Rutgers men's basketball remains on the road to face Northwestern
After a last-minute win this weekend against Nebraska, the Rutgers men’s basketball team remains in the midwest for a matchup against Northwestern. Starting on Tuesday, the Scarlet Knights (12-8, 6-4) begin February where 6 of their 8 games are against teams ranked inside the Associated Press (AP) Top 25.
In Saturday’s win over the Cornhuskers (6-15, 0-10), Rutgers led for just approximately a minute of game action but was able to pull a victory thanks to strong play down the stretch from several key Knights. Sophomore forward Mawot Mag was among those players to contribute toward the win, scoring a career-high 13 points on 100 percent shooting to pair with seven rebounds.
“Our defense carried us," said head coach Steve Pikiell after the win. "We made some timely shots. (Mag) is starting to get in a little groove when we need him. (Senior guard Ron Harper Jr.) did not have that kind of night, but he made some big ones for us.”
Entering February, Rutgers faces an uphill battle if it wants to make it back to the NCAA Tournament. With a current NET ranking of 113, this year’s team is 73 spots lower than the NET ranking last season’s team finished with. The lowest-ranked team to make The Big Dance last season in terms of the NET was Michigan State at No. 76. For a full explanation of how the NET rankings work, click here.
Despite the steep hill to climb, the Knights are fortunate to play a remaining schedule filled with opportunity. After the upcoming Quad 2 game against the Wildcats (9-10, 2-8), Rutgers’ next eight opponents are in the Quad 1 category. With several key wins over the next month, the Knights could find themselves shooting up the rankings.
Looking at Northwestern, while the program has two wins in the Big Ten through 10 games, it has either defeated or narrowly lost to many of the conference’s top teams. On Jan. 15, the Wildcats upset then No. 10 Michigan State on the road. Combined with this win, Northwestern also suffered single-digit losses to then No. 13 Ohio State and then No. 8 Wisconsin.
In the Wildcats’ last outing against then No. 24 Illinois, the program held a lead at home with under 4 minutes to go before ultimately falling 59-56. The loss was the sixth time this season that Northwestern has lost to an AP Top 25 team.
The Wildcats are led by Pete Nance, Boo Buie and Chase Audige, who all average double-digit points-per-game (PPG) for the team. Nance, the leading scorer of the three, is also the team leader in rebounds, hauling in 7.1 per game. Buie leads in assists with 5.2 per game, good enough for second in the conference.
When comparing both teams, the Wildcats average the fifth-most PPG in the Big Ten at 75.3 PPG while Rutgers scores the second least at 67 PPG. The roles are reversed on the defensive end, with the Knights surrendering only 64.2 PPG, the second lowest in the conference. Northwestern allows the fourth-most PPG with 68.4 PPG.
The game will tip off from Welsh-Ryan Arena at 7 p.m. and will be broadcasted on the Big Ten Network and 88.7 WRSU-FM. The last time Rutgers visited the Wildcats, the Knights came away with a 64-56 win.
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