#21 IOWA HAWKEYES 18-7 (12-4) at RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS 9-18 (2-13)

INFO: 7:00pm on the Big Ten Network

The Iowa Women’s Basketball team travels to Piscataway for what could be a tricky trip ahead of the looming matchup against #6 Michigan. While the Scarlet Knights are just 2-13 in Big Ten play, they have played opponents close enough to say that Iowa needs to be locked in to get a victory. Rutgers lost both matchups to Ohio State, but kept both games in the single-digits and when Maryland traveled to New Jersey, they held just an eight-point lead after three quarters before winning by 14. They recently beat Minnesota 79-61 in Minneapolis, so do not expect them to lay down and let Iowa roll by 30 like you would expect from a bottom of the standings squad.

WHAT’S AT STAKE

- Wins vs Rutgers/Michigan gives Iowa at least a share of the Big Ten Title

- Last Big Ten Title was 2007-08 – Shared with Ohio State

- #5 Seed in the NCAA Bracket Projection – Top Four Seeds Host

- Last hosted in 2019 (defeated 15 Mercer and 7 Missouri)

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT THE SCARLET KNIGHTS

“That’s been their calling card forever…Their philosophy has always been, defense, defense, defense. They hang their hat on defense.” – Lisa Bluder

“These are women that are committed to playing defense. That means ball pressure. That means denying one pass away. That means, at times, fronting the post. That means really high hard shows on ball screens, where they almost trap.” – Lisa Bluder

“The environment is a little bit different there. It’s a little dark in there. It’s old school…It’s tough traveling out there. You get to the airport and it’s an hour to get to the hotel. There’s a lot of weird factors to playing out there (in Piscataway).” – Lisa Bluder

“Rutgers has challenged a lot of teams. I know they’ve only won two Big Ten games, but they’ve given a lot of teams a really good game…One of those games that you can’t really just go in and think you are going to win it.” – Caitlin Clark

“A team that is super aggressive and really takes pride in their defense…We are really going to have to take care of the ball. I don’t think we can go in there and be complacent.” – Caitlin Clark

“I think we just have to take everything one step at a time…We talk about going 1-0 every game. It doesn’t matter who our opponent is, and I think just making sure that we are hitting our stride at the end of the season. That includes beating Rutgers.” – McKenna Warnock

THE NUMBERS – OFFENSE

RUTGERS: 57.0 points (307th), 40.2% FG (173rd) , 29.3% 3pt (236th), 37.0 rebounds (160th), 19.1 TO (314th)

IOWA: 84.6 points (3rd), 49.8% FG (1st), 34.7% 3pt (42nd), 39.0 rebounds (80th), 15.2 TO (121st)

THE NUMBERS – DEFENSE

RUTGERS: 59.3 points (86th), 38.6% FG (117th), 30.3% 3pt (157th) , +6.0 rebound margin (42nd), 15.6 TO (212th)

IOWA: 71.0 points (307th), 39.9% FG (178th), 31.6% 3pt (236th), +4.6 rebound margin (74th), 14.6 TO (268th)

PROJECTED STARTERS

RUTGERS

G Lasha Petree – 8.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 37.8% 3pt, 81.5% FT

G Jailyn Mason – 3.3 points, 1.7 rebounds, 31.1% FG

G Sayawni Lassiter – 3.9 points, 2.3 rebounds, 29.2% FG

F Osh Brown – 10.4 points, 9.1 rebounds, 49.8% FG

F Tyia Singleton – 5.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 45.4% FG

BENCH

G Shug Dickson – 8.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 37.8% 3pt

G Awa Sidibe – 4.1 points, 2.5 rebounds, 48.9% FG

IOWA

PG Caitlin Clark – 26.9 points, 8.0 rebounds, 8.2 assists, 44.8% FG, 29.9% 3pt

G Gabbie Marshall – 7.0 points, 42.7% 3pt, Leads team in steals

G Kate Martin – 7.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists

F McKenna Warnock – 12.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, 44.9% 3pt, 55.3% FG

C Monika Czinano – 20.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 65.5% FG

FINAL THOUGHTS

Rutgers has won two of their last three games and are not your run-of-the-mill 2-13 in conference opponent. The Scarlet Knights will be physical on defense and are ranked second in points allowed per game in Big Ten play. The Hawkeyes have struggled against teams that play physical games, including Ohio State and Maryland. However, getting McKenna Warnock back in the lineup has helped with that physical factor.

“I think having McKenna back helps that. You know we didn’t have her at full strength for the Ohio State game and we didn’t have her at all for the Maryland game. I think that does help because she does have that physical presence on the floor,” said Lisa Bluder. “She can guard any position…She brings a certain amount of toughness to our team as well and level-headedness.”

Caitlin Clark knows that the physical play will not stop on the road against the Scarlet Knights and that it will likely ramp up a bit with their reputation for physical defensive play. Caitlin talked about handling the physical play this season and the fact that referees cannot call fouls on every possession.

“I think it is because it happens so often. There would be no flow to the game if they blew their whistle that much,” said Clark. “I think that’s the route a lot of teams have taken this year, is just being super physical with me. I think I’ve done a better job of not letting it fluster me…It’s just a tactic a lot of teams have used.”

It is senior night for Rutgers, so there will be that added juice for the home team. There is no doubt that they will come out, be physical and give the Hawkeyes their best shot at upsetting them. However, with the return of Warnock to the lineup, this Iowa team has looked different, and they have been excellent on the road this season. Monika Czinano has also been on another level the last two games, scoring 53 points on 22/30 (73.3%) shooting and grabbing 16 rebounds, which is her third highest two-game stretch of rebounds this season.

Lisa Bluder’s squad will go into the game ready to go, knowing that they have to get past Rutgers before they can think about the implications of the Michigan game Sunday. I am not known for my score predictions, but I’ll say the Hawkeyes pull away from a close halftime score. Iowa 75 Rutgers 62