This post was updated Jan. 16 at 11:42 p.m.

The Bruins could’ve been touted the best team in the country three weeks ago.

With wins over then-No. 14 Gonzaga, then-No. 12 Oregon and Arizona, UCLA reached a peak of No. 15 in the AP top-25 rankings.

Now, the Bruins are experiencing a low point after losing four consecutive Big Ten contests, resulting in a bottom-seven standing in the conference.

In its first home game in over a week, UCLA men’s basketball (11-6, 2-4 Big Ten) will face Iowa (12-5, 3-3) on Friday evening at Pauley Pavilion. The affair marks the Bruins’ fifth straight conference battle and is one leg of their 16-game conference slate to end the regular season.

“We have struggled in Big Ten basketball,” said coach Mick Cronin. “Our two wins were against teams we were familiar playing against. The truth of it is Big Ten basketball is different, it is a much more physical game, the league is also unbelievably rock-solid. Some teams get fortunate, we were not with the schedule.”

The Bruins are coming off their worst shooting performances of the season. UCLA shot 18-for-85 from beyond the arc over the last four contests – a stark difference from the 49% clip it maintained through the three games prior.

Compounding with the Bruins’ shooting woes is regression on their defense. After managing to concede less than 75 points in their first 11 games, the Bruins have given up at least that amount in five of the last seven contests.

“We haven’t getting up on people like we have been, we haven’t been getting as many deflections, forcing as many turnovers, so we got to get back to how we started the season off and get back to that brand of basketball,” said senior guard Kobe Johnson.

Headlining the Hawkeyes starting lineup are Payton Sandfort and Owen Freeman – each averaging 17.1 points per game and shooting 42% and 64.3% from the field, respectively. The two forwards also lead the team in rebounds with 5.6 and 6.7 per game, respectively.

Rounding out the Hawkeyes’ impact scorers are guards Josh Dix, Drew Thelwell and Brock Harding. Coach Fran McCaffery’s backcourt trio averages 14.5, 10.6 and 9.6 points per game, respectively, while Harding leads the team in assists with 6.24 per game.

The trinity of guards is also dangerous from deep, contributing to Iowa’s 39.8% three-point percentage, a mark good enough for No. 11 in the nation. Forward Pryce Sandfort – younger brother of Payton Sandfort – also averages nine points per game and shoots 40.2% from beyond the arc, serving as a 3-point specialist off the bench.

“We are not playing hard enough and I also think we aren’t playing smart,” said junior guard Skyy Clark. “I don’t think we have reached 40 deflections in a few games now, and every time we get 40 deflections we won … so it’s simple math.”

The Bruins will likely rely on junior forward Tyler Bilodeau, sophomore guard/forward Eric Dailey Jr. and sophomore guard Sebastian Mack to combat the Hawkeyes’ 3-point shooting, with Iowa boasting three players in the top 15 of 3-pointers made in the Big Ten.

Bilodeau – who has scored double-digit points in 12 of 17 games – managed just six against Rutgers, going 0-for-7 from the field and garnering each of his six points from the charity stripe. In contrast, Dailey Jr. has recorded double-digit figures in three of the last four games and is shooting 38.1% from beyond the arc.

Mack has proven to be reliable despite the team’s shooting struggles – most likely a testament to his slashing play style. Mack posted a 16-point performance against Rutgers and tied Bilodeau for a team-high 17 points against Michigan.

However, junior guard Dylan Andrews – UCLA’s leading scorer last season – saw just five minutes of action against Rutgers after Cronin seemingly took him out of the primary rotation in favor of freshman guard Trent Perry and senior guard Lazar Stefanovic.

The Bruins will tip off at 6 p.m. Friday evening.