What to Expect: Indiana at Rutgers
Indiana hits the road Tuesday night to take on Rutgers at Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, New Jersey. The Scarlet Knights are 8-6 overall and 0-3 in Big Ten play.
Tuesday’s game tips at 7 p.m. ET on Peacock. For details on how to sign up for NBCUniversal’s streaming service and watch the game, click here.
After missing the NCAA tournament last season, Rutgers basketball is in a transition period. The Scarlet Knights lost Caleb McConnell to graduation along with Cam Spencer and Paul Mulcahy to the transfer portal.
Steve Pikiell has assembled an elite recruiting class for next season, which should bring higher expectations, but this year’s team is currently searching for its first conference victory.
The Scarlet Knights have Tuesday night circled as the perfect opportunity for their first league win. Rutgers is 7-1 at home, has one of the nation’s best defenses and has beaten Indiana four straight times at home.
MEET THE SCARLET KNIGHTS
Rutgers has been built with a defense-first mentality by Pikiell since he took over the job in the spring of 2016. This season’s team is no different. With limited scoring options, the Scarlet Knights try to hold opponents down with hard-nosed defense.
Pikiell regularly goes 10 players deep with no one on the roster averaging more than 27 minutes. Only three Scarlet Knights average double-figures in scoring and Rutgers has made only 84 3-pointers this season, just 11 more than Indiana.
Senior big man Clifford Omoruyi is an elite defender with limited scoring ability. Omoruyi is second on Rutgers in scoring (10.7), first in rebounding (8.9) and first in blocks (3.4). The 6-foot-11, 240-pound senior shoots 51.4 percent from the floor and 63.5 percent from the foul line.
Omoruyi is joined in the starting frontcourt by Aundre Hyatt, a fifth-year senior and Mawot Mag, another elite defender.
Hyatt, now in his third season at Rutgers after transferring from LSU, is the team’s leading scorer at 11.9 points per game. Hyatt has connected on a team-high 27 3-pointers on 77 attempts (35.1 percent).
Mag tore his ACL last season and has played six games this season, all starts. The 6-foot-7 senior from Australia is a disruptive defender. He’s struggled offensively since returning from injury, but he is coming off a 24-point game at Iowa. Mag is shooting just 36.2 percent from the field.
UMass transfer Noah Fernandes and sophomore Derek Simpson comprise the Rutgers starting backcourt. Simpson has a team-high 19 steals and averages 9.7 points on 35 percent shooting from the field. He also leads the Scarlet Knights in assists at 2.9 per game. Fernandes is a 5-foot-11 guard who has also struggled with his shooting. Fernandes is connecting on 34.9 percent of his field goal attempts and averages 8.3 points and just over two assists.
Freshman Jamichael Davis is the backup point guard and fifth-year guard Austin Williams plays nearly 16 minutes off the bench at the two. The 6-foot-2 Davis has dished out 35 assists to just 13 turnovers in 13 games. Williams, who played at Hartford and Marist before transferring to Rutgers for his final season, averages five points on 55.9 percent shooting.
Freshman Gavin Griffiths was billed as a shooter out of high school, but the 6-foot-8 freshman is 14-for-54 on 3s (25.9 percent) in 14 games.
Oscar Palmquist entered the transfer portal last season and committed to Elon but returned to Rutgers in early August. The Swedish forward is 5-for-18 on 3s.
Antwone Woolfolk gives Pikiell another post player with size off the bench. The 6-foot-9, 225-pound sophomore has started six games and averages 4.1 points and 3.4 rebounds but has just one blocked shot on the season.
TEMPO-FREE PREVIEW
All stats are via KenPom.com and updated through Sunday’s games.
Rutgers has beaten Indiana four straight times in Piscataway with its defense. The Hoosiers managed just 48 points in a loss last season at Jersey Mike’s Arena and haven’t scored more than 65 points in a game at Rutgers in the Pikiell era.
The defensive profile for the Scarlet Knights is elite. Rutgers is holding its opponents to 42.9 percent shooting on 2s, which ranks ninth in the country. Post points, Indiana’s strength, could be challenging to come by with Omoruyi in the paint. Rutgers has the 4th best block percentage nationally.
With an average defensive possession length of 18.8 seconds – one of the 10 longest in the nation – Rutgers forces its opponents into tough shots in the half-court. The Scarlet Knights don’t turn the ball over much, which limits opportunities to get out in transition and get easy baskets.
After turning the ball over 19 times last week at Nebraska, taking care of the ball will be essential for the Hoosiers. Rutgers forces a turnover on 22.4 percent of its opponent possessions, the 16th-best percentage nationally.
WHAT IT COMES DOWN TO
The KenPom projection is Rutgers by three with a 38 percent chance of an IU victory.
This has been the type of game Indiana has been incapable of grinding out on the road in recent seasons, as the physicality combined with the raucous environment has proven problematic.
Omoruyi will likely be on Reneau, which will put a lot of pressure on Kel’el Ware to play at a high level. The numbers suggest Rutgers does a solid job of defending without committing fouls, which could negate one of Indiana’s primary offensive strengths.
For the Hoosiers to prevail, they’ll need to limit turnovers, keep Rutgers off the offensive glass and knock in some timely perimeter shots.
Filed to: Rutgers Scarlet Knights