Four numbers to know ahead of Iowa-Oregon WBB
With the Iowa women’s basketball team (12-6, 2-5) riding a four-game losing streak, they will head west in desperate search for a win. Up first on the west coast swing is a trip to Eugene to face Oregon. It will be just the second all-time meeting between the Hawkeyes and Ducks, with Iowa winning the only previous matchup back in the first round of the 2001 NCAA Tournament. Head coach Kelly Graves and his team will enter the matchup with a 13-5 overall record and a 4-3 mark in Big Ten play. Oregon is coming off of a 69-53 win over Purdue on Wednesday.
HawkeyeReport takes a look at some important numbers to know going into Thursday’s matchup between the Hawkeyes and Ducks.
64.2% – Percent of Oregon’s points that come from two-point range
With some of the three-point shooting struggles that Iowa has had this season, this is a number that should make the Hawkeyes feel a little bit better about this matchup. This season, 64.2% of Oregon’s 1,290 points scored have come from two-point range, which ranks second highest in the Big Ten, trailing only Northwestern.
The reason for this is because the Ducks do not shoot, or make a whole lot of three-pointers and are not great at getting to the free throw line. Oregon’s 53.4% free throw rate + three-point attempt rate ranks 16th in the Big Ten, ahead of only Northwestern and Purdue. This shouldn’t be thought of as all bad, as they do shoot 51.5% from two-point range, while they have 6’4 forward Amina Muhammad and 6’8 center Phillipina Kyei on the interior.
19.2% and 26.8% – Oregon turnover rate and forced turnover rate
These types of statistics are going to be brought up before and after every single game because they are the primary factor in the majority of the Hawkeyes losses. Turnovers, on both ends of the floor, are a strength for the Ducks. Their 19.2% offensive turnover rate ranks 37th in the country, while their 26.8% forced turnover rate ranks 59th. It’s important to note that, although Oregon has played 11 games against Q3/4 opponents, these percentages don’t change much against Q1/2 competition.
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In seven games against Q1/2 opponents, the Ducks are +23 in the turnover battle. Conversely, Iowa is -22 in the turnover battle in ten such games. The Hawkeyes will have to limit their mistakes because Oregon has done a good job limiting theirs against tougher competition.
50.9% – Oregon’s total rebounding percentage
You’d expect a team with a 6’4 forward and a 6’8 center to dominate on the glass, but that has not been the case for Oregon this season. Those two combine to average 21.67 rebounds per 40 minutes, but only average 21.7 and 17.7 minutes respectively. As a team, the Ducks are 16th in the Big Ten in rebounds per game (36.2), while their 50.9% totaling rebounding percentage ranks 135th in the country.
As for Iowa, on paper, they will have the advantage of the glass, as they have outrebounded their opponent in 16 of 18 games. The Hawkeyes rank 19th in the country in defensive rebounding (75.4%) and 24th in totaling rebounding (55.4%). Iowa State and Penn State are the only two teams that have managed to win the rebounding battle against Iowa.
131.7 – Average total points scored when Oregon faces a Q1/2 opponent
Hawkeye fans have grown accustomed to high scoring, up-tempo basketball games over the past few seasons, but that has changed a bit this season. Don’t expect this one to be the one that breaks into an 85-80 type game. Four of Oregon’s seven games against Q1/2 opponents have gone under 140 total points, with the average point total being just 131.7 points. For reference, Iowa games are averaging 141.05 total points this season.
