Iowa-Rutgers breakdown

RECORDS

Iowa 14-3, 5-0 Big Ten; Rutgers 6-13, 0-5 Big Ten

TV

6:01 p.m. ESPNU (Adam Amin and Craig Robinson)

LOCATION

Rutgers Athletic Center, Piscataway, N.J. (8,000)

LINE

Iowa by 22 1/2

SERIES

Iowa leads all-time 2-0; Iowa beat Rutgers last year 81-47 in Iowa City; teams' only meeting this year

PROFILE

Iowa is ranked 9th by both AP and USA Today/Coaches poll; Rutgers is unranked

KEY MATCHUP

Iowa guard Anthony Clemmons vs. Rutgers guard Corey Sanders. Clemmons has developed into the Hawkeyes' top backcourt defender. Clemmons shut down Michigan State's Bryn Forbes twice and held his own against Michigan's backcourt array. Rutgers' best player is Sanders, a freshman, who averages 14.2 points, 3.1 assists, 1.5 steals and 2.9 rebounds a game. Sanders scored 23 points against Purdue. He ranks first in steals and 13th among Big Ten players in scoring.

KEY STATISTICS

SCORING/OPP: Iowa 81.1/67.3; RUT 67.4/77.4

FG%/OPP FG%: Iowa 46.8/40.4; RUT 41.5/45.1

3PT%/OPP 3PT%: Iowa 40.5/30.0; RUT 31.9/33.4

FT%: Iowa 73.2: RUT 67.9

LIKELY STARTERS

Iowa: G Mike Gesell (6-2; 9.5 ppg, 6.9 apg); G Anthony Clemmons (6-2; 7.8 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 3.6 apg); G Peter Jok (6-6; 13.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg); F Jarrod Uthoff (6-9; 18.6 ppg, 6.2 rpg; 3.2 bpg); C Adam Woodbury (7-1; 8.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg)

Rutgers: G Corey Sanders (6-2; 14.2 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 3.1 apg); G Omari Grier (6-4; 7.1 ppg, 1.4 rpg); G Bishop Daniels (6-3; 9.2 ppg, 37 rpg); F D.J. Foreman (6-8; 8.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg); C Greg Lewis (6-9; 4.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg)

KEY RESERVES

Iowa: G Brady Ellingson (6-4; 3.8 ppg, 0.9 rpg); F Dominique Uhl (6-9; 7.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg); F Nicholas Baer (6-7; 5.6 ppg, 3.2 rpg); F Ahmad Wagner (6-5, 2.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg)

Rutgers: G Mike Williams (6-2; 11.4 ppg, 4.2 rpg); G Justin Goode (6-2; 2.4 ppg, 1.3 ppg)

WORTH WATCHING

Rutgers' depth is significantly depleted. Four frontcourt players — Shaquiile Doorson, Ibrahima Diallo, Deshawn Freeman and Jonathan Laurent — will not play and have combined to miss 45 games this year. Rutgers Coach Eddie Jordan said Doorson (foot), Diallo (foot) and Freeman (knee) would not return this season. Laurent, a talented freshman, has missed the last four games after a concussion.

Iowa's depth has become a weapon with forward Dominique Uhl's surprising 3-point accuracy. Uhl has hit 9 of 11 3-pointers in Big Ten play and 18 of 33 overall. Walk-on forward Nicholas Baer has played solidly at nearly 16 minutes a game and 16 blocked shots.

BOTTOM LINE/PREDICTION

This is one of the season's biggest mismatches, and Rutgers' injuries make the differences even more stark. Iowa has won 11 consecutive Big Ten regular-season games, and Rutgers has lost 20 straight. In Big Ten 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). Iowa ranks first in scoring offense (77.8) and in the top two in eight major categories.

Iowa forward Jarrod Uthoff leads the Big Ten in scoring (18.6 ppg) and blocked shots (3.1) plus he's ranked in the top 10 in 3-point percentage and free-throw percentage and he's 11th in rebounding. Peter Jok is the reigning Big Ten player of the week after scoring 23 at Michigan State and 16 against Michigan.

Rutgers suffered a 50-point loss against Purdue on Monday, the school's worst home defeat. It's difficult to imagine the team playing any worse, especially after it was out-rebounded 63-23. But with a limited bench and facing a team with more explosive offensive weapons, it would take a horrific night for Iowa to keep Rutgers in the game.

Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery won't show up another opponent (Purdue Coach Matt Painter didn't do that, either), but he'll direct his game for a while. The perfect scenario for Iowa is to play its starters for about 20 minutes each, then sub the rest of the way. If Iowa could get freshmen Ahmad Wagner, Christian Williams, Andrew Fleming, Nicholas Baer and Brady Ellingson anywhere of 12-15 minutes of action plus win by at least 20, that's ideal for McCaffery.

IOWA 91, RUTGERS 66

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