Northwestern @ Iowa preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 9, 2019 ) Iowa 73, Northwestern 63

Tyler Cook and Luka Garza tend to grab most of the attention when Iowa is rolling, but the contributions of guards Joe Wieskamp and Jordan Bohannon have been invaluable in recent road games. The 20th-ranked Hawkeyes target their eighth win in the last 10 outings Sunday when they hit the road in search of a regular-season sweep of Northwestern.

Cook (16.4 points, 8.0 rebounds) is one of two players in the Big Ten averaging at least 16 points and eight boards while Garza (14.5 points) recently wrapped a seven-game stretch in which he averaged 19.7 points. However, both were overshadowed in Thursday's 77-72 victory at Indiana by Bohannon, who tied a season high with 25 points, including the team's final 11 points over the last 1 1/2 minutes to seal the win. "We really wanted to get it to him, we wanted to get him open. … We were trying to milk the clock with the lead and he just stepped up and made some," Hawkeyes coach Fran McCaffery said. Wieskamp was nearly as good nearly one month earlier at Northwestern, leading Iowa to its first true road victory of the season with 19 points while Cook sat out with a sore knee. The Wildcats are 12th in the conference and in the midst of a three-game skid in which they have been unable to top 52 points, including Monday's home loss to Penn State that gave the Nittany Lions their first league victory.

TV: 6:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network

ABOUT NORTHWESTERN (12-10, 3-8 Big Ten): Vic Law (15.0 points, 6.8 rebounds) ranks 18th on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,307 points, but the senior forward is averaging only 8.6 points over his last nine outings. "We need Vic to be aggressive. Guys are struggling. We're scoring in the low 50s. … Early in the year, before he got a little banged up with his knee, he was close to a 20 (point-per-game) scorer. ... We need him to stay aggressive and keep his confidence up," coach Chris Collins said. Dererk Pardon (14.0 points), who ranks fifth in the conference in field-goal percentage (59.1) and eighth in rebounds (7.8), has scored at least 17 points in four of six games since posting a season-low six against Iowa.

ABOUT IOWA (18-5, 7-5): Garza's scoring spree came to an abrupt halt versus the Hoosiers when the 6-11 sophomore managed only four points - tying a season low - before fouling out in only 13 minutes of action. Wieskamp (11.5 points, 4.9 rebounds) has been named Big Ten Freshman of the Week in two of the last three weeks and is off to a good start in making it three of four after going 4-of-6 beyond the arc Thursday, lifting his 3-point percentage to 44.4 (tied for fourth in the conference with two others, including teammate Isaiah Moss). Bohannon has also been hot from 3-point range lately, connecting at a 45.7-percent rate over his last 13 outings after shooting 29 percent beyond the arc over his first nine games.

TIP-INS

1. Iowa has won five straight at home against the Wildcats and is 28-4 all-time against them at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

2. Law is shooting 23 percent from the field during his nine-game slump, failing to reach his season scoring average every time.

3. Thursday's victory gave McCaffery his 169th victory with the Hawkeyes, moving him past Lute Olson for sole possession of second place on the school's all-time list.

PREDICTION: Iowa 77, Northwestern 60