PISCATAWAY -- Rutgers men's basketball dropped its second consecutive game in a 84-73 defeat to Iowa Wednesday evening.

RU led for the first 10 minutes before Iowa's Payton and Pryce Sandfort went on a 12-2 run, giving the Hawkeyes a 25-22 advantage. Grad student Tyson Acuff immediately responded with back-to-back-to-back triples that put Rutgers in front 31-25. RU entered the break with a 42-33 lead.

Five-star Ace Bailey got the scoring started in the second half with a strong drive to the cup. He finished with a team-high 13 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Captain Jeremiah Williams had an efficient performance scoring 13 points, six rebounds, and four assists himself on 67 percent shooting.

Rutgers assisted 19 of its 28 made shots. Five-star Dylan Harper had five assists but was quiet on the scoring front with 11 points.

Rutgers shot 8-for-14 from deep in the first half, and 10-for-25 overall.

RU's bench accounted for 32 of its 73 points (44 percent) led by sophomore Jamichael Davis, captain Zach Martini, and Acuff. They shot a combined 8-for-15 from beyond the arc.

There were four ties and five lead changes before Iowa crept in front with Rutgers unable to recover. Rutgers led for 25 minutes throughout the match.

The majority of the second half was a one-possession game, including with 1:30 left when Rutgers trailed 76-73, but Iowa ended on an 8-0 run to put it away.

Iowa outscored Rutgers 51-31 in the second half and only committed two turnovers after coughing up seven through the first 20 minutes. Iowa scored 44 of its 84 points in the paint (52 percent).

Josh Dix led the way for the Hawkeyes with 26 points.

Rutgers falls to 12-13 (5-9 in conference play) while Iowa improves to 14-10 (5-8).

The Scarlet Knights begin their West Coast trip with Oregon (17-8, 6-8) on Sunday, Feb. 16 - tipping off at 7 pm on FS1 followed by a trip to Seattle to face Washington (12-11, 3-9) on Wednesday, Feb. 19.

Postgame Notes

• Rutgers' 19 assists were the most in a Big Ten game this season and most in a Big Ten game since 2023
• RU had five players score in double figures (Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey, Tyson Acuff, Jamichael Davis, Jeremiah Williams).
• It marked the first time that five different Rutgers players scored in double-figures since Jan. 17, 2024 (Aundre Hyatt, Mawot Mag, Cliff Omoruyi, Derek Simpson, Austin Williams).
• In the first half, Rutgers shot 53.1% from the field and 57.1% from three-point range.
• RU scored 42 points and led by 9 (42-33) at the half, their largest halftime lead since RU led by 15 at the half against Penn State on Dec. 10
• Tyson Acuff tied his season-high with four three-pointers
• Ace Bailey now is 3rd on RU's single-season freshman scoring list, surpassing Corey Sanders. Only Phil Sellers and Mike Rosario have scored more points as a Rutgers' true freshman than Bailey.