Iowa @ Minnesota preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 9, 2019 ) Minnesota 52, Iowa 72

The Big Ten has yet to find a way to contain Luka Garza, but Iowa has returned the favor far too often on the other end of the floor - especially on the road. The 17th-ranked Hawkeyes hope to bounce back from yet another lackluster defensive performance away from home Sunday when they travel to Minnesota in search of a regular-season sweep.

Garza became the first Iowa player since Fred Brown in 1971 to reach the 20-point mark in 10 consecutive conference games with a 38-point performance Thursday, but Indiana minimized his impact by more than doubling its season average entering the contest with 11 3-pointers to send the Hawkeyes to a third straight double-digit loss on the road. Iowa has surrendered an average of 91.7 points during its road skid to a trio of teams (Maryland, Purdue and Indiana) that rank no higher than 129th in the country in scoring offense. The Golden Gophers' unrelenting schedule - ranked second toughest in Division I according to KenPom.com - continued to beat them down in last Saturday's 83-77 loss at No. 13 Penn State. Minnesota trailed by as many as 19 points with just under 14 minutes remaining, but sophomore Marcus Carr made things interesting down the stretch with a second-half offensive explosion.

TIME: 1 p.m. ET. TV: Fox Sports 1

ABOUT IOWA (17-8, 8-6 Big Ten): Garza (23.7 points, 9.8 rebounds, 1.8 blocks) is one of only two players nationally to average at least 23.5 points and nine rebounds, and he owns the two highest single-game point totals in the Big Ten this season (38 points against Indiana, 44 versus Michigan on Dec. 6). Connor McCaffery (6.0 points, 3.6 assists) is the only player in Division I with at least 90 assists and fewer than 25 turnovers, allowing him to lead the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.96). CJ Fredrick (10.7 points) exited Thursday's contest late in the first half with a sprained right ankle, and coach Fran McCaffery didn't sound overly optimistic about his status for Sunday when asked about his freshman guard following the game.

ABOUT MINNESOTA (12-11, 6-7): While center Daniel Oturu (20.1 points) hasn't quite been able to match Garza's gaudy offensive production, he ranks second in the Big Ten in scoring after erupting for a career-high 32 points Saturday and leads the conference in rebounds (11.5; sixth in Division I) as well as blocks (2.7; tied for 16th). Fellow sophomore Carr (15.7 points, 5.8 boards, 6.7 assists), who scored only two points in the first half, scored 18 of his team's 22 points during one stretch during a 55-point second half that eventually helped the Gophers close to within three points of Penn State. Gabe Kalscheur (11.7 points) has knocked down a conference-high 56 triples and is also tied for the league lead with 2.4 3-pointers per game.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Minnesota's 72-52 setback at Iowa on Dec. 9 was its most lopsided loss of the season.

2. Garza and sophomore G Joe Wieskamp (15.4) combine to average 39.1 points, making them the fifth-highest scoring duo in the country.

3. Six of the last seven meetings at Williams Arena have been decided by six points or fewer, and the seventh was a double-digit decision in a double-overtime affair.

PREDICTION: Minnesota 82, Iowa 74