Iowa vs Minnesota: 2020-21 college basketball game preview, TV schedule
In a game that could get into the ’80s, Iowa takes on Minnesota in Christmas Day action.
TV schedule: Friday, December, 25, 8:00 pm ET. Big Ten Network
Arena: Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota
It’s been quite a week for the Iowa Hawkeyes. On Saturday, they fought hard against the No. 1 Gonzaga Bulldogs but fell by 11 points for their first loss of the season. They didn’t have too much time to let the loss linger, as they started Big Ten play on Tuesday against the Purdue Boilermakers.
It was doubtful that the Hawkeyes were overlooking Purdue. The Boilermakers won both of last season’s meetings, including a 104-68 unexpected thumping. That didn’t happen this time around, with Iowa winning a low-scoring battle of 70-55. Luka Garza had another great game of 22 points and nine rebounds, while Joe Wieskamp chipped in with 17 and 9. As a team, Iowa made 12 three-pointers, half of its total from the field overall.
The Hawkeyes hope to stay unbeaten in the Big Ten after facing Minnesota on Christmas. The 6-1 Gophers rebounded from their 27-point beatdown from Illinois a week ago to beat Saint Louis for their first meaningful win of the season. The final score was 90-82, led by 32 points and seven assists from All-American caliber guard Marcus Carr. He’s averaging 24 ppg and 6.0 apg so far and looks to be the best player not named Luka Garza in the Big Ten right now.
What Minnesota needs is the supporting cast to continue stepping up on a consistent basis. Four other players scored in double figures in the Saint Louis win, including sophomore forward Isaiah Ihnen producing a 10 and 10 double-double off the bench. This is a talented roster besides Carr and while the Illinois blowout was concerning, the Gophers have NCAA Tournament potential.
The next couple of weeks will show it though, with six straight games against ranked Big Ten opponents that includes two with Iowa and Michigan. For Iowa, their conference schedule is much more strong at the end but if they want to win the Big Ten regular-season title, they’ll need to win road battles against mid-tier foes such as Minnesota.
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The star matchup in this game will be between Garza and Carr and if one of them has the clear upper hand, their team could very well win this. But if both go for nearly 30 points in what should be a high-scoring battle, the best of the respective supporting cast could decide this one. The more consistent has been the top-5 Hawkeyes, which is who I’ll be going with.
Prediction: Iowa 90 – Minnesota 76