Gophers-Iowa men's basketball gameday preview

3:30 p.m. at Iowa • BTN, 100.3 FM

Gophers update: The Gophers (11-8, 2-8 Big Ten) were road warriors earlier in the season with five of their first eight victories coming away from home, including true road games at Pittsburgh, Mississippi State and Michigan. But they have lost their past three Big Ten road games entering Sunday's matchup at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. ... Gophers senior G Payton Willis had 24 points and 10 assists in Thursday's 88-73 home loss to No. 4 Purdue. The first 20-point, 10-assist game in Willis' career was also the first for the program since Marcus Carr in the 2019-20 season. ... All eight Gophers losses this season have been against teams ranked in the NET's top 30, including six losses to opponents currently ranked in the Associated Press top 25.

Iowa update: The Hawkeyes (14-7, 4-6) have dropped three of four since an 81-71 victory over the Gophers at Williams Arena on Jan. 16. They haven't played since a 90-86, two-overtime loss at Penn State; their game scheduled for Thursday at Ohio State was postponed because of winter weather. ... Iowa coach Fran McCaffery will miss Sunday's game due to COVID-19 safety and protocol. McCaffery watched the Gophers nearly erase a 23-point deficit in the second half in the last meeting, but his Hawkeyes haven't lost at home in the border rivalry series since 2015. ... Iowa sophomore G Keegan Murray leads the Big Ten with 22.3 points per game, but he averaged only 14 points on 36% shooting from the field during a recent three-game stretch.