Iowa's Matt Gatens (5) puts up a shot over Penn State's Cammeron Woodyard (24) and Jon Graham (25) during the first half of their Big Ten Conference college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. Iowa won the game 77-64. (Brian Ray/ SourceMedia Group News)

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Matt Gatens’ Iowa basketball career is winding down with just seven more scheduled games remaining before Thursday night’s tip-off at Penn State.

The Iowa senior has scored 1,452 points in his career, ranking 13th on Iowa’s all-time list. If Gatens meets his current 14-point average in the minimum number of games, he’ll slide into ninth at 1,550, just ahead of Andre Woolridge (1,525) and just behind Dean Oliver (1,561).

Statistics are nice for fans and media, but to Gatens and his family, it has no relevance at this point of his career.

“He said, ‘Dad, they make such a big deal about that, and I play all the time so I’m going to score some points,’” said Mike Gatens, Matt’s father, in an interview last month. “It doesn’t mean a lot to him. He thinks, ‘That’s what I’m supposed to do. You play 35 minutes a game, you’d better score some points or you’re going to be sitting.’

“But it’s interesting. Now he’s right with them in the history of Iowa basketball. I know when it’s over it will mean a lot to him. Of course he would have liked to have gone to the NCAA all four years and stuff like that. But he knows there’s more to the game of basketball than that.”

Matt Gatens also has the chance to lead Iowa in free-throw shooting for the fourth straight season. That’s a feat no Hawkeye has ever completed. When a reporter pointed out that statistic, Gatens laughed and shot back, “you’re trying to jinx it?”

“It’s a cool accomplishment,” Gatens said. “I’d much rather win a lot more games, but free throws are a big deal to me and they should be a big deal to people.

“It’s always been something I’ve taken real seriously and I work on a lot. It’s an easy way to get points.”

Gatens currently is tied for eighth in Big Ten career free-throw percentage, hitting 86.4 percent of his attempts. He’s nearly so automatic that it’s a surprise when he misses, Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said.

“Really surprised when he misses,” McCaffery said. “We try to put him in as many situations, where he’s going to get fouled as possible. You know, go to him when we are in the bonus, things of that nature; late game, want to get the ball in his hands.

“A lot of times teams go the other way and they double him to make us throw it to somebody else, but that’s still a great weapon to have, because then that guy’s open.”

At 13-12, the Hawkeyes still have a shot at a postseason tournament. Gatens, an Iowa City native, never has played in the postseason at Iowa and said competing in one “would be huge, kind of bring it all together.”

“It is incredible how fast it goes, and it’s something I’ve shared with the younger guys and the recruits coming in,” he said. “Don’t take anything for granted and get everything out of it because it goes fast.

“(There’s) still a month to go, and I still expect to get a lot done in this last month, and this team is capable of doing it.”