The Iowa basketball teams shares the ball remarkably well.
By Ian Murphy
The highlight of the Iowa men’s basketball team’s 2015-16 season so far would be wins against Marquette and Wichita State.
The low came in a gut-wrenching loss to Iowa State.
The constant, throughout all 10 games, has been the Hawkeyes’ ability to share the ball.
Iowa ranks ninth in the nation with 19.4 assists per game through 10 games. That figure has remained relatively constant throughout the young season and is up significantly from the 14.2 assists per game last season.
The high mark of 31 assists came against Coppin State, and that was followed in the next game by 25 against Marquette.
Against Notre Dame, the Hawkeyes tallied just 13. Iowa pushed 15 assists each in wins against Gardner-Webb and Florida State.
In their other two losses, to Daytona and Iowa State, the Hawkeyes logged 19 and 17, respectively.
The Hawkeyes have had success when their assist numbers enter the 20s, with the two exceptions, because this ability to assist has translated to a 7-3 record and 83.6 points per game, good for second in the Big Ten
Iowa is scoring close to 14 more points per game so far this season than last, although this could be attributed to a shorter shot clock.
On the opposite end, the squad averages 11.4 turnovers per game, 57th in the nation.
While that number is high, the Hawkeyes’ high assist to turnover ratio offsets it. Iowa ranks eighth in the country with a 1.70 ratio.
Furthermore, senior point guard Mike Gesell ranks ninth in the country with 7.0 assists per game, just behind Denzel Valentine of Michigan State, who dishes out 7.2 per game.
Coincidentally, the Spartans rank first in the country with 22.7 assists per game and second in the country with a 1.87 assist to turnover ratio.
Michigan State is the only Big Ten team ranking ahead of the Hawkeyes in any of these three categories nationally, although Purdue is tied with Iowa in assists per game.
The Hawkeyes have had success when sharing the ball so far this season, and the success will likely continue if the Hawkeyes and Gesell can distribute as well in the future.
The Spartans will visit Carver-Hawkeye on Dec. 29 in Iowa’s Big Ten opener, setting up a showdown between two of the best — statistically, at least — assist teams in the country.
Rebounding
The Hawkeyes haven’t been in the cellar on the boards, but they haven’t been stellar, either.
Iowa is tied for 53rd in the country with Arizona and Coastal Carolina with 28.7 defensive rebounds per game and in a four-way tie 127th in the country with 12 offense rebounds.
With only one true center on the roster, Adam Woodbury, it should be no surprise the Hawkeyes find themselves so low on the rebounding rankings.
The defensive rebounding is noteworthy; the Hawkeyes won the battle on the boards against Iowa State, 37-36, but gave up 14 offensive rebounds to the Cyclones en route to an 83-82 loss.
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