WHO: Purdue-Fort Wayne Mastodons (2-1)
WHEN: 6:30 PM CT (Friday, November 24, 2023)
WHERE: Hertz Arena (Estero, Florida)
TV: None
RADIO: Hawkeye Radio Network
ONLINE: FloHoops
MOBILE: FloHoops
FOLLOW: @IowaAwesome | @IowaWBB | @IowaonBTN
The Tournament
Iowa heads south this weekend for its annual non-conference tournament. This year's trip takes them to Estero, Florida, where they'll take part in the Gulf Coast Showcase. Iowa's half of the bracket also features Purdue-Fort Wayne (2-1), Florida Gulf Coast (3-1), and Delaware (1-1). Iowa will play Purdue-Fort Wayne on Friday and either FGCU or Delaware on Saturday.
The other side of the bracket features #16 Kansas State (4-0), #18 North Carolina (4-0), Vermont (3-1), and Western Kentucky (5-1). The full bracket is available here.
Yes, that's right -- if Kansas State and Iowa both handle their business on Friday and Saturday, then the Hawkeyes could have a chance to avenge their loss to the Wildcats earlier this season on Sunday. K-State will need to beat a quality Western Kentucky team and (likely) a strong UNC team to get to that final, though.
How to Watch
It's worth noting that none of the games in this tournament will be available on traditional cable/satellite channels, or even standard streaming platforms such as ESPN+, BTN+, Paramount+, or Peacock. The only way to watch any of the games in the tournament is through FloHoops, a separate subscription service.
FloHoops offers two subscription options: a $29.99 monthly subscription or a $150 annual subscription. Yes, that is a lot of money to pay to watch three basketball games.
The First Round Opponent
Purdue-Fort Wayne finished last season 14-19. In two games against Big Ten opponents, the Mastodons were easily defeated. The lost 85-53 at Michigan State in November, then lost 88-51 at home against Maryland in late December.
The 2023-24 season is young, but on paper Purdue-Fort Wayne has been better this year. The Mastodons started the year with a 80-61 loss at Michigan. The Wolverines led 34-20 at halftime, but Purdue-Fort Wayne played the second half much closer.
Purdue-Fort Wayne then blasted Division II Great Lakes Christian College, before beating Southern Illinois on the road 70-64 in overtime.
A big reason for the better results early is continuity. The Mastodons returned five of their top six players from last year.
All statistics in this preview come from HerHoopStats. HerhoopStats does not include results against Division 2 schools when calculating statistics, so Purdue-Fort Wayne's 124-41 win over Great Lakes Christian isn't included in the per game numbers.
Top Players
Last year, the only two Purdue-Fort Wayne players that averaged in double figures were Shayla Sellers and Amellia Bromenschenkel.
Sellers is a 6'0" guard/forward averaging 17.0 ppg, 1.5 steals per game, and 1.5 blocks per game on the young season. She is shooting 63.6% on 2-point attempts and 50.0% on 3-point attempts so far. Last year, she wasn't quite as prolific. She averaged 10.3 ppg on 45.5% shooting from 2-point range and 29.7% from 3-point range.
Bromenschenkel is a 5'11" guard. She is averaging 9.0 ppg and 6.0 rpg so far this year. Last year, she averaged 12.2 ppg on 50.7% shooting on 2-point shots and 32.5% shooting on 3-point shots
Play Style
Purdue-Fort Wayne sits near the middle of the pack for pace nationally at 71.3 possessions per 40 minutes. They ranked close to the middle the two seasons before this too, so that number is likely representative.
The Mastodons haven't been a good shooting team so far this season. Their 44.2% shooting percentage on 2-point attempts ranks 194th nationally, and their 62.5% from the free throw line ranks 297th.
The Mastodons also have been a poor rebounding team so far. Their offensive rebounding rate ranks 291st nationally, and their defensive rebounding rate ranks 348th out of 360 teams.
Finally, the Mastodons also aren't great at forcing turnovers. Their 7.4% steal rate ranks 283rd nationally.
Normally using rate statistics this early in the season isn't the best, but Purdue-Fort Wayne ranked poorly in each area in 2022-23 and returns most of its rotation players from that team.
X-Factor
Stay focused. On paper this is a game that Iowa should win fairly easily. The only way that won't happen is if being in a resort for a tournament impacts Iowa's preparation and play.
On Sunday, head coach Lisa Bluder didn't think that was likely. "I want them to relax. I want them to get away from basketball for a while... enjoy the nice resort that we're going to be at. So I want them to enjoy that but they're also smart enough to know how much to enjoy it."
