In Northwestern’s first meeting against then-No. 21 Iowa, the Wildcats held a 17-point second-half lead before falling 81-76 in Iowa City, Iowa. Tonight, the matchup moves to Welsh-Ryan Arena.

NU (5-18, 2-8 Big Ten) is coming off a 61-point drubbing to No. 9 Michigan State while Iowa (15-6, 4-6) is on a two-game losing streak.

In the first matchup of the season both teams shot 50 percent from the field, but Iowa outrebounded NU by 11. Both teams have gone 1-3 since they played in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

The Hawkeyes swooped through non-conference play, going 11-0 before struggling in Big Ten play. In six losses, Iowa has fallen by an average of more than 14 points.

Iowa has three players that score more than 10 points per game, averaging a combined 44. NU averages 59.2 points a contest.

Hawkeyes’ freshman Krista VandeVenter grabs a team-high 7.4 of her team’s 37.3 rebounds per game. The Hawkeyes are fourth in the Big Ten in rebounding margin, getting almost five more rebounds a game than their opponents.

NU is 1-6 in its last seven games, with three losses coming by less than 10 points. The Cats rank last in the Big Ten in scoring margin, rebounds allowed per game and turnover margin.

In the loss to Michigan State, senior Sarah Kwasinksi broke the all-time NU blocked shots record. She leads the team with 1.5 blocks per game and 12.6 points. She averages five rebounds a game, third on the team.

The Cats are looking for their third conference win this season, a milestone they have reached in two of their past five seasons.

Reach Abe Rakov at [email protected].