GAME NOTES: The first team in the country to register road wins over two ranked opponents, the Iowa Hawkeyes now enjoy the comforts of home as they challenge the Nebraska Cornhuskers in Big Ten Conference action on Monday night.

The Hawkeyes kicked off the league slate in style on Dec. 30 with a 71-65 win over nationally-ranked Ohio State on the road, complementing the squad's 60-55 triumph over 12th-ranked North Carolina earlier in the month during the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

The triumph over the Buckeyes was the second in a row for Iowa, after having dropped back-to-back decisions to Iowa State and Northern Iowa in the middle of December. The Hawkeyes are seeking to open the Big Ten schedule with consecutive wins for the first time in more than a decade.

As for the Cornhuskers, a team which in recent years has played almost exclusively at home during the non-conference schedule, they find themselves just three games over .500 after losing several games to lesser opponents (see Incarnate Word). The team was in action on New Year's Eve and came up short in the league opener versus Indiana at home, 70-65, snapping a brief two-game win streak in the process.

Iowa leads the all-time series by a count of 15-9 and has won 10 of the 13 matchups played in Iowa City over the years. The most recent meeting took place on Dec. 31, 2013, with the Hawkeyes capturing a 67-57 victory.

The Huskers trailed by as many as 16 in the first half against Indiana, but in the second half the hosts managed to flip the script and lead by four, before eventually bowing in the five-point decision at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Terran Petteway stepped up with 23 points and eight rebounds, not to mention three assists and a pair of blocked shots, while Shavon Shields was responsible for 20 points and seven rebounds, although he shot just 7-of-18 from the field and 1-of-5 behind the 3-point line. Walter Pitchford pitched in with 11 points in the lost cause.

One of the top offensive threats in the Big Ten, Petteway is part of a one-two scoring punch with Shields that is tough to match. Despite shooting only 33.7 percent behind the 3-point line, Petteway is responsible for 19.5 ppg, while Shields accounts for another 17.4 ppg even though he too has issues out on the perimeter (.265). Both players should focus a bit more on their interior performances since they combine for close to 13 rebounds per contest and the team is still coming up short in that department on average.

Connecting on 50.0 percent from the field in the first half, including 5-of-11 behind the 3-point line, as well as 10-of-12 at the charity stripe, the Hawkeyes gave themselves some breathing room at the break versus Ohio State and then held on for the victory at Value City Arena. Jarrod Uthoff and Aaron White both delivered 18 points and combined for 16 rebounds in the triumph. Defensively, Iowa limited the Buckeyes to just 6-of-24 shooting beyond the arc.

As was the case in the last outing, White and Uthoff are also the only double- digit scorers for the program after 14 games as they produce 16.0 and 11.1 ppg, respectively. White is also tops with 7.3 rpg and 24 steals, the former being more than enough of a reason for him to abandon his efforts to be a 3- point threat where he is just 22.7 percent accurate. Uthoff clears another 6.6 rpg, but the big difference is that he can be a viable option out on the perimeter where he has converted 40.7 percent of 59 attempts.

Playing away from home is not a strength of the Cornhuskers, particularly if the competition is as solid as Iowa. However, the Hawkeyes will have to get some help on offense, beyond White and Uthoff, if they are going to pull this off comfortably.