IOWA CITY, Iowa – No. 25 Rutgers men's basketball (11-7, 7-7 Big Ten) battled on the road, but was topped by No. 15 Iowa (14-6, 8-5), 79-66 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Wednesday night. In a road contest against a Hawkeyes team that was ranked as high as No. 3 in the nation earlier this season, the Scarlet Knights played tough but were unable to come away with the victory. 

"Real tough game tonight," head coach Steve Pikiell said. "Give Iowa a ton of credit. They are a tough team, the best offensive team in the league and our defense wasn't up to where it needed to be today. We took too many threes. But credit to them for getting the win."

The Scarlet Knights had the advantage in points in the paint (30-22) and bench points (30-19). Geo Baker (11 points) and Jacob Young (10 points) reached double-digits for the visitors. 

Rutgers frustrated Luka Garza early (0-of-5 start from the field), but Iowa made three early triples for a 15-9 lead. Iowa used a run to take a 24-11 lead after 14 minutes of action. Utilizing their bench after early fouls, Rutgers got contributions from Clifford Omoruyi (six points) and Mamadou Doucoure (four points) in the opening frame. The bigs also helped hold the nation's top scorer to 2-of-10 shooting in the opening half. RU held Iowa to 31% shooting in the opening frame, but at halftime, the Hawkeyes led 34-25.
 
In the second half, Rutgers took a 45-31 lead, but Rutgers refused to relent. The Scarlet Knights used a 9-2 run to cut the deficit to six at 54-48. RU battled throughout the halfway, but was able to overcome the deficit. 

"We had some chances, but we got beat rebounding and at the free throw line," Pikiell explained. "That's life in this league, we have to keep grinding. I liked our effort a ton. You get behind against a really good offensive team like this... we have to play better, but we kept grinding. We could have made it interesting, we needed a couple of timely baskets. But we didn't seem to get those in this game."

Next up for the Scarlet Knights is a return home to The RAC for a 5 p.m. tip-off on Saturday against Northwestern. That game will air on BTN with Dave Revsine and Andy Katz on the call.

Postgame Notes

• Rutgers had 18 assists, its second most ever in a Big Ten game. RU's most assists ever in a Big Ten game (19) also came against Iowa, earlier this season. 
• Geo Baker had his eighth game this season with double-digit points (66^th of his career). It was his fifth straight game scoring in double-figures.
• Geo Baker had five assists and now has 354 in his career, moving past Damon Santiago for 7^th place all-time in RU history
• Baker's five assists were a season-high. 
• Jacob Young reached double-figures for the 14th time this season. 
• Caleb McConnell led the team with seven rebounds, posting a season-high on the boards. He also had a season-high four assists.
• Jaden Jones made his Rutgers debut.