PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers men's basketball is back on the road for a midweek game on Wednesday night, traveling to Northwestern for a 9 p.m. tipoff on Wednesday night against the Wildcats on BTN. It will mark the fourth straight game away from Jersey Mike's Arena (third true road game, plus a home game at Madison Square Garden).

The contest matches the two leading scorers in the league. Rutgers' Ace Bailey (19.833 points per game) has a slight edge over Northwestern's Nick Martinelli (19.75 ppg). The matchup also features the only two teams in the Big Ten to have two players among the top-10 in scoring: Rutgers (Ace Bailey, 1^st and Dylan Harper, 4^th) facing Northwestern (Martinelli, 2^nd, Brooks Barnhizer – 8^th).  
 

About Rutgers

Rutgers stands at 10-10 overall and 3-6 in the Big Ten following an 81-74 loss to No. 8/8 Michigan Sate last Saturday at Madison Square Garden. RU is now on a two-game losing streak, falling at Penn State (80-72) Monday as well, which had followed a two-game winning streak at Nebraska and against UCLA. RU is 8-2 at Jersey Mike's Arena this season and 2-8 away from the venue.

RU's opponents have scored over 80 points in three straight games and Big Ten foes average 77.1 points per game in the nine league contests this season. That mark is 10^th in the league and also exactly matches opponent Northwestern, who have also allowed 694 points through nine games.

In conference play, Ace Bailey averages 20.44 points per game and 9.0 rebounds. Both marks are third best of all players in a conference game. His 39 points against Indiana were the most of any player in a conference game this season. He also has the two highest performances for field goals made in a league game this season (16 vs. Indiana, 13 at Penn State).

Overall, Bailey leads the team at 19.8 points per game, 16^th in the nation and first in the Big Ten. Bailey has posted at least 17 points in five straight games and seven of the past eight contests. He averages 21.8 points per game over the past five and 23.9 over the past eight.

Classmate Dylan Harper is at 18.6 points per game, 41^st nationally and fourth in the Big Ten. In conference play, where Harper has been limited by illness and injury, he is second on the team at 12.8 points per game. Bailey has scored 29% of the team's points in Big Ten play. Bailey and Harper combined have scored 45% of the team's points in Big Ten play.

RU, who has never averaged more than 69 points per game under head coach Steve Pikiell is averaging 76.5 points per game this season. The last time RU averaged over 70 points per game was 2013-14 (71.1 ppg). RU has averaged over 70 points per game for a full season just that one time since the start of the 2001-02 season.
 

Freshman Scoring Record

Freshmen Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey are approaching historic ranks for their scoring output among Rutgers' freshmen, each on the verge of the top-7 scoring seasons by a true freshman Scarlet Knight.

Bailey (357 points) surpassed Ricky Shields last game to move into seventh place among all RU true freshmen scorers. He is just one point behind Geo Baker's 17-18 season for sixth place. Harper (354 points) stands just behind him, one point behind Shields and four points behind Baker.
 
Rutgers True Freshmen Scoring Leaders

1. Mike Rosario (08-09): 517
2. Phil Sellers (72-73): 506
3. Corey Sanders (15-16): 430
4. Quincy Douby (03-04): 412
5. Hollis Copeland (74-75): 395
6. Geo Baker (17-18): 358
7. Ace Bailey (24-25): 357
8. Ricky Shields (01-02): 355
9. Dylan Harper (24-25): 354

 

About Northwestern

Northwestern enters the game at 12-8 overall and 3-6 in conference play. This season, the Wildcats are 10-1 at home and are 25-3 over the past two seasons. Since Rutgers won at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Jan. 11, 2023, the Wildcats are 30-5 at the venue in the last 35 games there.

As a team, Northwestern is first in the league with just 10.1 turnovers per game. They are also third in the league with 8.2 steals per game, making for a +4.3 turnover margin that is 17^th best nationally.

Nick Martinelli averages 19.8 points per game, second best in the conference. His 39.3 minutes per game in league play are the most in the conference. Brooks Barnhizer adds 17.6 points per game for NU (eighth in the league) and leads the team with 8.8 rebounds a game.
 

About the Series

Rutgers holds an 8-12 mark in the all-time series against Northwestern, dating back to 1984. However, Northwestern won nine of the first 10 matchups. Since then, RU has won seven of the past nine games.

In 2023, RU claimed a 65-52 win at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Jan. 11 behind 11-of-18 shooting from long range, with Cam Spencer scoring a team-high 23 points. In the team's lone meeting last season, RU won 63-60 at home. The Scarlet Knights overcame an 11-point second half deficit to clinch the game late.
 

With a Win

• Eight wins in the past 10 games against Northwestern
• Second true road win of the season.

 

Up Next

Rutgers returns home this weekend for a stretch of three of the next four games being at Jersey Mike's Arena. The Scarlet Knights next host Michigan on Saturday at 1:30 pm. The Wolverines are the top team in the receiving votes section of each poll this week.
  

Pikiell Podcast

The Most Recent Episode of the Pikiell Podcast Can Be Found Below