Iowa WBB Tip Time Preview - Rutgers

RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS (10-15) (4-9) at #5 IOWA HAWKEYES (19-5) (11-2)

TIME: 2:00pm

TV: FS1 – Sloane Martin and Christy Winters-Scott

SERIES: 15th Meeting – Iowa leads the series 11-3 (Iowa has won 11 of 12)

THE NUMBERS

OFFENSE: IOWA: 87.6 PPG, 50.4% FG, 36.0% 3PT, 14.2 TO RUTGERS: 64.6 PPG, 40.8% FG, 33.1% 3PT, 20.1 TO

DEFENSE: IOWA: 71.3 PPG, 39.9% FG, 29.5% 3PT, 14.6 TO, +6.7 REB MARGIN RUTGERS: 73.0 PPG, 42.0% FG, 33.8% 3PT, 14.1 TO, +1.1 REB MARGIN

PROJECTED LINEUPS

IOWA HAWKEYES

6’0 PG Caitlin Clark – 27.9 PPG, 7.8 REB, 8.3 AST, 36.8% 3PT

5’9 G Gabbie Marshall – 4.3 PPG, 30.9% FG

6’0 G Kate Martin – 6.9 PPG, 4.4 REB, 3.2 AST, 44.5% FG

6’1 F McKenna Warnock – 11.5 PPG, 6.1 REB, 44.0% 3PT

6’3 C Monika Czinano – 17.8 PPG, 6.4 REB, 66.9% FG

RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS

5’11 G Awa Sidibe – 9.9 PPG, 5.3 REB, 3.4 AST, 44.5% FG

6’0 G Kaylene Smikle – 17.0 PPG, 4.3 REB, 36.7% 3PT

6’0 G Erica Lafayette – 6.3 PPG, 34.3% FG

6’3 F Chyna Cornwell – 9.4 PPG, 8.6 REB, 53.4% FG

6’2 C Kassondra Brown – 8.3 PPG, 6.0 REB, 48.1% FG

IOWA PLAYER TO WATCH: C Monika Czinano

Coming off a really tough matchup against Mackenzie Holmes, Monika Czinano is going to be looking for a bounce back performance against the Scarlet Knights. Against Indiana, Czinano was held to just six points on six shot attempts. Both of those were season lows in Big Ten play.

She is a huge part of the Iowa offense and the game changes when she is not able to score. The Hawkeyes are 1-3 when Monika scores less than ten points this season. Look for her to get the ball early and often today.

RUTGERS PLAYER TO WATCH: G Kaylene Smikle

True freshman Kaylene Smikle has been a bright spot for Rutgers this season. She leads the team in points, three-pointers and steals, including 11 games with 20+ points. Smikle averages 13.9 shot attempts per game and also shoots 36.7% from three-point range.

She is the Scarlet Knights main scoring threat and has led the team in scoring in 14 of 25 games.

THE PICK

The Scarlet Knights are struggling in their first year with new head coach Coquese Washington. They come into the game with a 10-15 record and a 4-9 record in Big Ten play. Rutgers has a win over Nebraska, but is 0-10 against Quad 1 teams, with a 23.0 average margin of defeat.

True freshman Kaylene Smikle was already mentioned for her scoring ability, but the rest of the starting lineup has struggled to help her out. The Scarlet Knights rank 189th in scoring offense with 64.4 points per game, which is a tough matchup against the top ranked Iowa offense.

Awa Sidibe and Kassondra Brown are the other two guards in the starting lineup. Sidibe has been a solid secondary scorer for Rutgers this year. She has scored in double figures 15 times and is shooting 47.6% from inside the three-point line. Her Big Ten high in points was 16 last time out against Purdue. Kassondra Brown transferred in from Saint Peter’s and is fourth on the team in scoring and second in rebounding. She is shooting nearly 50% from the floor for the season and has nine games in double figures.

Erica Lafayette rounds out the starting five averaging just 6.3 points per game. Over the last three games, Lafayette has struggled to get going offensively with just six points on 12 shot attempts.

In the post, 6’3 C Chyna Cornwell is nearly averaging a double-double per game. She is scoring 9.4 points and grabbing 8.6 rebounds per game. Cornwell is a threat on the offensive glass, averaging 3.2 offensive rebounds per game. She has 12 games with 4+ offensive rebounds. Her best performance in Big Ten play was 15 points and 13 rebounds against Maryland.

Off the bench, Rutgers uses three players, but they are not a real deep team. Just eight players have played in a game and all of them are in the normal rotation. G Kai Carter is the highest scorer off the bench and she averages 28.7 minutes per game. She has stepped up her game lately, with five games in double figures in the last eight.

G Abby Streeter and true freshman F Antonia Bates each average 19 minutes per game. They combine to take just 6.6 shots per game. Streeter is second on the team in three-point shooting with 26 made three pointers.

Here are some important stats to know for today’s matchup…

2pt FG: Iowa 2nd (58.9%) Rutgers 225th (43.4%)

3pt FG: Iowa 26th (36.0%) Rutgers 94th (33.1%)

3pt Rate: Iowa 86th (37.1%) Rutgers 323rd (25.3%)

TO: Iowa 82nd (14.2) Rutgers 348th (20.1)

FORCED TO: Iowa 265th (14.6) Rutgers 298th (14.1)

Off Pts/100 Possessions: Iowa 8th (112.2) Rutgers 251st (88.3)

Def Pts/100 Possessions: Iowa 134th (91.1) Rutgers 296th (100.3)

Possessions Per Gm: Iowa 8th (77.3) Rutgers 53rd (72.8)

Off Rebounding: Rutgers 103rd (33.5%) Iowa 284th (27.0%)

Def Rebounding: Iowa 6th (76.9%) Rutgers 269th (66.4%)

The Hawkeyes are coming off a hard fought loss on the road against Indiana. They will be locked in and looking for a bounce back game. Rutgers has struggled this season against top level teams and Iowa should be able take care off business fairly easily today. WarrenNolan.com projects Iowa to win 88-59. IOWA 95 RUTGERS 65