Rutgers men’s basketball lost to Iowa on Saturday.
On Saturday, Rutgers men’s basketball returned to action for the second time in January. The Scarlet Knights could not get back in the win column as the Hawkeyes emerged with an 86-77 win.
While Rutgers played much better in the second half, their rally fell short. For the second straight game, Clifford Omoruyi scored less than ten points and Aundre Hyatt only scored nine. However, there was one bright spot in Mawot Mag.
The Melbourne native led Rutgers in scoring with 24 points. He was also a menace on the boards with ten rebounds. After missing the start of the season due to injury, Mag showed against Iowa why Rutgers was eagerly awaiting his return.
Stay hot, Mawot! 🔥 Mag has a career-high of 20 points.
— Rutgers Men’s Basketball 🏀 (@RutgersMBB) January 6, 2024
As the Hawkeyes rolled to their eighth win of the season, they took advantage of Rutgers mistakes. The Hawkeyes scored 16 points off turnovers and 38 points in the paint. While Iowa had its fair share of ball control issues, it minimized its mistakes in the second half.
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Offensively, the Hawkeyes were led by the talented duo of Ben Krikke and Payton Sandfort. Krikke added 19 points to his resume and Sandfort had 24 points in 32 minutes of action.
With their 14th game of the season in the books, Rutgers will now turn their focus to their match-up with Indiana on Tuesday.
From Valpo to the Big Ten! Ben Krikke, the Missouri Valley’s leading scorer a season ago, slides in and will be a prominent figure for Iowa.
The Iowa Hawkeyes lost a lot of experience in the frontcourt, like a lot. It is a true reset for the program in regards to the big men, with zero returning contributors from last season.
Kris Murray is, of course, the massive loss over the offseason. After flirting with the NBA draft the year prior, the forward stuck around one more year in Iowa City where he would develop into a star. Kris was a first-team All-Big Ten member before being drafted 23rd overall by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2023 NBA draft.
Murray is not the only player in need of replacement, though. Center Filip Rebraca took a massive step forward in his super senior season for the Hawkeyes. The North Dakota transfer was a key cog in Fran McCaffery’s rotation and signed his first professional contract earlier in August. Iowa will also have to replace starting forward Connor McCaffery as well.
As you can see, there is a lot to replace this season for the Hawkeyes. The only potential returning member of the frontcourt was Josh Ogundele, but he transferred to Middle Tennessee State. The Hawkeyes hit the portal themselves in search of a key veteran piece. It appears they have found just that in Ben Krikke.
The forward was a breakout star for Valparaiso this past season, leading the Missouri Valley Conference in scoring. Now in his final year of collegiate play, Krikke looks to make an impact on a larger stage for the Hawkeyes. Here is a look at Ben Krikke.
Iowa men’s basketball got its overseas stay started with a 123-77 blowout of the Paris All-Stars. What are the takeaways for the Hawkeyes?
The Iowa women were not the only basketball team to travel to Europe this week. While Caitlin Clark and Co. were busy crushing it in Italy, the men started off their European tour in Paris, France. Iowa basketball opened up their foreign tour with a 123-77 victory over the Paris All-Stars.
All 11 Hawkeyes scored in the blowout win, with a few notable performers leading the way. The Hawkeyes worked through some issues early on, and head coach Fran McCaffery was able to get a good first impression of his young squad early in August.
FINAL | Iowa 123, Paris All-Stars 77
All 11 Hawkeyes score, led by Payton Sandfort and Ben Krikke with 22 points each. #Hawkeyes
While the victory is great to see, no matter who the opponent is, the performance is really what matters here. This early into the preseason, this was a great chance to get our first takeaways of the new team. Here is the recap from the 123-77 victory over the Paris All-Stars.
What can Iowa basketball fans expect from Ben Krikke and Even Brauns? 247Sports shared its “realistic expectations” for the transfer duo.
With Kris Murray and Filip Rebraca both moving on, the Iowa Hawkeyes needed some frontcourt help that could step in and be difference makers straight away.
The Hawkeye coaching staff got busy on the recruiting trail and landed a pair of transfer portal additions in former Valparaiso big Ben Krikke and former Belmont big Even Brauns.
With plenty of production to replace, the Hawkeyes will be counting on Krikke and Brauns to slide right in and help them in 2023-24. How likely are they to do that and what are reasonable expectations?
Starter. Iowa’s roster is constructed around Krikke being a dude. There’s a lot riding on Krikke being a reliable source of rim pressure. Iowa is known for its barrage of 3-pointers, but Iowa is also phenomenal at converting around the rim. Iowa finished second in the Big Ten only behind Indiana in made buckets at the rim last year. Krikke was very efficient inside the 3-point stripe last year for Valparaiso, but he has to prove himself at the Big Ten ranks. When the crafty, 6-foot-9 lefty can get to his pull-up jumper, he’s tough to guard. – Trotter, 247Sports.
If last season in the Missouri Valley Conference is any indication, then Krikke should be expected to jump right into a starring role with the black and gold. Trotter’s 247Sports colleague, Kevin Flaherty, tabbed Krikke as one of the Big Ten’s top transfers back in early July.
Krikke, a 6-foot-9, 220 pound forward, led the Missouri Valley Conference in scoring, averaging 19.4 points per game last season. He actually topped those figures in conference play, upping his scoring average to 21.0 points per game against league foes.
The Edmonton, Alberta, product averaged 5.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per contest, while connecting on 55.2% of his field goal tries and 79.6% from the free throw line.
What did Trotter have to say about Brauns? Let’s take a look:
Frontcourt rotation. Iowa’s defensive profile is pretty suspicious if Krikke has to be the anchor. Brauns is a different story. The 6-foot-9, 240-pound big man shaped Belmont’s defense in a big way. Belmont was horrible defensively when Brauns was on the bench, but opponents only shot 55.6% at the rim when he checked into the game, according to hoop-explorer. He’s physical, athletic and very smart. Brauns has all the tools to be a helpful role player. – Trotter, 247Sports.
That’s a welcome sight for Iowa. While scoring defense isn’t a tell-all, it obviously wasn’t where coach Fran McCaffery and the Hawkeyes want it to be. Iowa ranked 296th nationally in scoring defense, surrendering 74.7 points per game.
Again, the Hawkeyes’ offensive pace and their offensive success has to get factored into the equation when evaluating the defensive picture. Iowa ranked No. 18 nationally in scoring offense, averaging 80.1 points per game last season.
Even though there’s some trading of defense in favor of offense in Iowa City, someone that can help limit opponents’ easy makes in the paint will be incredibly valuable. If Brauns provides that, he will absolutely be a rotational piece.
Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK
Offensively, Brauns averaged 7.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, and 1.2 assists per game in 21.2 minutes of average floor time last year with the Bruins. The 6-foot-9, 240 pound center shot 58.3% from the floor.
It will be interesting to see what the rest of the Hawkeyes’ frontcourt rotation looks like. It’s early, but coach McCaffery seems awfully impressed with freshmen Ladji Dembele and Owen Freeman as well.
Iowa embarks on its foreign trip beginning next week. The Hawkeyes depart for Paris, France, on Aug. 5 where they will play the Paris All-Stars at noon CT on Aug. 8.
Then, Iowa heads to Spain for a pair of games in Valencia and Barcelona. The Hawkeyes play the Valencia All-Stars on Aug. 11 at noon and the Barcelona All-Stars on Aug. 14 at noon.
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247Sports tabbed Iowa’s Ben Krikke among the Big Ten’s top men’s college basketball transfers.
The Iowa Hawkeyes dipped into the NCAA transfer portal to bolster their frontline heading into the 2023-24 men’s college basketball season.
It makes sense. Iowa is replacing consensus third-team All-American and recent No. 23 overall NBA draft pick in forward Kris Murray. The Hawkeyes also saw third-team All-Big Ten center Filip Rebraca exhaust his final eligibility.
As a result, the Hawkeyes went to find proven production out of the transfer portal. That led Iowa to Valparaiso grad transfer Ben Krikke. The 6-foot-9, 220 pound big led the Missouri Valley Conference in scoring, averaging 19.4 points per game. He was even better than that mark in league play, scoring on average 21.0 points per game.
The Edmonton, Alberta, product also averaged 5.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per contest. Krikke shot 55% from the field and 80% from the free throw line.
The No. 55 transfer spent the last four years at Valparaiso, where he emerged as a three-year starter. And while he averaged at least 12.3 points per game in each of those three seasons, he was at his best as a senior, when he hit career bests in points (19.4), rebounds (5.9) and assists (2.1) per game. The 6-foot-9 forward did most of his work inside the arc, though his shooting just 27.9% from 3 didn’t stop him from taking nearly two 3s per game. Krikke shot 77% at the rim and a strong 41.7% on his 2-point jumpers, according to Hoop-Math; he’s just not a floor-stretching threat at this point. – Flaherty, 247Sports.
Krikke should slide right into the starting rotation for the Hawkeyes.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to become a Hawkeye. I am excited to get to campus. I can tell the school is rich in tradition and history and is serious about success both academically and athletically. I’m excited to be supported by such a vibrant fan base and get to be a part of such a great community. I want to do everything I can to help the team win games and contribute to the school’s legacy.
“I enjoyed getting to know the coaching staff over my recruitment process and respect them both on and off the court. They want to win and so do I. They are genuine people that are dedicated to seeing their players succeed. I also enjoyed getting to meet the players when I visited. I can tell they are serious about success both on and off the court and many of us approach the game with a similar mindset. We all want to work and push each other to get better,” Krikke said in April.
Iowa also added Belmont transfer Even Brauns. Brauns played in 92 games during his three-year Belmont career, including starting 31 contests and 30 of 31 games last season. Brauns averaged 7.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, and 1.2 assists per game in 21.2 minutes of average floor time last year with the Bruins.
A 6-foot-9, 240 pound center, he shot 58.3% from the floor, which was tops on Belmont. Brauns registered double-figure scoring in 10 contests last season and had double-figure boards in five games.
Flaherty’s full top 10 Big Ten transfers looks like this: Indiana’s Kel’el Ware is No. 1, Penn State‘s Adrian Baldwin is No. 2, Ohio State‘s Jamison Battle is No. 3, Iowa’s Krikke No. 4, Michigan‘s Olivier Nkamhoua No. 5, Minnesota’s Mike Mitchell Jr. No. 6, Illinois’ Marcus Domask No. 7, Wisconsin‘s AJ Storr No. 8, Nebraska‘s Rink Mast No. 9 and Nebraska’s Brice Williams No. 10.
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