Rutgers Falls Short In Turnover-Filled Battle With Iowa

On a chilly January night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights men’s basketball team found themselves once again searching for answers on the road. Facing an Iowa squad boasting a formidable home record—just one defeat all season—the Scarlet Knights put up a valiant fight but ultimately fell short, dropping a hard-fought 68-62 contest on January 20, 2026. The loss leaves Rutgers with a 9-10 overall record and a 2-6 mark in the ever-tough Big Ten Conference, as the road woes continue to haunt head coach Steve Pikiell’s squad.

Rutgers entered the game with a sense of cautious optimism, sticking with the same starting lineup for the third consecutive game: Harun Zrno, Jamichael Davis, Darren Buchanan, Bryce Dortch, and Kaden Powers. Notably, Dylan Grant remained out of the starting five, a decision that has become a trend in recent matchups. The Scarlet Knights wasted no time getting on the board, as Powers opened the scoring with a three-pointer and Buchanan quickly added a bucket, giving Rutgers a 5-0 lead within the first two minutes. But as the early adrenaline wore off, both teams settled into a defensive struggle, with the game knotted at 5-5 after five minutes and points hard to come by throughout the opening stretch.

Turnovers quickly became the Scarlet Knights’ Achilles’ heel. Rutgers committed 11 turnovers in the first 15 minutes of the opening half, a stat that would balloon to 19 by the game’s end. Those miscues directly translated into 19 points for the Hawkeyes, a margin that proved insurmountable. “We talked about the turnovers, that’s what they do (force them). We’ve had games where we’ve had six turnovers in 45 minutes and tonight we had 19. Tough to go on the road and turn the ball over (like that). Our guys fought. They played hard. I thought our defense was good enough to win. But you can’t turn the ball over,” Pikiell lamented in his postgame interview with Jerry Recco on WFAN.

Despite the sloppy ball handling, Rutgers showed flashes of grit and resilience. Tariq Francis emerged as an early catalyst, notching nine points in the first half and finishing with 15 off the bench. The Scarlet Knights found themselves holding a five-point lead with about nine minutes remaining in the first half, but Iowa responded with a 15-6 run over the final eight minutes to head into the locker room up 31-24. The Hawkeyes’ Bennett Stirtz proved a thorn in Rutgers’ side, pouring in 20 points and dishing out five assists. “He’s a really good player. He got in our lane a little bit. He started hitting some midrange stuff. He’s an assist guy too so he was getting (Tate) Sage and those guys the ball too when they were open,” Pikiell said of Stirtz’s performance.

Coming out of halftime, the Scarlet Knights showed renewed energy and focus. Powers again sparked the offense with a three-pointer, and Rutgers rattled off a 7-0 run to tie the game at 31. Emmanuel Ogbole punctuated the surge with a powerful dunk to give Rutgers the lead—a lead that would change hands multiple times over the next ten minutes. Ogbole finished the night with a strong stat line: 8 points, 10 rebounds, and just two fouls, providing a steady interior presence. Meanwhile, Buchanan continued his stellar play, notching 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting (including 1-of-2 from deep) and going 6-of-7 from the free-throw line. Four of those free throws came in the opening two minutes of the second half, fueling a 9-0 Rutgers run that erased the halftime deficit and momentarily put the Scarlet Knights in the driver’s seat.

Yet, as has so often been the case this season, Rutgers struggled to maintain momentum down the stretch. Iowa attempted to pull away several times, but the Scarlet Knights refused to go quietly. With just over three minutes remaining, the Hawkeyes led by six. Lino Mark, who had been quiet in the scoring column until the 15:09 mark of the second half, came up big in crunch time—making a layup, drawing a foul, and converting the three-point play to cut the deficit to three. Mark’s defensive tenacity was also on display, as he collected three steals and made a critical block late in the game, finishing with 7 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists.

Francis, ever the spark plug off the bench, hit two clutch free throws with 22.4 seconds left to bring Rutgers within two. But Iowa’s Tate Sage answered with a pair of foul shots to push the lead back to four, effectively sealing the win for the Hawkeyes. Francis would foul out with just 5.7 seconds remaining, and Rutgers’ late rally fell short.

Statistically, the game was a mixed bag for the Scarlet Knights. They shot 43% from the field but struggled mightily from beyond the arc, connecting on just 5-of-18 attempts (27.8%), including a paltry 1-of-7 in the second half. Free-throw shooting was a bright spot, as Rutgers hit 79% of their attempts (19 points from the line). The Knights also dominated the glass, out-rebounding Iowa 31-24 and grabbing two more offensive rebounds. However, this advantage failed to translate into second-chance points, as both teams managed just five apiece in that category. Perhaps most frustrating was Rutgers’ inability to capitalize on Iowa’s 12 turnovers, converting them into just 11 points.

Several individual performances stood out in the loss. Jamichael Davis contributed across the board with 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, and 1 steal. Dylan Grant added 6 points and 3 rebounds off the bench, while Harun Zrno and Bryce Dortch chipped in defensively. Kaden Powers, in addition to his early scoring, tallied 8 points, 1 rebound, and 3 assists. Chris Nwuli and Lino Mark provided energy in key moments, with Mark’s late-game heroics nearly sparking a dramatic comeback.

For all their effort, the Scarlet Knights’ inability to take care of the basketball and their cold shooting from distance ultimately spelled doom. As Pikiell summed up, “We played hard. We just need to get more done down the stretch there.” The loss marks yet another missed opportunity for Rutgers to notch a Big Ten road win, a feat that has proven elusive this season.

Looking ahead, Rutgers will return to the friendly confines of Jersey Mike’s Arena for another Big Ten clash, this time against the Indiana Hoosiers on Friday, January 23, 2026. Indiana enters the contest with a 12-7 record, and tip-off is set for 6:00 pm EST with live coverage on FS1. The Scarlet Knights will hope that a return home—and a renewed focus on ball security—can help them get back on track as the grind of conference play continues.