Preseason Preview: Iowa

Opponent: Iowa
Mascot: Hawkeyes
Conference: Big 10
14-15 Record: 22-12 (10-8) (Lost in Round of 32)
14-15 RPI: 43
14-15 KenPom: 19
Coach: Fran McCaffery (6^th Season)
Date: 11/19/15
Location: BMO Harris Bradley Center

Departures from 14-15:
Aaron White: Starting PF: 31.5 mpg, 16.4 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.3 spg, 0.5 bpg, 1.2 tpg, .356 3P%
Josh Oglesby: 2^nd off bench: 18.9 mpg, 3.2 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 1.5 apg, 0.3 spg, 0.1 bpg, 0.6 tpg, .292 3P%
Gabriel Olaseni: 3^rd off bench: 18.6 mpg, 8.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 0.4 apg, 0.3 spg, 1.6 bpg, 1.1 tpg, .000 3P%
Trey Dickerson: Benchwarmer: 9.7 mpg, 2.7 ppg, 0.5 rpg, 1.2 apg, 0.5 spg, 0.0 bpg, 1.0 tpg, .308 3P% (only appeared in 15 games)
Kyle Denning: Benchwarmer: 2.8 mpg, 0.8 ppg, 0.2 rpg, 0.1 apg, 0.1 spg, 0.0 bpg, 0.1 tpg, .200 3P% (only appeared in 9 games)
Charlie Rose: Benchwarmer: 2.0 mpg, 0.4 ppg, 0.0 rpg, 0.1 apg, 0.0 spg, 0.0 bpg, 0.1 tpg, 1.00 3P% (only appeared 8 games)
42% of Scoring, 38% of Rebounding, 27% of Assists, 34% of Steals, 46% of Blocks, 29% of 3PM

Arrivals:
Dale Jones: JUCO PF, ranked #61 by 247sports
Brady Ellingson: Backup SG, returns from injury
Brandon Hutton: 3 star SF, ranked #219 by 247sports
Isaiah Moss: 3 star SF, ranked #242 by 247sports
Andrew Fleming: 3 star SG, ranked #264 by 247sports
Ahmad Wagner: 3 star SF, ranked #271 by 247sports
Steven Soukup: JUCO SG, unranked
Michael Soukup: JUCO SG, unranked
Christian Williams: 2 star SF, unranked
Nicholas Baer: 2014 2 star SF, unranked (coming off redshirt)

Probable Starters:
PG: Mike Gesell: 6-2 190 SR: 25.5 mpg, 7.4 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 4.0 apg, 1.0 spg, 0.1 bpg, 1.8 tpg, .267 3P%
SG: Anthony Clemmons: 6-2 200 SR: 19.9 mpg, 4.8 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 1.9 apg, 0.7 spg, 0.0 bpg, 1.1 tpg, .373 3P%
SF: Peter Jok: 6-6 205 JR: 19.9 mpg, 7.0 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.3 apg, 0.6 spg, 0.1 bpg, 1.3 tpg, .343 3P%
PF: Jarrod Uthoff: 6-9 221 RSSR: 30.3 mpg, 12.4 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.1 spg, 1.6 bpg, 1.0 tpg, .372 3P%
C: Adam Woodbury: 7-1 250 SR: 20.5 mpg, 6.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 0.9 apg, 0.6 spg, 0.4 bpg, 1.4 tpg, .000 3P%

Probable Bench:
Dom Uhl: 6-9 215 SO PF
Dale Jones: 6-7 220 RSJR PF
Brady Ellingson: 6-4 190 RSFR SG
Brandon Hutton: 6-5 218 FR SF
Isaiah Moss: 6-5 200 FR SG

Probable Benchwarmers:
Andrew Fleming: 6-5 206 FR SG
Ahmad Wagner: 6-7 225 FR PF
Steven Soukup: 6-4 175 JR SG
Michael Soukup: 6-4 165 JR SG
Christian Williams: 6-6 200 FR SF
Okey Ukah: 6-7 218 SR SF
Nicholas Baer: 6-7 200 RSFR SF

Quick and Dirty Analysis: Iowa is not a traditional B1G basketball power but they were firmly in the top half of the conference this past season and will look to continue that this season. The Hawkeyes lost several bench players including Big 10 6^th man of the year, Gabe Olaseni, in addition to first team all-Big Ten forward Aaron White. White led the Hawkeyes in points, rebounds, and steals and allowed them start an unreasonably large trio of bigs in White, Jarrod Uthhoff, and Adam Woodbury. Uthoff looks to be the one who will try to fill the gap left by White. Uthoff, who made national headlines after being denied a transfer out of Madison by Bo Ryan, averaged 12 points and 6 rebounds while also leading the team in blocks. He has the athleticism and speed to play on the wing but is more of a natural fit as a sharpshooting power forward. Feeding Uthoff the ball will be Mike Gesell, a talented distributor from Nebraska. Gesell has started every season of his career. Oddly, his scoring numbers have decreased every season as well. Gesell should reverse that trend this season as he will be second leading returning scorer. Gesell and Uthoff are two of four seniors who will be starting for the Hawkeyes, making them one of the most experienced teams that Marquette will face. The starting five will be backed up by a bench mostly consisting of Coach McCaffery’s 2015 recruiting class. The class was rated as the second worst in the Big Ten by 247sports, despite being the largest class in the conference. Dale Jones, a glass crashing PF from Tyler J.C. in Texas will make the most immediate impact. The rest of the class is low level three and two star players who will likely need a year or two to develop into their roles.

This is another case of Marquette being the more talented team by the end of the season, but maybe not at the beginning. Iowa will start four seniors and one junior. Marquette has more talent at almost every position but the experience will give Iowa the advantage. The most intriguing matchup will be All Big 10 forward Uthoff against 5 star freshman Henry Ellenson. Uthoff may be the best PF that Ellenson faces all season. Uthoff has that unique combination of size and speed to be able to keep up with the multi-talented Ellenson. On the other side of the block will be the massive Adam Woodbury. At 7-1 250, Woodbury is the largest center on Marquette’s schedule. He is not known for his defensive skill (0.4 blocks per game is hardly impressive for a seven footer) but he will be a very large body for Luke Fischer to try and work against. One area Marquette will have the advantage is depth. If Marquette can keep the tempo up, the Hawkeyes may get rundown by the end of the game.

Early Prediction: Marquette plays well but the veteran Uthoff is able to neutralize Ellenson which takes Marquette out of its rhythm. Marquette falls by six-ten.