Iowa-Minnesota breakdown

RECORDS

Iowa 19-5, 10-2 Big Ten; Minnesota 6-18, 0-12 Big Ten

TV/RADIO

6:36 p.m., ESPN (Cory Provus, Shon Morris)

600/800 AM (Gary Dolphin, Bobby Hansen)

LOCATION

Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City, Iowa (15,400)

LINE

Iowa by 21 1/2

SERIES

Minnesota leads 103-93 overall; Iowa leads 55-41 in Iowa City; teams' only meeting this year

PROFILE

Iowa is ranked 4th by AP and 5th by USA Today/Coaches; Minnesota is unranked

KEY MATCHUP

Iowa F Jarrod Uthoff vs. Minnesota forward Jordan Murphy. Uthoff is one of the nation's top players, averaging 18.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game. He scored 24 points in a loss to Indiana on Thursday and has been held under double figures just once this season. Murphy is one of the league's top freshmen. He's one of only four major-conference freshmen to average at least 10 points, seven rebounds and one block a game. He's started the last 13 for the Gophers.

'Murphy is as good as any freshman in our league,' Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said.

KEY STATISTICS

SCORING/OPP: Iowa 80.5/68.1; MINN 69.3/74.5

FG%/OPP FG%: Iowa 46.4/40.8; MINN 41.4/44.8

3PT%/OPP 3PT%: Iowa 39.7/29.7; MINN 31.2/36,5

FT%: Iowa 72.0: MINN 70.5

LIKELY STARTERS

Iowa: G Mike Gesell (6-2; 8.8 ppg, 6.0 apg, 3.4 rpg); G Anthony Clemmons (6-2; 9.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 3.7 apg); G Peter Jok (6-6; 15.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.4 spg); F Jarrod Uthoff (6-9; 18.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg; 2.8 bpg); C Adam Woodbury (7-1; 8.4 ppg, 8.0 rpg)

Minnesota: G Nate Mason (6-1; 13.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg 4.5 apg); F Dupree McBrayer (6-4; 5.2 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 2.3 apg); F Charles Buggs (6-9; 6.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg); F Jordan Murphy (6-6; 10.9 ppg, 7.8 rpg); C Bakary Konate (6-11; 4.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg)

KEY RESERVES

Iowa: F Dom Uhl (6-9; 7.0 ppg, 3.9 rpg); G Brady Ellingson (6-4; 3.1 ppg, 0.8 rpg); F Nicholas Baer (6-7; 4.9 ppg, 2.6 rpg); F Ahmad Wagner (6-5, 2.7 ppg, 2.3 rpg)

Minnesota: F Joey King (6-9; 11.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg); G Carlos Morris (6-5; 10.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg); G Kevin Dorsey (6-0; 6.5 ppg, 2.1 rpg)

WORTH WATCHING

Minnesota was the last team to beat Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, 64-59, more than a year ago (Feb. 12, 2015). The Hawkeyes edged Minnesota 77-75 last year in Minneapolis on a last-second Uthoff jumper. The teams split their 2014 meetings with the Gophers winning a shootout, 95-89, at Williams Arena late in the season. Iowa's recent losses to Minnesota bears more weight than the Gophers' current record on the Hawkeyes' preparation and intensity level entering this game.

'We got beat by them last year,' McCaffery said. 'It would be different if the last five years we killed them every time we played them. We lost to them (two of the last three) times we played them. These guys were a part of that. So it shouldn't be too hard to get them to understand who we're playing.'

BOTTOM LINE/PREDICTION

Minnesota's combination of Nate Mason and Jordan Murphy are challenging players to defend, but Iowa is stronger in every area. Among Big Ten teams, Minnesota is 12th in scoring, 12th in scoring defense, 12th in field-goal defense, 12th in 3-point defense, 12th in rebounding margin, 13th in field-goal percentage and 13th in 3-point percentage. Iowa is in the top half of the league in all but scoring defense and rebounding margin. Plus the one area where Minnesota is decent (fourth in turnover margin), Iowa ranks first.

Minnesota is Iowa's most-played rival and last year's result at Carver-Hawkeye won't help its cause. Maybe a team like Indiana or Maryland would overlook the Gophers. Iowa won't.

'I don't look at their record; I look at their players,' McCaffery said.

Minnesota struggles defending from the perimeter and no one other than forward Joey King is decent from 3-point range. When the Gophers were good under Tubby Smith a few years ago, they had ultra-quick guards who got plenty of steals and they were among the Big Ten's best rebounding teams. This squad has neither. Plus, you figure in the environment and Iowa's recent loss at Indiana, this one should be over by halftime.

Prediction: Iowa 91, Minnesota 65

l Comments: (319) 339-3169; scott.dochterman@thegazette.com