WHO: Fairleigh Dickinson Knights (0-0)
WHEN: 6:30 PM CT (Monday, November 6, 2023)
WHERE: Carver-Hawkeye Arena (Iowa City, IA)
TV: BTN+ ($; A.J Reisetter, Vivian Sumoski)
RADIO: Hawkeye Radio Network (Rob Brooks, Tiffany Reedy)
MOBILE: BTN+ ($)
ONLINE: BTN+ ($)
FOLLOW: @IowaAwesome | @IowaWBB | @IowaonBTN
Fairleigh Dickinson had a fantastic season in 2022-23 -- the Knights finished 24-8 overall and won the Northeast Conference regular season championship.
Fairleigh Dickinson might well have made the NCAA Tournament last year except for the play of Sacred Heart. Sacred Heart beat the Knights twice in the regular season, then beat them 72-60 in the Northeast Conference Championship Game to advance to the NCAA Tournament. The Knights moved on to the WNIT where they lost to Columbia in the first round.
Fairleigh Dickinson was largely untested against major conference competition last year. The Knights lost 75-47 in their season opener against Marquette and also lost 74-60 to Georgetown. Otherwise, the Knights didn't play any other power conference schools. They certainly didn't play a team like Iowa.
After the season, Fairleigh Dickinson head coach Angelika Szumilo moved to Iona. Fairleigh Dickinson brought in Stephanie Gaitley to replace her. Gaitley last coached at Fordham, but has been a head coach in Division 1 basketball since 1985.
Roster
With any coaching change you normally expect some roster turnover, but Fairleigh Dickinson experienced more than most teams.
Last year, Fairleigh Dickinson had a rotation that went 8-players deep. Unfortunately for the Knights, only one of those eight players returns this season. Abby Conklin averaged 14.4 minutes per game last season, and averaged 3.4 ppg, 1.6 rpg, and 1.1 apg. Besides Conklin, the Knights will have to rely on players that didn't make the rotation last year, transfers, and freshman.
In the transfer portal era, big freshman classes are fairly unusual. Fairleigh Dickinson defied that trend this season, as the Knights have six freshmen on roster.
Fairleigh Dickinson also added three players in the transfer portal. 6'2" F/C Teneisia Brown is likely the best of the transfer portal additions, as she averaged 10.5 ppg and 6.6 rpg at Merrimack.
Play Style
Last year, Fairleigh Dickinson played slooow. The Knights averaged 66.3 possessions per 40 minutes, which ranked in the 9th percentile nationally. By comparison, Iowa averaged 76.3 possessions per 40 minutes.
At Fordham, Stephanie Gaitley's teams actually played even slower. 2018-19 was the Rams' masterpiece, as they averaged 62.4 possessions per 40, which was among the very slowest teams nationally.
As with most teams that play slow, Fairleigh Dickinson will rely on its defense to try to stay in the game. Iowa, meanwhile, loves to push tempo and score easy baskets in transition. It will be interesting to see which style wins out early in this game.
Conclusion
This game should be over early. Fairleigh Dickinson had a great year last year, but lost seven of eight rotation players and has a new coach and a host of new players. Iowa's goal in this game should be to get the starters some solid action in the new season, then turn things over the bench to avoid injury.
