PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers men's basketball is back at Jersey Mike's Arena on Thursday night for the penultimate home game of the 2023-24 season. The Scarlet Knights host Michigan at 8:30 p.m., a game that will be televised on Fox Sports 1 with Brandon Gaudin and Jim Spanarkel on the call. Fans can also tune into a radio broadcast on WCBS 880 AM (Jerry Recco and Austin Johnson) or WRSU 88.7 FM Rutgers Student Radio (Eddie Kalegi and Alex Carmenaty).
The Scarlet Knights stand one game above .500 with a current record of 14-13 overall and 6-10. The Scarlet Knights have had no more than 10 league losses in each season since a 7-13 league finish in 2019.
RU is looking to stem a current three-game losing streak, which followed a four-game winning streak. Following losses at Minnesota (81-70) and No. 3 Purdue (96-68), Rutgers returned home for the annual Blackout Game last Sunday but fell 63-46 to Maryland. The game marked just the second loss of the season when holding an opponent under 65 points, holding a 13-2 record in those games.
Clifford Omoruyi has emerged as a contender for Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year with his elite rim protection skills. Omoruyi has a block rate of 13.4% that is the best in the nation and improves that number to 13.9% in league games. That is a large jump from last season, when he had a 9.4% block rate in league games and still topped the league. Omoruyi has 85 blocks on the year and is second nationally with 3.15 blocks per game. He is also fourth in the league with 5.89 defensive rebounds per game.
The team's scoring has been balanced, with
Jeremiah Williams 12.0 points per game through seven contests pacing the squad, while five players total have at least nine points per game:
Aundre Hyatt (11.0), Omoruyi (10.7),
Derek Simpson (9.1) and
Mawot Mag (9.1).
Clifford Omoruyi is just one rebound away from becoming the fifth Rutgers player ever to reach 900 career rebounds. He's also 11 field goals away from the 500-field goal plateau. Omoruyi is at 1,207 points, and can pass Larry Gordon for 24
th all-time at RU with seven points.
He has 85 blocks on the season, seventh-most in a season in RU history. He needs eight more blocks to tie for sixth. Omoruyi is the ninth Big Ten player since 2000 to reach 210 career blocks, and 17th on the all-time Big Ten blocks list.
Michigan comes into the game with an 8-20 record and are last in the Big Ten at 3-14 in the league. After a 6-5 start to the season, the Wolverines are 2-15 since December 16.
Michigan is third in the Big Ten with 37.1% shooting from three-point range and fifth in three-pointers per game. Those represent the only stat categories where UM is in the top-6 of the league stats.
The Wolverines are led by Dug McDaniel at 16.7 points per game. McDaniel is also sixth in the league at 4.7 assists per game. UM will be without the services of Olivier Nkamhou, who was averaging 14.8 points and 7.1 rebounds, following surgery on his left wrist.
Rutgers is 3-16 all-time against Michigan. Earlier this season, RU had a huge second half comeback to produce their first-ever win at Michigan, winning 69-59 on February 3
rd.
Derek Simpson led the charge, as he scored a team-high 19 points on seven-of-13 from the field.
Jeremiah Williams, making his debut for Rutgers, impressed with 10 points, six rebounds and two assists.
RU's other two wins have come within the past three seasons. In 2023, RU earned a 62-50 win over Michigan in their opening game of the Big Ten Tournament. In that game, RU limited Michigan to 19 percent shooting.
The first meeting between the two schools came in 1933, then again at the end of the 1976 Final Four seasons. The squads matched up five times before RU joined the Big Ten and then 14 times since. Rutgers' wins have come at home and on a neutral court, with RU holding a 1-8 record on the road against Michigan.
A victory over Michigan on Thursday night would represent:
- First home-and-home sweep of the season
- First home-and-home sweep over Michigan ever
- Fourth ever win over Michigan, all coming in past three seasons.
- Third Straight Win over Michigan, all in different venues
Following Thursday night's game against Michigan, three more regular season games remain. RU hits the rugged road of the Big Ten to next face Nebraska (Sunday, March 3) and then Wisconsin (Thursday, March 7). Both teams are currently in the top-5 of the league standings. Then, Rutgers closes the regular season at home, hosting Ohio State on Sunday, March 10.
