No. 19 Iowa holds off No. 24 Rutgers, 85-80

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Luka Garza had 28 points and 13 rebounds as No. 19 Iowa held on in the closing seconds to beat No. 24 Rutgers 85-80 on Wednesday night.

Connor McCaffery hit four free throws in the final 16 seconds, his only points of the night, to close out the win for the Hawkeyes (14-5, 5-3 Big Ten), who led by nine points three times in the second half before Rutgers (14-5, 5-3) rallied.

The Scarlet Knights scored seven points in a 22-second span to take a 77-76 lead, but CJ Fredrick gave the Hawkeyes the lead back on a layup with 2:16 to go. Joe Wieskamp’s 3-pointer 37 seconds later put Iowa ahead 81-77.

Garza, the Big Ten’s leading scorer, had his 11th double-double of the season.

Wieskamp had 18 points, Joe Toussaint scored 14 and Ryan Kriener had 11 for the Hawkeyes. Toussaint also had seven rebounds.

Ron Harper Jr. had a career-high 29 points for Rutgers. His previous best was 27 against the Hawkeyes last season. Akwasi Yeboah had 17 points and Myles Johnson added 10.

BIG PICTURE

Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights came in having won eight of their last nine games, but dropped into a four-way tie for third place.

Iowa: It was the fourth consecutive win for the Hawkeyes, who moved into a tie for third place in the league with Rutgers, Maryland and Wisconsin. It was also Iowa’s eighth consecutive home win. The Hawkeyes are in the midst of a three-game homestand.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights, ranked for the first time since 1979, should stay in the AP Top 25, especially with a win on Saturday against Nebraska.

Iowa: The Hawkeyes should move up. They don’t play until the next rankings come out.

UP NEXT

Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights play host to Nebraska on Saturday.

Iowa: The Hawkeyes play their third consecutive home game, facing Wisconsin on Monday.