MBB Travels to Ann Arbor Wednesday
Jan 25 | Men's Basketball
| Rutgers at Michigan | |
| Date | Wednesday, January 27 |
| Time | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| Location | Ann Arbor, Mich. | Crisler Center |
| Television | Big Ten Network |
| Radio | Rutgers IMG Radio Network - WOR (710) and WCTC (1450AM) |
| Game Notes | Rutgers | Michigan |
| Live Stats | |
| Team Info | Online Media Guide |
| Statistics | Rutgers | Michigan | Big Ten Conference |
| Social Media | @RutgersMBB  | #RHoops | Facebook/RutgersMBB  |
Rutgers Game Notes
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - After hosting consecutive nationally-ranked foes at the RAC, Rutgers (6-14, 0-7) returns to the rugged road of the Big Ten to meet Michigan (15-5, 5-2) in a 7 p.m. tip-off at the 12,707-seat Crisler Center. The Scarlet Knights will be working to return to the win column and earn their first B1G road victory. The Wolverines are receiving votes in both polls and have been ranked as high as No. 24 this season. UM is 10-1 at home, including 3-0 in conference play.
The game will be televised live on BTN with Joe Davis calling the action and Jon Crispn providing the analysis. On the radio, the contest will be broadcast live on the Rutgers IMG Sports Network, WOR 710 AM in New York & WCTC 1450 AM in New Brunswick. Chris Carlin will serve as play-by-play announcer and Joe Boylan will provide commentary.
The game will mark the eighth meeting on the collegiate hardwood between Rutgers and Michigan dating back to 1933 with UM holding a 7-0 advantage. The Wolverines won both ends of the home-and-home series last season, including a 79-69 decision at UM in the regular season finale. The Wolverines made 14 three-pointers to outscore an RU offense that shot 52.6 percent (30-of-57). The Scarlet Knights out-rebounded UM 33-25, but were unable to overcome the host's 45.2 percent (14-of-31) performance from behind the arc. The Wolverines came out ahead in a pair of significant post-season meetings. No. 9 UM defeated No. 4 RU, 86-70, in the 1976 NCAA Final Four at the Spectrum in Philadelphia to provide the Scarlet Knights their first loss of the season after 31 victories with Eddie Jordan serving as point guard. Michigan also downed Rutgers 62-55 in the 2004 NIT Final at Madison Square Garden.
Mike Williams scored 17 points to lead four Rutgers players in double figures in a hard-fought, 90-76, loss to No. 9 Iowa Thursday evening at the RAC. The Scarlet Knights out-scored the Hawkeyes 46-38 in the paint and established a 26-9 advantage in bench points. Jonathan Laurent returned from injury to provide RU a spark, scoring 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Fellow Florida rookie Corey Sanders added 12 points and nine assists, while Omari Grier made 4-of-5 field goals to post 10 points. Rutgers shot 48.4 percent (31-of-64) en route to its point total, which both signaled season-bests in Big Ten play this season. The biggest disparity on the stat sheet came from behind the arc, where Iowa made 11-of-29 attempts, while RU struggled at just 23.6 percent (4-of-17).
Rutgers is fortunate to have Laurent back in the lineup, but remains without the services of three injured frontcourt players - Shaquille Doorson (foot), Ibrahima Diallo (foot) and Deshawn Freeman (knee) - who will not return this season due to injury.
Michigan, under the leadership of ninth-year head coach John Beilein, stormed out of the gates strong in the second half to earn an 81-68 win at Nebraska on Saturday .The Wolverines led by just three points at the half, but a 14-6 scoring run propelled them to a lead they never relinquished. Guard Duncan Robinson led all scorers with 21 points on 6-of-12 shooting and guard Derrick Walton, Jr. controlled the game with 19 points, 12 rebounds and six assists. UM shot 25-of-47 (53.2 percent) and 11-of-21 (52.4 percent) from beyond the arc. The Wolverines rank seventh nationally in three-point field goal percentage (41.8) and eight in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.61).
