The Rutgers Scarlet Knights are riding high at the moment after knocking off AP Poll ranked #1 Purdue 65-64 on Monday and then followed the upset with a masterful defensive performance against Maryland in 64-50 beatdown on Thursday. Rutgers is currently sitting near the top of the Big Ten standings at 3-1, and are in position to stay near the top if they can beat the Iowa Hawkeyes who visit The RAC on Sunday, January 8th at 12 PM (BTN).
Iowa started off the season in solid form, and tallied several key victories over Seton Hall, Clemson, and Iowa State; however, the Hawkeyes dropped three in a row, including a humiliating loss to Eastern Illinois, before defeating #15 Indiana 91-89 on Thursday. With new renowned confidence after the decisive win over Indiana, Iowa is more dangerous than ever when they tip off against Rutgers.
As of January 6, Rutgers is sitting at 14 in the NET Rankings and are 13 in the KenPom Ratings. Iowa is 59 in the NET, and 50 in the KenPom. It's probably safe to say that Iowa would not be 59 in the NET if they had not lost to Eastern Illinois, and they would probably be somewhere in the top 30. Iowa is 2-3 against Q1 teams; 2-2 against Q2 teams; 1-0 against Q3 teams; and 4-1 against Q4 teams. Tomorrow, the Hawkeyes will be a Q2 opponent for the Scarlet Knights.
Iowa has a veteran squad and several key players that could cause trouble for Rutgers. Iowa runs a high up-tempo offense but gets very good play from their centers and forwards down low. The Hawkeyes have three players that average scoring in double figures, including Filip Rebraca (14.4 ppg), Kris Murray (21.3 ppg), and Tony Perkins (11.2 ppg). Murray is Iowa's leading rebounder at 9.8 rpg, while Rebraca is a close second to Murray with 8.5 rpg. Iowa has several players that shoot well from beyond the arc. Murray is averaging 38.2% from beyond the arc, and Connor McCaffery is averaging 37.5%. Both Murray and McCaffery take a bulk of the 3PT shots for the Hawkeyes. As a team, the Iowa Hawkeyes are shooting 32% from 3PT range. Iowa is rated 15th in offensive efficiency, according to KenPom. Here are other offensive categories Iowa ranks well in, according to NCAA Statistics:
- Scoring offense - 23rd
- FTs made per game - 21st
- Assists per game - 23rd
- Assist/Turnover ratio - 3rd
- Turnovers per game - 9th
- Offensive Rebounds per game - 41st
- Fastbreak points - 60th
- Scoring defense - 258th
- 3PT% defense - 175th
- Fouls per game - 26th
- Turnovers forced per game - 160th
- Steals per game - 181st
- FG% defense - 274th
All season long Rutgers has continued to play its relentless, suffocating defense and it's what allowed the Scarlet Knights to stifle Purdue and overwhelm Maryland. Despite a poor shooting performance on Thursday against Maryland, Rutgers still won in comfortable fashion. But Iowa is a different team, and boasts one of the best offenses in the nation. If Rutgers can continue to play elite defense and continue to work for good shots against a poor defensive team, the Scarlet Knights can walk away Sunday with a victory.
- Slowdown the tempo - Iowa is going to want to play this game as fast as they can and move the ball up and down the court quickly. It will be Rutgers job to slow this game down on both ends of the floor. Rutgers will have to continue to press Iowa and wreak havoc in their backcourt. Do not allow Tony Perkins and Kris Murray to move the ball quickly down the floor.
- Force turnovers - Rutgers has done a great job all year long in forcing turnovers. As I mentioned in the first key in slowing down the tempo and putting pressure on Iowa's backcourt, the Scarlet Knights need to be able to force turnovers and generate steals which can lead to fast break opportunities for Rutgers
- Front Rebraca - Filip Rebraca is one of Iowa's leading scorers, and the Iowa guards love feeding the ball to the big man. Cliff Omoruyi is going to be tested once again down low and he is going to have to front Rebraca the best he can.
- Crash the boards - Iowa is a very good rebounding team, and it's no wonder they did a great job against Indiana on Thursday working for second chance points. Rutgers is a decent rebounding team but if they want to avoid any second chance points for Iowa, Rutgers is going to have to crash the boards and grab as many rebounds as they can.
- Feed the beast - Iowa is not a great team defensively and Rutgers should be able to feed the ball down low to Cliff Omoruyi. The more touches Cliff is given near the basket, the more chances Rutgers can control the paint but also free up other shooters. Rebraca is not the best defender, and if Cliff can pound the ball to the hoop with physicality and athleticism, Rutgers should have an easy night.
- Get Cam Spencer going - In order for Rutgers to have a big night, Cam Spencer needs to get going. If Rutgers can free up space for him on the perimeter, Spencer can be lethal from the outside. Rutgers is 8-2 when Cam Spencer scores in double-digits.
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