Alabama St. @ Iowa preview

Iowa looks to build on a convincing season-opening win when it hosts Alabama State in the preliminary round of the Cayman Islands Classic on Sunday. The Hawkeyes shot 54.5 percent from 3-point range en route to a 95-62 victory against Chicago State on Friday and hope to stay hot from beyond the arc as they look to beat Alabama State for the second time in program history following a 73-64 win in 2001.

"We have a lot of shooters on this team," Iowa guard Jordan Bohannon told reporters. "Coach (Fran McCaffery) has been giving us the green light, and if we're open, we're going to shoot it." The Hawkeyes have won 46 of their last 50 non-conference home games and are 65-2 when holding opponents under 61 points in the last seven years as they search for their fifth straight regular-season victory dating back to 2016-17. Iowa has won its last four meetings with Southwestern Conference opponents since 2006-07, including a 67-44 triumph in its most recent matchup versus Alcorn State three years ago. Alabama State suffered a 96-68 setback to Mississippi State in its season opener and hopes to snap a seven-game road losing streak.

TV: 4:05 p.m. ET, BTN Plus

ABOUT ALABAMA STATE (0-1): Jacoby Ross came off the bench to hit six 3-pointers en route to a career-high 16 points in the loss to Mississippi State. Ed Jones registered 16 points and six rebounds while Tobi Ewuosho added eight points, but the Hornets were unable to overcome 37.3 percent shooting from the floor. "We are going to continue to work and get after it," Alabama State coach Lewis Jackson told reporters. "With nine new players, the maturation process is going to take some time, and we just have to continue to get some reps under our belt."

ABOUT IOWA (1-0): Luka Garza had a memorable debut as the freshman center scored a game-high 16 points on 6-of-6 shooting and pulled down six rebounds in the win against Chicago State. Isaiah Moss drained four 3-pointers to finish with 14 points while Tyler Cook shot a perfect 4-for-4 from the field en route to 12 points and has made his last 22 field-goal attempts dating back to last season. Jack Nunge scored 10 points in his first game as a Hawkeye while fellow freshman Connor McCaffery sat out with an ankle injury suffered earlier in the week and likely will miss Sunday's contest against Alabama State as well.

TIP-INS

1. Iowa has scored 90 points or more in four of its last eight games dating back to last season.

2. The Hawkeyes are 65-13 when scoring 80 points or more in the last seven campaigns.

3. Alabama State has dropped 17 of its last 18 road games.

PREDICTION: Iowa 91, Alabama State 65