Thursday, December 9, 2021 | 7:00 p.m.
Jersey Mike's Arena | Piscataway, N.J.
TV: Big Ten Network (PxP: Brandon Gaudin, Color: Robbie Hummel)
Radio: Rutgers Sports Properties Radio Network (WCTC 1450 AM/WOR 710 AM; PXP: Jerry Recco and Color: Austin Johnson)
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The competition isn't getting any easier for the Rutgers men's basketball team.
Rutgers (4-4, 0-1) and head coach
Steve Pikiell will host the number one team in the country in the Purdue Boilermakers (8-0, 1-0) on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m.
Pikiell's Scarlet Knights have never hosted the top team in the country at Jersey Mike's Arena and it will be the first time in 14 years that the no. 1 team comes to play RU in Piscataway.
Rutgers is (4-1) at home this season and the team looks forward to a home court advantage that will feature a "Scarlet Out", where fans in the stands are asked to wear scarlet red to support RU.
"We are excited about this opportunity," Pikiell said. "We need Jersey Mike's Arena to be packed and loud. We haven't played the number 1 team in the country in a long time here and I know we have never beaten the number one. We've got to play really good basketball and play much better than we have played in the past."
The last time the Rutgers men's basketball team hosted the No. 1 team in the country was Dec. 16, 2007, when the North Carolina Tar Heels defeated the Scarlet Knights 93-71 at the Louis Brown Athletic Center.
Rutgers is coming off of its worst loss of the season against Illinois in a 86-51 defeat at the State Farm Center. Before last week's loss to the Fighting Illini, all three of the Scarlet Knights losses had come by just one possession in the final moments of each game.
"We have to become a more consistent basketball team," Pikiell said. "We haven't been a consistent team in all the areas. Rebounding in some nights we look like a great basketball team and other nights we don't. We need to get back to being that consistent basketball team in all areas."
Pikiell said on Tuesday in his weekly media availability that he hopes to have senior point guard
Geo Baker back in the lineup on Thursday. Baker has missed the last three games due to a hamstring injury that he suffered 20-plus minutes into the Lafayette game last month.
"Geo is a really important part of what we do here," Pikiell said. "We need his experience, his ability to create and his leadership."
Baker has faced the Boilermakers seven times in his career and scored double-digit points each time. He averages 15.7 points per game vs. Purdue with a high of 25.
Purdue last time out
Purdue defeated Iowa 77-70 for it's first conference win of the season on Friday at Mackey Arena.
The Boilermakers improved to (8-0) for just the fifth time since the 1939-40 season. Guard and leading-scorer Jaden Ivey led the way with 19 points against the Hawkeyes.
Trevion Williams recorded his 24
th career double-double with 13 points, 18 rebounds and three assists in just 24 minutes. His 17 defensive rebounds set a school record.
Mason Gillis came off the bench to tie a career high with 12 points in just 18 minutes. He went 2-of-3 from the field, 2-of-2 from 3-point range and 6-of-6 from the free throw line.
Scouting Purdue
Purdue's No. 1 ranking is it's first in school history.
Purdue had been ranked in 379 previous AP Top 25 polls without a No. 1 ranking -- the second-most appearances in the country. Purdue enters Thursday's contest as one of 12 unbeatens left in the country.
The Boilermakers are led by one of the best players in the country in their sophomore guard Ivey. The South Bend, Indiana native is averaging 15.8 points-per-game, 3.6 assists and holds a field goal percentage of 52.3 heading into Thursday.
Purdue is 1-of-2 teams nationally to shoot at least 50.0 percent from the field, 40.0 percent from 3-point range and 75.0 percent from the free throw line (Colorado State).
What to watch for
Eight of Purdue's 10 regulars shoot at least 40 percent from 3-point range. It will be key for the Scarlet Knight to defend the perimeter the way that the team did in the matchup against the Clemson Tigers last week. Pikiell is aware of all of the strengths of head coach Matt Painter's squad heading into the matchup:
Key quote from the head coach
"They have two of the best big men in the nation and they surround them with shooters," Pikiell said. "I think they are second in the country right now in three-point shooting. When you have a 7-foot-3 guy in the post and you have an All-American that comes off the bench you obviously have really great talent. They can beat you around the perimeter, but they can beat you around the basket too."
History against Purdue, No. 1 teams
Rutgers has beaten Purdue in the last three games played between the pair of opponents.
Thursday night's game will be the 17th all-time between the Purdue and Rutgers with the Boilermakers. Purdue currently has a (12-4) series record against RU. Purdue has held Rutgers under 70 points just once in the last six meetings.
Against no. 1 teams in the country the Rutgers men's basketball team is a career (0-2) at home.
The Rutgers men's basketball team hosted the no. 1 UConn Huskies on Jan 6, 2004 and lost 75-74. Rutgers forged a five-point halftime lead and led for the majority of the game before the No.1-ranked Connecticut Huskies rallied for a 75-74 BIG EAST victory before a rollicking, sell-out crowd of 8,044 at home.
A victory on Thursday would mark the program's best ranked win in history and the highest ranked win in 40 years. The Rutgers men's basketball team defeated the no. 2 UCLA Bruins on Dec. 3, 1981 at a neutral site.
Jersey Mike's Arena
Fans are asked to wear scarlet red in the "Scarlet Out" on Thursday night.
The men's basketball team will hold a moment of silence for legend Clarence Tillman, who passed away on Sunday. Tillman played for the Scarlet Knights from 1980-83 and was the team's leading scorer in the NCAA Tournament victory over Louisiana in 1983. Read more about Tillman
here.
Up next
The Scarlet Knights will take on Seton Hall on the road in the Garden State Classic on Sunday at the Prudential Center at 7:30 p.m.
