Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs Iowa Hawkeyes Prediction, 1/20/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs Iowa Hawkeyes

Date: Tuesday, January 20, 2026

Location: Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, IA

TV: ESPN+

The Iowa Hawkeyes (13-5) are welcoming the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (9-9) at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Tuesday.

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights faced Wisconsin and took a loss by a final of 96-87 in their last game. In the matter of personal fouls, the Scarlet Knights ended up finishing with 24 and Wisconsin recorded 19 personal fouls. They also buried 12 of their 30 tries from 3-point range. Wisconsin ended up going 89.7% at the charity stripe by converting 26 of 29 shots. On top of that, Wisconsin collected 23 rebounds (5 offensive, 18 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Wisconsin earned 20 dimes and had 6 steals in this contest. When it comes to the defense, Rutgers allowed their opponent to shoot 48.3% from the floor on 29 out of 60 shooting. They also distributed 17 assists in this game while forcing 9 turnovers and earning 4 steals. When talking about pulling down rebounds, they earned 30 with 10 of them being of the offensive variety. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Scarlet Knights made 15 of 19 shots for a rate of 78.9%. Rutgers walked away from the game having earned a 47.6% FG percentage (30 out of 63) and made 12 out of their 30 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Harun Zrno is someone who was important in this contest. He scored 21 points on 5 out of 10 shooting. He played for 28 mins but didn't pull down any boards. He shot 50.0% from the field and distributed 1 assist.

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Rutgers heads into this contest with a win-loss mark of 9-9 so far this season. They have an average of 70.7 points per outing (309th in the nation) while connecting on 40.8% from the floor. The Scarlet Knights are hitting 32.3% on 3-pointers (119 of 368) and 72.2% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Rutgers is collecting 36.0 boards per game and is sitting with 199 dimes for the season, which has them ranked 350th in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. They lose possession by turning the ball over 10.8 times per game and as a team they commit 17.4 personal fouls on a nightly basis.

On defense, the Scarlet Knights are forcing their opponents into 11.6 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 18.9 personal fouls. They surrender 36.7% on 3-pointers while they are 210th in D-1 in opponents points per game (74.4). The Scarlet Knights defensively are giving up a shooting percentage of 44.4% (475 of 1,070) and they relinquish 36.3 boards per contest as a squad. They are ranked 265th in the nation in giving up assists with 269 surrendered so far this season.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Iowa Hawkeyes went home victorious with a score of 74-57 when they faced Indiana. The Hawkeyes were able to collect 21 defensive rebounds and 5 offensive rebounds totaling 26 for the contest. They also turned it over 6 times, while earning 1 steal in the game. Indiana committed 18 personal fouls in this matchup which took the Hawkeyes to the free throw line for a total of 23 shots. They were able to make 21 of them for a percentage of 91.3%. Pertaining to shooting from downtown, Iowa made 7 of 19 tries (36.8%). In all, the Hawkeyes went 23 out of 46 from the floor which had them shooting 50.0%. The Hawkeyes allowed Indiana to make 20 out of their 52 attempts from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 38.5% for this game. They shot 25.0% from distance by going 6 of 24 and ended up going 11 of 15 at the free throw line (73.3%). In reference to attacking the glass, Iowa permitted Indiana to grab 22 overall (8 on the offensive glass).

Bennett Stirtz ended up being a factor for the Hawkeyes for the game. He made 7 of 13 in the matchup for a field goal percentage of 53.8%, and had 3 rebounds. He accumulated 27 points in his 38 mins on the hardwood and had 5 assists in this matchup.

Iowa has a record of 13-5 so far this year. On the offensive side of the ball, the Hawkeyes are connecting on 51.1% from the field, which ranks 13th in the country. Iowa has accumulated 1,412 points on the season (78.4 per game) and they average 30.9 rebounds per game. They are assisting teammates 16.6 times per contest (62nd in college) and they are losing possession via turnover 10.3 times per game. The Hawkeyes are responsible for committing 18.1 personal fouls per contest and they go 76.7% from the free throw line.

The Hawkeyes are ranked 5th in the country in points given up per game with 62.4. They are forcing 14.2 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 43.4% from the field (167th in D-1). The Iowa defense surrenders 30.6% on shots from behind the 3-point line (103 of 337) and their opponents are knocking down 70.2% of their foul shots. They have relinquished 10.9 assists and 28.1 boards per game, ranking them 26th and 1st in Division 1.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Iowa

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