Rutgers men's basketball faces key week against Michigan, Penn State
The Rutgers men’s basketball team heads into its penultimate week of the regular season, where it will take on Michigan tomorrow and Penn State on Sunday. The Scarlet Knights (17-10, 9-7) are currently in a five-way tie for fourth place in the Big Ten standings.
It will be Rutgers' first and only game against the Wolverines (15-12, 9-7) this season. Last year, the Knights split the season series against Michigan, with both teams winning their respective home games.
The game will be played at Jersey Mike’s Arena on Livingston Campus and is currently a sold-out blackout game.
Against the Wolverines, Rutgers will most likely be without fifth-year senior guard Caleb McConnell after he suffered a back injury minutes before the Wisconsin game.
"I don’t know about Caleb. I don’t know what will happen," said head coach Steve Pikiell on McConnell’s injury. "Right now, he would not play if there was a game today for sure. Maybe the next couple of days he’ll feel better, but it doesn’t look good."
McConnell’s availability for the game against the Nittany Lions (16-11, 7-9) on Sunday is still unknown. If he can't play against Michigan, the Knights will be without their two best and most versatile defenders, as they have already lost junior forward Mawot Mag to a season-ending ACL injury.
The Wolverines have dominated the all-time series against Rutgers, as Michigan holds a 15-1 record against the Knights in Big Ten play.
The number to pay attention to during the game is 65 — Rutgers is undefeated in Big Ten play when holding its opponents to less than 65 points. The Wolverines have a similar magic number. Michigan is 13-2 when scoring 71 points or more in a game and only has a record of 2-10 when scoring 70 points or less this season.
The key matchup will be between Hunter Dickinson and junior center Cliff Omoruyi. Both are premier centers in the Big Ten. Dickinson poses a unique challenge for Omoruyi as he stands at 7-foot-1 and can shoot the ball well. He leads the Wolverines averaging 17.6 points per game (PPG) and 8.5 rebounds per game. Omoruyi will have to guard Dickinson on the perimeter as the latter is shooting 40.5 percent from beyond the arc.
Omoruyi leads the Knights scoring 13.4 PPG and collecting 9.8 rebounds per game. He will have to be aggressive inside and get Dickinson into foul trouble.
Rutgers will then travel to Happy Valley to take on Penn State on Sunday. The Knights have already defeated the Nittany Lions once this year, and they will be looking for the season sweep. Senior guard Paul Mulcahy scored 12 points and stuffed the stat sheet last time against Penn State, and Rutgers will need him to be a strong player again. The Knights' offense is at their best when Mulcahy is running the pick-and-roll with Omoruyi and attacking the basket.
If McConnell is out against the Nittany Lions, Mulcahy will most likely be tasked with guarding stand-out guard Jalen Pickett.
Rutgers will also have to tightly guard the perimeter against Penn State. The Nittany Lions attempt 27.9 three-point shots per game, the most in the Big Ten. They also convert on 38.9 percent of their three-point shots, which also leads the Big Ten.
The last time these two teams faced off, Penn State only shot 15.4 percent from beyond the arc and only made four three-point attempts. The Knights will need to hold the Nittany Lions to a similar percentage if they want to win their fourth Big Ten road game of the season.
The black out game against Michigan will tip-off at 8:30 p.m. and will be broadcasted on Fox Sports 1 and 88.7 WRSU-FM. Rutgers' game against Penn State will tip-off at 6:30 p.m. and will be broadcasted on the Big Ten Network and 88.7 WRSU-FM. If the Knights are able to win both games, they would most likely be in the driver's seat for another top-four finish in the Big Ten.
For more updates on the Rutgers men's basketball team, follow @TargumSports on Twitter.
