Game Day Essentials:
Indiana (10-3, 1-1) vs. Rutgers (8-5, 1-1)
- Tip Time: 8:30 p.m. Eastern, Thursday
- Location: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222), Bloomington, Ind.
- Television: Peacock (Noah Eagle, Robbie Hummel, Caroline Pineda)
- Radio: IU Radio Network (Don Fischer, Errek Suhr, John Herrick)
- Stream: Peacock
- Point Spread: Indiana is a 5.5-point favorite
- KenPom Projected Score: Indiana 81 Rutgers 76
- History: Indiana trails, 9-8.
- Last Meeting: RUT 66, IU 57 on Jan. 9, 2024 in Piscataway
- Tickets (via our StubHub affiliate link)
Rutgers’ Steve Pikiell
Steve Pikiell is in his ninth season as head coach of the Rutgers men’s basketball program and has an overall career record of 337-302.
Pikiell is a former four-time America East coach of the year with Stony Brook, and a former Jim Phelan award winner with Rutgers in 2020. Pikiell had a four-year playing career with UConn from 1987-1991, and with Pikiell as team-captain, the Huskies won the Big East and appeared in the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament.
Pikiell had some assisting stints with UConn, Yale, Wesleyan, Central Connecticut, and George Washington before taking the head coaching job at Stony Brook in 2005. From his start until 2016, he won four American East Conference regular season championships and one conference tournament championship. The tourney championship, marking his last season with Stony Brook in 2016, enabled them to appear in the NCAA Tournament as well. With Stony Brook, Pikiell compiled a record of 192-156.
Pikiell was hired by Rutgers on March 19th, 2016. Across nine seasons so far with the Scarlet Knights, Pikiell has a record of 140-128, with a 64-94 record in the Big Ten. Pikiell has appeared in two NCAA Tournaments, with a third possible appearance with the COVID cancellation in 2020. That season was his best in terms of record, as his team went 20-11 overall.
Rutgers’ results and roster
| DATE | OPPONENT | LOCATION | RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11/6/2024 | Wagner | Piscataway, N.J. | W 75-52 |
| 11/11/2024 | Saint Peter’s | Piscataway, N.J. | W 75-65 |
| 11/15/2024 | Monmouth | Piscataway, N.J. | W 98-81 |
| 11/20/2024 | Merrimack | Piscataway, N.J. | W 74-63 |
| 11/24/2024 | at Kennesaw State | Kennesaw, Ga. | L 77-79 |
| 11/26/2024 | vs. Notre Dame (Players Era Festival) | Las Vegas, Nev. | W 85-84 OT |
| 11/27/2024 | vs. No. 9 Alabama (Players Era Festival) | Las Vegas, Nev. | L 90-95 |
| 11/30/2024 | vs. No. 20 Texas A&M (Players Era Festival) | Las Vegas, Nev. | L 77-81 |
| 12/7/2024 | at Ohio State | Columbus, Ohio | L 66-80 |
| 12/10/2024 | Penn State | Piscataway, N.J. | W 80-76 |
| 12/14/2024 | Seton Hall (Garden State Hardwood Classic) | Piscataway, N.J. | W 66-63 |
| 12/21/2024 | at Princeton (Never Forget Tribute Classic) | Newark, N.J. | L 82-83 |
| 12/30/2024 | Columbia | Piscataway, N.J. | W 91-64 |
Rutgers’ Game Notes (via Rutgers Athletics)
HARPER HYSTERIA
Dylan Harper leads the team at 23.3 points per game, ranking third in the nation and most of any freshmen.
- Holds the two highest-scoring games for a freshman player this season (36 and 37).
- First freshman in 20 years to score 35-plus points in back-to-back games
- First Rutgers player to score 30-plus points in back-to-back games since Quincy Douby on March 9, 2006.
- Had the most free throws made for the Rutgers player since Geoff Billet hit 15 in 1999.
Harper scored at least 20 points in each of the first three games (20 vs. Wagner, 24 vs. St. Peter’s, 23 vs. Monmouth) and 10 of the 12 games overall. Harper became the first RU freshman since 1972 to score at least 20 points in his first three games. In 1972-73, the first season that freshmen were eligible for competition, Phil Sellers scored 30 points in his debut, 28 points in his second game and 25 in his third. Harper was the first RU freshman since Corey Sanders in 2016 to record back-to-back 20+ point games.
RANKED REAPERS
Since Steve Pikiell has taken the helm of the Scarlet Knights program, the team has 16 wins over ranked foes. He has defeated five top-10 teams in that span, and twice has defeated the nation’s top ranked squad, No. 1 Purdue, both home and on the road.
Dating back to the availability of rankings in 1974, Rutgers has 49 lifetime ranked wins. Between 2005 and 2015, Rutgers had just nine ranked wins. Pikiell has earned 16 since.
ABOUT RUTGERS
Rutgers had a resounding performance in a 91-point outburst for a victory over Columbia in the non-conference finale. The team posted season-highs in field goals (36), assists (26) and had a season-low four turnovers. 10 different Scarlet Knights scored in the win.
Dylan Harper posted a historic triple-double with 16 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds. It was the first triple-double for a RU player since Roy Hinson in 1983. Harper joined Kentucky’s De’Aaron Fox (2016-17) as one of just two Division I freshmen over the last 15 years with a 35-point game and a triple-double in the same season.
Ace Bailey matched his career-high with 24 points on 11 made shots. Jamichael Davis had a season-high 11 points and career-high seven assists.
Harper is fourth in the nation in scoring at 22.8 points per game and first among freshmen. Ace Bailey is third among freshmen at 18.2 points per game. Rutgers is the only team in the country with two freshmen among the top 500 scorers in the nation (RU has Harper at 4 and Bailey at 64, the next best is Illinois with players at 159 and 540).
Rutgers’ KenPom notable numbers:
(out of 364 teams)
Tempo – No. 57 (Offense No. 43 / Defense No. 315)
Offensive Efficiency – No. 66
- Rutgers’ strongest metric is its avoidance of steals, with a 7.6 percent steal rate. Its overall turnover rate is 14.9 percent (No. 24, No. 43, respectively).
- They hold an effective field goal percentage of 52.1 percent (No. 131).
- They shoot 33.6 percent as a team on 3-pointers (No. 166) and a 53 percent 2-point percentage (No. 126).
- Like IU, Rutgers doesn’t take a high volume of threes (34.5% of shots, No. 291).
Defensive Efficiency – No. 98
- The Scarlet Knights hold opponents to a 50.7 effective field goal percentage (No. 178). Opponents are shooting 34.1% from three (No. 206) and 50.4% from two (No. 160).
- They have a 27.2 percent opponent free throw attempt rate, and teams are scoring 15.1 percent of their total points from the line (No. 60, No. 337, respectively).
- Every other metric, including turnover percentage (17.5) and offensive rebound percentage (30.1) is around the middle of the pack of Division 1 (No. 173, No. 194).
OG’s Pick
Win/Loss Record: 9-2
Whew, what a tough one to call. I think it’s going to depend on how Indiana handles the tandem of Bailey and Harper. Both have cemented themselves as two of the best Freshmen in the country and have battled with highly-touted teams, such as Alabama and Texas A&M.
Along with that, though, they certainly have had some inconsistencies with their results (looking at you, Kennesaw State). If the Hoosiers can at least limit the damage with Bailey and Harper, then I can easily see it being a double-digit victory. However, with how impressive the duo has performed, that’s not something you can bank on.
Give me the Hoosiers in a tight one down the stretch.
PICK: Indiana 77 – Rutgers 72
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