Men’s Basketball Continues Road Trip at Iowa

Tuesday, January 20

Iowa City, Iowa

8:30 PM

Rutgers University

Iowa

Photo by: Ben Solomon

Jan 18 | Men's Basketball

Live Stats Watch on BTN

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers men's basketball heads from Madison to Iowa City, continuing a two-game road swing with a trip to Iowa, ranked No. 23 in the Coaches Poll and a top-20 program by KenPom. The game against the Hawkeyes comes at 8:30 PM Tuesday on BTN. Kevin Kugler and Shon Morris will have the call.

About Rutgers

The Scarlet Knights are 9-9 overall and 2-5 in Big Ten play. The team earned two overtime home wins in January, toppling Oregon and Northwestern.

Last time out, RU played at the Kohl Center, falling into an early hole against the Badgers, but battling back to cut their lead into single-digits before ultimately falling 96-87. Rutgers posted 58 points in the second half, with Harun Zrno leading the squad with 21 points on 5-of-9 shooting from three-point distance and 6-of-6 at the free throw line. RU shot 8-of-18 from three-point distance after half, and 51.3% from the field overall after the break, but were outlasted by the Badgers on Nick Boyd's 32 points, along with 19 from John Blackwell and 18 from Nolan Winter.

For the season, Tariq Francis leads the team with 15.3 points per game, shooting 87.8 percent from the free throw line and 44.3 percent from the field. Zrno now leads the team with 28 three-pointers made, and Emmanuel Ogbole has hauled in 65 offensive boards.

Rutgers'12 three-pointers made against the Badgers was a season-high and the third time making double-digit triples in a game this year (Notre Dame, Rider). RU made 12 three-pointers in a game once last season (at Nebraska), but haven't made more than 12 in a game since knocking down 14 triples against Drexel on November 11, 2018.

About Iowa

Following a Saturday win against Indiana (74-57), the Hawkeyes stand at13-4, 3-3 in Big Ten play), snapping a three-game losing streak. Iowa moved up to number 18 nationally in KenPom with the win.

Iowa opened the season with wins in 12 of the first 14 games, falling to the only top-40 Ken Pom teams they played in that stretch (Iowa State and Michigan State), while earning wins over UCLA, Maryland, Ole Miss and Xavier among Power 5 League schools. The team then took a slide, with losses to Minnesota, Illinois and Purdue.

Head coach Ben McCollum is in the first year at the helm of the program with a 396-61 record at Northwestern Missouri State, including four national championships, and a 31-4 mark and Round of 32 appearance in one year at Drake last year. He has a career winning percentage of 81% in 16+ seasons as a head coach -- the fifth-best mark all-time among men's basketball coaches.

Iowa shoots 51.1 percent as a team from the field, 13^th nationally and third in the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes also boast the top scoring defense in the Big Ten and fifth nationally at 62.4 ppg allowed per game.

Bennett Stirtz was named a Midseason All-American by Sporting News and is on the Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 for Player of the Year. Stirtz was one of 12 newcomers on the Hawkeyes, which included eight transfers (six coming with McCollum from Drake, plus newcomers from Kansas State and Robert Morris). He ranks in the top seven in the Big Ten in points, assists and steals, averaging 18.2 points per game.

Tavion Banks averaged 10.1 points as the MVC Sixth Man of the Year at Drake and is second on the team this year at 10.6 ppg. Alvaro Folgueiras was the Horizon League Player of the Year at Robert Morris, averaging 14.1 points and 9.1 rebounds to lead the team to the NCAA Tournament. He is on the Watch List of the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year. Cam Manyawu averaged 7.1 points last year at Drake, originally starting at Wyoming. Cooper Koch was the lone scholarship returnee for the Hawkeyes.

About the Series

Rutgers and Iowa are set to meet for the 18th time, with Iowa holding a 14-3 lead in the all-time series, which dates back to 1989. Rutgers has lost five straight to Iowa since their 48-46 win in Piscataway on Jan. 19, 2022, and are 3-8 in the last 11 games.

Last season, Iowa earned a 84-73 comeback victory at Jersey Mike's Arena. RU held a 9-point halftime lead, but the Hawkeyes outscored their hosts 51-31 after halftime. No Iowa players from last year's game are on this year's roster, while returning RU players saw just 37 minutes of action in that contest, split between Dylan Grant, Jamichael Davis and Bryce Dortch, with 22 of those for Grant.

Rutgers' is just 1-6 all-time at Carver Hawkeye Arena. The win came in an 86-72 win on March 2, 2019. The Scarlet Knights earned the ranked road win over then-No. 22 Iowa behind 27 points from Ron Harper Jr., who shot 9-of-13 from the field. RU shot 51% as a team and 48% from 3-point range (11-of-23) to earn the victory). The 14-point margin of victory was the Scarlet Knights greatest on the road against a ranked foe in program history and was the first ranked road win of Steve Pikiell's tenure as RU coach.

With a Win

First ranked win of the season
Fourth ranked road win under Steve Pikiell
Fifth ranked road win since 2002
Second lifetime ranked win over Iowa (both on road)

Up Next

After the game Rutgers will fly back to New Jersey for a two-game homestand against Indiana (Friday, Jan. 23) and No. 12 Michigan State (Tuesday, Jan. 27). Then, it's back on the road again for a West Coast swing to California schools USC and UCLA.