PISCATAWAY, N. J. – Rutgers men's basketball returns to Jersey Mike's Arena on Sunday for a matchup against No. 2 Purdue. Fox will televise the game, with Tim Brando and LaPhonso Ellis on the call.
Rutgers enters the game at 10-8 overall and 2-5 in league play. The Scarlet Knights have split their last four games, winning at home over Indiana and Nebraska, with road losses to top-20 KenPom teams in Michigan State and Illinois.
The Scarlet Knights were keyed in both those home wins by collecting 50+ rebounds (52 versus Indiana and a program Big Ten game record 56 against Nebraska). On the season, RU averages 39.2 rebounds per game. In home games this year, Rutgers has a scoring margin of +11.6, hauling in 42.8 rebounds per game and shooting 39.1 percent from the field.
RU has four players averaging between 9.5 and 12.2 points per game:
Aundre Hyatt (12.2 ppg), Cliff Omoruyi (10.8 ppg),
Mawot Mag (10.5) and
Derek Simpson (9.5). The Scarlet Knights lead the Big Ten with 100 blocked shots on the year (5.56 per game). Cliff Omoruyi has 59% of the team's blocks and is 14 blocks ahead of second place in the league.
Rutgers is 9-1 this season at home. The Scarlet Knights are 23-7 at home over the past two seasons, 33-11 at home over the past three seasons and 51-12 at home over the past four seasons.
Cliff Omoruyi enters the game with 834 rebounds. He needs 16 more boards to tie Hollis Copeland for sixth all-time at RU (850).
Omoruyi has 1,113 points. On RU's all-time scoring list, he needs nine points to tie Jim Valvano for 31
st and 27 to tie Don Parsons for 30
th. He has 59 blocks this season. With one more block, he moves into 19th on RU's single season list, and can move into a tie for 18th with two blocks.
With his next block, he will become the first Scarlet Knight with consecutive seasons of 60+ blocks since Hamady Ndiaye (2008-09 and 2009-10).
No. 2 Purdue enters the game at 18-2 overall with a 7-2 league mark following Tuesday night's 99-67 win over Michigan. Over its last four games, Purdue is averaging 91.3 ppg and winning by an average margin of 21.0 points per game. The Boilermakers, who are 15-0 at home or at neutral sites, are just 3-2 in true road games this season, taking losses at Northwestern and Nebraska. Purdue is in the top-ten nationally in rebounding margin (third), three-point percentage (fifth), assists (seventh), scoring offense (eighth) and scoring margin (ninth).
Zach Edey is the reigning national Player of the Year, with 52 career double-doubles and third nationally with 13 this season. Edey is also third in the country in points (22.9 ppg), fourth in rebounds (11.4 rpg) and 15
th in blocks (2.25) Braden Smith leads the nation with 146 assists. Edey is joined in double-figure scoring by Lance Jones (12.5 ppg), Smith (11.8 ppg) and Fletcher Loyer (11.3 ppg).
Rutgers and Purdue will meet for the 21st time all-time, with 16 of those matchups coming since RU joined the league in 2014-15. Rutgers has won five of the past seven meetings. That streak included a 70-68 win in the meeting at Jersey Mike's Arena, as
Ron Harper Jr. hit a buzzer-beating shot to down the No. 1 ranked Boilermakers, the first ever win for RU over a top-ranked team as well as a win at Mackey Arena over No. 1 Purdue again on Jan. 2, 2023, a 65-64 win.
- Head coach Steve Pikiell would earn his 128th win as the head coach of Rutgers, tying Bob Wenzel for the third most wins of any Rutgers' men's basketball head coach.
- The 16th ranked win for Rutgers under head coach Steve Pikiell
- The eighth ranked win for the program since the start of the 2021-22 season, all of them against program ranked 16th or higher nationally.
- Rutgers would have three wins all-time over top-3 ranked teams, and all would have come against Purdue.
- Wins in six of the past eight against Purdue.
- Improving to 10-1 this season at home, 24-7 over the past two seasons, 33-11 over the past here seasons and 52-12 over the past four seasons.
Rutgers returns to action at Jersey Mike's Arena on Wednesday night, January 31, hosting Penn State
