Sunday, December 29
4 p.m. ET  – Kennesaw State (1-11, 0-0) at No. 25 Iowa (9-3, 0-0)
Location: Iowa City, Iowa | Carver-Hawkeye Arena
Links: ESPNU | Live Stats
Game Notes: KSU | Iowa

TOP STORYLINES
» The Kennesaw State men's basketball team closes out the non-conference season on the road Sunday, squaring off against Big Ten foe Iowa at 4 p.m. ET. Sunday's meeting marks the only Power Five school the Owls will face this season and the second team to rank in the top-50 of the NET rankings. The two squads have faced off only once before, with KSU falling in Iowa City during the 2016-17 season.

» The Owls look to pick up their production and potentially get their first road win of the year Sunday currently averaging 50.5 ppg in true road games compared to 78.6 ppg in home contests. KSU's lone win of the year came on its home court, defeating Gardner-Webb 85-61, one of three home games the Owls have had all year.

» Freshman Terrell Burden had a fantastic showing in KSU's last outing against Wofford, recording a career-high 21 points to lead the team. The freshman played all 40 minutes of the game, finishing with five assists and four rebounds while shooting 60 percent from the floor and 9-of-10 at the free throw line. He is currently third on the team averaging 10.3 points per game.

» After recording his first double-double of the year against Gardner-Webb, Bryson Lockley continues to be a consistent presence across the board for KSU. He is currently the only active player to average over five rebounds and five points per game. He currently leads the team in steals (12) while ranked second for blocks (5) and third for assists (13). He ranks 14th in the conference averaging 5.3 rebounds per game.

» Redshirt freshman and Wake Forest transfer Jaime Lewis made an immediate impact in his first game for the Owls this past Sunday, netting 11 points while going 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. After finally becoming eligible due to transfer rules, Lewis put in 30 minutes of work against Wofford adding two rebounds and a steal.

» The Owls' leading scorer, Tyler Hooker, has hit double-digits in his last five straight appearances, recording 20 or more points twice during that span. His 12.5 points per game average ranks 11th in the ASUN.

CARRYING THE BURDEN
Terrell Burden has made a tremendous impact on the court for KSU during his first season in an Owl uniform. The Smyrna, Ga., product has scored double-digits in six games this year, and is coming off arguably one of the most productive games of his young career against Wofford.

Burden led the team with a career-high 21 points, playing all 40 minutes of the game. His five assists against the Terriers marked only the second time he has logged five or more dimes this year with his four rebounds falling one shy of his current career-high.

He is averaging 10.3 points per game to put him in a tie for 18th in the ASUN.

Burden is the only Owl to record at least 20 assists so far this year, leading the squad with 21. One of the Owls' most frequent free throw shooters, he ranks third in the conference with 42 made buckets from the charity stripe.

LOCKED DOWN
Redshirt senior Bryson Lockley has done it all so far this season, averaging 7.7 points and 5.3 rebounds per game to make him the only Owl to average over five points and five rebounds per game this year. He also leads the team with 12 steals while ranked second with five blocks.

The Houston, Texas native is one of four Owls to record double-digit assists so far this year with 13.  

A big man with range, Lockley is shooting .265 from beyond the arc with nine made three-pointers to place him second on the team.

Lockley is the only Owl this season to appear in all 12 games and is one four to make at least nine starts.

Lockley filled up the stat sheet last season as well, running the boards with a team-high 225 rebounds to place him seventh in the conference. He finished the season second on the team with 53 assists and was one of two players to capture at least 20 steals (21) and blocks (21). 

PUT IT ON THE BOARD
The Owls have picked up their aggressiveness underneath the rim, as of late. KSU was out-rebounded in their recent game against Wofford, but it marked only the second time in the last nine games the Owls have been out-rebounded.

The last outing dropped KSU's season average to 36 rebounds per game which ranks sixth in the ASUN, 0.8 rebounds behind second place North Florida. If maintained, it would mark only the second time in DI history the Owls finished the season averaging at least 36 boards per game.

Three Owls currently rank among the league's top-15 for rebounds per game, Armani Harris (7th), Antonio Spencer (12th) and Bryson Lockley (14th).

GOT YOU HOOKED
After being held scoreless against Iona, redshirt senior Tyler Hooker has bounced back with a vengeance, hitting double-figures in the last five straight games, 20 or more in two of those games. Following his back-to-back 20-point games, including a season-high 27 against Gardner-Webb, Hooker has pushed his scoring average to 12.5 points per game to rank 11th in the ASUN.

Hooker has logged 20 or more points 15 times throughout his career, including 11 times last season to finish the year second in the ASUN averaging 19 points per game.

The Simpsonville, S.C., product reached 1,000 career points scored last season. With 1,215 points in his career, he needs just 53 more points this year to crack the KSU career top-10. He is currently one of seven players in the ASUN to be a member of the 1,000 points club.

Off the ball, Hooker has been very productive this season, ranked second on the team with 17 assists and seven steals.

One of the Owls most formidable free throw shooters, he is 39-of-46 at the line this season for an 84.8 shooting percentage at the stripe. Hooker ranks fifth in the ASUN for shooting percentage and seventh for made free throws. He has only missed more than one free throw in a game once this year, going 5-of-7 against FIU.

With 320 made free throws during his KSU career, Hooker is one of five Owls in DI history to make over 300 free throws, currently ranked third on the career record list. 

ROAD WARRIORS
The Owls will play 18 of their 11 games on the road this year. With only four home non-conference games the Owls will get their travel legs under them right away before hitting league play.

KSU will travel a long and difficult road before ASUN play with seven NCAA Tournament teams on the schedule, including four who made it to the second round of play. The 2019-20 slate also includes nine teams who finished last year in the top-100 of the NET rankings, six in the top-50, as well as 10 teams who won 20 or more games.

LOOKING AHEAD
After Sunday's game, the Owls head into conference play, hosting North Florida Thursday (Jan. 2) followed by Stetson Saturday (Jan. 4).

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