Tuesday, January 27
Piscataway, N.J.
6:30 PM
Rutgers University
vs
Michigan State
Photo by: Ben Solomon
Men’s Basketball Entertains No. 10 Michigan State Tuesday
Jan 24 | Men's Basketball
6:30 PM Tuesday Tipoff on FS1
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers men's basketball remains home to complete a two-game homestand at Jersey Mike's Arena, welcoming in a ranked foe in Michigan State. Following a Friday night contest hosting Indiana, RU remains home for a 6:30 pm tipoff on Tuesday night on FS1 (with Jason Benetti and Bill Raftery on the call) prior to the team taking a West Coast road trip.
The Scarlet Knights were undone at home on Friday, falling to Indiana 82-59 as the Hoosiers picked up their first victory at Jersey Mike's Arena since 2018. The game featured just 10 total turnovers, five for each side. RU's five turnovers were a season-low and their fewest in a Big Ten game since committing five turnovers in a 62-52 win over Michigan on Feb. 29, 2024. The Scarlet Knights were also whistled for just five fouls. Six different players saw at least 10 minutes of action in the contest.
Tariq Francis led RU with a game-high 28 points of 10-of-23 shooting, including 7-of-8 at the free throw line. Francis matched his season high in field goals, as he hit 10 shots for the third time in the past six games. Across those six contests, Francis is averaging 20.67 points per game. He is 42-of-46 at the free throw line in the past eight games (91.3%). Francis has scored at least 15 points in eight of his past nine games, raising his scoring average from 11.3 points per game to 15.9 points per game in that span. Francis, who was honored prior to the Indiana game in a pregame ceremony that included RU President William Tate for reaching 1,000 career points, is shooting a career-best 43.7% from the field this year in his junior season. Francis has excelled in a role coming off the bench, yet playing top minutes, with RU currently 26th nationally with their bench playing 40.7% of the total minutes.
Emmanuel Ogbole had five offensive rebounds against IU, and stands in the top-five in the Big Ten in offensive rebounding. Ogbole leads the team in rebounding on the season (6.9 rpg) and has nearly as many offensive rebounds (64) as defensive rebounds (74). Ogbole's 64 offensive boards are already more than any RU player had last season (Ace Bailey – 62 in 30 games) and are the most since Clifford Omoruyi in 2023-24 (84). His offensive rebound percentage of 19.0% is fourth nationally.
Kaden Powers has also come on to provide a spark at guard for RU. The freshman has started the last six contests and has averaged 9.2 points per game over the past five games after entering that stretch at 4.5 points per game on the year.
Hall of Fame head coach Tom Izzo is 755-304 lifetime, with 368 Big Ten wins and 26 straight NCAA Tournament appearances in 31 years the helm of the program. MSU is 18-2 following Saturday's win over Maryland, with an 8-1 record in Big ten play, and a six-game winning streak. This is the second straight season that Michigan State has won 18 of its first 20 games. The Spartans have lost just twice this season, coming to currently ranked No. 5 Duke and No. 7 Nebraska, with the game against the Huskers on the road. MSU also holds wins over top-50 KenPom teams Arkansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, Iowa, Indiana and Washington.
Jeremy Fears, a redshirt sophomore who has doubled his scoring output from last season, led MSU with 17 points and 17 assists in the team's 91-48 win over Maryland on Saturday, tied for the second most assists in school history, and has 155 assists on the season. For perspective, RU has only had four players in program history have 155+ assists for an entire season, and just once since 1978.
Junior Coen Carr is on the Watch List for the Julius Erving Award, recognizing the top small forwards nationally. Carson Cooper is a fourth-year senior among the top-10 nationally for games played for their current school. Jaxon Kohler is another fourth-year senior with over 110 games played as a Spartan
Those four team captains combine for over 60% of the team's scoring and over 50% of the team's rebounding and assists. Similar to previous seasons, MSU's scoring is balanced, with those four all bunched between 13.9 and 10.1 points per game. Kohler also leads the team at 9.9 rebounds.The Spartans are in the top-10 nationally in rebounding margin and scoring defense.
Rutgers and Michigan State will match up for the 18th time, and the Scarlet Knights have won three of the last six meetings after dropping the first 11 games in the series. Rutgers also claimed victories by 21 and 30 points over MSU in past five seasons.
With two of the last three games in the series being played at Madison Square Garden, Michigan State visits Jersey Mike's Arena for the first time since February 5, 2022, a resounding RU victory over then-No. 13 Michigan State by an 84-63 margin, with Paul Mulcahy recording his first career double-double with 15 points and 12 assists. RU also won 67-37 at home the season prior.
The two teams played just once last season, meeting up in New York City at Madison Square Garden. MSU won that contest, 81-74. Playing with Dylan Harper limited to 14 minutes, Jordan Derkack had his best game in a Scarlet Knight uniform with 26 points, but future First Round NBA pick Jase Richardson had 20 points for Michigan State.
Rutgers takes flight for California to play the two Big Ten schools in the Golden State. The Scarlet Knights will play at USC (Saturday, Jan. 31, 7 pm, Peacock) and UCLA (Tuesday, Feb. 3, 9:30 PM, BTN).
| About Rutgers |
The Scarlet Knights were undone at home on Friday, falling to Indiana 82-59 as the Hoosiers picked up their first victory at Jersey Mike's Arena since 2018. The game featured just 10 total turnovers, five for each side. RU's five turnovers were a season-low and their fewest in a Big Ten game since committing five turnovers in a 62-52 win over Michigan on Feb. 29, 2024. The Scarlet Knights were also whistled for just five fouls. Six different players saw at least 10 minutes of action in the contest.
Tariq Francis led RU with a game-high 28 points of 10-of-23 shooting, including 7-of-8 at the free throw line. Francis matched his season high in field goals, as he hit 10 shots for the third time in the past six games. Across those six contests, Francis is averaging 20.67 points per game. He is 42-of-46 at the free throw line in the past eight games (91.3%). Francis has scored at least 15 points in eight of his past nine games, raising his scoring average from 11.3 points per game to 15.9 points per game in that span. Francis, who was honored prior to the Indiana game in a pregame ceremony that included RU President William Tate for reaching 1,000 career points, is shooting a career-best 43.7% from the field this year in his junior season. Francis has excelled in a role coming off the bench, yet playing top minutes, with RU currently 26th nationally with their bench playing 40.7% of the total minutes.
Emmanuel Ogbole had five offensive rebounds against IU, and stands in the top-five in the Big Ten in offensive rebounding. Ogbole leads the team in rebounding on the season (6.9 rpg) and has nearly as many offensive rebounds (64) as defensive rebounds (74). Ogbole's 64 offensive boards are already more than any RU player had last season (Ace Bailey – 62 in 30 games) and are the most since Clifford Omoruyi in 2023-24 (84). His offensive rebound percentage of 19.0% is fourth nationally.
Kaden Powers has also come on to provide a spark at guard for RU. The freshman has started the last six contests and has averaged 9.2 points per game over the past five games after entering that stretch at 4.5 points per game on the year.
| About Michigan State |
Hall of Fame head coach Tom Izzo is 755-304 lifetime, with 368 Big Ten wins and 26 straight NCAA Tournament appearances in 31 years the helm of the program. MSU is 18-2 following Saturday's win over Maryland, with an 8-1 record in Big ten play, and a six-game winning streak. This is the second straight season that Michigan State has won 18 of its first 20 games. The Spartans have lost just twice this season, coming to currently ranked No. 5 Duke and No. 7 Nebraska, with the game against the Huskers on the road. MSU also holds wins over top-50 KenPom teams Arkansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, Iowa, Indiana and Washington.
Jeremy Fears, a redshirt sophomore who has doubled his scoring output from last season, led MSU with 17 points and 17 assists in the team's 91-48 win over Maryland on Saturday, tied for the second most assists in school history, and has 155 assists on the season. For perspective, RU has only had four players in program history have 155+ assists for an entire season, and just once since 1978.
Junior Coen Carr is on the Watch List for the Julius Erving Award, recognizing the top small forwards nationally. Carson Cooper is a fourth-year senior among the top-10 nationally for games played for their current school. Jaxon Kohler is another fourth-year senior with over 110 games played as a Spartan
Those four team captains combine for over 60% of the team's scoring and over 50% of the team's rebounding and assists. Similar to previous seasons, MSU's scoring is balanced, with those four all bunched between 13.9 and 10.1 points per game. Kohler also leads the team at 9.9 rebounds.The Spartans are in the top-10 nationally in rebounding margin and scoring defense.
| About the Series |
Rutgers and Michigan State will match up for the 18th time, and the Scarlet Knights have won three of the last six meetings after dropping the first 11 games in the series. Rutgers also claimed victories by 21 and 30 points over MSU in past five seasons.
With two of the last three games in the series being played at Madison Square Garden, Michigan State visits Jersey Mike's Arena for the first time since February 5, 2022, a resounding RU victory over then-No. 13 Michigan State by an 84-63 margin, with Paul Mulcahy recording his first career double-double with 15 points and 12 assists. RU also won 67-37 at home the season prior.
The two teams played just once last season, meeting up in New York City at Madison Square Garden. MSU won that contest, 81-74. Playing with Dylan Harper limited to 14 minutes, Jordan Derkack had his best game in a Scarlet Knight uniform with 26 points, but future First Round NBA pick Jase Richardson had 20 points for Michigan State.
| With a Win |
- First ranked win of the season
- Second ranked win over MSU
- Highest ever ranked win over MSU
- Second top-15 win over Michigan State (previously defeated No. 13 Spartans on Feb. 5, 2022).
- Sixth top-10 win under Steve Pikiell and first since defeating No. 9 Wisconsin on Feb. 10, 2024
| Up Next |
Rutgers takes flight for California to play the two Big Ten schools in the Golden State. The Scarlet Knights will play at USC (Saturday, Jan. 31, 7 pm, Peacock) and UCLA (Tuesday, Feb. 3, 9:30 PM, BTN).
Players Mentioned
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