Iowa 86, Maryland-Eastern Shore 41
The journey to Kansas City begins with a single step. Or a major stomping. Or something like that.

The Hawkeyes got their season started on the right foot with an easy win against a team that was one of Division I's worst the past two years, and will advance to the second round of the Guardian's Classic. They'll play Colgate tonight, and a win will earn them a trip to KC to face #9 Kentucky.

Iowa's offense came out slow last night, but the defense played strong enough all game that the Hawkeyes didn't need much scoring punch anyway. Iowa only came away with four points on its first nine trips down the floor, but their defensive intensity and UMES's inexperience ensured that Iowa never trailed.

Senior forward Doug Thomas and freshman guard Tony Freeman came off the bench early in the game and sparked a 19-8 run and opened a lead that continued to grow throughout the contest. The two hooked up late in the first half on the play game. Freeman stole a pass, then led a 4-on-2 fast break the other way. Seeing that he had Thomas trailing, Freeman underhanded a pass off the backboard from the right elbow, which Thomas caught in midair and hammered home. I've never heard that small of a crowd (announced as 8,000+) make so much noise. Iowa took a 44-20 lead into halftime.

The shooting only got better in the second half, both offensively and defensively. Iowa hit 60% of their field goals and held UMES to 27% shooting in the final 20 minutes. The big men were a major reason for the efficiency - Greg Brunner, Thomas, Erek Hansen, and Seth Gorney combined to shoot 15 of 21 for the game. With the outcome never in doubt, Coach Alford was able to give double-digit minutes to nine of his players, and five of them scored at least 10 points.

Notes and Thoughts

• Iowa's offense struggled early on, but it wasn't for lack of good looks. They missed a lot of bunnies, which one would hope start to fall as the season progresses. What was a little more concerning, though, was the turnovers. UMES was one of the worst teams in the country at forcing turnovers last year, but Iowa still lost the ball on about 20% of its possessions. Many of the mistakes were completely unforced, too - Adam Haluska dropped a pass out of bounds, Jeff Horner lost control of a dribble without any pressure, Hansen travelled once, the team got called for a 3 second violation, etc. Iowa will need to see progress in this area as the season advances.
• Many fans are excited by the debut of Tony Freeman, including myself. His line included six assists, three steals and a three pointer. He should give the Hawkeye backcourt another capable defender and ballhandler. One of my biggest beefs with Mike Henderson is that his passes never set his teammates up for good shots, while Freeman accomplished that several times in his first game. If he can hit the three like he did this summer, Iowa will be in position to make big improvements on offense this year.
• Foul trouble was a major issue keeping Erek Hansen and Doug Thomas from playing time last year - they finished first and second in the Big Ten in fouls per minute. Monday night was no different. Iowa's lanky center drew his second foul 2:30 into the game and came out to make way for Thomas. Hansen sat for ten minutes, then picked up his third foul after playing only another 1:30. That's a total of three fouls in four first half minutes. Thomas picked his fouls up after halftime, and had four in his 19 minutes of PT.
• Iowa's student section looked a lot bigger than this time last year, yet they've been allotted far fewer seats than last year. What gives? Sections L and M were GA for students last year, but now we only get the first few rows of those two sections, and the overflow is forced into the corner and behind the basket. Boo.
• Doug Thomas takes the early team lead for dunks on the season. He has two, and Alex Thompson and Gorney each added one. Thomas also leads the team with one charge taken. We'll keep an eye on those two stats this year.
• Horner and Brunner were their solid selves. Bru's spin moves were just about unguardable, and Horner's passing was, on the whole, very good. The seniors tied to lead Iowa with 16 points each.

Links
Other recaps available at the DM Register, IC Press-Citizen, QC Times, and Daily Iowan.
Box score.
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