Iowa @ Rutgers preview

Iowa at Rutgers

Last Meeting ( Jan 22, 2020 ) Rutgers 80, Iowa 85

Things didn't go well in Iowa's first true road game of the season. A visit to Rutgers, which even if its best player is unavailable, doesn't expect to go any easier.

The No. 10 Hawkeyes look to avoid dropping their first two Big Ten road contests when they face the 14th-ranked Scarlet Knights on Saturday in Piscataway, N.J. Rutgers is bidding to improve to 7-0 at home this season.

Iowa (8-2, 2-1 in Big Ten) has split its past four games since winning its first six contests of the season. The Hawkeyes' current .500 stretch included a 102-95 overtime loss at Minnesota on Christmas Day. They shot a season-low 37.2 percent while also yielding their most points of the campaign to the Golden Gophers.

The good news for Iowa, however, was that it rebounded from that defeat in its first true road game by posting an 87-72 win over No. 19 Northwestern at home on Tuesday. Jordan Bohannon knocked down six 3-pointers to finish with 24 points while CJ Fredrick (11.3 points per game) added 19 and star Luka Garza (27.7 points, 9.6 rebounds per game) scored 18 as the Hawkeyes shot 48.3 percent.

"We got a lot of guys that can contribute in different ways," Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said.

Bohannon is one of those players who has shown the ability to get hot. In his fifth season, Bohannon is averaging 8.6 points but coming off his second 24-point game of the season.

"It has to be a great feeling for him right now with how he played, because he knows he's capable of it," McCaffery said.

"He's a competitor, as fierce a competitor as I've ever been around. And, he challenged himself to do what he does, and it was fun to watch."

Bohannon also has averaged 18.3 points while going 16-of-32 from 3-point range in his past four games versus Rutgers. Bohannon scored a team-high 18 during a 71-69 win at Rutgers in Iowa's most recent trip to Piscataway on Feb. 16, 2019.

Iowa is 3-1 at Rutgers since the New Jersey school joined the Big Ten for the 2014-15 season. However, the Scarlet Knights (7-1, 3-1) have lost just once over their past 25 home games.

They improved to 6-0 at home this season following Tuesday's 81-76 win over Purdue. Montez Mathis (15.6 ppg) had a career-high 25 points and Geo Baker added 19 as Rutgers hit half of its 56 shots and went 11-of-21 from 3-point range to hold off a Purdue squad that made more than 49 percent of its field-goal attempts.

The win was perhaps more impressive considering the Scarlet Knights were minus leading scorer Ron Harper Jr. (23.4 ppg, 7.1 rpg), who sat out with an ankle injury. It's uncertain if he'll be available for this contest.

"Other guys have to step up and be ready to go," Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell told nj.com.

"Gutty, gritty win (Tuesday) for us ... We've been a little banged up physically ... We need everybody ... Get ready for this next stretch coming up."

Although Mathis is off to a strong start this season, he's totaled just 24 points in three career games versus Iowa. Harper, meanwhile, totaled 56 points on 19-of-27 shooting in his past two against the Hawkeyes.

--Field Level Media