2010-11 Iowa Hawkeyes: By the Numbers

BT Powerhouse is reviewing the 2010-11 season for each team, one team each week. This week is Iowa week.

After a disappointing three-year stretch with Todd Lickliter at the helm, Iowa turned to Fran McCaffery of Siena to turn the program around. Although this year's team ended with the same conference record as last year, McCaffery has installed an uptempo style of play that has Iowa fans excited for the future.

Let's look at the numbers and see where Iowa needs to improve for next year. These stats were compiled from the ever-useful Statsheet.com.

University of Iowa Hawkeyes

Overall Record: 11-20

Conference Record: 4-14

Final Conference Standing: 10th

Home Record: 8-8

Away Record: 2-9

Neutral Court Record: 1-3

Record Against Top 25 at end of year: 1-5

Overtime Record: 0-2

Largest Winning Margin: 61 points vs SIU Edwardsville

Largest Losing Margin: 23 points @ Purdue

Best Win: vs Purdue #13 end of year RPI

Worst Loss: Wake Forest #263 end of year RPI

Iowa had a tough first season under first year Coach Fran McCaffery, but they showed some promising signs that point to a brighter future. They lost a couple of games to bad teams, including the season opener to the South Dakota State Jackrabbits and the B1G/ACC Challenge game to an awful Wake Forest team. They did have some quality wins in conference, including a 20-point blowout of Michigan State and an impressive Senior Day victory over then #6 Purdue. Their season sweep of Indiana kept the Hawkeyes out of the last spot in the standings.

Team Statistics in Conference Play (Rank in parenthesis)

Possessions per 40 minutes: 66.2 (1st)

Points per possessions: 0.99 (11th)

Rebound %: 49 (9th)

Assist %: 56.1 (9th)

Turnover %: 21.5 (11th, meaning Iowa had the most TOs)

True Shooting %: 51.5 (10th)

Points Scored Per Game: 65.2 (6th)

Points Scored Against Per Game: 72.8 (11th)

Fouls On Iowa Per Game: 16.7 (5th)

Fran McCaffery's fast-paced offense was a major change this year for Iowa. The Todd Lickliter era was not known for up and down exciting games. Iowa ranked first in the Big Ten in possessions per game, but they had the worst points per possession. Opposing teams didn't have trouble scoring against Iowa, and their -7.6 scoring margin per game was worst in the conference. 

Individual Statistical Leaders in Conference Games

 Minutes played per game: Matt Gatens, 35.3

 Points per game: Matt Gatens, 13.1

 Rebounds per game: Melsahn Basabe, 5.1

 Assists per game: Bryce Cartwright, 6.8

 Steals per game: Matt Gatens, 1.2

 Blocks per game: Melsahn Basabe, 1.3

Iowa should be better next year; the lone senior on the team was Jarryd Cole, who was a solid inside player. The Hawkeyes gave a lot of playing time to freshman and sophomores this year, which should pay dividends in the future. With another year under McCaffery's system, 2011-12 seniors Bryce Cartwright and Matt Gatens should be able to build off of the regular season ending Purdue upset to be a force in the Big Ten next year.