PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Three days removed from a crucial victory over Ohio State at home, Indiana men's basketball is back on the road for a chilly trip to Piscataway and a date with the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.
The Hoosiers (11-4, 3-1) seek out a fourth Big Ten victory in five tries Tuesday evening in a building they've been largely unsuccessful in attempts at doing so. The last time Indiana slayed the Knights on the opponents home floor was February 2018, and IU's fell eight of the last 10 times the two squads have met. But heading into the early January clash this evening, it's about more than just breaking the 8-8 series tie with Rutgers.
The Scarlet Knights (8-6, 0-3) enter Tuesday night's contest as the only team without a win in conference play across the conference. Losses to Illinois, Ohio State and Iowa hands Rutgers a goose egg in the Big Ten win column and certainly feeling the pressure of it. Getting the up and down Hoosiers on their home floor could present Steve Pikiell's squad an opportunity at a first notch this season, but at the same time, the opportunity to jump toward a 4-1 start in the Big Ten is there for the taking.
It's a big contest for both sides at the Jersey Mike's Center, formerly (and always will be) known as the RAC. Prior to the contest getting underway, let's dive into the numbers on the struggling Scarlet Knights and the matchup with the Hoosiers:
Opponent Profile
Head Coach: Steve Pikiell
Career Record: 322-286, 125-112 at Rutgers
20th year as a head coach, eighth with the Scarlet Knights.
Pikiell's tenure in Piscataway has coincided with a lot of historical gains for the Rutgers program he's at the helm of. With current contract extensions keeping him on the Scarlet Knight sidelines through 2031, Rutgers hopes more of it is on the way.
In the previous season, Pikiell led Rutgers to a third consecutive postseason appearance when the Knights appeared in the NIT, meaning RU had reached the postseason in three consecutive seasons for the first time in school history.
A native of Bristol, Conn. and former UConn point guard and graduate, Pikiell's career includes stops as the head coach of Stony Brook and multiple assistant positions across the northeast region of the country.
This Season
KenPom: 89th (IU 91st)
Torvik: 102nd (96th)
EvanMiya: 80th (81st)
NET Ranking: 95th (98th)
We'll start with the Scarlet Knights' defense, which is where the Knights stay in ballgames according to KenPom. With an adjusted defensive efficiency of 93.7, (DI average is 105.0), the Knights' defense is 13th best in the sport as of Monday night. Opponent possessions often stall, lasting 18.8 seconds on average each time the ball is brought down the floor.
Opposition is shooting just 44.6% from the field by effective field goal percentage and turning the ball over 22.4% of the time, good for the 12th-best and 16th-best marks respectively. Rutgers holds opponents to 42.9 % from two, blocks 16.1% of shots and forces 11.6% of possessions into a non-steal turnover. In total, Rutgers allows just 64.2 points per game to opponents.
But when the conversation flips to the Scarlet Knight's offense, so too does the narrative of their ceiling. An adjusted offensive efficiency of 102.3 places the Rutgers offense at just 227th in all of Division I basketball. The Knights like to run with pace afforded to them by the amount of times they're able to get in transition, equating out to the 30th-quickest avg. time of possession. While there is a clear emphasis on quickness though, the shot-making hasn't followed.
An effective field goal percentage of 44.7%. Shooting 29.1% from three as a team, 45.3% from two and 66.6% from the free throw line. If it seems those marks aren't at a comparable level versus the rest of the country, that's because they aren't. They score just 68.5 points a game.
The effective field goal % is 333rd in the country, 324th from three, 321st from two and 309th from the charity stripe. Simply put, for as much trouble as opponents have scoring the ball versus Rutgers, they have just as many – if not more – problems themselves.
Just four players for Rutgers scrape over average 100.0 in individual offensive rating – senior forward Cliff Omoruyi, senior wing Aundre Hyatt, sophomore forward Antwone Woolfolk and redshirt senior forward Oskar Palmquist – and of those four, only Omoruyi and Hyatt find themselves in considerable contributing roles.
- Hyatt leads the Knights in scoring, pouring in 11.9 points a night on 39.3% from the field. 21.2% of the possessions involve Hyatt's influence, and he takes 24.3 percent of the shots from the field.
- Omorui scores 10.7 points and grabs a team high 8.9 rebounds a night as the man in the middle, while also blocking 13.3 percent of the shots he sees – the sixth-highest mark in the country for all registered participants.
- Sophomore guard and New Jersey native Derek Simpson scores 9.7 points a game while having the Knights' highest registered usage rate – 24.4%. Simpson's 40 assists this season lead Rutgers.
- Recovering from a season-ending ACL injury last season, senior wing Mawot Mag has returned to action in a limited role, playing in just six games this season. He posted a season-high 24 points in the most recent outing for the Scarlet Knights.
- Freshman guard Gavin Griffiths scores 7.1 points a night, but has posted totals of 0, 3 and 2 points in the last three contests he's appeared in off the bench. When he's on the floor, he takes 25.7% of the Rutgers shots.
- Fifth-year senior guard Noah Fernandes scores 8.3 points per evening and is capable of exploding for double digits, but his last time out featured 0 points.
Storylines to monitor…
Will Xavier Johnson, Indiana backcourt continue upward trend?
After 19 turnovers and poor guard play cost Indiana its trip to Lincoln six days ago, the guard play was much improved and featured the best play of Xavier Johnson we've seen this season – regardless of injury status.
Against a staunch defense, the Knights will look to capitalize off the downfalls that have plagued Indiana's attack all season. At first glance, the areas in which Rutgers is strong seems to stylistically match the teams that many metrics find them on equal ground with, but the Hoosiers must find a way to overcome the style of play the Knights want to force them into.
To do so, while Indiana's offense is engineered largely through its frontcourt, it's up to the IU backcourt to open avenues in doing so and create a free-flowing offense that is proficient in finding success versus the vaunted Rutgers defense.
Indiana has to be better on the road...
If time and results have proven to us anything, away from home, IU is a different team than the one it appears to be inside the friendly confines of Assembly Hall.
In these types of contests that seem to be toss ups, in a conference that gives no favors, the opportunity exists for Indiana to find victories over Rutgers and Minnesota to enter its contest with No. 1 Purdue next week at 5-1 in the Big Ten. Of course, the Hoosiers must take it one game at a time.
But, Indiana's first opportunity comes on the road and away from home, where it's just 3-3.
Quick Hitters
Who?: Indiana (11-4, 3-1 in Big Ten play) vs. Rutgers (8-6, 0-3 in Big Ten play)
Series History: Series tied, 8-8. (Last Meeting: IU 66, RUT 60 on 2/7/23 in Bloomington)
When?: Tuesday, January 9, 7:00 p.m. ET
Where?: Jersey Mike's Arena, Piscataway, New Jersey
TV: Peacock: Noah Eagle (play-by-play), Stephen Bardo (color)
Radio: IU Radio Network, Don Fischer (play-by-play), Errek Suhr (analyst), John Herrick
Vegas: Rutgers -3.5, o/u 148.5
KenPom: Rutgers 70-67, 62% chance of a Rutgers victory
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