The No. 4 Iowa women’s basketball team is set to take a cross-country trip to face off against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in Piscataway, New Jersey, on Jan. 5.

The Hawkeyes now sit at 14-1 overall and on an 11-game win streak after a nail-biting win over a persistent and scrappy Michigan State team on Jan. 2 inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.

That contest saw Caitlin Clark score 40 points including 8-of-20 from deep — that performance including a buzzer-beating three at the last millisecond of the fourth quarter to break the 73-73 tie, put the Hawkeyes up three, and win the contest, 76-73.

SHE DOES IT AGAIN ‼️@CaitlinClark22 wins the game at the last second for @IowaWBB.

💻: Peacock pic.twitter.com/skizq0YbOy

— Big Ten Women’s Basketball (@B1Gwbball) January 3, 2024

But the Scarlet Knights, on the other hand, are a lighter opponent than the Spartans and Minnesota Golden Gophers who the Hawkeyes beat before them — and are looking to snap a five-game losing streak in massive fashion against the ranked Hawkeyes.

Rutgers is 6-10 overall and 0-3 in Big Ten play thus far this season, coming off of a similarly tight game on Jan. 2 in which the Scarlet Knights fell to the Purdue Boilermakers by just one point.

But the Scarlet Knights do have experience against ranked opponents like the Hawkeyes.

Although they lost big to now-No. 13 Virginia Tech on Dec. 17 — who Iowa beat early in the season — the Scarlet Knights kept now-No. 14 Indiana within 10 in a 66-56 home loss on Dec. 9.

Rutgers is averaging 68.6 points per game this season while holding opponents to an average of 66.3, making for a scoring margin of just 2.3 in its advantage despite the losing record. 

And the Scarlet Knights are shooting just 69 percent from the free throw line, providing some leeway for the Hawkeyes to toy with a more physical and aggressive defensive scheme if Rutgers cannot quite win the game from the charity stripe. 

Such a scheme could succeed well against a Rutgers offense that is also averaging 18.3 turnovers per game and giving up an average of 19.1 points off of turnovers per game.

Only two Scarlet Knights are averaging double-digits in scoring in guard Kaylene Smikle with 16.1 points per game and forward Destiny Adams with 12.8.

While Smikle is shooting 40 percent from the field and 32 percent from deep, Adams is averaging a solid 52 percent from the field but almost never takes an outside shot.

Rutgers center Chyna Cornwell is shooting 54 percent from the field but sees much less volume than her teammates on offense as she is averaging just 8.7 points per game.

And forward Antonia Bates is the Scarlet Knights’ rim protector, amassing 23 blocks this season.

In fact, the Rutgers lineup is a tall one, Smikle standing at 6-foot-0 while Adams, Cornwell, and Bates each stand at 6-foot-3 — demanding Iowa forwards Hannah Stuelke and Sharon Goodman establish a strong post presence early in the contest but also opening the floor for threes from the Hawkeye guards, Clark included.

Up next

The Hawkeyes will be back on the road for a Jan. 10 contest with the Purdue Boilermakers in West Lafayette, Indiana.

The Boilermakers are 9-5 overall and 2-1 in Big Ten play this season — and an undefeated 8-0 at home, giving the Hawkeyes yet another test as conference competition rambles on.