Iowa-Temple breakdown

RECORDS

Iowa 21-10, 12-6 Big Ten; Temple 21-11, 14-4 American Athletic Conference

TV/RADIO

2:10 p.m., truTV (Verne Lundquist, Jim Spanarkel, Allie LaForce)

600/800 AM (Gary Dolphin, Bobby Hansen)

LOCATION

Barclays Center, Brooklyn, N.Y.

LINE

Iowa by 7 1/2

SERIES

Iowa leads 2-0

PROFILE

Iowa is ranked 25th by AP and 24th by USA Today/Coaches; Temple is unranked

Iowa is seeded seventh in the NCAA Tournament, South Region; Temple is seeded 10th

KEY MATCHUP

Iowa G Mike Gesell vs. Temple G Josh Brown. Both players are among the nation's best in assist-to-turnover ratio. Brown averages nearly 4.9 assists per game and had only 44 turnovers the entire season. Gesell holds Iowa's single-season record with 194 assists and has just 59 turnovers. Brown averages 8.1 points a game, while Gesell puts up 8.3.

'I think (Brown) runs the show for them, but he's not the only one who doesn't turn the ball over,' said Iowa assistant coach Kirk Speraw, who scouted Temple. 'They don't turn it over as a team. They have a great tempo and pace to what they do. (Brown is) a big part of that. He's never rushed, never out of control. He facilitates things, he gets the ball to their shooters in a timely fashion and yet he has that ability to go create for his own shot, attack or shoot two jumpers. He's a very good late shot-clock player. He can make plays late shot-clock and plays late-game, too.'

KEY STATISTICS

SCORING/OPP: Iowa 78.1/68.7; TEM 68.7/67.4

FG%/OPP FG%: Iowa 45.0/41.5; TEM 40.5/41.7

3PT%/OPP 3PT%: Iowa 38.2/31.0; TEM 34.0/31.4

FT%: Iowa 71.9: TEM 68.4

REB MARGIN: Iowa +1.4; TEM -1.5

LIKELY STARTERS

Iowa: G Mike Gesell (6-2; 8.3 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 6.3 apg); G Anthony Clemmons (6-2; 9.0 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 3.6 apg); G Peter Jok (6-6; 16.2 ppg, 3.3 rpg); F Jarrod Uthoff (6-9; 18.9 ppg, 6.4 rpg; 2.7 bpg); C Adam Woodbury (7-1; 7.7 ppg, 8.5 rpg)

Temple: G Quenton DeCosey (6-5; 15.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.3 spg); G Josh Brown (6-3; 8.1 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 4.9 apg, 1.3 spg); G Daniel Dingle (6-7; 4.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg); F Obi Enechionyia (6-8; 11.2 ppg, 3.7 rpg); F Jaylen Bond (6-8; 10.2 ppg, 8.3 rpg)

KEY RESERVES

Iowa: F Dom Uhl (6-9; 6.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg); F Nicholas Baer (6-7; 4.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg); F Ahmad Wagner (6-5, 2.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg); Christian Williams (6-6; 1.3; 0.8)

Temple: G Devin Coleman (6-2; 9.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg); G Levan Alston (6-4; 2.1 ppg, 1.0 rpg); G Trey Lowe (6-6; 4.8 ppg, 1.5 rpg); F Mark Williams (6-8; 1.2 ppg, 0.8 rpg)

WORTH WATCHING

Both of these teams are confident and let it show in a few interviews. Temple forward Daniel Dingle was asked about Iowa and said, 'I like this match-up for us. I was very excited thinking this was the match-up. I feel like this is a great opportunity to show the world what we've got.'

Iowa's Peter Jok also showed his confidence.

'We played great teams in the Big Ten all year,' Jok said. 'So I don't feel like Temple is any better than any team we've played in the Big Ten.'

Expect a spirited game from these teams.

BOTTOM LINE/PREDICTION

Temple is known as a tough, gritty team that plays hard-nosed defense and doesn't turn over the ball. The Owls are No. 1 nationally with 9.2 turnovers a game and rank 14th in assist-to-turnover ratio. They also allow just 31.4 percent from 3-point range. Iowa is just as good in those areas, ranking 19th in turnovers (10.4 — best in program history), allowing 31.0 percent from 3-point range and is seventh in assist-to-turnover ratio.

The other statistical areas are decisively in Iowa's favor. The Hawkeyes' average margin of victory is 9.4 (Temple's is 1.2). They shoot 45 percent from the field (40.5 for Temple) and 38.2 percent from 3-point range (34.0 for Temple). Iowa is average from the free-throw line (71.9) but way better than the Owls (68.4). Iowa outrebounds opponents by 1.4 a game, while Temple gets out-rebounded by 1.5. Iowa's competition level is stronger, too.

Temple does have an advantage if the game is close. The Owls are 9-4 in games decided by five points or less; Iowa is 2-6. Temple is comfortable in the clutch, whereas Iowa has struggled. But the statistics show a significant disparity between these teams. Unless Iowa falls apart offensively, it could be decisive.

Prediction: Iowa 74, Temple 61

l Comments: (319) 339-3169; scott.dochterman@thegazette.com