No. 14/13 Rutgers Scarlet Knights (7-1, 3-1)
vs.
10/11 Iowa Hawkeyes (8-2, 2-1)
Saturday, January 2 | 2 p.m. (ET)
The RAC | Piscataway, N.J.
TV: ESPN2 (Jason Benetti, play-by-play; Dan Dakich, analyst)
Radio: Rutgers Sports Properties Radio Network (WCTC 1450 AM/WOR 710 AM/Sirius 83/ XM 83, Jerry Recco & Joe Boylan); Westwood One (Ryan Radtke & Austin Croshere); WRSU 88.7 FM (Raj Shah and Ronnie Wielenta)
No. 14/13 Rutgers men's basketball has a showdown Saturday between two top-15 programs, as No. 10/11 Iowa will visit. The game tips off at 2 p.m. and will be broadcast nationwide on ESPN2 and will have both local and national radio broadcasts.The game is presented by PNC Bank.
The Scarlet Knights enter the matchup at 7-1 overall and 3-1 in the Big Ten following an 81-76 victory over Purdue on Tuesday night. Playing without the services of two starters in
Ron Harper Jr. and Cliff Omoruyi due to injury, Rutgers' next man up mentality was on display.
Montez Mathis led the way with 25 points, easily surpassing his previous career-high. He was 5-of-5 from beyond the arc.
Ron Harper Jr. and
Caleb McConnell will be dressed for the game against Iowa, while
Clifford Omoruyi remains out.
Overall, the Scarlet Knights made 11 three-pointers, including a 7-of-9 stretch from distance to open the game. That tied for their most ever in a Big Ten game, and gave RU consecutive games with double-digit three pointers.
Rounding into form after an early season injury,
Geo Baker had a season high 19 points and six rebounds.
Jacob Young also added 13 points, marking seven straight games with double-figure scoring. The team saw increased performances from its bench and its freshman class, including a team-high in plus-minus from freshman
Dean Reiber (+14) in a career-high 16 minutes.
In the paint,
Myles Johnson enters the contest second in the conference with 2.25 blocks per game. His 8.5 rebounds per game is fourth best in the league.
Overall, Rutgers is in the top-25 nationally in both offensive efficiency and adjusted defensive efficiency. The Scarlet Knights are averaging 78.5 points per game overall and 80.6 points in conference games. The Scarlet Knights have never concluded a season under
Steve Pikiell with an average output above 70 points per game.
RU is shooting 44.7 percent from 3-point distance in conference games (38-of-85), which leads the Big Ten. They also defend the arc well, allowing conference foes to shoot just 30 percent (second in the league).
The Scarlet Knights have also taken great care of the ball in league play, with under 10 turnovers in each game. Their average of 8.0 turnovers per game in conference play is second best in the league. The six turnovers versus Purdue tied for the program's fewest ever in a Big Ten game.
Rutgers enters the contest having won 24 of its past 25 home games, including a 6-0 mark this season. This game is the middle of a stretch of five games against six ranked opponents. Overall, Rutgers' next three games and 10 of their next 12 Big Ten contests are against ranked foes.
Iowa enters the contest as a top-ten foe with a potent offense that averages 94.3 points per game (fourth nationally). The team leads the Big Ten in scoring offense, rebounds, assists, turnover margin and three-pointers.
They are led by the nation's leading scorer, as Luka Garza averages 27.7 points per game along with 9.6 rebounds and 2.0 blocks. Joe Wieskamp also contributes 15.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. Veteran Jordan Bohannon is coming off a 24-point performance in a win over No. 19 Northwestern Tuesday.
The Hawkeyes, 4th in the nation per KenPom, are 8-2 overall, taking recent losses to No. 1 Gonzaga and at Minnesota in overtime. Head Coach Fran McCaffery is in his 11th year at the helm of the program with over 450 career wins.
Series Record: Iowa leads 7-2
Last Meeting: No. 19 Iowa 85, No. 24 Rutgers 80 (Jan. 22, 2020)
Saturday marks the series' ninth meeting, with Iowa holding a 7-2 advantage. RU's last win came in Iowa City in 2018-19, a 14-point win (86-72) over the No. 22 Hawkeyes that represented the Scarlet Knights' greatest margin of victory on the road against a ranked foe in program history. The lone matchup last season was a battle between ranked squads, as No. 19 Iowa closed out No. 24 Rutgers late for an 85-80 home win.
Ron Harper Jr. has averaged 23.7 points in three career games versus the Hawkeyes, twice setting his then career-high in scoring against them.
A victory over Iowa on Saturday would represent:
- The second highest ranked win under head coach
Steve Pikiell, and second time Rutgers has defeated a top-10 team under coach Pikiell (previous: No. 9 Maryland (March 3, 2020).
- The ninth ranked win under head coach
Steve Pikiell and second ranked win of the season (previous: No. 13 Illinois)
- Rutgers 12th all-time victory over a top-10 ranked team.
- A 4-1 start to conference play would be RU's first time starting league play with four wins in the opening five games since starting Atlantic 10 Conference play with a 4-1 mark in 1994-95.
- The third win all-time against Iowa, with two of those wins coming when the Hawkeyes were ranked.
