Iowa
Washington Men’s Basketball at Iowa: Game Preview & How to Watch
How to Watch (and bet)
Date: Saturday, 2/22/25
Tip-Off Time: 1:00 pm PT
TV: FS1
Streaming: Foxsportsgo.com
Radio: Huskies Gameday App, Sports Radio KJR
Location: Iowa City, IA
Betting Line: Washington Huskies +7
Iowa Hawkeyes 2024-25 Statistics:
Record: 14-12 (5-10)
Points For per Game: 83.9 ppg (7nd)
Points Against per Game: 79.5 ppg (334th)
Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 118.9 (28th)
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 106.6 (154th)
Strength of Schedule: 45th
Iowa Key Players:
G- Brock Harding, So. 6’0, 165: 8.6 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 5.5 apg, 43.7% FG, 36.4% 3pt, 76.3% FT
Harding is a poor man’s Braden Smith. They’re basically the same size. Harding is 4th in B1G play compared to Smith’s 1st. Their steal rate and 3-pt percentage for the season are close to identical with Harding coming in a little worse. The big differences are that Harding’s numbers have dropped off since hitting conference season and he doesn’t take nearly as many shots as Smith. Still, he’s a good pass-first point guard and can make you pay from deep if you leave him alone.
G- Josh Dix, Jr. 6’6, 210: 14.2 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.8 apg, 52.1% FG, 42.7% 3pt, 78.9% FT
Every team would love to have a shooter like Dix. He has made at least 40% of his outside shots every year of his career and is at 44% in B1G play despite going 5/17 over their past 3 games. He doesn’t do the little stuff as his defensive numbers are lacking but he also doesn’t turn the ball over and doesn’t commit fouls so he’s a clear net positive with his offensive contributions.
F- Pryce Sandfort, So. 6’7, 210: 8.6 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.3 apg, 47.3% FG, 38.1% 3pt, 60.6% FT
Pryce is the younger of the Sandfort brothers but is essentially the 6th man for this Iowa squad, finishing games but not getting the start. His shooting splits are very similar to Josh Dix above except Pryce takes way more 3-pointers than 2-pointers which lowers his overall field goal percentage but both are over 60% in effective field goal percentage.
F- Payton Sandfort, Sr. 6’8, 215: 16.3 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 3.0 apg, 41.0% FG, 34.8% 3pt, 87.5% FT
Sandfort the elder, Payton, is the star of the team although his numbers have basically plateaued from last year. His 3-point shooting has dipped below 35% this season but he is an elite free throw shooter at 91% in conference play. The majority of his shots come from 3 so he is more of a pure shooter than a driver but he can still do both at 6’8 and should be an intriguing matchup for Osobor/Harris.
C- Ladji Dembele, So. 6’8, 255: 4.0 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 0.2 bpg, 46.2% FG, 39.2% 3pt, 61.5% FT
Dembele has taken over the starting center role after an injury to Owen Freeman. Iowa will mix a few different players in at this spot but Dembele has gotten the starts recently. He’s almost a non-entity as a shot blocker and defensive rebounder but does well on the offensive glass and can space the floor.
The Outlook
Iowa hasn’t finished outside the top-60 at KenPom or won fewer than 19 games since 2018 but they’re in serious danger of doing both right now at 14-12 and 66th in the rankings. It didn’t help that they lost star center Owen Freeman for the season due to a finger injury a few weeks ago. Freeman was averaging 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 blocks per game for Iowa and they are just 1-4 since he went down.
His rim protection was sorely needed because Iowa is one of the most all-offense, no-defense teams in the country. You have to respect it though when a team has a clear identity even if it presents plenty of problems. They are either fantastic or awful in just about every major statistical category.
Iowa loves to race up and down the floor and are content to try to outscore you in a shootout. The offense is absolutely dynamite. They rank 11th in average possession length so they push the ball as quickly as possible. Yet they rank top-30 nationally in 2-point %, 3-point %, and turnover % on offense. So they go quickly, they make shots from everywhere on the floor, and they don’t turn the ball over. That’s generally a pretty good combination.
The offense still isn’t perfect though. Almost everyone on the team is a good shooter but they rely almost entirely on jump shots. The Hawkeyes rank 343rd in free throw rate and also somehow aren’t very good when they do get to the line at 69.3% (272nd nationally). If Iowa’s 3-point shot isn’t falling on any given night then they probably aren’t going to win.
That’s in part because the defense is often a sieve. Iowa will often run a full-court press off of makes which is something UW traditionally hasn’t handled very well. They need to try something though because conventional defense doesn’t work for Iowa. Opponents shoot 56% on 2-point shots against Iowa which is 340th nationally. The Hawkeyes have the worst defense in B1G conference play and it isn’t remotely close, finishing 18th in opponent 2-pt%, 3-pt %, and defensive rebounding rate. Teams make all their shots against Iowa and if they don’t make the shot somehow then they usually get the rebound.
The only reason Iowa’s defense is semi-functional is that somehow they never commit fouls. Iowa is 356th in free throws on offense and 357th on defense. Refs just never call fouls during any of their games. Against Oregon on Thursday night, Iowa had their first foul of the half called against them with 4 minutes left in the game and their head coach reacted like he’d been told his family was being evicted.
That presents an interesting contrast for Washington. The Huskies just lost versus Rutgers in part because of a very one-sided whistle (click the link for a fact-based display of that). Washington had both Great Osobor and Franck Kepnang unavailable for long stretches due to foul trouble and had both Osobor and Mason foul out. That shouldn’t happen against Iowa but Osobor likely is not going to be able to draw fouls to bail him out if he gets into trouble.
I called Rutgers a must-win for Washington’s chances of making the Big Ten tournament. It wasn’t quite a must-win but the odds went down dramatically. This one though drops the odds down to low single-digits if the Huskies can’t pull off the road upset.
Washington is currently one game below Iowa in the conference standings at 17th (Iowa is 15th). Only the top-15 teams qualify. A win here puts the Huskies tied with Iowa and in possession of the tiebreaker. The Hawkeyes will be underdogs in all their remaining games including 3 on the road plus a home game against Michigan State. Washington is also a projected underdog in the rest of their games but at least has multiple home games against middle-of-the-pack B1G teams.
The most realistic scenario for UW squeaking in is this:
-UW beats Iowa on the road and then Indiana at home to finish 6-14.
-Iowa’s only remaining win comes at Northwestern to finish 6-14 (losses at Illinois, at NW, at Nebraska, vs. Michigan St).
-Northwestern’s only remaining win comes at Minnesota to finish 6-14 (losses vs. Iowa, vs. UCLA, at Maryland)
-Penn State goes no better than 2-2 down the stretch to finish 6-14 or worse (losses vs. Maryland, at Wisconsin)
That would put Washington in a tie for 15th place against only teams they’ve beaten. A loss to Iowa puts them further behind and eliminates a tiebreaker win.
The Huskies have won every other game for the last month. That pattern would suggest a win. Washington managed to squeak out last second finishes against Minnesota and Penn State on the road before doing the opposite in Hec Ed against Rutgers. I just don’t think UW will be able to run with Iowa heading out on the road following the OT let down on Wednesday night.
Prediction
Washington Huskies– 72, Iowa Hawkeyes- 80
Iowa
Emmy-winning TV anchor gets choked up as he quits job and journalism — and slams his station live on air
An Iowa TV anchor choked up on air as he quit his job, and announced he was leaving journalism – before blasting his station for spewing “saturated” news that makes local viewers “uncomfortable.”
Dustin Nolan, morning anchor for NBC-affiliate KWQC-TV 6 in Davenport, delivered the dramatic on-air resignation Friday, repeatedly pausing while fighting back tears before issuing a stinging rebuke of the news station.
“I have chosen to step away from the news industry,” said Nolan, who has worked at KWQC since 2022.
“Before I say goodbye, I just want to say, I hope every one of you that’s allowed me to be a part of your mornings just how important that I have taken this job, how much it means to me that you’ve trusted me these past few years to bring you the news in the morning.”
The distraught broadcaster stressed that he has “given everything” to serving up transparent, fact-driven news coverage to the Quad Cities, calling it a “public service.”
Nolan said all he has ever wanted was to report on the “issues that really matter.”
“I’ve always believed that we as a local news station owe you, the viewers, the best that we can do, because without you, none of us would be able to do this job,” Nolan added.
“I also believe that we, as a local news station, have to be more than trends or sanitized news, because it makes people feel uncomfortable,” he continued.
“That’s why the facts matter, and that’s why we do what we do here. We have to take people out of their bubbles and comfort zones and make them think about the world we all live in.”
The tearful anchor went on to praise his co-anchor — his wife Jenna — as the “greatest co-anchor in life.”
Nolan has worked at the Gray Media-owned station since November 2022, according to his LinkedIn.
After graduating from Catholic St. Ambrose University in Iowa, he began his career reporting sports in Wyoming for seven months before moving to Illinois, where he worked as a sports reporter at WQAD for nearly two years.
He later rose to a morning news anchor role at WFBF in Illinois, where he spent three years before joining KWQC.
Coming off a great campaign, the Iowa State Cyclones will be a different-looking team on the hardwood next year. Unfortunately, a lot of key players for the team last season will no longer be around.
After a successful trip to the Sweet 16, the Cyclones will be entering next season with a mostly new group. Due to players like Joshua Jefferson, Nate Heise, and Tamin Lipsey all graduating, the team was always going to have a different look.
While it appears likely that both Lipsey and Jefferson are going to be drafted into the NBA, it goes to show the level of talent that Iowa State is losing. These two players were arguably the two best on the team last year, and replacing that level of production will not be an easy task.
Since both of those players were seniors, the program knew that they would be playing elsewhere. However, the decision by Milan Momcilovic, who was their third star to enter the NBA Draft and transfer portal, likely wasn’t something the team expected before his breakout campaign.
However, due to his success last year, Momcilovic testing the waters of the NBA and entering the portal made a lot of sense for the talented sharpshooter. Eventually, he made the decision to join the Kentucky Wildcats, and losing him will be a big blow for the Cyclones.
Iowa State Will Miss Star Potential of Milan
Even though the Cyclones were able to bring in a lot of good players in the transfer portal, figuring out who the star of the team is going to be next year might be a bit tricky. If Milan were to have returned following one of the best shooting years in the history of college basketball, it would have undoubtedly been him as the featured player of the team.
Now, since Momcilovic is gone, Iowa State is going to need some of their returning players and their new additions to step up. While having quality depth is important, the Cyclones were a team that had arguably three of the top 50 players in college basketball last season.
With their three best players gone, it will be interesting to see who steps up and becomes the top players for Iowa State. Of the transfers, it could be JaQuan Johnson who looks to step up into that role. He is coming off a really strong year with Bradley and very well could be the top-scoring option for the team.
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Watch as Gov. Kim Reynolds reveals Iowa Office of Outdoor Recreation
Gov. Kim Reynolds signs an executive order June 8 creating an Iowa Office of Outdoor Recreation within the Iowa Economic Development Authority.
Iowa’s director of Health and Human Services has resigned after the Iowa Senate blocked his confirmation in April, but he will stay in leadership as deputy director.
Larry Johnson was appointed to succeed Iowa Department of Health and Human Services Director Kelly Garcia in September 2025. Johnson took over the department in October.
Johnson’s confirmation in April, however, was blocked by Iowa Senate Democrats. Johnson received the support of 28 senators, six votes short of the 34 needed.
“Hundreds of thousands of Iowans rely on the Department of Health & Human Services, but under Mr. Johnson’s leadership, those Iowans have been met with diminished care and services and a disrespectful lack of transparency and communication,” Iowa Senate Democratic Leader Janice Weiner said in a statement at the time of Johnson’s confirmation block. “Senate Democrats believe Iowans deserve more responsible leadership for such an important executive department.”
Under state law, 60 days after the Iowa Senate disapproves a person’s appointment, the nominee must step down. Johnson’s resignation came June 19, 58 days after his confirmation was blocked.
In a news release Friday, Gov. Kim Reynolds appointed Kraig Paulsen, the director of the Iowa Department of Management, to also serve as the director of Iowa Health and Human Services.
“This is not the first time I’ve called upon Director Paulsen to help lead executive branch departments during times of transition,” Reynolds said in a statement. “His experience across state government is unmatched, and I have full confidence in his ability to ensure our state’s largest agency has the leadership team required, not only to serve Iowans most in need of assistance, but also to advance strategic initiatives such as rural health transformation, cancer research, and child welfare technology improvements.”
Paulsen named Johnson as principal deputy director of the department to “ensure efficient and effective operations,” according to the release.
“Iowa HHS requires strong and experienced leadership at every level to ensure continuity of critical services such as Medicaid, SNAP, and child protection, and Larry Johnson is exactly that leader,” Paulsen said in the release. “I look forward to working closely with Principal Deputy Director Johnson to ensure Iowa’s strong commitment to our most vulnerable citizens continues as usual.”
Weiner, in a statement issued June 19, said Reynolds “has decided to blatantly disregard and circumvent the Senate in re-establishing Larry Johnson as the de facto head” of Health and Human Services.“This is partisan politics of the worst kind,” Weiner said in the statement. “Under Larry Johnson, the hundreds of thousands of Iowans who rely on HHS for critical services have received a diminished standard of care, a disrespectful lack of responsiveness, and a department more concerned with fealty to the governor than transparency to the public. And yet, this governor simply cannot handle a world in which she doesn’t get her way, so she has invented a title that allows Johnson to resume his work.”
Weiner said the decision to not confirm John was “not made lightly,” and “We did what was right for Iowans.”
“Our goal has been and remains to work within the bounds of the Senate for the benefit of all Iowans,” Weiner said. “Unfortunately, Gov. Reynolds would rather play politics than give Iowans the respect of a more diligent search for a qualified candidate.”
Kyle Werner is the breaking news and public safety reporter for the Register. Reach him at kwerner@registermedia.com.
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