Insider: Midtgaard's rare air, GCU's net fame

INDIANAPOLIS — There is history within the history for Grand Canyon's first NCAA tournament appearance Saturday.

When 15th-seeded GCU takes on second-seeded Iowa at 3:25 p.m. (Phoenix time) on TBS, Lopes center Asbjørn Midtgaard could become the second college basketball player since 1992-93 to average a double-double while shooting 70% from the field for a season.

Sports-reference.com, with a database going back to 1992-93, shows that Utah Jazz rookie center Udoka Azubuike was the only qualifying player to previously pull off the feat when he averaged 13.7 points, 10.5 rebounds with 74.8% shooting for Kansas last season.

Midtgaard enters Saturday's game as the national field goal percentage leader at 70.6% and is averaging 14.0 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. Midtgaard needs 13 rebounds against Iowa and Luke Garza to bring his average to exactly 10.0 for the season. To be the only player who averaged 14 points and 10 rebounds with 70% shooting since 1992-93, Midtgaard needs 14 points against the Hawkeyes to be at precisely 14.0 per game for the season.

More on the Lopes' first NCAA tournament trip from elsewhere …

ESPN's show, "Daily Wager," was discussing GCU as a 14-point underdog to Iowa and noted that the Hawkeyes are 12-2 in their 14 fastest-paced games and 9-6 in their slowest-pace games. "Let's muck it up," host Joe Fortenbaugh said. "Let's play slow, rebound on the glass, run like an Antelope. Let's go Grand Canyon."
Fox Sports' Charlotte Wilder wrote, "Are you kidding me? There's a school called Grand Canyon? That's the coolest name for a college I have ever heard. I'm not about to bet against one of nature's most majestic and intimidating creations."
USA Today highlighted the Drew coaching family with Bryce taking GCU to its first NCAA tournament and his brother, Scott, leading Baylor to its first No. 1 seed.
GCU freshman Liam Lloyd talked to The Spokesman-Review about how he and his father, Gonzaga assistant Tommy Lloyd, each won conference championships at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas and are in the same West Region in Indianapolis. "It's been super cool being part of something so special and something that's never happened at our school," Liam said. "The school is going nuts. I wasn't alive when Gonzaga first made it to the NCAA Tournament, but I know it was a huge deal for them and led to so much success in the future."
Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren to The Arizona Republic's Richard Obert on seeing Iowa matched up with GCU, his alma mater where he played basketball: "When I saw that, I smiled to myself."
Today's venue, Indiana Farmers Coliseum, was home to the Horizon League tournaments and the IUPUI Jaguars this season. The 6,800-seat arena opened in 1939, was the original home of the Indiana Pacers and received a $53 million renovation in 2014. The Gazette profilied its history.
In writing about Midtgaard and Lopes teammate Alessandro Lever, The Gazette columnist Mike Hlas wrote, "You may not know the men's basketball team of Grand Canyon from a hole in the ground."
Drew told SportsSpectrum.com about how GCU was on a short list of schools that made him consider returning to coaching after working for ESPN last season. "After seeing it, my wife was ecstatic," Drew said of his wife, Tara. "I was ecstatic. She was like, 'Here's part of the reason why we know what we've gone through this last year to be able to get to this point.' "
Iowa coach Fran McCaffrey told Iowa media earlier this week, "This isn't a lottery. You've got to earn it. And you're going to face an incredibly motivated, really talented, very well-coached basketball team."

Grand Canyon University Athletics

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Alessandro Lever

Liam Lloyd

Asbjørn Midtgaard

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