Rutgers faces Penn State on road
The Rutgers men’s basketball team will travel to University Park, Pennsylvania, to take on Penn State this Thursday. The game was originally postponed due to positive Nittany Lion (3-5, 0-4) coronavirus disease (COVID-19) tests.
The Scarlet Knights (7-5, 3-5) come into the matchup on a four-game skid, recently losing to Wisconsin 60-54. After Rutgers' loss, head men's basketball coach Steve Pikiell said "We go one game at a time," according to Rutgers Athletics.
Junior guard Ron Harper Jr. leads the Knights with 18.6 points per game (PPG). He is shooting 42 percent from three-point range.
Senior guard Jacob Young is averaging 15.8 PPG and shooting 48 percent from the field. He has tallied 53 assists and 27 steals.
Junior center Myles Johnson's 8.8 rebounds per game leads Rutgers and ranks fourth in the Big Ten. He has blocked 24 shots this year.
After sitting out at the beginning of the season due to a back injury, junior guard Caleb McConnell is averaging 5.3 PPG through four games coming off the bench.
The Knights rank third in the conference with five blocks per game and second with 97 steals. Rutgers and Penn State are averaging 8.1 steals per game. The Knights rank last in the Big Ten in free-throw shooting with a 57.1 percent mark. The Nittany Lions rank eighth, shooting 70.9 percent from the stripe. Myreon Jones leads Penn State with 15.4 PPG, while Izaiah Brockington ranks second with 14.8 PPG. The Nittany Lions' offense ranks sixth in the conference, logging 77.6 PPG. Its defense ranks last, letting up an average of 76.8 PPG. The team has played eight games. Rutgers’ offense nets an average of 73.9 PPG and the defense allows an average of 70.9 PPG.
John Harrar leads Penn State with 7.5 rebounds per game. Harrar notched his first double-double, which included 14 offensive rebounds, in the Nittany Lions' loss to Purdue.
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