Iowa @ Nebraska preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 10, 2019 ) Iowa 91, Nebraska 93

Iowa and Nebraska are both coming off losses and share the same record inside the conference, but those may be about the only commonalities between the two programs at the moment. The Hawkeyes hope to avoid back-to-back defeats for the first time this season when they try to end a three-game road losing streak in their series with the Cornhuskers.

Junior center Luka Garza is quietly making a strong early case for Big Ten Player of the Year honors with three 30-point performances - the last of which came after erupting for 34 points and 12 rebounds in Saturday's 89-86 loss to No. 20 Penn State. It was the latest in a line of strong showings against quality opponents for the Hawkeyes, who have already held their own against ranked foes such as No. 21 Texas Tech, No. 7 San Diego State and No. 19 Michigan. The same cannot be said for Nebraska, which has a losing record after 14 games for the first time since 1980-81 despite facing a schedule that has featured seven mid-majors and no Top 25 opponents up to this point. The Cornhuskers continued to struggle finding their way under first-year coach Fred Hoiberg on Friday, following up their largest win of the season (73-52 against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi) with a 17-point home loss to Rutgers.

TIME: 9 p.m. ET. TV: Big Ten Network

ABOUT IOWA (10-4, 1-2 Big Ten): Garza (conference-best 22.5 points, 10.1 rebounds), who is one of five Big Ten players to have posted multiple performances with 30 points and 10 boards in the same season since 2010-11, is averaging 33 points and 10 rebounds during league play. Joe Toussaint (7.0 points) was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week after managing a season-high 18 points versus the Nittany Lions, including 16 in the second half after fellow freshman guard CJ Fredrick (10.3) was ruled out early with a lower-body injury. The status of Frederick and Connor McCaffery (illness) is unknown, potentially leaving the Hawkeyes without three guards they were counting on prior to the season (Jordan Bohannon played only 10 games before undergoing season-ending hip surgery).

ABOUT NEBRASKA (6-8, 1-2): Sophomore guard Cam Mack (12.6 points, 6.5 assists, 1.5 steals) continues to be the one constant for the Cornhuskers, reaching double figures in seven straight contests overall and averaging a Big Ten-best 9.3 assists during conference action. Haanif Cheatham (team-high 13.3 points) was the only other Nebraska player to reach double figures versus the Scarlet Knights and is still shooting a career-best 52.3 percent from the field. Forward Yvan Ouedraogo (6.0 points) managed only four points and four boards against Rutgers after posting his first double-double in the previous game, but his team-leading 6.2 boards per game ranks fourth among Big Ten freshmen and is the most by a Cornhusker freshman since Aleks Maric (6.3) in 2005-06.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Garza is three rebounds away from becoming the 27th player in program history to record at least 1,000 points and 500 boards in his career.

2. Nebraska ranks 11th nationally and second among power conference schools in average possession length (15.1 seconds).

3. The Hawkeyes have taken the Cornhuskers to overtime twice during their three-game losing streak in Lincoln.

PREDICTION: Iowa 90, Nebraska 74