Well, at least Rutgers has some interesting statistics

IOWA CITY — Rutgers plans to stage a 'Black Out' in preparation for its men's basketball game against No. 9 Iowa on Thursday. Based on how the Scarlet Knights have played this year, that might be appropriate.

Rutgers (6-13, 0-6 Big Ten) has lost its six league games by an average of 27.3 points. Monday, the Scarlet Knights dropped a 107-57 home game to No. 22 Purdue. That 50-point pounding was the worst absorbed at home in school history, and it was the largest for the Boilermakers over any Big Ten opponent. Purdue out-rebounded Rutgers 63-23 and attempted 80 field goals. The Boilermakers' bench outscored Rutgers' 57-6 and committed just four turnovers, all of which happened after halftime.

'Our team is not giving up. I say it because it's the truth,' Rutgers Coach Eddie Jordan said after the loss. 'I'd be the first one to say it if they were giving up, believe me.'

The facts alone put Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery in a difficult spot when asked about the final score.

'You know, that was a unique situation in my opinion,' McCaffery said. 'Purdue with their incredible size was not a good match-up for Rutgers. I think Rutgers is much better than they showed (Monday) night. You look at the Wake Forest game (a one-point loss), you look at the Indiana game, I mean, that's more indicative, I think, of how Rutgers is, and we have to know and understand that.'

In league games, the Scarlet Knights are last in scoring (62.2), last in scoring defense (89.5), last in field-goal percentage (38.8) and last in field-goal defense (50.3). Only one Big Ten loss — the opener against Indiana — had a result within 14 points.

Rutgers has lost 20 consecutive Big Ten games and barring a major upset, it will finish the season with a 32-game losing streak in league play. That will surpass the longest modern-day Big Ten streak of futility held by Northwestern, which dropped 29 over three seasons from 1990-92. Chicago lost 60 straight games from 1939-46 before leaving the Big Ten. This is only Rutgers' second season in Big Ten play.

Making it worse for Rutgers is the opponent it faces. Iowa (14-3, 5-0) has won 11 consecutive Big Ten games dating to last season. The Hawkeyes butchered Rutgers 81-47 last year at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa has won eight of those 11 league games by double-digits, including by a combined 30 points in a sweep of Michigan State. Iowa rallied from a 19-point first-half deficit to beat Purdue 70-63, the team's only single-digit win in Big Ten play.

Rutgers does have one positive in its brief Big Ten tenure that has Iowa fans considering this a possible trap game. Last year, national runner-up and eventual Big Ten champion Wisconsin dropped a 67-62 decision at Rutgers. The Badgers were without national player of the year Frank Kaminsky and starting point guard Traevon Jackson, and Rutgers hit 54.3 percent from the floor in the season's most surprising upset.

Additionally, Iowa has soared to No. 9 in both national polls after its beating Michigan at home and Michigan State on the road for the first time in 23 years. It's Iowa's highest ranking in 14 years and another win gives the team its best league start in 29 years. But the Hawkeyes' veteran core doesn't expect any letup against any team, no matter the rankings nor their record.

'We can't get too caught up in (rankings),' Iowa point guard Mike Gesell said. 'It just means we'll have a bigger target on our backs. A lot of teams will be gunning for us to build their resumes.'

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