Ron Harper Jr. has another career day against the Iowa Hawkeyes

Rutgers has played Iowa two times over the course of the last three games and in those two contests, Ron Harper Jr. has gone off for the Scarlet Knights.

On Saturday night, Harper netted a game-high and career-high 27 points.

And for his efforts, he was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week by the league on Monday. It is the first Big Ten Freshman of the Year honor for Rutgers since Geo Baker earned the accolade on Dec. 18, 2017. Harper's 27 points were the most by a Scarlet Knight freshman in a regulation game since Corey Sanders put up 28 on Nebraska in 2016.

"The bulls-eye is bigger," Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell said on Monday of Harper. "I'm happy for him. He had a great game. Our team did a great job of getting him the ball, too. That's not going to help him against Penn State though (on Wednesday)."

Harper either had ice in his veins or was on fire, especially in the first half. Coming into the game, the freshman forward/guard scored a then-career high against the Hawkeyes. He matched that in the opening 20 minutes.

"It felt amazing, but it wasn't just me," Harper said Monday. "A lot of our passes were assisted on. It was a good day of sharing the ball. Geo found me a few times for wide-open 3's."

The Don Bosco Prep product finished the game shooting 9-for-13 from the floor (69 percent) including 4-for-7 on 3-pointers. He was also 5-for-5 from the free-line and corralled five rebounds.

Harper displayed both tough from the outside, the ability to drive to the hoop in transition, and split in the defense.

Against Iowa this season, Harper has 41 points, is shooting over 60 percent from the field, and over 50 percent from deep.

“He’s getting better and better. He’s practicing and preparing the right way. He’s a freshman. He got good looks early and felt really good. He kept it going and he can make plays going to the basket and really showed you a little bit of everything,” Pikiell said after the game.

“I think he’s going to be a really good player and we got a little dose of it today. I don’t know he’s scratching surface yet.”

The last time Rutgers faced the Hawkeyes, it fell essentially at the buzzer on an improbable shot. To get revenge against them at their place was very sweet according to Harper, who didn't want to talk to the media after the first go-around.

"It definitely felt good. I remember for the media they wanted me, Geo, and I think Eugene (Omoruyi). That was the last thing we wanted to do. We were upset, especially for me. We were better than them for 39 minutes and 57 seconds. There was nothing you can do about that unbelievable shot.

"We told each other that we were going to go to their court and go get them and that's exactly what we did and had our way with them."

Follow Chris Nalwasky on Twitter @ChrisWasky.