PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers men's basketball returns to Jersey Mike's Arena following three games in Las Vegas at the Players Era Festival. On Tuesday night, RU is hosting No. 1 Purdue at 8 p.m. on FS1 in the Big Ten opener. Jason Benetti and Bill Raftery have the call on television, while Jerry Recco will be joined by Chris Carlin in the radio booth.
The Scarlet Knights enter the contest at 5-3 overall following a 1-2 showing in Las Vegas, concluding the trip with an 80-65 win over UNLV on Thanksgiving afternoon. Rutgers was led by
Emmanuel Ogbole with 21 points and 13 rebounds against UNLV, both career high marks. Darren Buchana had his best half of the season with 15 points in the second half.
Ogbole is averaging 7.0 points per game, the best mark of the center's three-year Rutgers career. With 56 point on the year, he is just 15 points shy of tying his total output from last season (71 points in 23 games). This year, the big man has two games of 16+ points (16 vs. Lehigh and 21 against UNLV) in addition to four games of double-digit boards. Ogbole's 2.75 offensive rebounds per game is fifth in the Big Ten.
Rutgers allows 67.6 points per game this season, a top-75 scoring defense in the nation. RU is also in the top-85 in blocks per game (4.3).
The Scarlet Knights are led offensively by
Dylan Grant, at 15.6 points per game. Grant has scored at least 10 points in all but one game this season, with two games of 20+ and five games of 15+.
Tariq Francis shoots 96.3 percent at the free throw line. That is the best percentage in the Big Ten and 13
th in the nation. He is second on the squad at 13.0 points per game.
The Boilermakers are led by Matt Painter, who is 478-215 in 21 seasons at the helm for the program. Purdue has made 10 straight NCAA Tournament and has at least a Sweet 16 appearance in six of the last eight tournaments.
Purdue stands at 7-0, last playing Friday against Eastern Illinois, and recently winning the Baha Mar Championship in the Bahamas with wins over Memphis (80-71) and No. 15 Texas Tech (86-56), while also possessing a win at No. 8 Alabama (87-80).
Purdue leads the nation in assist to turnover ratio (2.19). The Boilermakers are fourth in assists per game (21.0) and sixth in the country in three-point percentage (42.3%).
Purdue returns three all-league players from last season, including two All-Americans. Braden Smith is the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year and a two-time All-American. On the year, Smith averages 13.0 points with 9.0 assists (which is second nationally).
Trey Kaufman-Renn was also an All-American and First Team All-Big Ten selection last year. Has three double-doubles this season. Fletcher Loyer, an all-Big Ten player last year, shoots 95.8% at the charity stripe and is the top scorer on the squad at 16.1 points per game. C.J. Cox gives PU a fourth starter returning from last year's squad.
Oscar Cluff, listed for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award watch list for the top center in the nation, averaged 17.6 points and 12.3 rebounds for South Dakota State last season. He averages 11.7 points and 10.1 rebounds per game.
Rutgers and Purdue will meet for the 25th time all-time, with 20 of those matchups coming since RU joined the league in 2014-15. Rutgers has won five of the past 11 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.
A victory over No. 1 Purdue would signify:
- Third time defeating a No. 1 ranked Purdue team (2022-23 at Purdue and 2021-22 at home).
- First ranked win this season
- 18th ranked win under Steve Pikiell
- 16th ranked win over a Big Ten team under Steve Pikiell
- Sixth top-10 win under Steve Pikiell
- 51st ranked win since 1974
Rutgers will make a brief return to Jersey Mike's Arena for the contest. Returning home for the first game since Nov. 18, RU then hits the road for the next two games, at No. 7/6 Michigan on Dec. 6 and Seton Hall on Dec. 13. The Scarlet Knights do not return to the venue until Dec. 20 against Purdue, making it the lone contest at home in a 31-day span.
