SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY JAGUARS (0-0) vs #4 IOWA HAWKEYES (0-0)
TIME: 8:30pm (following MBB vs Bethune-Cookman)
TV: BTN+ - John Evans and Michael Merrick
SERIES: Iowa leads the series 2-0 (won 87-67 in 2021)
LAST YEAR: IOWA: 24-8 (14-4), Big Ten regular season and tournament champs, NCAA Second Round SOUTHERN: 14-17 (11-17), SWAC Tournament Second Round
THE NUMBERS (2021-22)
OFFENSE: SOUTHERN – 59.4 PPG, 36.7% FG, 24.7% 3PT, 15.6 TO IOWA – 84.2 PPG, 50.2% FG, 35.1% 3PT, 14.5 TO
DEFENSE: SOUTHERN – 63.1 PPG, 43.0% FG, 29.9% 3PT, 21.9 TO, -4.5 REB MARGIN IOWA – 70.2 PPG, 38.9% FG, 29.9% 3PT, 14.0 TO, +3.0 REB MARGIN
PROJECTED LINEUPS
SOUTHERN JAGUARS
5’8 G Genovea Johnson – 11.4 PPG, 3.6 REB, , 36.8% FG
5’8 G Amani McWain – 11.2 PPG, 5.4 REB, 37.1% FG
5’6 G Tyeniesha Metcalf – 4.1 PPG, 1.4 REB, 2.0 AST, 35.0% FG
5’8 G Diamond Hunter – 5.7 PPG, 2.4 REB, 37.5% 3PT
6’2 F Sky Castro (St Peter’s transfer) – 3.1 PPG, 6.3 REB, 36.3% FG
IOWA HAWKEYES
6’0 PG Caitlin Clark – 27.0 PPG, 8.0 REB, 8.0 AST, 33.2% 3PT
5’9 G Gabbie Marshall – 6.8 PPG, 2.1 AST, 39.3% 3PT
6’0 G Kate Martin – 7.2 PPG, 4.9 REB, 3.7 AST, 45.3% FG
6’1 F McKenna Warnock – 11.0 PPG, 6.5 REB, 40.4% 3PT
6’3 C Monika Czinano – 21.2 PPG, 6.2 REB, 67.9% 3PT
IOWA PLAYER TO WATCH – F Hannah Stuelke
Sure, you could go with any of the starting five for obvious reasons, but the Hawkeyes are expected to win this game handily, which will mean more minutes for players coming off of the bench. Among those recipients will be true freshman Hannah Stuelke. Stuelke impressed in the exhibition game against Nebraska-Kearney with 18 points and six rebounds, seemingly fitting in on the court like she already had played a season of college basketball. Lisa Bluder said she thinks Hannah is one of the top six or seven players on the team, but tonight is her first time stepping on the floor for a game that counts. It will be interesting to see if Stuelke can continue to impress in the season opener and further cement herself as a viable option off the bench.
LISA BLUDER TALKS SEASON OPENER
“Lots of times (Southern) will probably run out a five-guard offense. They can attack the ball screens very well. They’re mostly a player-to-player basketball team. They will press at times, but it’s more of a slowdown press.”
“I don’t want to overlook these teams, but I also know that we need to get better for the future with these teams. Whether that means getting younger kids some more playing time, whether that means experimenting with certain plays. That’s what I want to see. I want to see us fundamentally sound. You spend all summer working on fundamentals, and you find out in your first games if it paid off and I hope it did.”
“The season opener always has a kind of special feel, right? It’s the beginning. I told the team; the beginning is the most important part. If you don’t start well, it’s hard to get back on track.”
STATS TO KNOW
The #4 preseason AP ranking is the second highest in program history and the highest since 1994.
The Hawkeyes return their entire starting five for the third straight season. With the addition of Central Michigan transfer Molly Davis, the roster has combined for 422 career starts.
The Hawkeyes are the coaches and media pick to win the Big Ten Conference Title.
Caitlin Clark: Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year, Preseason AP-All American, Preseason All-Big Ten, Nancy Lieberman Watch List
Caitlin Clark became the first NCAAW player ever to lead the country in PPG and APG last season.
Monika Czinano: Preseason All-Big Ten, Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Watch List
Monika Czinano (1763) and Caitlin Clark (1662) are 7th and 10th in scoring in program history. Clark is 4th in assists (471). Clark (207), Gabbie Marshall (135) and McKenna Warnock (122) are 7th, 13th and 17th in program history for 3pt makes.
The Hawkeyes scored 80+ points in 21 games last season, including three games with 100+ points.
The Hawkeyes are 231-103 in non-conference games under Lisa Bluder. Additionally, they are 21-1 under Bluder in home openers and 22-0 in season openers.
THE PICK
Both the men’s and women’s teams have plenty of good games on this year’s non-conference slate, however, much like the men’s game tonight, this is not supposed to be one of them. Last year, the Hawkeyes handled Southern 87-67 in a choppy game that featured an incredible 46 fouls and 54 free throws. Despite the lack of rhythm to the game, Iowa was still able to outscore the Jaguars 39-9 in transition.
The Jags brought in a couple of transfers and returned some starters from last year, but they did not play an exhibition game, so there is a bit up in the air about who might be in the starting lineup. A year ago, Southern was 0-6 against Power conference teams, including a 96-55 loss to Iowa State and the aforementioned loss to Iowa.
As long as this game doesn’t turn into a foul fest like last season, the Hawkeyes should be able to get out and run and ultimately dominate a team that ranked 310th in field goal percentage and 118th in pace. The Hawkeyes ranked 1st and 7th in those categories a year ago. Expect the starting five to get their minutes, but as Lisa Bluder said in her weekly press conference, the younger players on the team will need to see some minutes before the schedule ramps up.
I’ll take the Hawkeyes to win easily and give Lisa Bluder a 23-0 record in season openers. IOWA 98 SOUTHERN 55
