PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Coming off back-to-back road wins, Rutgers' men's basketball returns to Jersey Mike's Arena to host No. 11 Wisconsin. The Scarlet Knights won consecutive games, both coming at true road venues, for the first time since 1997-98. Big Ten Network will broadcast the noon game, with Cory Provus and Stephen Bardo on the call.
Last time out, the Scarlet Knights gutted out a 56-53 win at Maryland. The victory at the XFinity Center marked 129 career wins for head coach
Steve Pikiell, surpassing Bob Wenzel for sole possession of 3
rd place all-time at the helm of RU. Rutgers recorded their first consecutive road wins of the season and has won five of its past seven meetings with Maryland.
Mawot Mag (15 points) scored in double-figures for the 8
th time in his 14 games played this season. Prior to this season, Mag had scored in double-figures 8 times in his first 63 career games over three seasons. Mag had 15 points in each of his last two games, his first time in his career with back-to-back games of at least 15 points. Mag is shooting 57% over his past two games after shooting 35 percent in his first 12, and has averaged 12.2 points and has 12 steals over the past nine games.
Jeremiah Williams (14 points) has scored double-figures in both games he's been active for this season. His two-game scoring average of 12.0 leads the team in average points per game, as RU is 2-0 with Williams in the starting lineup.
Defensively, Rutgers held the Terps to 2-of-18 from three-point distance, the lowest mark for a RU Big Ten opponent since March 11, 2021 (Indiana). The Scarlet Knights held UM to 31.5 percent from the field, the lowest percentage shot by a RU Big Ten opponent since the 2021-22 season, as Maryland had its second lowest scoring output of the season.
Rutgers' defense has been recognized among the top in the nation analytically. Per KenPom, RU is second in adjusted defensive efficiency. Per Evan Miya, the team's defensive rating is fourth nationally. Per Bart Torvik, RU has the best adjusted defense in the Big Ten.
Cliff Omoruyi was recognized among the nation's best defenders as he was selected among 15 defenders nationally, being named to the 2024 Naismith Men's Defensive Player of the Year Watch List. This marked the third consecutive season a Scarlet Knight has been selected to the Watch List as McConnell made the top four finalists last season and the year before.
Omoruyi needs 9 points to reach 27th all-time at RU (Tom Savage) and 20 points to tie 26th place (Jamal Phillips). He needs 5 blocks to tie for 15th on RU's single-season list, and he needs 10 field goals to tie for 19th all-time at RU (Jeff Greer).
The Badgers are led by head coach Greg Gard, who is in his ninth season with a 180-100 record and five NCAA Tournament appearances after taking the helm from Hall of Fame coach Bo Ryan (364–130 with 14 NCAA Tournament appearances at Wisconsin).
Wisconsin enters the matchup at 16-7 overall and 8-4 in Big Ten play. After starting the year 16-4, 8-1 and reaching No. 6 nationally, the Badgers have their first three-game losing streak of the season, entering the matchup after losing at Nebraska in overtime, then at home to No. 2 Purdue, and then falling Wednesday night at Michigan. UW currently is No. 9 in the Coaches Poll and No. 11 in the AP Poll.
St. John's transfer AJ Storr has excelled in his first season at Wisconsin, leading the squad with 16.5 points per game on 44.2 percent shooting, and scoring in double-figures in 21 of 23 games. Bigs Tyler Wahl (11.7 ppg) and Stephen Crowl (10.9) alongside Max Klesmit (10.0 ppg, with three games of 20+ points in Big Ten play) supplement the scoring, while point guard Chucky Hepburn leads the team in assists (85) and steals (46).
The Badgers are 3-5 away from home this season. Storr averages 19.6 points per game away from the Kohl Center, but no other Badger reaches double-figure average scoring in road games. UW has lost three of its past four road contests (Penn State, Nebraska, Michigan), with its one win in that span by one possession (61-59 at rival Minnesota in the Border Battle).
Rutgers is 5-9 overall against Wisconsin and has won two of the last three games, both coming at the Kohl Center. Last season, Rutgers earned a 58-57 win over the Badgers by holding them to 33 percent from the field.
RU also earned a 73-65 win over No. 13 Wisconsin two seasons ago. The series was highlighted by RU's first win, a 67-62 victory in January of 2015 over then No. 4 Wisconsin, a team that would go on to advance to the Final Four. The Badgers were also ranked No. 14 in the nation when RU claimed the win at the Kohl Center.
• Third win in the last four meetings against Wisconsin and fifth win against the Badgers since 2018
• First ranked win of the season
• Third straight ranked win coming over a top-10 team
• Rutgers' 16
th ranked win under head coach
Steve Pikiell over the past six seasons
Rutgers stays at Jersey Mike's Arena to host Northwestern on Thursday night (6:30 pm, BTN).
