Four numbers to know ahead of Iowa-Northwestern WBB
The Hawkeyes have finished up their west coast swing and return to Iowa City to host Northwestern on Tuesday evening. It will be the 80th all-time meeting between the Hawkeyes and Wildcats, with Iowa leading the series 61-18. Since the ‘Cats upset the 8th-ranked Hawkeyes back on January 6th of 2022, they are just 13-49 against Big Ten opponents. Head coach Joe McKeown’s squad comes into the matchup with a 7-11 overall record, including an 0-7 mark in Big Ten play. They fell to Illinois 80-65 last Thursday.
HawkeyeReport takes a look at some important numbers to know going into Tuesday’s matchup between the Hawkeyes and Wildcats.
23.1% and 27.9% – Northwestern three-point attempt rate and three-point percentage
The Wildcats are the exact opposite of what Iowa faced when they went up against Tennessee earlier in the year. Northwestern ranks 344th in the country in three-point attempt rate (23.1%) and 284th in three-point shooting percentage (27.9%). Their 70 made threes is the least in the Big Ten, while their 251 attempted threes are 44 fewer than any other team in the conference.
They’ve made five or fewer triples in 13 games, while their season-high for made threes in a game is just seven, which they did against Michigan (7/17) and Minnesota (7/15). Sophomore guard Casey Harter (21/54) and Caroline Lau (17/75) are the top two on the team in terms of made threes.
109 – Total assists for Caroline Lau
The Northwestern offense has struggled this season, averaging just 66.9 points per game, but junior guard Caroline Lau has been one of the best in the country when it comes to sharing the basketball. Her 109 total assists are 20 more than any other player in the Big Ten and good enough for 18th-most in the country. She’s on the nation’s assist leaderboard with household names like Georgia Amoore, Olivia Miles, Katie Dinnebier, Serena Sundell and others. Lau has totaled 7+ assists in eight games, including a career-high 12 assists against Lehigh and Cornell.
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17.2% and 12.44 – Northwestern forced turnover rate and turnovers forced per game
The Hawkeyes have really struggled with taking care of the basketball are different points of the season, but the Wildcats are one of the worst teams in the country at forcing turnovers. Northwestern’s 17.2% forced turnover rate ranks 356th out of 364 teams, while their 12.44 turnovers forced per game ranks 340th. Guard Caroline Lau leads the team with 25 steals, while guard Kyla Jones has totaled 18 steals.
In Big Ten play, the ‘Cats are forcing just 10.57 turnovers per game and have forced more than 15 turnovers in just one game this season (16 vs Utah). Against teams ranked below 300 in forced turnover rate, Iowa is averaging just 14.0 turnovers per game, which is well below their season average (16.9).
47.05% – Northwestern rebound percentage against the NET Top 60
It’s been a difficult season for the ‘Cats on the glass and it has been particularly difficult against NET Top 60 teams. In ten such games, Northwestern has been outrebounded in seven of them, with just a 47.05% rebound percentage. On its own, that percentage would rank 283rd in the country, but their overall total rebound percentage isn’t much better and only ranks 212th. In their only meeting against a top 25 rebounding team this season, Northwestern was outrebounded by Michigan 42-33 and managed just two offensive rebounds.
Rebounding is an area that Iowa has excelled in, outrebounding their opponent in 18 of 20 games, while they rank 19th in the country in total rebound percentage (56.0%). In their last two games against teams ranked outside the top 200 in rebounding, the Hawkeyes dominated, outrebounding Purdue 42-27 and Northern Iowa 39-28.
