Familiarity on and off court for Iowa, Creighton

IOWA CITY - Iowa's men's basketball team has produced some sterling statistics in its three blowout wins to start the season.

The Hawkeyes (3-0) can play fast, scoring 93 points a game. They can press on defense, holding opponents to 62 points a game. They have depth, as demonstrated by nine players averaging more than 15 minutes a game.

Those statistics are nice for a team gaining confidence. Sunday, they mean nothing. Iowa plays Missouri Valley Conference favorite Creighton at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. The game provides a barometer for the Hawkeyes as a team and for the individual players.

Creighton (3-0) has played two Iowa opponents to similar results. The Hawkeyes beat Chicago State 96-53; Creighton won 95-61. Iowa topped North Carolina A&T 95-79; Creighton won 97-65. Creighton has similar depth, similar scoring output and familiarity with Iowa at several levels.

"They're not going to panic," McCaffery said. "They're not going to be in a situation where in any way, shape or form they're nervous. They're just going to play their game and we're going to have to beat that team. They are not going to beat themselves."

Creighton Coach Greg McDermott is no stranger to Iowa. McDermott coached both Northern Iowa and Iowa State before leaving the Cyclones last year for Creighton. McDermott is 5-4 lifetime against Iowa, but never has coached against McCaffery.

Coach McDermott's son, Doug, leads the Bluejays in scoring at 20.3 points a game. Doug McDermott competed against Iowa sophomore Melsahn Basabe for a spot on the national U-19 team last summer. McDermott made the team; Basabe did not.

But the two developed a friendly relationship during their time together training for the team. They stayed in the same dorm and often ate lunch together, Basabe said.

"He's almost like a point guard, like he's one of those players that as soon as you make a mistake, he's going to capitalize off of it," Basabe said. "That's what you've got to know about him, so don't fall asleep. He's very cerebral, a very smart player."

Iowa senior Matt Gatens and Creighton red-shirt junior Grant Gibbs have the closest relationship among the players and coaches. Gatens and Gibbs played AAU basketball together for Parkersburg-based Martin Brothers. Gatens, an Iowa City native, and Gibbs, a Linn-Mar product, are great friends who talk often.

Gibbs originally went to Gonzaga out of high school but transferred to Creighton. He's fought through a previous knee injury to now become the backbone of the Bluejays' attack. Gibbs averages 8.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists a game this year.

"I always follow him and see how he's doing," Gatens said. "He's off to a great start this year.

"We talk all the time and always support each other. It's great to see him having success."

But the familiarity is just a footnote for Gatens.

"We're taking this game serious, and we've been talking about it for a while, once it came out and we saw the schedule," Gatens said. "It's pretty wild that it happened, it will be fun."