Bryant battles No. 24 Iowa Saturday on ESPNU
IOWA CITY, Iowa - The Bryant University men's basketball team looks to end non-conference play on a high note with a Saturday night contest at No. 24 Iowa on ESPNU.
The Particulars
Opponent: Iowa (24 AP/21 Coaches)
Location: Carver-Hawkeye Arena (Iowa City, Iowa)
Date and Time: Saturday, Dec. 29 – 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT
TV: ESPNU (Chuckie Kempf, Tim McCormick)
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
Game Notes: Bryant
Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | #12Seven4 | #NECMBB
SCOUTING THE HAWKEYES
Iowa is 10-2 with victories in all 10 of its non-conference games. The Hawkeyes hold wins over Oregon, UConn, Pitt and Iowa State and have been ranked as high as No. 14 in the AP poll this season.
Tyler Cook leads the Hawkeyes in scoring at 16.7 points per game and in rebounding with 8.3 per game. Iowa ranks 25th nationally in points per game as a team at 84.1.
THE SERIES
The Bulldogs and Hawkeyes are meeting for the second time in the programs' histories. Bryant traveled to Iowa in its first Division I season, falling 61-36 in 2008. That contest featured just 50 total possessions - the slowest tempo of any game in Bryant's Division I era, per KenPom.
LAST TIME OUT: BRYANT 68, DARTMOUTH 67
Junior SaBastian Townes (Chesapeake, Va.) scored all 23 of his points in the second half and hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 18 seconds to go as Bryant picked up a victory over Dartmouth in a Dec. 21 matinee at the Chace Athletic Center.
KASPERZYK HONORED FOR BIG DAY VS. BIG GREEN
Freshman Joe Kasperzyk (New Haven, Conn.) scored a career-high 19 points in the win over Dartmouth Dec. 21 and was named NEC Co-Rookie of the Week.
A GRAND FOR GRANT
Junior Adam Grant (Franklin, Va.) scored 11 points in the Dartmouth game to move past 1,000 points for his collegiate career. Grant is the sixth player to reach the mark since Bryant made the move to Division I in 2008-09, joining Alex Francis, Dyami Starks, Frankie Dobbs, Corey Maynard and Nisre Zouzoua.
CALL IT A COMEBACK
Bryant has erased double-digit deficits in two of its victories this season.
» The Bulldogs trailed Dartmouth by 15 in the first half Dec. 21 before closing the game on a 10-2 run for a one-point victory.
» New Hampshire led Bryant by 14 in the second half Dec. 1, but the Bulldogs scored 46 points over the final 18:33 to capture a 10-point win.
GAME-WINNER FROM DOWN-TOWNES
Junior SaBastian Townes' go-ahead three-pointer with 18 seconds remaining in the Dartmouth game was the 12th of Townes' career and eighth of his junior year. Townes is 8-for-18 from three this season.
NOT HALF-BAD
Junior SaBastian Townes has been dominant in the second half of his last two games. The 6-5 forward scored 26 of his 34 points against Hartford in the second half and all of his 23 in the Dartmouth game after halftime. Townes has tallied 49 points and is shooting 70.4 percent from the floor over his last two second halves of play.
THAT'S GONNA BE A NO FROM THIS DAWG
Junior Juan Cardenas (Medellin, Colombia) leads Bryant with 15 blocks on the year and has tallied two or more in five of his last six games. Cardenas recorded three rejections in the wins over New Hampshire and Dartmouth.
YOU'RE MY HOME
Bryant has recorded three home non-conference wins at home this season (Saint Peter's, New Hampshire, Dartmouth), marking the first time since the 2013-14 season that the Bulldogs posted a winning record in non-conference games at the Chace Athletic Center.
POLLING PLACE
Iowa - No. 24 in this week's AP poll - is the first nationally ranked team the Bulldogs have faced since Bryant traveled to Gonzaga Nov. 18, 2016. Gonzaga was ranked No. 14 in the AP poll when the teams of Bulldogs met in Spokane.
UP NEXT: ST. FRANCIS BROOKLYN
Bryant opens Northeast Conference play at home Thursday when the Bulldogs host St. Francis Brooklyn at the Chace Athletic Center at 7 p.m.
Season and single-game tickets for home games at the Chace Athletic Center are available by clicking HERE or calling (401) 319-TIXX.
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