Game Day Essentials:
Indiana (12-7, 3-5) vs. Rutgers (9-10, 2-6)
- Tip Time: 6:00 p.m. Eastern, Friday
- Location: Jersey Mike’s Arena (8,000), Piscataway, N.J.
- Television: FS1 (Jason Horowitz, Jordan Taylor)
- Radio: IU Radio Network (Don Fischer, Errek Suhr, John Herrick)
- Stream: Fox Sports
- Point Spread: Indiana is around a 7.5-point favorite
- KenPom Projected Score: Indiana 77 Rutgers 70
- History: Series tied, 9-9
- Last Meeting: IU 84, RUT 74 on Jan. 2, 2025, in Bloomington
- Tickets (via our StubHub affiliate link)
Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell
Steve Pikiell is in his 10th season as head coach of the Rutgers men’s basketball program. Across his seasons in Piscataway, he’s compiled a 156-150 overall record.
Pikiell had a very notable assistant career before becoming a head coach, including stops at Yale and UConn. Pikiell got his first full-time head coaching job in 2005, where he was named the head coach at Stony Brook. He had a few successful years with the Seawolves, winning four American East titles and appearing in the NCAA Tournament in his final season. He gathered a 192-156 record with Stony Brook.
Pikiell was hired to coach Rutgers on March 19, 2016. He’s had a decent run with the Scarlet Knights, appearing in two NCAA Tournaments. He has yet to lead Rutgers to a Big Ten title and has missed the NCAA Tournament since the 2021-22 season.
Rutgers’s results and roster
| DATE | OPPONENT | LOCATION | RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11/5/2025 | Rider | Piscataway, N.J. | W 81-53 |
| 11/10/2025 | Maine | Piscataway, N.J. | W 72-60 |
| 11/14/2025 | Lehigh | Piscataway, N.J. | W 84-72 |
| 11/18/2025 | American | Piscataway, N.J. | W 80-71 |
| 11/21/2025 | Central Connecticut State | Piscataway, N.J. | L 54-67 |
| 11/24/2025 | vs. No. 17 Tennessee (Players Era Festival) | Las Vegas, Nev. | L 60-85 |
| 11/25/2025 | vs. Notre Dame (Players Era Festival) | Las Vegas, Nev. | L 63-68 |
| 11/27/2025 | vs. UNLV (Players Era Festival) | Las Vegas, Nev. | W 80-65 |
| 12/2/2025 | No. 1 Purdue | Piscataway, N.J. | L 61-85 |
| 12/6/2025 | at No. 3 Michigan | Ann Arbor, Mich. | L 60-101 |
| 12/13/2025 | vs. Seton Hall | Newark, N.J. | L 59-81 |
| 12/20/2025 | Penn | Piscataway, N.J. | W 70-69 |
| 12/29/2025 | Delaware State | Piscataway, N.J. | W 65-50 |
| 1/2/2025 | Ohio State | Piscataway, N.J. | L 73-80 |
| 1/5/2025 | Oregon | Piscataway, N.J. | W 88-85 OT |
| 1/8/2025 | at No. 16 Illinois | Champaign, Ill. | L 55-81 |
| 1/11/2025 | Northwestern | Piscataway, N.J. | W 77-75 OT |
| 1/17/2025 | at Wisconsin | Madison, Wis. | L 87-96 |
| 1/20/2025 | at Iowa | Iowa City, Iowa | L 62-68 |
Rutgers Game Notes (via Rutgers Athletics)
TARIQ FRANCIS ON FIRE
- The Scarlet Knights were led to the win over Northwestern last Sunday by Tariq Francis, who had 30 points, 23 of them coming after halftime. It was the guard’s third 30+ point game of the season. Since 1996-97, Francis is the only Big Ten player with two or more games of 30 points off the bench in the same season.
DYLAN GRANT, GREAT
- Dylan Grant is having a breakout season for the Scarlet Knights as a true sophomore, averaging 11.5 points per game, grabbing 4.8 rebounds, and shooting 46 percent from the field. The forward from Canada has three double-doubles on the season and has scored in double figures in eight of the last 12 games.
TEAM CAPTAIN
- Junior point guard Jamichael Davis is the most tenured Scarlet Knight and the leader of the team on and off the court. After the victory over Maine earlier this season, head coach Steve Pikiell named Jamichael the team captain in the winning locker room. Davis is averaging 7.5 points per game, 2.9 assists, and 3.0 rebounds per game while shooting 37 percent from the field.
OVERTIME SUCCESS
- RU won two games in overtime last week. The Scarlet Knights are now 11-1 in their last 12 overtime games in the regular season under Coach Pikiell and 11-3 overall dating back to 2020. RU has won its last seven regular-season overtime games.
No. 143 Rutgers’s KenPom notable numbers:
(out of 365 teams)
Tempo – No. 279 (Offense No. 213 / Defense No. 340)
Offensive Efficiency – No. 161
- Rutgers holds an effective field goal percentage of 46.6 percent on the year (No. 333). The Scarlet Knights are shooting 32.1 percent from three (No. 249) and 45.7 percent on 2s (No. 338). Part of the problem from 2-pont range is they have one of the highest-average distance on 2-point shots (7.7 feet, No. 356).
- Rutgers hauls in a good amount of offensive rebounds at a 34.1% rate (No. 82).
- Rutgers gets a good chunk of points from the free throw line. 23.7 percent of points come from the charity stripe (No. 33), and they have a high free throw attempt rate of 40% for every field goal attempt (No. 79).
- They are a low-assisting team with a 46.5 percent rate (No. 314).
Defensive Efficiency – No. 126
- Opponents hold a 51.6 percent effective field goal percentage against Rutgers (No. 201). Teams are shooting 36.7 percent from three (No. 318) and 49.3 percent on 2s (No. 96).
- Rutgers does send teams to the line. Free throw attempts are only 30.4% of field goal attempts (No. 60).
- They have given up offensive rebounds at a 33 percent rate (No. 272).
OG’s Pick
Overall: 13-4
Indiana needs to get back on track, and I think they do so against Rutgers. If they don’t, it may be time to throw away any NCAA Tournament chance.
Pick: Indiana 81 – Rutgers 71
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