Iowa Basketball Matchup First Look: Nebraska

The Iowa Hawkeyes picked up a huge win on Sunday as they took down then #4 Ohio State in Columbus. The win cleared the way for Iowa to lock down the #3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament and that all-coveted double bye. But before we get to the postseason, Iowa has more business to handle.

Up next is the first of a two-game home stand to round out the season. That’s a showdown with the Nebraska Cornhuskers, who have struggled all season and currently sit dead last in the conference standings. What’s more, Fred Hoiberg and company lost their leading scorer last week when Teddy Allen announced he was leaving the program and entering the transfer portal. In the season.

So naturally, the Huskers went out and absolutely spanked Rutgers in their first game without Allen and now come to Iowa City on a two-game winning streak. That matches their longest streak of the season and comes after losing 14 of their last 15. Iowa will need to ensure they don’t extend the streak to their longest of the season in order to continue down the path of a 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament and a 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

As we get ready for Thursday’s matchup, here’s your first look at how Iowa stacks up with Nebraska.

Matchup: Nebraska Cornhuskers (7-17, 3-14) at #5 Iowa Hawkeyes (18-7, 12-6)
When: Thursday, March 4th at 8:00 pm CT
Where: Carver-Hawkeye Arena - Iowa City, IA
TV: BTN
Video Streaming: FOXSportsGO.com
Radio: Hawkeye Radio Network (click to find your local station)
Audio Streaming: TuneIn Radio

Statistical Overview

Iowa

Points Per Game: 84.7
Points Allowed Per Game: 72.4
Rebounds Per Game: 40.4
Assists Per Game: 19.0
Blocks Per Game: 4.2
Steals Per Game: 5.5

Nebraska

Points Per Game: 70.0
Points Allowed Per Game: 73.0
Rebounds Per Game: 36.8
Assists Per Game: 13.3
Blocks Per Game: 3.4
Steals Per Game: 7.3

Statistical Leaders

Iowa

Scoring: Luka Garza 24.3 PPG
Rebounds: Luka Garza 8.4 RPG
Assists: Jordan Bohannon 4.4 APG

Nebraska

Scoring: Teddy Allen 16.5 PPG (Note Allen is no longer with the team; second highest scorer is Trey McGowens at 10.7 PPG)
Rebounds: Dalano Banton 6.1 RPG
Assists: Dalano Banton 4.1 APG

Advanced Stats

Adjusted Offense
IOWA 124.8 (2) NEBRASKA 102.0 (186)
Adjusted Defense
IOWA 95.3 (58) NEBRASKA 92.5 (33)
Adjusted Tempo
IOWA 69.9 (116) NEBRASKA 72.3 (40)
Adjusted Efficiency Margin
IOWA +29.55 (6) NEBRASKA +9.43 (90)

Projected Outcome

Final: Iowa 85, Nebraska 68
Total Possessions: 73
Win Likelihood Percentage: 94%

Note: Advanced stats are taken from KenPom.com. National rankings are provided following each metric. Adjusted offense and defense metrics measure the points scored per 100 possessions, adjusted for quality of opponent, location and when it was played (more recent gets more weighting). Adjusted tempo is defined as total possessions divided by minutes, adjusted for schedule considering the preferred pace of each team.