Lots of good stats for Hawkeyes, Cyclones

OK, it's been a week since the Rose Bowl. I've resisted re-entry into winter long enough, and it's time to fully accept the fact it's basketball season in Iowa.

(But I don't wanna face the cold and the snow.)

So, here are a stack of stats I found interesting. Most are relevant to Iowa and/or Iowa State. A few aren't.

The statistics, by the way, are through Wednesday's games. I doubt the rankings changed significantly because of Thursday's schedule.

1. Two of the top 10 assists guys in college basketball play in Iowa. Iowa State's Monte Morris is fourth at 7.4 assists per game. Iowa's Mike Gesell is 10th at 6.9.

2. Jarrod Uthoff of Iowa ranks fourth in blocked shots with 3.33 per game. His teammates average a total of 3.17, making the Hawkeyes fourth as a team in blocks with 6.5 per game.

3. Iowa State, even with foul trouble it danced around Wednesday night in its home win over Texas Tech, is third in the nation in fewest fouls.

4. Drake is 13th in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage (.415), while Iowa is 23rd (.399). There are 346 Division I teams, by the way.

5. Uthoff's 18.6 points per game leads the Big Ten, but there are 30 players in the nation averaging 20 ppg or more.

6. The leader is James Daniel III of Howard, who averages 28.5 points. He easily leads the nation in free throw attempts with 11.2 per game. And get this: He's 5-foot-11.

7. Speaking of 'get this,' Oakland's Kahlil Felder leads the nation in assists (9.2 per game) and is third in scoring (26.1 points). What, is he passing to himself? And he is ... wait for it ... 5-foot-9.

8. Of the nation's top six scorers, four are 6-foot or shorter.

9. Michigan State is better with Denzel Valentine. How much better? He is first in the Big Ten in assists per game, second in scoring, second in 3-pointers per game, third in rebounding, and fourth in free throw percentage.

If they voted for Big Ten Player of the Year today, how do you choose between Uthoff and Valentine? Luckily, there are a lot of games left. And, Maryland's Melo Trimble probably has a candidacy to be heard.

10. Iowa is seventh in the nation in assists-to-turnovers ratio. Northwestern is fourth, Michigan ninth, Michigan State 10th. That's a disciplined conference.

11. Scoring didn't used to be equated with automatic success. But Kansas, Duke, Oklahoma and North Carolina are second through fifth, respectively, in scoring. They average between 87.8 and 89.8 points.

12. The leader, however, is The Citadel, which is 7-8. The Citadel averages 90.8 points and 35.9 3-point shots per game.

13. Oklahoma's Buddy Hield averages 26.3 points, seven points more a game than the Big 12's No. 2 guy. That's Iowa State's Georges Niang.

14. Six Big 12 teams have an average scoring margin of +10 or more, and three others are at least +6.4.

15. Three of the six top shooting teams of the 346 in America are in the Big Ten. Indiana is at 53.2 percent, Michigan and Maryland at 50.9. Kansas (50.8) and Iowa State (50.1) are in the top 10.

OK, it's basketball season. I guess.