A pair of Hawkeyes made their way onto Iowa basketball’s Big Ten availability report and were listed out vs. USC Upstate.
A pair of Hawkeyes won’t be available on Tuesday night when Iowa basketball hosts South Carolina Upstate.
According to its Big Ten availability report, Iowa (5-1) will be without senior forward Even Brauns and freshman forward Cooper Koch. Brauns and Koch were both listed out against USC Upstate.
Koch is averaging 4.0 points and 2.2 rebounds per game while shooting 50.0% from the field and 44.4% from 3-point range.
Brauns is averaging 1.2 points in 4.0 minutes per game. The 6-foot-9 forward is shooting 50.0% from the field and 42.9% from the free throw line.
The Hawkeyes are looking to bounce back from their first loss of the season. Iowa fell against Utah State, 77-69, last Friday, Nov. 22, in the Hall of Fame Classic from the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo.
Despite the loss, sophomore point guard Brock Harding had his finest game of the season. The 6-foot, 165 pound guard knocked down 8-of-15 shots, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range to register a team-high 19 points.
Harding also added five assists, four steals and one rebound.
“Brock was terrific tonight. He really attacked the zone, played great defense, shot it well and loaded up his teammates. If we shot it better tonight, he likely would have been in double digits for assists.
“I am really proud of him. We went small a couple times tonight, but we have to do a better job on the glass. It’s going to be hard to win when being outrebounded by 16,” Iowa head men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery said of Harding.
Sophomore forward Owen Freeman and senior forward Payton Sandfort were Iowa’s other double-figure scorers in the loss. Freeman added 18 points and 11 rebounds to tally the seventh double-double of his career.
Sandfort finished with 14 points as well, but he struggled to shoot he basketball. Sandfort was an icy 1-for-13 from beyond the arc and just 4-of-18 overall.
Tipoff against USC Upstate is set for 7 p.m. CT and the game will air on the Big Ten Network.
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What have the Iowa Hawkeyes added via the transfer portal in center Even Brauns?
The 2023-24 Iowa Hawkeyes men’s basketball team has unofficially become the Missouri Valley Hawkeyes. It’s fitting, considering the midwestern mid-major conference includes two schools from the Hawkeye State, Northern Iowa and Drake, respectively.
Fran McCaffery hit the transfer portal to address great losses in the front court from last season, with four featured players moving on during the offseason.
He found two experienced transfers from the Missouri Valley Conference in Ben Krikke and Even Brauns who were ready to make a difference in the Big Ten. While Krikke is the bigger of the two names—the Valparaiso big man led the MVC in scoring last year—do not forget about Brauns.
The Iowa City native started in 29 contests for Belmont last year and figured to play a vital role for the Bruins as a senior. Instead, the center decided to forego personal glory and numbers to return home.
A lifelong fan of the Hawkeyes, it has been Brauns’ dream to play for his hometown team. Now, he has just that opportunity with plenty of minutes on the interior open for the taking.
With his decision, the 6-foot-9 center knew that he wasn’t coming to necessarily be the statistical giant he could have been in the Missouri Valley Conference. Above all, he wanted a chance to help his team win, to do the dirty work and elevate his teammates, and to help lead his Hawkeyes back to success in the Big Ten. He is the type of player every coach would give their right arm to have on their squad.
Here is a look at the newest Hawkeye center, Even Brauns.
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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Let’s take a deeper dive at who Brauns is, what his career stats look like, his recruiting profile and what his addition means to the Hawkeyes. Here’s a glimpse at Brauns’ highlights from Belmont courtesy of Transfer Tapes on YouTube.
