Good Luck Jane performs at 1:00am at Dance Marathon 18 on Saturday, Feb 4, 2012. (The Daily Iowan/Adam Wesley)

UI sophomore Curtis Weston dances at the Dance Marathon at 1 AM on Saturday, Feb. 4th. The song was performed by Good Luck Jane. (The Daily Iowan/Toan Nguyen)

Good Luck Jane performs at 1:00am at Dance Marathon 18. (The Daily Iowan/Adam Wesley)

Dancers get pumped for Good Luck Jane at 1:00am at Dance Marathon 18. (The Daily Iowan/Adam Wesley)

Good Luck Jane performs at 1:00am at Dance Marathon 18. (The Daily Iowan/Adam Wesley)

A dancer gets pumped for Good Luck Jane at 1:00am at Dance Marathon 18. (The Daily Iowan/Adam Wesley)

Good Luck Jane at performs at 1:00am at Dance Marathon 18. (The Daily Iowan/Adam Wesley)

Iowa City, Iowa- Iowa forward Zach McCabe fights for possession against Minnesota forward Ralph Sampson III at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Wednesday, February 1, 2012. Iowa trailed Minnesota 27-24 at half-time. (The Daily Iowan/Adam Wesley)

Iowa jumped out to large early advantage, but Minnesota fought back late in the first half and lead the Hawkeyes 27-24 at halftime.

The Hawkeyes came out with great defensive intensity, forcing Minnesota to take several jumpshots in the game’s early minutes. Iowa forced Minnesota to miss seven of their first eight shots, and used their stellar defense to jump out to a 15-3 lead.

But the Gophers couldn’t be kept cold for long, as they ended the final 11 minutes and change of the first half on a 24-9 run. Minnesota connected on four 3-pointers during that stretch, while Iowa went nearly four minutes without a bucket of their own.

Melsahn Basabe leads Iowa with 6 first-half points after coming off the bench for the second consecutive game. Four other Hawkeyes have 4 points a piece.

– By Ben Schuff

The victim suffered minor injuries and was taken to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics for treatment. The victim did not report the robbery to UI Police or Iowa City Police so it is not presently being investigated by law enforcement.

Continue to check dailyiowan.com for information on voting and activity at precincts around the area.

Before you head to your precinct tonight, be sure to read The Daily Iowan‘s 2012 Caucus voter guide, including information on each of the candidates and a story on how to caucus.

To find out where to caucus, visit the Johnson County auditor’s website.

Other caucus news:

• The Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza named Johnson County the third most important county to watch in tonight’s caucuses. Cillizza cites the young voters associated with the University of Iowa in his ranking.

“Young people turned out for then-Illinois Sen. Barack Obama in 2008, but will they come back early from winter break to take part in the Republican caucuses?” Cillizza wrote.

He said Texas Rep. Ron Paul must do well in Johnson County — and Story County, which houses Iowa State University — in order to have a chance at winning the statewide vote. Paul, whom The Daily Iowan editorial board endorsed last month, received roughly 15 percent of the vote in Johnson County in the 2008 caucuses. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won the county with more than 31 percent of the vote.

• Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, announced Monday via Twitter he will not endorse candidate for the 2012 caucuses. The social conservative and western Iowa congressman’s endorsement was highly-sought.

Last I saw, Oklahoma was a 13.5-point favorite tonight. I do think the Sooners will win, but I don’t see them covering the spread. I think a quick start for their offense will be deadly for Iowa. The Hawkeyes can’t fall into an early deficit or they’ll be in trouble. Turnovers and time of possession should decide this one.
Score: Oklahoma 31, Iowa 21

Pick to click: C.J. Fiedorowicz. So I picked this guy in Iowa’s regular-season finale, too. Sue me. James Vandenberg has become more comfortable throwing to his 6-7 tight end and Fiedorowicz improved drastically during the second half of the season. He’s difficult to match up with regardless of the opponent, and tonight should be no different.

Fan poll prediction
I did a quick, informal poll on Twitter for predictions. Here is the score I came up with by averaging all the picks I received:
Fans Twitter pick: Oklahoma 31, Iowa 22 (Five votes)

— by Jordan Garretson

For live coverage of Friday night’s Insight Bowl, follow DI Pregame Editor Jordan Garretson on Twitter. Check DI Live during and after the game for comprehensive coverage.

By Ben Schuff
benjamin-schuff@uiowa.edu

For the third time this year, the Iowa men’s basketball team has won two consecutive games.

Iowa (7-5) picked up right where they left off on Dec. 17, beating Central Arkansas 105-64 Monday night in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

The Hawkeyes never trailed the Bears (5-5), jumping out to an early 24-5 lead. Iowa’s defense stifled Central Arkansas early on to the tune of 2-of-10 shooting, and created 6 Bear turnovers in the first 8:24. The Hawkeyes were hot offensively during the same stretch, scoring on seven of the team’s first 10 possessions.

Click here to view an exclusive photo slideshow.

Finding the open shooter was something the Hawkeyes succeeded at early and often throughout the game, collecting 32 assists on 42 made field goals. Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery said his team’s assist total pleased him the most in a dominating performance.

Sophomore Roy Devyn Marble set a career-high by accounting for six of those assists while committing zero turnovers. Marble now has 43 assists on the season, two more than he had all of last year. The 6-6 guard also scored a game-high 19 points in what McCaffery called an “absolutely phenomenal” performance.

The second year head coach said the effort Marble gave against Central Arkansas is no longer a welcomed surprise — it’s McCaffery’s expectation.

“More importantly, I think [Marble] sort of expects it from himself,” McCaffery said. “That’s the critical part every player has to get to at some point.”

Marble’s play also caught the attention of Central Arkansas head coach Corliss Williamson, who spent 12 years playing in the NBA.

“Watching him on film doesn’t do his game justice,” Williamson said. “The way he moves on the court and the way he sets up his plays to score or to get somebody else open — he is an exciting player to watch. He’s got a bright future ahead of him.”

Marble was one of five Hawkeyes to score double figure points on a night that saw Iowa eclipse the 100-point plateau for the first time this season. Three other starters posted at least 10 points — Zach McCabe scored 8 points in 13 minutes — led by Melsahn Basabe’s 14-point, 9-rebound performance.

Aaron White contributed 17 points off the bench and provided a huge boost for the Black and Gold. White subbed in for McCabe less than three minutes into the contest after McCabe picked up two fouls in 38 seconds. The freshman forward also grabbed 5 rebounds and threw down four crowd-pleasing dunks.

“I liked the pace of that game — we got out and ran,” White said. “I like to finish above the rim. Coaches have always told me, ‘Don’t lay it in, go up strong.’ You get a better chance of making it or getting fouled.”

Central Arkansas’ Dewan Clayborn paced the Bears with 18 points and fueled a comeback effort  midway through the first half. The senior made four of his game-high six 3-pointers during a 22-9 run that cut Iowa’s lead to 33-27. Clayborn entered the game having made 4-of-20 perimeter shots on the year.

Six points were as close as Central Arkansas would get, however, as Matt Gatens hit a 3-pointer on the ensuing Iowa possession. The senior guard scored 11 points, and said despite the offensive output, Iowa’s defense was its key to victory.

“I think the break was good for us during finals week to get back to basic fundamentals,” Gatens said. “It was huge for us to step away from all the scouts and concentrate on [our problems] defensively.”

DES MOINES — Iowa caucus candidates argued over their past records and continued their pledge to “repeal Obamacare” during a debate in Des Moines Saturday night.

All six GOP presidential candidates who attended Saturday night’s debate at Drake University also continued their jabs at President Obama’s overall policies.

Mitt Romney swatted away allegations that the health care plan he passed while governor of Massachusetts was the same as Obama’s Affordable Care Act, saying the bill he signed was done at the state level. When asked if he would encourage other states to adopt a similar plan with an individual health insurance mandate, he said states “can do whatever the heck they want.”

When Texas Gov. Rick Perry again accused Romney of omitting a portion of his book that indicated he supported a nationwide individual mandate, Romney replied by asking Perry to agree to a $10,000 bet that the omission did not occur. Perry said, “I’m not in the betting business, but OK.”

“You’re for individual mandates,” Perry said. “That’s the problem.”

Romney struck back at Perry, saying he also passed an individual mandate when he required young girls in Texas to receive an HPV vaccine.

Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann later attacked Romney and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich on their policies. She said Gingrich advocated for the individual mandate for 20 years and Romney put into place “socialized medicine.”

“Newt Romney is for Obamacare,” Bachmann said before listing a number of policy positions she said the two GOP candidates shared. “I’ve taken on Obama. He knows me … I won’t rest until we repeal Obamacare.”

The candidates also debated issues of character and marriage.

Newt Gingrich, who was famously involved in multiple divorces, said character and marriage are “real issues.”

“I’ve made mistakes,” Gingrich admitted.

Gingrich, who recently led in The Des Moines Register Iowa Poll, later faced criticism for his statements that Palestinians are “an invented people.”

Texas Congressman Ron Paul said such statements are “stirring up trouble” and candidates “cannot continue to get into these issues like this.” Paul has notoriously called for limiting American involvement in foreign conflicts.

“We’re wise to stand with friends,” Romney said. “Israel does not want us to make it more difficult to sit down with the Palestinians. We don’t negotiate for Israel. We stand with them.”

Gingrich disagreed, saying his statements aren’t making life more difficult for Israel and that America’s support is integral for a country that gets “rockets fired at it every day.”

The candidates also discussed their upbringings in an attempt to better relate to many Americans. They then closed by speaking about which proposals or tactics of other GOP candidate they admired.

Perry said he was interested in Paul’s statements that the Federal Reserve is unnecessary. Romney also spoke of Paul’s leadership. Gingrich started by lauding Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad’s trajectory in politics, but said he supported former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum’s stance on Iran. Bachmann ended the debate by saluting Herman Cain — who recently suspended his campaign amid numerous allegations of sexual harassment — for his 9-9-9 tax plan.

The debate featured an audience that included Branstad, Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds and numerous Iowa legislators. The crowd cheered frequently, mostly at mentions of the state or Branstad.

At its October meeting, the board considered conditional tuition and fee proposals for the 2012-2013 school year. The 3.75 percent tuition increase for in-state students that the regents considered in October has not changed, according to materials released Friday as part of the agenda for next week’s telephonic meeting.

Under the proposal, non-residents who attend the University of Iowa will see a 4.75 increase in tuition next year, if the regents approve the proposal.

UI looks to purchase Melrose properties

UI officials are seeking the regents’ approval to purchase two properties on Melrose Avenue for $1.1 million.

The UI plans to purchase the two properties — 711 Melrose Ave. and 1 Melrose Place — in order to eventually construct a $3 million surface parking lot. Officials want to demolish university-owned structures at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 Melrose Place for the project. If the purchase is approved, the UI will lease the 711 Melrose Ave. property back to its sellers from January 2012 to December 2016 for $600 a year.

The 250-space parking lot would be used for UI Hospitals and Clinics staff and physicians who will be displaced upon the construction of the West Campus Transportation Center and the Children’s Hospital.

Regents to consider changes to naming policy

The state Board of Regents will, at its meeting next week, consider requiring centers named after elected officials to hold off until that officials is out of office.

The proposed revisions to the Regents’ New Centers and Institutes policy comes after the Board in April approved the controversial naming of an Iowa State University public policy institute after Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa.

The revision would require all proposed honorary names of centers and institutes at the three state universities  — including at the UIHC — to obtain specific approval from the regents.

“Before proceeding with any naming, all circumstances surrounding the naming must  be carefully considered, including the overall benefit to the institution, whether the  name is and will continue to be a positive reflection on the institution, and whether the  name is consistent with the purpose and mission of the Board of Regents and its
institutions,” the proposed change says.

— by Sam Lane

Inside their own red zone, the Hawkeyes were stopped by Purdue on two straight rushes by Marcus Coker, but James Vandenberg found C.J. Fiedorowicz on a 3rd-and-5 to put Iowa up by a touchdown in the closing seconds of the quarter.

Iowa is 5-for-5 on its third down conversions so far.

On Iowa’s first drive, James Vandenberg found Marvin McNutt on a fade route for the first score of the game. Vandenberg is 8-of-10 for 105 yards on the day. McNutt has three catches for 60 yards.

Purdue scored on its first drive of the game as well on a touchdown pass from quarterback Caleb TerBush to receiver Gabe Holmes. TerBush is 4-of-5 for 44 yards and has four carries for 16 yards.

After Iowa’s second score, Purdue fumbled on the ensuing kickoff and the Hawkeyes will begin the second quarter with the ball. In the strong winds today, returner Brandon Cottom called for a fair catch, but dropped the ball.

— by Matt Cozzi