Somebody will walk out of Carver-Hawkeye Arena with its first Big Ten win of 2024 early this afternoon.
For both Iowa (8-6, 0-3 Big Ten) and Rutgers (8-5, 0-2 Big Ten), they hope that it could be a turning-point game.
The Hawkeyes enter today after dropping their third Big Ten game to start league play. After a nice start, Iowa couldn’t sustain that level of play in its 83-72 loss at Wisconsin.
The charity stripe was unkind to Iowa in the Kohl Center as the Badgers used 25 made free throws to help down the Hawkeyes.
“We have to play better than we’ve played in these first three games. We lost to three really good teams. We have to not foul as much and not turn it over as much. We’re doing some things that make it hard. We’re doing some good things. I’m proud of that. We’ve got to be able to focus on the good things we did tonight and correct some of the things that need to be corrected,” Iowa head men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery said.
The Hawkeyes can be encouraged by what they saw from senior guard Tony Perkins, though. He scored a season-high 25 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including a perfect 2-for-2 from 3-point range. The Indy native also grabbed four rebounds, came away with three steals and had a pair of assists.
Freshman forward Owen Freeman continues to impress as well. The Moline, Ill., product registered his second career double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Rutgers enters after a tough road loss at Ohio State. The Scarlet Knights essentially trailed for the entirety of their loss inside Value City Arena, but Rutgers pulled back within one point with 3:20 to play before falling, 76-72.
Sophomore guard Derek Simpson led the way for Rutgers in that contest, scoring 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting.
As Iowa looks to secure its first Big Ten win of the season, here’s how and where Hawkeye fans can watch, stream and listen to today’s game. Plus, a look at each team’s probable starters and game notes.