Iowa bench provides instant energy

IOWA CITY - Iowa's bench outscored Chicago State's entire lineup by four points Friday in the Hawkeyes' 96-53 win.

For Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery that's a strong number for many reasons. One, it allows Iowa to rest its starters in a convincing victory. Two, it shows the team can replace its starters without an offensive letdown.

One of the key performers was reserve forward Zach McCabe, who scored 13 points in 18 minutes. McCabe is versatile at 6-foot-7 and can play both forward slots and center. Friday, he scored baskets in the paint and hit two 3-pointers.

McCaffery said McCabe provides a nice complement to starting power forward Melsahn Basabe.

"When (McCabe) came in the game, he gave us great minutes right away," McCaffery said. "He ran the floor, finished inside.

"He has a different style of play than Melsahn does. The beauty of (McCabe) is he can score inside and out. He's using that 239 pounds well. If you don't find him in the zone on the break, he'll stop at shoot that. I can play him at (small forward)."

McCabe started two games last year as a freshman. He grabbed five rebounds, dished one assist and had one steal without any turnovers against Chicago State.

"That's my role, to come in and bring energy, get rebounds, be a banger, get stuff inside and also outside," McCabe said. "Just helping the team out any way I can. Just ready to go at any time."

Nine Iowa players earned at least 15 minutes of action against Chicago State. Aaron White scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, the first double-double debut by an Iowa player since Jess Settles in 1993. No Iowa freshman had scored at least 19 points in his first game since freshmen gained immediate eligibility in 1972.

Swing guard Devyn Marble played 21 minutes Friday, second-most among the Hawkeyes. He scored six points, grabbed seven rebounds, had four assists and three steals. Marble also registered no turnovers while primarily playing the point for senior Bryce Cartwright.

Along with White, Iowa got its other two freshmen involved. Guard Josh Oglesby played 19 minutes, scored four points, had four assists and no turnovers. Center Gabe Olaseni scored eight points, grabbed four rebounds in nine minutes. The three freshmen combined for one turnover in 46 combined minutes.

"You never would have known they were young guys," McCaffery said. "They weren't mistake-makers at that point in time."