Coming off a 75-60 home win against Purdue last week, Northwestern attempts to win back to back conference games for the first time this season when it travels to Iowa today. Iowa dominated last month’s meeting in Evanston 70-50. The Hawkeyes outscored NU 25-15 in the first half and 45-35 in the second.
The Wildcats have played very well on the road this year with wins at Baylor, Penn State and Illinois.
Iowa’s led by double digits for the majority of the second half and used a balanced attack to control the game. Six Iowa players scored at least seven points.
The Hawkeyes come into the game having won four of their last five, with their only win over Big Ten cellar dweller Penn St. They lost 74-70 in double overtime to Wisconsin on Wednesday.
The Wildcats jumped out to a 12-0 lead against the Boilermakers and never looked back. Leading scorer Reggie Hearn scored 26 for Northwestern after struggling the previous two games in losses to Nebraska and Michigan.
Iowa is led by Sophomore forward Aaron White who leads the team in scoring and rebounding. He torched Northwestern for 17 points, six rebounds and four assists last month. White leads the team with 13.8 PPG and 6.0 RPG.
The Hawkeyes take a lot of three-point shots. Four players have made more than 20 shots from long range on the season. Their efficiency is poor at just 29.5 percent. They shoot just 42 percent from the floor overall.
Iowa is deep as nine players average double figures in minutes. Roy Devyn Marble is the only other Hawkeye that averages in double figures. Marble is shooting just 38,3 percent from the floor and 32.1 percent on threes.
Northwestern enters the game 13-10 overall and 4-6 in the BIg Ten with a game at Ohio State Thursday night. Iowa is 14-9 overall, but a game back at 3-7 in the Big Ten.
Tre’ Demps could be a wildcard for Northwestern. After reaching double figures in nine out of 11 games before the losses to Nebraska and Michigan, Demps rebounded with 12 against Purdue.
The game tips off at 3:30 CT on the Big Ten Network.
Comments