Iowa @ Minnesota preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 21, 2018 ) Iowa 82, Minnesota 86

Iowa made a nice surge in the Big Ten earlier this month by feasting on a series of opponents who own losing records in conference play but took a punch to the gut its last time out. The 21st-ranked Hawkeyes hope to rebound from a disappointing loss with their sixth win in seven outings Sunday when they visit Minnesota.

Iowa held a four-point advantage over No. 5 Michigan State at halftime and managed to double its lead with 16 1/2 minutes remaining Thursday, but the Spartans took control with a 24-2 run en route to an 82-67 defeat of the Hawkeyes. "There were a lot of good things that happened for our team tonight, and you can't lose sight of that because you get beat. There was a stretch in the game where it got away from us. That's unfortunate. We had some clean looks," Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said. The Golden Gophers have struggled to find any degree of consistency, pairing a blowout loss at Illinois and a one-point home victory over Penn State with a win at Wisconsin and a two-point loss to No. 6 Michigan. Minnesota used a late 10-0 run Tuesday to pull even with the Wolverines before Michigan's Charles Matthews buried a 10-foot jumper as time expired to send the Gophers back to .500 in Big Ten play.

TV: 5 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1

ABOUT IOWA (16-4, 5-4 Big Ten): Sophomore Luka Garza (14.2 points) reached the 20-point plateau for the third straight contest Thursday with 20 points in 26 minutes and has scored at least 15 points in each of the last seven games in which he played more than 10 minutes. Tyler Cook (team-high marks of 16.6 points and 8.1 boards), who ranks eighth in the league in scoring and fourth in rebounding, is one of only two players in the conference averaging at least 16.5 points and eight boards. Isaiah Moss (9.6 points) tied a season low with two points on 1-of-7 shooting versus the Spartans but is averaging 22.3 points in three career games against Minnesota, including a career-high 32-point effort at Minnesota last season.

ABOUT MINNESOTA (14-5, 4-4): Leading scorer Amir Coffey (15.4 points) has been held to 11 points or fewer in each of his last three outings - shooting 9-of-35 from the field over that span - but is still tied for third in scoring during Big Ten action at 18.5 points. Jordan Murphy (14.6 points) is second in the nation in rebounding (Big Ten-best 12.1), tied for fifth in Division I with 12 double-doubles and averaging 17 points to go along with 16 rebounds over the last two contests. Dupree McBrayer (10.6 points) has failed to score 10 points in three straight after reaching double figures in six in a row, going 7-for-23 from the field over that stretch.

TIP-INS

1. Iowa ranks first in free-throw makes (403) and attempts (530), while Minnesota is 22nd in makes (336) and tied for eighth in attempts (499).

2. Murphy's 1,139 career rebounds rank third in Big Ten history, nine shy of tying Joe Barry Carroll for second.

3. McCaffery is one victory from tying Lute Olson (168) for second place on Iowa's all-time win chart.

PREDICTION: Iowa 85, Minnesota 80