Iowa men's basketball: Several Hawkeyes climbing statistical leaderboards in Big Ten
IOWA CITY — Iowa basketball landed in California on Sunday evening. Though fires have caused destruction in the Los Angeles area, as of Monday afternoon the Hawkeyes were still scheduled to play USC on Tuesday and UCLA on Friday.
There was still some uncertainty surrounding Iowa’s exact plans.
“The plan was to move to a hotel closer to UCLA (after playing USC),” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said Monday. “That is on hold with regard to whether or not we’re actually going to play over there. Because some events have been canceled over there. So we will likely play the game (against UCLA). Maybe there. Maybe somewhere else. So we may move. We may not.”
In a league where road victories are not easy to come by, winning at least one of the two games this week should be considered a successful trip. Less than that wouldn’t be ideal but also not devastating. More than that would mean Iowa is ahead of schedule on the path to make the NCAA Tournament.
USC presents a realistic opportunity to start on the right track. The Trojans (10-6, 2-3) have not been great this season. They are coming off a road win over Illinois, though the Illini were without star Kasparas Jakucionis.
Iowa responded in a big way after allowing 116 points to Wisconsin in a blowout loss. The Hawkeyes went to overtime to snap Nebraska’s six-game winning streak and then put Indiana’s five-game winning streak to an abrupt halt in a decisive victory.
But winning on the road is a different story. That will be put to the test this week.
More:Payton Sandfort believes Iowa basketball is capable of big things. Indiana win showed why.
Iowa’s two-game winning streak has highlighted some of the encouraging individual storylines that are surfacing for the Hawkeyes. Take a look at the Big Ten’s leaderboards and there are a handful of Iowa players near the top of various statistical categories.
Typically, if you have enough players excelling in their roles, team success follows. Iowa experienced that in wins over Nebraska and Indiana.
Here's a look at some Hawkeyes who have climbed the ladder in the Big Ten landscape.
Note: These rankings are decided by statistics in all games, not just in contests between two league opponents. Big Ten players also have to be qualified to be included. Rankings are as of games through Monday, Jan. 13.
Points per game: Payton Sandfort, Owen Freeman
Two Hawkeyes are among the league's top 11 in points per game — with Sandfort at 10th (16.9) and Freeman right behind him (16.6). Only two other Big Ten teams can say that (Rutgers and Northwestern).
The scary thing for the rest of the league is that, even though Sandfort and Freeman are each over 16 points per game this season, they are still capable of more.
Sandfort’s field-goal and 3-point percentages are down from last season. The fact that he scored 51 points combined between the 2nd half against Nebraska, overtime against Nebraska and the 2nd half against Indiana speaks to just how good he can be when he is in rhythm.
Meanwhile, Freeman has left a lot of points on the charity stripe. He has attempted the second-most free throws on the team this season (53) but is just the 7th-best shooter by percentage (58.5%).
While Sandfort and Freeman have scored the ball at a high clip, as their standing in the league indicates, there is room for them to get even better.
Field-goal percentage: Owen Freeman, Josh Dix
Anong those who qualify, Freeman ranks third at 63.1%. It’s expected that a big man of Freeman’s caliber is efficient because so many of his shots are around the rim.
That’s why it’s wildly impressive for Dix to appear on this list.
Dix, who ranks 7th, is shooting 56.1% from the field this season. He is the only guard in the top seven.
Typically, guards take more shots from the perimeter than bigs, which makes the fact that Dix’s high level of efficiency stand out. He has attempted nearly as many 3-pointers as 2-pointers this season but still has among the best field-goal percentages among those with enough attempts to qualify in this category.
Assists per game: Brock Harding
At 6.1 assists per game, Harding ranks 4th in the Big Ten.
Harding is an ideal Iowa point guard in the sense that he is such a willing distributor. Iowa has plenty of offensive weapons between Sandfort, Freeman, Dix and others who can benefit greatly from an unselfish player to put them in position to score.
Harding has been just that.
His numbers in limited playing time as a freshman indicated this could be the case. He averaged 2.8 assists per game last season in less than 11 minutes, which proportioned out to 9.7 per 40 minutes. In a larger role this season, Harding has, in fact, made a jump in production.
Steals per game: Drew Thelwell, Brock Harding
While Iowa’s offensive stats are notable, having players around the top of defensive categories is especially relevant, given the program's longstanding struggles on that end of the floor.
Drew Thelwell being second in the Big Ten in steals per game this season (2.3) matches the eye test. Thelwell's infectious energy has made him a slam-dunk addition from the transfer portal and he has clearly helped elevate Iowa’s defense.
Thelwell’s performance against Indiana exemplified that. He notched a career-high six steals vs. the Hoosiers, including five in the first half alone.
That Harding ranks 7th with 1.8 steals per game speaks to his ability to be impactful on the defensive end despite being undersized. Listed at just 6-foot, Harding could be an easy target to exploit defensively but he has found a way to pester opponents with his activity level.
Blocks per game: Owen Freeman
Freeman is tied with Penn State’s Yanic Konan Niederhauser for first in the Big Ten with 2.2 blocks per game.
It shows just how disruptive Freeman can be defensively when he stays out of foul trouble.
Freeman is one of the best rim protectors Iowa has had in a while. Should Freeman continue at this rate, he would become the first Hawkeye to average more than two blocks per game in a season since Jarrod Uthoff, who had 2.6 during the 2015-16 campaign.
Follow Tyler Tachman on X@Tyler_T15, contact via email at ttachman@gannett.com