Iowa to host Kansas State in NIT
The dreams of the Iowa basketball team making the NCAA Tournament came to an end on Sunday, but the Hawkeyes will continue on this season in post season play. Iowa was officially invited to play in the National Invitational Tournament.
The Hawkeyes will play host to Kansas State on Tuesday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in the first round of the NIT. The game will tip-off at 8 p.m. and is scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN.
This will be the ninth time that Iowa has been invited to play in the NIT. The Hawkeyes have a 10-8 record in the event. Iowa is 6-5 in NIT games played at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. In the Fran McCaffery era at Iowa, this will be the Hawkeyes fourth trip to the NIT. They are 6-3 in NIT games under McCaffery and that includes a trip to the finals of the event in the spring of 2013.
Iowa finished the regular season and Big Ten Tournament play with an 18-14 overall record. The Hawkeyes made a quick exit from the post season conference tournament on Thursday with a 90-78 loss to Ohio State.
What do we know about Kansas State?
They were 19-14 overall this season and 8-10 in Big 12 play. They were just 2-8 in road games this season.
The head coach of the Jerome Tang. He is in his second year with the Wildcats. Last year he led them to the NCAA Tournament and was named Big 12 Coach of the Year.
The Wildcats have allowed nearly the same amount of points as they have scored this season. They are averaging 71.9 points per game and giving up 70.5. From a field goal perspective they are an excellent defensive team, allowing opponents to shoot 40.8% overall and just 30.2% from three this season. They also out-rebound their opponents by nearly three boards per game.
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However, they are a team that seems to be challenged on the offensive side of the floor. One stat that jumps out right away is they have more turnovers (490) than assists (459). To illustrate just how odd that is, this season Iowa has 305 turnovers and 569 assists.
The Wildcats attack features three double figure scorers. Running the show is 5-foot-11 point guard Tylor Perry. He scores 15.5 points per game and has dished out 4.4 assists a contest. But, he’s not a great shooter, making just 36% of his field goal attempts and 34% from beyond the three point line.
Creighton transfer Arthur Kaluma is their second leading scorer. He is averaging 14.7 points per game and leads the team with 7.1 rebounds. He a 6-foot-7 forward that shoots 34% from three.
The final significant scorer is Cam Carter, a 6-foot-3 guard, who averages 14.6 points per game. Carter isn’t much a threat from the outside, averaging 31% from three point land, but he will get to the rim and is a solid defensive player.
Will McNair is their center. He stands 6-foot-11 and leads the team with 39 blocks and averages 7.8 points per game this season. The final starter is Dai Dai Ames, a 6-foot-1 freshman guard from Chicago. He is averaging 4.8 points per game.
Tickets for the game against the Wildcats go on sale Monday morning at 10 a.m.
