Rutgers @ Iowa preview

Rutgers at Iowa

Last Meeting ( Feb 16, 2019 ) Iowa 71, Rutgers 69

No. 21 Iowa looks to complete the season sweep of Rutgers when it hosts the Scarlet Knights on Saturday in its first game without suspended coach Fran McCaffery. McCaffery was handed a two-game ban for a profanity-laced outburst directed at one of the referees following the 90-70 loss to Ohio State on Tuesday, and the Hawkeyes hope to persevere through his absence by earning their 15th home win of the season on Senior Night.

Iowa won the first meeting with Rutgers 71-69 on Feb. 16 when Joe Wieskamp banked in a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer, and the Hawkeyes aim to continue their mastery of the Scarlet Knights by improving to 7-1 all-time in the rivalry. Rutgers ended a mini two-game losing skid with a 68-64 win against Minnesota on Sunday. The Scarlet Knights, who have already doubled their conference win total from last season, control their own destiny in their quest for a first-round bye in the Big Ten Tournament and hope to climb back to .500 by knocking off two ranked conference teams in the same season for the first time since 2007-08 when they were in the Big East. "This is big for us," Rutgers guard Geo Baker told reporters. "We're here to change the culture and this is a step in the right direction."

TV: 5 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network

ABOUT RUTGERS (13-14, 6-11 Big Ten): Freshman Montez Mathis led the team with 18 points in the win against Minnesota to finish in double figures for the 10th time in conference play. Eugene Omoruyi added 14 points and a game-high nine rebounds after missing the first meeting with the Golden Gophers - an 88-70 loss - on Jan. 12 with a knee injury while Baker scored 13 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 57 seconds left to play. "We played tough and if we can do that every night we'll be a very dangerous team," Omoruyi told reporters. "We're building something here and we have to keep this going."

ABOUT IOWA (21-7, 10-7): Wieskamp went 5-of-6 from 3-point land en route to 17 points and 10 rebounds against Ohio State to record his sixth double-double while moving within one 3-point field goal of reaching 50 for the season, which would be the third most by a freshman in program history. Junior forward Tyler Cook added 12 points and 10 rebounds in the loss to the Buckeyes to register his sixth double-double of the season and the 15th of his career. McCaffery received a technical foul late in the second half before berating an official after the game and was fined $10,000 on top of his two-game suspension for violating the Big Ten's sportsmanship policy.

TIP-INS

1. Iowa leads the Big Ten in free-throw percentage (75.2).

2. Hawkeyes F Luka Garza has been limited to seven points or less five times in the last six games after averaging 20.3 over his previous six outings.

3. Rutgers tops the conference in offensive rebounds per game (12.8).

PREDICTION: Iowa 79, Rutgers 76