scoring column in the last month, reaching 20 or more points in 11 straight games. While he might have lulls in scoring, Garza has the ability to score 10 points in a short period of time and that’s something Iowa is going to continue to ride.
The deciding factor in the game from the Iowa perspective will probably come down to two things. First, can Joe Wieskamp get freed up to take and make shots? Minnesota used a very physical approach with the Iowa wing and he was limited in shot attempts and makes. He admitted this week he needs to fight through those barriers and I suspect he will find more openings and get off to a fast start against the Buckeyes.
Then the second key factor will be the “other guys”. Ryan Kriener was a difference maker on Sunday, scoring ten points and helping Iowa deal with foul trouble for Garza. Connor McCaffery will need to hit a few shots and continue to distribute the ball and the guys off the bench, Cordell Pemsl and Bakari Evelyn, will need to combine to reach double figures in points.
Since the DePaul game early in the season, Iowa has been unbeaten at home and won most of the games in fairly convincing fashion. I suspect the Hawkeyes will come out and play well in this one and pick off another Big Ten victory. IOWA 76 OHIO STATE 68
