PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers men's basketball returns from their West Coast trip and are back at Jersey Mike's Arena on Sunday evening. The Scarlet Knights welcome another West Coast team, as USC visits for a 6 p.m. contest. The penultimate home game of the regular season will be televised by FS1, with Dave Sims and Donny Marshall on the call.
The contest against USC will be the third straight game against one of the four former Pac-12 schools that are new to the Big Ten this year, and the final of those four games. RU is currently 2-1 against the West Coast schools, winning at home against UCLA and on the road against Washington, while dropping their contest at Oregon.
Rutgers is coming off of an overtime win late on Wednesday night at Washington. It took an extra session, but the Scarlet Knights prevailed with an 89-85 overtime victory at Alaska Airlines Arena. RU was led by freshman guard
Dylan Harper, who had his third 30-plus scoring performance of the season with 34 points on 9-of-18 from the field and 12-of-14 from the free throw line. He added five rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block, becoming the first freshman to reach that statline since 2017, and only the eighth since 2005. Three of the other seven games were done by players ultimately drafted No. 1 overall in the NBA Draft (Markelle Fultz twice, Ben Simmons).
Harper made 12 free throws, his new career-high. It was tied for the most Free Throws ever made by a RU player in a Big Ten game (previously done by both Ron Harper Jr. and Caleb McConnell in 2020). Harper's 14 free throws attempted were also the most ever by a RU player in a Big Ten game.
Since returning from injury, Harper has averaged 21.2 points and 3.6 assists over the past five games, shooting 87% from the free throw line in that span on 33-of-38 shooting at the charity stripe. Harper averages 7.6 free throw attempts per game over the past five games. For comparison, the Big Ten's leader in free throws attempted this season (John Tonje) averages 6.9 per game. Similarly, Harper averages 6.6 free throws made per game in that five game span, with the Big Ten leader (Tonje) over the course of the season at 6.2 for comparison. For the season, Harper averages 4.5 free throws made and 6.0 free throws attempted per game, ranking sixth in the league in each.
Rutgers' 26 free throws against Washington were tied for the 4
th most ever by RU in a Big Ten game. Three of the top five most free throws made in a Big Ten game have come this season.
Dylan Harper and
Ace Bailey have combined for six 30-plus point games this season (three apiece.
Only three other players in the Big Ten have at least three 30-point games (Wisconsin's John Tonje - 4, Ohio State's Bruce Thorton - 3, Minnesota's Dawson Garcia - 3). Five times this season an RU player has had at least 34 points (Harper - 2, Bailey - 3). There have only been 3 other 34+ performances by Big Ten players this year (Tonje - 41, Michigan's Vladislav Goldin - 36, Purdue's Braden Smith - 34)
RU, who has never averaged more than 69 points per game under head coach
Steve Pikiell is averaging 76.0 points per game this season. Rutgers has averaged 76 points per game just 16 times in the school's 111-year history (and not since 1992-92). 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.
Against Washington,
Dylan Harper moved past Corey Sanders' to move into 4th all-time among RU true freshman point-scorers.
Ace Bailey and
Dylan Harper occupy the 3 and 4 spots. Bailey is just 41 points away from 2nd and 57 away from first. Harper is 46 points away from 2nd and 62 away from first.
Rutgers True Freshmen Season Scoring Leaders: Total Points
- Mike Rosario (08-09): 517
- Phil Sellers (72-73): 506
- Ace Bailey (24-25): 465
- Dylan Harper (24-25): 460
- Corey Sanders (15-16): 430
Under first-year head coach Eric Musselman, USC opened its East Coast trip on Thursday night at Maryland with an 88-71 loss to the Terps. Musselman is 235-104 all-time at the collegiate level, also going to six NCAA Tournaments with Nevada and Arkansas, as well as three seasons as an NBA head coach for Golden State and Sacramento.
USC is 14-12 overall and 6-9 in its initial Big Ten season. The Trojans were 11-6 on January 14 and are 3-6 since. USC is 3-6 away from home this season and are 12-0 when scoring at least 77 points. As a team, the Trojans are last in the Big Ten in rebounds (31.27) while ranking fifth in field goal percentage (48.2%).
The Trojans are led by Xavier transfer Desmond Claude at 15.6 points per game. Claude and Saint Thomas each rank in the top-10 in the Big Ten in assists, each at 4.3 per game. Chibuzo Agbo has excelled from three-point range, making 2.19 per game (eighth in the league. That trio has played heavy minutes, with all three in the top-12 in the Big Ten in minutes per game.
Wesley Yates is averaging 10th points per game in conference play, ranking 16.8 in the league, after a team-high 21 points on Thursday. Claude is eighth in the league in conference play at 17.5 in league play, as well as sixth in assists (4.7).
Rutgers and USC have played twice in school history. The two meetings came in 1973 and 1974, both at neutral sites, and both won by USC. The Trojans won 82-81 in 1973 and 81-66 in 1974. USC was ranked 14
th nationally in the 1973 meeting, which came at the All-College Tournament in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and sixth nationally in the 1974 matchup, which was at the ECAC Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden.
Rutgers will return to the road for the next two games, both coming against ranked opponents. The Scarlet Knights next play at No. 12 Michigan on Thursday, then against on Tuesday, March 4 at No. 13 Purdue. The final game of the regular season is at home, with Senior Night slated for two weeks from the USC game, Sunday March 9 against Minnesota.
