PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers men's basketball is back in action on Wednesday night at Jersey Mike's Arena. The Scarlet Knights tip off at 6:30 pm against the Iowa Hawkeyes. The game will be nationally televised by Big Ten Network with Jason Horowitz, Robbie Hummel and Andy Katz on the call.
Rutgers enters the matchup at 12-12 overall and 5-8 in the Big Ten Conference, while holding a 9-3 home record. RU has alternated wins and losses in the last four games, including a 79-72 win at Northwestern and a home ranked win over No. 23 Illinois (82-73).
Last time out, Rutgers fell at Maryland 90-81. Rutgers was led by 20 points from
Dylan Harper, his 16
th 20+ point game of the season. Freshman
Dylan Grant added a career-high 19 points.
The Scarlet Knights have been getting to the free throw line with increasing frequency. RU made 28 free throws against Illinois and 26 against Maryland. Both marks are in the top-4 all-time for Rutgers in a Big Ten game, dating back to the 2014-15 season.
Rutgers is one of just seven schools in the nation to have at least five freshmen currently averaging 7 minutes or more per game. Rutgers is the lone Big Ten team on the list and one of just two in the Power 6 conferences. Rutgers' five freshmen average 48.29 points per team game, only behind Duke nationally (49.04).
The Scarlet Knights' three leading scorers overall on the season are currently true freshmen – Bailey (19.4 ppg), Harper (19.1 ppg) and
Lathan Sommerville (7.4) and
Dylan Grant (6.2) makes for four of the top six. Additionally, true freshman
Dylan Grant has become an integral part of the rotation in the past 10 games (since Wisconsin on January 6) after playing in just three of the first 14 games. In the past 10 games, Grant is averaging 8.1 points per game, which would be third on the team in that span and is doing so on a team-best 46.4% from the field in that stretch.
RU, who has never averaged more than 69 points per game under head coach
Steve Pikiell is averaging 76.4 points per game this season. Rutgers has averaged over 76.5 points per game just 14 times in the school's 111-year history (and not since 1992-92). The last time RU averaged over even 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.
Ace Bailey (426 points) is just four points behind Corey Sanders for entering the top-three of all RU true freshmen scorers.
Dylan Harper (402 points) stands just 10 points behind Quincy Douby for fifth.
Rutgers True Freshmen Season Scoring Leaders: Total Points
- Mike Rosario (08-09): 517
- Phil Sellers (72-73): 506
- Corey Sanders (15-16): 430
- Ace Bailey (24-25): 426
- Quincy Douby (03-04): 412
- Dylan Harper (24-25): 402
Under 15
th year head coach Fran McCaffery (293-201 as the Hawkeyes bench boss), Iowa is 13-10 overall and 4-8 in the Big Ten. Iowa has lost six of their past seven games and are 0-5 in true road games this season.
Iowa is ninth in the NCAA and second in the Big Ten in scoring at 84.5 points per game. That comes via 18.8 assists per game (third nationally) and a 49.6% field goal percentage (fourth nationally). However, defensively, the Hawkeyes are last in the Big Ten and in the bottom 50 nationally in scoring defense (78.8 points per game) and rebounding margin (-5.4).
Iowa recently lost sophomore center Owen Freeman to season-ending surgery. Prior to that, Freeman was the team's leading scorer (16.7 ppg), rebounder (6.7) and shot blocker (35). In addition to Freeman, Payton Sandfort averages 15.9 points per game, and Josh Dix is at 13.9 ppg.
Rutgers and Iowa are set to meet for the 17
th time, with Iowa holding a 13-3 lead in the all-time series, which dates back to 1989. Rutgers has lost four straight to Iowa since their 48-46 win in Piscataway on Jan. 19, 2022, and are 3-7 in the last 10 games. The Hawkeyes are 5-2 at Rutgers all-time.
Rutgers returns to the road for its first West Coast trip in the newly shaped Big Ten. RU heads to No. 16/18 Oregon (Sunday) and then Washington (Wednesday). Only two home games remain after the contest against the Hawkeyes, hosting USC (Feb. 23) and Minnesota (March 9).
