Who’s Playing
Iowa Hawkeyes @ Northwestern Wildcats
Current Records: Iowa 17-12, Northwestern 20-8
How To Watch
What to Know
Northwestern is 1-9 against the Hawkeyes since February of 2018 but they’ll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Saturday. Both teams will face off in a Big Ten battle at 5:30 p.m. ET at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Northwestern will be looking to keep their eight-game home win streak alive.
On Wednesday, the Wildcats earned a 68-61 win over the Terrapins.
Northwestern can attribute much of their success to Nick Martinelli, who scored 27 points along with seven rebounds. As a matter of fact, that’s the most points Martinelli has scored all season. Brooks Barnhizer was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 14 points and ten rebounds.
Meanwhile, the oddsmakers set the bar high, but Iowa and the Nittany Lions didn’t disappoint and broke past the 162.5 point over/under on Tuesday. The Hawkeyes came out on top against the Nittany Lions by a score of 90-81. Winning is a bit easier when your three-point shooting is a whole 26.5% better than the opposition, as Iowa’s was.
Among those leading the charge was Payton Sandfort, who dropped a triple-double on 26 points, ten rebounds, and ten assists. It was the first time this season that he posted ten or more assists. The team also got some help courtesy of Josh Dix, who scored 20 points.
The Wildcats have been performing well recently as they’ve won five of their last six games, which provided a nice bump to their 20-8 record this season. As for the Hawkeyes, their victory bumped their record up to 17-12.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Northwestern haven’t given up the ball easily this season, having only averaged 9 turnovers per game. However, it’s not like Iowa struggles in that department as they’ve been averaging only 9.9 turnovers per game. Given these competing strengths, it’ll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Everything went Northwestern’s way against the Hawkeyes in their previous matchup back in February of 2023 as the Wildcats made off with a 80-60 win. Will Northwestern repeat their success, or do the Hawkeyes have a better game plan this time around? We’ll find out soon enough.
Series History
Iowa has won 9 out of their last 10 games against Northwestern.
- Feb 19, 2023 – Northwestern 80 vs. Iowa 60
- Jan 31, 2023 – Iowa 86 vs. Northwestern 70
- Mar 10, 2022 – Iowa 112 vs. Northwestern 76
- Feb 28, 2022 – Iowa 82 vs. Northwestern 61
- Jan 17, 2021 – Iowa 96 vs. Northwestern 73
- Dec 29, 2020 – Iowa 87 vs. Northwestern 72
- Jan 14, 2020 – Iowa 75 vs. Northwestern 62
- Feb 10, 2019 – Iowa 80 vs. Northwestern 79
- Jan 09, 2019 – Iowa 73 vs. Northwestern 63
- Feb 25, 2018 – Iowa 77 vs. Northwestern 70
This website aggregates and curates news articles, blog posts, and other content from a variety of external sources. While we aim to link back to the original source, this site does not own or claim ownership of any articles, posts, or other content indexed on this site. The views, opinions, and factual statements expressed in each piece of aggregated content belong solely to its respective author and publisher. We make no representations or warranties regarding the accuracy or completeness of aggregated content. Visitors are advised to verify facts and claims through the original source before reuse or redistribution.
