PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers men's basketball is back on the rugged road of the Big Ten this weekend. The Scarlet Knights play at the Iowa Hawkeyes this Saturday. The game, which starts at noon, will be nationally televised by Big Ten Network.
The Scarlet Knights fell to 8-5 overall and are on an 0-2 start to league play following a 76-72 loss at Ohio State on Wednesday night. On the road, RU showed fight late, battling back from a 17-point deficit behind 40 second-half points, cutting the score to one possession, but were unable to topple the Buckeyes.
Derek Simpson led the way for RU, as the sophomore posted a career-high tying 23 points, his most ever scored against a Big Ten team, also notching career-highs in field goals made (nine) and rebounds (eight). Simpson has scored in
double-figures in seven games and averaged 13.3 points in his last four games.
Noah Fernandes added 17 points, with the starting backcourt combining for 40 points on 16-of-29 shooting.
Aundre Hyatt had 10 rebounds. It was his second time in his RU career reaching double-digit rebounds, and second time in the past four games. It was his most ever rebounds in a Big Ten game. Rutgers' shot 12-of-14 (85.7%) at the free throw line, the second-best mark for the team this season.
Aundre Hyatt leads the team at 12.1 points per game, trailed by Cliff Omoruyi at 11.1 points per game.
Derek Simpson joins them in double-figure scoring as he averages exactly 10.0 points per game. Omoruyi paces the squad at 8.9 rebounds per game and with 43 blocks.
Rutgers stands at 10
th nationally in blocks per game, 12
th in turnover margin and 15
th (first in the Big Ten) in scoring defense. Omoruyi remains third nationally in blocks (3.31 bpg). Omoruyi is 30 points away from 36
th all-time at RU in scoring and 18 rebounds away from tying Gene Armstead for 7
th all-time at RU with 800 career boards.
Iowa enters the matchup at 8-6 overall and has dropped their first three Big Ten games of the year. The Hawkeyes own a win over the lone mutual opponent, Seton Hall, which is their lone win over a team ranked in the top-150 in KenPom's rankings. Last time out, Iowa fell to Wisconsin, 83-72. Freshman Owen Freeman had his second double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds, while Tony Perkins had a season-high 25 points. Iowa's six losses have all come to opponents in the top-60 in KenPom, with five of them in the top-30, and five of the six coming away from home.
Ben Krikke leads the team at 16.5 points per game (60.3% from the field, second in the Big Ten). He is followed by Perkins (14.1 ppg) and Payton Sandfort (13.5 points per game, third in the league at 38.0% from three-point distance). Sandfort leads the team with 6.8 rebounds per game. Head coach Fran McCaffery has been at the helm of Iowa for 14 years (with a 269-182 record) and has a career 520-359 record in 28 years as a collegiate head coach.
As a team, Iowa is fifth nationally in assist/turnover ratio (1.92) and ninth in both assists (19.2 per game) and fastbreak points (17.57). Their scoring offense is 11
th in the nation and top in the Big Ten at 86.7 points per game.
Rutgers and Iowa are meeting for the 15th time, with Iowa holding an 11-3 lead in the all-time series. Rutgers is 3-6 in the last eight meetings dating back to 2018, with Iowa winning the last three matchups. The teams last met at Carver-Hawkeye last Jan. 29, a 93-82 Hawkeyes win. RU's 23 assists in that game tied its most ever in a Big Ten game.
The team also notably claimed a 14-point road win over the No. 22 Hawkeyes in 2019 that still stands as the Scarlet Knights greatest margin of victory on the road against a ranked foe in program history. That is RU's lone win at Iowa since joining the Big Ten, with a 1-5 road mark at Iowa in league play.
A victory over Iowa would represent Rutgers' first Big Ten win of the year, second road win of the season, fourth ever win over Iowa and second ever win at Carver-Hawkeye Arena (first since 2019).
The Scarlet Knights return home to Jersey Mike's Arena for their second Big Ten home game on the year. The contest, against Indiana on January 9, will be just the second home game for RU in a 24-day span. The game will be broadcast on Peacock.
