DARTMOUTH BIG GREEN (2-10) at #12 IOWA HAWKEYES (9-3)
TIME: 12:00pm
TV: BTN+ - Johns Evans and Michael Merrick
SERIES: 2nd Meeting – Iowa leads the series 1-0 (4-0 all time against the Ivy League)
THE NUMBERS
OFFENSE: IOWA: 85.8 PPG, 48.2% FG, 34.4% 3PT, 12.7 TO DARTMOUTH: 57.3 PPG, 37.4% FG, 31.7% 3PT, 16.8 TO
DEFENSE: IOWA: 69.4 PPG, 39.8% FG, 31.2% 3PT, 15.5 TO, +5.2 REB MARGIN DARTMOUTH: 68.9 PPG, 44.7% FG, 35.8% 3PT, 15.3 TO, -4.1 REB MARGIN
PROJECTED LINEUPS
IOWA HAWKEYES
6’0 PG Caitlin Clark – 27.6 PPG, 7.5 REB, 7.2 AST, 33.7% 3PT
6’0 G Kate Martin – 7.0 PPG, 3.8 REB, 2.4 AST, 48.4% 3PT
5’9 G Gabbie Marshall – 4.8 PPG, 31.0% FG
6’1 F McKenna Warnock – 11.1 PPG, 5.9 REB, 37.9% 3PT
6’3 C Monika Czinano – 17.2 PPG, 7.3 REB, 61.9% FG
DARTMOUTH BIG GREEN
5’8 G Victoria Page – 11.0 PPG, 2.1 AST, 38.8% 3PT
5’9 G Mia Curtis – 7.2 PPG, 35.9% 3PT
5’8 G Mekkena Boyd – 8.5 PPG, 3.7 REB, 39.7% FG
6’0 F Emma Koch – 5.1 PPG, 7.5 REB, 35.7% FG
6’0 F Grace Niekelski – 7.1 PPG, 3.0 REB, 31.5% FG
IOWA PLAYER TO WATCH: PG Caitlin Clark
Caitlin Clark had an off-night shooting against Northern Iowa, but did a great job of getting to the free throw line and still contributing 26 points. With that output she is now just 7 points short of 2,000 for her career. That’s a huge milestone in itself, but she is set to break an NCAA record today as well. Former Ohio State G Kelsey Mitchell holds the current record for fastest to 2,000 career points at 79 games, but Caitlin is set to hit the milestone in just 75 games.
Dartmouth has the 324th ranked defense rating in the country, which bodes well for the record being broken sooner rather than later today.
DARTMOUTH PLAYER TO WATCH: G Emma Koch
The Iowa City native will return home for the first time in her college career to face the Hawkeyes. She won a state championship in her time at Iowa City West and is in her fourth season with the Big Green.
Koch is averaging 5.1 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. She leads the team in rebounding and is averaging 2.5 offensive rebounds per game. She has four games with 10+ rebounds, as well as seven games with 3+ offensive rebounds.
THE PICK
This is not going to be the most competitive game of the season for the Hawkeyes. In fact, it might be one of the most lopsided results of the season. The Big Green finished 3-23 last season and are off to a 2-10 start this year. Their two wins have come against teams ranked #273 and #349 in the NET. Their toughest game so far was against 9-1 Rhode Island, and they dropped that contest 89-36.
Dartmouth hasn’t nailed down a consistent starting lineup, as ten different players have started a game this year. Nine different players on the Big Green roster have had a game where they have scored 9+ points, but overall, the offense has struggled to score the basketball. They are averaging just 57.3 points per game which ranks 278th in the country.
Sophomore G Victoria Page is the most threatening scorer on the team. She is averaging 11.0 points and 2.1 assists per game, while shooting 38.8% from behind the arc. She has scored 20+ points in three games, including 23 points and five three pointers against Vermont.
After Page, guard Mekkena Boyd has been the most consistent second scorer. She has scored in double figures six times, including 24 points in two games last week at the Beach Classic. She was named to the All-Tournament team. F Grace Niekelski will be the biggest threat in the post. She averages 7.7 shots per game and has scored in double figures five times.
As a team, they don’t shoot it real well. They ranked outside the top 145 in both two-point and three-point shooting. They have been plagued by turnovers with eight games of 15+ turnovers.
Here is a look at some other important stats…
2pt FG: Iowa 6th (56.8%) Dartmouth 278th (40.7%)
3pt FG: Iowa 73rd (34.4%) Dartmouth 147th (31.7%)
3pt Rate: Iowa 80th (38.1%) Dartmouth 112th (36.1%)
TO: Iowa 14th (12.7) Dartmouth 188th (16.8)
Off Pts/100 Possessions: Iowa 13th (110.4) Dartmouth 240th (84.6)
Def Pts/100 Possessions: Iowa 158th (89.4) Dartmouth 324th (101.7)
Possessions Per Gm: Iowa 26th (76.9) Dartmouth 306th (67.8)
Off Rebounding: Dartmouth 175th (31.2%) Iowa 318th (25.0%)
Def Rebounding: Iowa 3rd (78.6%) Dartmouth 277th (64.6%)
The Hawkeyes should have no trouble winning this game, but there is a difference between winning by 40 and looking sloppy and winning by 40 points and looking crisp on both sides of the floor. Lisa Bluder says she is looking for a disciplined, well executed game that they can take into the Christmas break.
WarrenNolan.com projects the Hawkeyes to win 94-40, which is a very large spread. Statistically, this is the worst offense and defense that Iowa will face all season, so they should have no trouble building a big lead. I would expect Lisa Bluder to run her starters out there for a while, but the bench should get a lot of time, which could affect the final score. Still, the starters only played 19-21 minutes in their 115-62 rout of Evansville earlier in the year. IOWA 102 DARTMOUTH 50
