PISCATAWAY – A 53.7 percent (29-of-54) shooting performance enabled four Rutgers (12-8, 2-5) players to score 14 points or more in a decisive 80-64 victory over Iowa (10-10, 1-5) Wednesday evening at the RAC. The Scarlet Knights dished out 18 assists, their most ever in a regulation Big Ten contest, to earn their first victory over the Hawkeyes in six all-time match-ups.

"It was a great environment and a really good team win," said Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell. "Everyone contributed. I was proud after the tough game the other day. We were locked in."

Corey Sanders (18), Geo Baker (17), Issa Thiam (16) and Deshawn Freeman (14) led a potent offense that deposited 29 field goals, RU's most in a conference game since netting 31 versus Iowa on Jan. 21, 2016. Sanders and Baker also added eight and five assists, respectively, to aid a balanced attack which benefitted 24-6 in points-off-turnovers and 16-2 in fast break points.

"We always try to share the ball, find open teammates and find whoever has the hot hand," said Sanders. "We were able to share the ball well and make some open shots unlike the night before. It just felt good to see some shots fall and to have everyone involved."

Eleven players saw action for the home squad, which led by as much as 23 points in the second half. The Scarlet Knights held the advantage for more than 36 of the game's 40 minutes.

Rutgers came out of the gates hot, opening an 11-4 lead after a Thiam three-pointer. Iowa countered with a 9-0 run on three consecutive Jordan Bohannan triples to take a 13-11 edge. It marked the Hawkeyes only lead of the contest.

The Scarlet Knights came storming back, answering with a 12-0 run to extend their lead to double-digits at 23-13. RU used a barrage of three-pointers, making six of its first eight, including four from Thiam, to ignite another run, 13-2, to push the
advantage to 36-19.

Rutgers entered the locker room at the midpoint with a 38-24 advantage after shooting 50 percent. Thiam and Baker had 14 and 12 points, respectively, at the break.

RU picked up where it left off to start the second half, using a 13-4 run to build its largest advantage, 23 points (51-28), with 14:30 remaining. The Hawkeyes battled back to within 10 points, but would get no closer. RU threw down multiple slam dunks in the final minutes to seal the 16-point victory, its largest in a Big Ten game under Pikiell.

"We've played a really tough schedule, so I told these guys to keep fighting," said Pikiell. "This was a tough stretch for us, and we were ready to play today. When we're locked in like that, offensively and defensively, we have a chance to be a good team."

Rutgers returns to the hardwood at No. 23/24 Michigan on Sunday. The contest will tip-off at 12 noon (ET) on BTN. The Scarlet Knights have the opportunity to defeat a ranked team on the road for the first time since downing No. 13 Pittsburgh 77-64 on Jan. 26, 2008.
 
Single game tickets for Rutgers men's basketball home games are available online or by calling the Rutgers Ticket Office at 1-866-445-GORU. Fans also have the opportunity to purchase flex ticket plans, which enable consumers to select any four games from the home schedule to create their own package.
 
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Postgame Notes

• The win over Iowa marked Rutgers' first in six tries in a series dating back to 1989.
• The Scarlet Knights improved to 8-1 when shooting a higher percentage than their opponent (.537 - .393).
• Rutgers' 29 field goals are a season high in Big Ten games and the most in a regulation conference game since netting 31 at the RAC in a 90-76 loss to Iowa on Jan. 21, 2016.
• RU's 18 assists match a season high and are the most ever in a regulation Big Ten matchup since joining the league in 2014-15 (Rutgers had 18 assists in a triple overtime loss at the RAC to Illinois on Feb. 3, 2016.
• Issa Thiam tied his career-high for three-point field goals with four, all of which came in the first half.
• With a season-high eight assists, Corey Sanders jumped three spots into a tie for 15^th place all-time in career helpers with 293, passing Earl Johnson (1996-99) and Rich Brunson (1979-83), while matching Phil Sellers (1972-76).
• With two steals, Sanders moves into 13^th all-time at Rutgers with 121, surpassing Hollis Copeland (1974-78).
• Rutgers committed fewer turnovers than an opponent for the 17^th time this season in 20 games. RU is now 11-6 in those contests.
• Following Iowa's 9-0 run spanning 1:20 midway through the first half, Rutgers followed immediately with a 12-0 spurt over 2:45 of game time. The run expanded to 25-6 to take a 36-19 lead.
• Sophomore Matt Bullock made his season debut, logging eight minutes in his third career game while recording his first career assist and scoring his first career points on a jumper with 15:14 left in the second half.
• Baker matched a career-high with four steals.
• Season/career double-digit scoring marks: Sanders (15^th/59^th), Baker (14^th/14^th), Thiam (6^th/8^th), Freeman (16^th/40^th).

Post-Game Quotes
Rutgers Head Coach Steve Pikiell

Opening Statement: "Thank you for coming. I loved the environment today. The Riot Squad, dance team, the students, the band, the cheerleaders, all just awesome. It was a great environment and a really good team win. Everyone contributed. I was proud after the tough game the other day. We were locked in. These two [Geo Baker and Corey Sanders] were terrific. We played great team defense and I thought we did a really good job on [Jordan] Bohannon even though he had 23 points, he's a really good player. Great team win and on to Michigan."
 
On using the whole bench: "Well, all hands on deck. When Mike went down, we had a few days to prepare a little bit for the injury. I thought everyone that came into the game, Jake [Dadika] did a good job. Matt [Bullock] and everyone who had a chance to get into the basketball game really responded. I told them that they always need to be ready and you never know what the situation will be. I thought Matt was ready, but these guys really responded. [Deshawn Freeman] bounced back with almost a double double. Eight rebounds and last game he had zero.  So I'm really proud of him, too. On the run, Candido makes huge free throws, Shaq [Doorson] does a good job, so it was a good team win today and everyone was able to contribute."
 
On having time to prepare after Williams' injury: "We had two days to prepare. We just tried some different things with some different lineups. I told these guys that you have to step up. [Mike] averaged 10 points per game just about, and he rebounds, has assists and he defended like crazy. Geo and Corey were both locked in on the defensive end today and got great efforts. Issa [Thiam] got us off to a good start hitting some 3's, so everybody really stepped in and obviously the couple of days really helped us prepare for a loss like that."
 
On the team's response after the Ohio State loss: "We've played a really tough schedule, so I told these guys to keep fighting. This was a tough stretch for us, and we were ready to play today. When we're locked in like that, offensively and defensively, we have a chance to be a good team."
 
Rutgers junior guard Corey Sanders

On the high assist numbers for the team: "We always try to share the ball, find open teammates and find whoever has the hot hand. We were able to share the ball well and make some open shots unlike the night before. It just felt good to see some shots fall and to have everyone involved."
 
On how the team was able to respond after the Ohio State loss and losing Mike Williams: "We just try to stay humble, level headed and work. That was a tough loss for us, and Mike brings a lot to our team leadership wise, rebounding and scoring, so it's hard to replace him. But we have people prepared to step up. That was our focus coming into practice these past two days preparing for Iowa and now we're going to prepare for Michigan."

Rutgers sophomore guard Issa Thiam
On the game: "I feel like it was a great game today. I thought we played with more focus and more energy."

Rutgers sophomore forward Matt Bullock

On seeing his first game action this season: "It felt great to be out there. Once I got the nerves out, I think it went pretty well. I can take this, move forward and try to keep bringing energy to the team. I can definitely build off of this."

Iowa Head Coach Fran McCaffery
 
On difference in the game: "I think the first half when they went on a 12-0 run, I thought we tried to go a little bit too much one-on-one. That's not who we are. We have to get the ball moving. They settled down. They were shooting the ball well. They were active defensively and had a decent lead at halftime, manageable, something you could come back from. We executed at the beginning of the second half and then, again, we went back to trying to go one-on-one again, I thought. We weren't getting second shots, they were doing a good job on the glass limiting us to one shot. I thought they got some seconds back when we had what appeared to be a pretty decent possession defensively. And starting with the very first one, I thought we had a great possession and they tipped it in. I think they played with great energy and were connected. They maintained their composure and shared the ball, had a lot of guys in double figures as you can see. I thought that was a key for them."
 
On Corey Sanders: "We're locked in on trying to stop him. Anyone who comes in here, or anybody who plays that team, is going to try to limit him if they can. So he's going to have to do that, wait for it, load his teammates up a little bit and wait for it to come to him maybe later on. That's what he did."
 
On turnovers: "A big problem. Some of them were kind of crazy. But some of them, again, were trying to go where there's no need to go. You got to manage the clock better. I thought we missed some guys in the post. They were aggressive on the ball. They were aggressive defending the post. I thought we had some guys who were open and we didn't throw it, and maybe we threw it a little bit late. We had one stretch in the first half when we were up three and we turned it over three-straight times. And that got them going and all of a sudden they are up six. They capitalized on our live ball turnovers, and they scored in transition. We try to do that typically and we weren't getting anything from our running game."
 
On chances of a comeback: "I thought we could. There was plenty of time when we were down 14 at half. You want to get it under 10 in a three-possession game. But we really never until the very end felt comfortable offensively. We were working and moving the ball a little bit better, but our execution wasn't good. And quite honestly our shot selection wasn't good. We were shooting a lot of jumpers and only shot 10 free throws. You got to drive the ball, get the ball inside, you got to make sure you are in the bonus late, which we eventually were - that's how we got 10 (free throw attempts). We settled I thought, and you can't do that when you're behind and not with the team you're playing as well as they were playing."
 
On matching Rutgers' physicality: "No, I don't. Not for the game, at times, which is sort of been the story of our season. We match everything at times. We haven't put it together consistently, both ends of the floor. That was evident tonight I thought."
 
On challenges on the road: "I thought when (Rutgers) got the lead, they played comfortable. They were shooting it in rhythm. Thiam gets going. I think Baker is a really good player. I thought he played really well, so it takes some of the pressure off Sanders like we said before. Their bigs were real physical and keeping us from getting too many easy baskets inside. It doesn't make you stop trying to do that and just start jacking jumpers. We want to shoot open jumpers and open threes."