Posted: Jan 22, 2016

Storm men welcome Luther on Saturday

INDIANOLA, Iowa - The Simpson men's basketball team hosts Luther at Cowles Fieldhouse on Saturday, Jan. 23. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.

Game Setup
Matchup: Luther (3-13, 2-3) at Simpson (10-6, 3-2)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 23
Time: 4 p.m.
Location: Cowles Fieldhouse - Indianola, Iowa

Coverage
Stats: SimpsonAthletics.com
Video: SimpsonAthletics.com
Audio: kniakrls.com

Last Time Out
Dillon Gretzky scored 24 points, Ryan Skaar had 17 and Simpson held off Wartburg 80-75 on Wednesday, Jan. 20. Simpson led almost the entire game, but Wartburg turned it over with 5 seconds left, trailing 78-75. Austin Turner scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half and DJ Dafney had nine points and 11 rebounds.

A look at Luther
The Norse are 3-13 overall and 2-3 in the Iowa Conference after winning two out of their last three. Luther is coming off an 85-67 road loss at Loras on Wednesday, but beat Wartburg and Coe at home last week. Nathan Meyer is the only Luther player averaging double figures, putting up 12.8 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. His 34 3-pointers lead the way for the conference's most accurate 3-point shooting team (37.6 percent). Luther is 0-7 on the road and averages a league-low 66.9 points.

The all-time series
Saturday marks the 151st meeting in a series that dates back to the 1923-24 season. Simpson is 68-82 all-time against Luther and has lost three in a row. Luther has won 13 of the last 14 in the series, with Simpson's only win coming in a 95-91 overtime triumph on Jan. 21, 2014. Luther won 10 in a row from 2009-2013.

TOP 5 STORM STORYLINES

1. Storm look to re-establish home court edge
Simpson suffered its first home loss of the season Saturday, Jan. 16 when Dubuque pulled away for a 74-64 win. Simpson is now 4-1 at home, outscoring opponents by 10.6 points per game and scoring more than 10 points per game more at home than in all other games (82.4 to 72.0). Sam Amsbaugh steps up his game in front of the home crowd, averaging 15.6 points and shooting 58.1 percent from the field at home compared to 13.0 points and 46.2 percent in all other games.

2. Balance key to Storm's success
Simpson boasts a balanced lineup that features four players averaging double figures on the season. Dillon Gretzky (13.9 ppg), Sam Amsbaugh (13.8 ppg), Ryan Skaar (11.0 ppg) and Austin Turner (10.0 ppg) lead Simpson in scoring. In 10 wins this season, five different players have led the team in scoring: Gretzky four times, Amsbaugh two times, Turner two times, Skaar once and DJ Dafney once.

3. Old-school approach paying dividends for the Storm
Simpson's early-season success can be largely attributed to some less-than-glamorous trends. The Storm are currently tops in the IIAC in defense, free throw percentage and turnover margin. Though not always highlight-worthy, Simpson allows just 71.8 points per game, makes 74.9 percent of its free throws and is +5.1 in the turnover margin. The Storm have yet to commit more turnovers than an opponent and have held three of five IIAC foes below their season scoring average.

4. Chasing the free throw record
Through 16 games, Simpson is one of the top free throw shooting teams in all of Division III. Shooting 75 percent from the line, the Storm lead the Iowa Conference and rank 32nd in the nation. The school record for free throw percentage in a season is 75.8 set in 1994-95. The next highest mark is 72.1 percent, set in 2001-02. The Storm have three players shooting better than 80 percent from the line: Ryan Skaar (92.5), Sam Amsbaugh (82.2) and Dillon Gretzky (81.0).

5. What a difference a year makes
It took the 2015-16 Storm just 11 games to surpass last year's win total. First-year head coach Brad Bjorkgren led Simpson to a 7-4 mark, the best record through 11 games since the 2006-07 team also went 7-4. That team finished 18-9, the program's last winning season. Simpson is currently 10-6, already a four-game improvement over last season.

The coach
Brad Bjorkgren is in his first season as head coach of the Storm. The Simpson alum coached Urbandale High School for 27 seasons, winning nearly 400 games, nine conference championships and appearing in seven Class 4A State Tournaments.

Up next
Simpson goes to Central on Wednesday, Jan. 27 to complete the first time through the IIAC schedule.