MBB Travels to Illinois Tuesday
Feb 15 | Men's Basketball
| Rutgers at Illinois | |
| Date | Tuesday, February 16 |
| Time | 9 p.m. ET |
| Location | Champaign, Ill. | State Farm Center |
| Television | Big Ten Network |
| Radio | Rutgers IMG Radio Network - WOR (710) and WCTC (1450AM) |
| Game Notes | Rutgers | Illinois |
| Team Info | Online Media Guide |
| Statistics | Rutgers | Illinois | Big Ten Conference |
| Social Media | @RutgersMBB  | #RHoops | Facebook/RutgersMBB  |
Rutgers Game Notes
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Rutgers (6-19, 0-12) takes flight for the Prairie State to meet Illinois (11-14, 3-9) in a 9 p.m. (ET) tip-off on Tuesday night at the 15,700-seat State Farm Center. It marks the first of three road contests for the Scarlet Knights over their next four games. RU will be working to return to the win column and earn its first B1G road victory, while the Fighting Illini will be looking to snap a two-game skid.
The game will be televised live on BTN with Cory Provus calling the action and Jon Crispin 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 contest will mark the fourth meeting on the collegiate hardwood between RU and Illinois, with the Illini having won the prior three match-ups. On Feb. 3 at the RAC, UI defeated RU 110-101 in triple overtime. Guard Corey Sanders set a school freshman record with 39 points and dished-out 12 assists in a contest that featured seven ties and 12 lead changes. He became first player to have at least 39 points and 12 assists in a game since Ohio's D.J. Cooper in 2010. Last season, Rutgers fell at Illinois, 66-54. The Scarlet Knights established a 32-18 advantage in points in the paint, but UI shot 48.1 percent (25-of-52) and was 9-9 at the free throw line. The No. 15-ranked Illini won the first match-up, 77-57, on Nov. 26, 2005 in the championship game of the South Padre Island Invitational in Texas.
Rutgers dropped a hard-fought 79-69 home decision to Ohio State on Saturday afternoon. Sanders shot 10-of-19 to post 23 points, but the difference came from behind the arc, where the Buckeyes deposited nine three-pointers, six more than the Scarlet Knights. He was joined in double figures by sophomores Mike Williams and D.J. Foreman, who contributed 13 and 10 points, respectively. Williams added four steals to help RU force 19 visitor turnovers. Rutgers made 38.5 percent (25-of-56) of its FGAs. Ohio State, conversely, shot 50.8 percent (31-of-61) and established a 46-33 rebounding advantage. Despite the disparity, RU out-scored OSU 44-42 in the paint.
Rutgers head coach Eddie Jordan announced Monday that Sanders has been suspended from basketball activities for two weeks due to a violation of team rules. He will not compete in the next four games as a result of the suspension.
Illinois, under the leadership of fourth-year head coach John Groce, dropped a 58-56 decision at Northwestern on Saturday in a contest that had five ties and 14 lead changes. Despite being out-rebounded 40-31, the Wildcats out-scored the Illini 24-16 in the paint and received a 23-9 advantage from its bench. Malcolm Hill, who scored 32 points at RU on Feb. 3, averages a team-best 18.4 points-per-game. He has made 150 free throws this season, 17th most nationally. Illinois ranks 12th in the NCAA with an average of just 10.2 turnovers-per-contest.
