Iowa Basketball: Previewing Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
Iowa basketball and Rutgers tipoff at 6:00 p.m. on BTN this Tuesday
After spiraling out of control for a couple of weeks, Iowa basketball (12-10, 4-5 B10) got back on track with an 85-72 win over Ohio State on Saturday. The Hawkeyes now have to face the daunting task of a road game.
It comes against Rutgers (12-10, 1-8 B10), but Iowa has yet to win a true road this season. In fact, the Hawkeyes have lost by double-digits in their last two road games and are 0-4 on the road in Big Ten play compared to 4-1 at home in conference play.
It’s unknown if Peter Jok will return for Iowa after sitting out Saturday’s game with a bad back. Although, considering Rutgers lack of success in the Big Ten and how good Iowa looked against Ohio State, it might not be the worst idea to rest him another game.
That said, this is another must-win game for Iowa. The Hawkeyes are in the middle of the Big Ten standings and could make a significant move by going back to .500 in conference play.
The Hawkeyes beat Rutgers 68-62 earlier in the year. Since, the Hawkeyes are just 2-3 and Rutgers is 1-4. Rutgers’ win over Nebraska is just their second Big Ten win over the past season and a half. Plus, Rutgers almost beat Wisconsin on Saturday.
Rutgers led for most of the second half and 44-40 with 46 seconds left, but poor free-throwing shooting and defense down the stretch cost them. Wisconsin forced overtime and dominated the five minutes 16-9 to win 61-54. There are no such things as moral wins, but this is as close as they get for the worst team in the Big Ten.
Here’s a look back at the first meeting between these two teams and two players to watch.
Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
Iowa Hawkeyes 68, Rutgers Scarlet Knights 62
This was one of the few games Iowa didn’t get off to one of their characteristically slow starts. The Hawkeyes scored the first points but were never able to pull away in the first half, despite being at home and a huge favorite.
The two teams went into halftime tied at 32, and Rutgers came out firing in the second half. They took a quick lead and led by as many as eight points with 13:57 left.
Then, led by the surprise play of Dom Uhl, Iowa went on a 9-2 run to bring the game back to 51-50. The game continued to go back-and-forth until Iowa went on a 7-0 run down 55-52 to take a 59-55 lead with 2:55 left.
Dom Uhl’s defense and rebounding paired with Peter Jok‘s scoring paved the way for the Hawkeyes. Uhl stayed in the game down the stretch for Iowa, too, as he finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and five blocks in his best game of the season.
He, Jok and Jordan Bohannon capped the 68-62 win by going 5-of-6 at the line to end the game.
Despite shooting 2-of-10 from three, Peter Jok finished with team-highs of 18 points and 11 rebounds. Cordell Pemsl also chipped in 13 points while Bohannon added eight points and eight assists.
Iowa’s defense looked sharp for most of the game, as they held Rutgers to 38.4 percent shooting, but their poor three-point shooting allowed Rutgers to hang around. Iowa shot 6-of-20 from three, which hindered them from gaining momentum and pulling away.
The Hawkeyes looked like the better team for most of the game, but they can’t let Rutgers hang around in New Jersey on Tuesday because Rutgers already proved last time they won’t fold.
Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
Players To Watch
Deshawn Freeman: 11.1 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 47.8 FG%, 62.1 FT%
Deshawn Freeman recorded one of his 11 double-doubles against Iowa last time with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Evidently, the Hawkeyes had no answer for him down low, as he also recorded five steals. Freeman shot 9-of-13 from the field and had no resistance in the paint.
Iowa’s paint defense looked better against Ohio State, but consistency in that area has not been Iowa’s strong suit this year. Just two games ago, Illinois dominated Iowa in the paint and became the Achilles heel for them.
Freeman only had five points and four rebounds against Wisconsin last game, but he still made a lot of hustle plays for Rutgers. The Hawkeyes need to take him out of the game like they did with Trevor Thompson on Saturday, and force him to earn his points at the line instead of easy layups.
Freeman is only a 62.1 percent free-throw shooter and could ruin Rutgers’ momentum on offense if Iowa consistently fouls him. Either way, his biggest impact on the game could come on the glass, especially since Rutgers won the rebounding battle last time.
Corey Sanders: 12.6 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 3.4 APG, 1.5 SPG, 40.0 FG%
Corey Sanders is hard to stop when his shot is falling. He enters the game scoring at least 15 points in each of the past five games and double-digit points in the last eight games. In fact, Sanders is averaging an impressive 15.4 points per game during conference play but only shooting 39.6 percent from the field.
Sanders wants to get to the basket because he only shoots 24.3 percent from three. Iowa could benefit from playing a zone defense and forcing Sanders to take mid-range jumpers. If he’s able to penetrate the defense, Iowa’s frontcourt has to put a body in front of him and force him to make a tough layup or pass it.
Making Sanders uncomfortable is key since he’s still turnover prone at times. He has at least three turnovers in six of their past seven games and is averaging 2.6 per game on the year.
Iowa did that last time out as Sanders finished with 13 points, five assists and four turnovers. He also only shot 6-of-17 from the field. The Hawkeyes put pressure on him and forced someone else to beat them, but Sanders’ green light led to a lot of bad shots and poor offensive possessions for the Scarlet Knights.
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