Hawkeyes slam Seahawks in season opener

By Brendan Stiles

HawkeyeDrive.com

The Iowa Hawkeyes were anxious to take the court Friday evening for the first time during a 2013-14 season full of expectations. It didn’t take long for them to illustrate why those expectations are there.

Iowa simply dismantled UNC-Wilmington inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Friday, 82-39, for its first win of head coach Fran McCaffery’s fourth campaign at the helm in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes won with balance across its current 10-man rotation, as well as stifling defense that held the Seahawks to just 12 points in the first half and to a shooting total for the entire contest of 16-of-71 from the floor, including an atrocious 2-of-22 from 3-point range.

Leading the Iowa charge were a pair of newcomers in sophomore forward Jarrod Uthoff and freshman guard Peter Jok. Playing in his first official Division-I game after redshirting each of the past two seasons between Wisconsin and Iowa, Uthoff played 19 minutes off the bench for the Hawkeyes on Friday and finished with team-highs of 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting, seven rebounds and four blocks. Meanwhile, Jok played a team-high 20 minutes off the bench and came away with 11 points on 5-of-13 shooting. Iowa received a total of 49 points from its bench in the victory.

Junior forward Aaron White also finished in double figures scoring with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting, along with six boards. Junior center Gabe Olaseni and seniors Devyn Marble and Melsahn Basabe all finished with eight points. Olaseni also hauled in seven rebounds and blocked five shots (the Hawkeyes tied a team-record with 12 blocked shots), while Basabe had six boards and Marble finished with team-highs of five assists and three steals.

Iowa will make a quick turn-around over the weekend, as its next game is Nov. 10 against Nebraska-Omaha. Tip-off from Carver-Hawkeye Arena is set for 3:30 p.m. Central, with the game airing on ESPN3. Be sure to visit HawkeyeDrive.com afterwards for complete coverage Sunday from Iowa City, Iowa.