The Balcony Seats: At a Glance: The Rutgers Scarlet Knights (IU -6.0) 5:15 BTN, Louis Brown Athletic Center

Quick Facts

-Established in 1766

-65,000 students

-Located in New Jersey

-Main color- Scarlet

-2013/2014 results: 12-21 (5-13 in AAC)

-David Stern attended

-Final Four appearances- 1

-5 regular season conference championships

-3rd matchup between the Hoosiers & the Scarlet Knights (2-0 Hoosiers)

Results Thus Far (10-17/2-12 B1G)

Notable Victories

1/11/15 vs. Wisconsin W 67-62

Notable Losses

There are several...

Ratings

Campus at Rutgers

Kenpom Rating- 207

PPG-58.2 (335)

Opponent PPG- 65.0 (128)

Avg. Scoring Margin- -6.8 (296)

APG-10.5 (297)

RPG-34.7 (144)

Turnovers/game-13.1 (228)

Fouls per game-16.4 (48)

Scoring/Breakdown

Category Leaders

Guard Myles Mack leads the Knights in points & assists

Points
G #4 Myles Mack-13.9
F/C #11 Kadeem Jack-12.8

Rebounds

F #10 Junior Etou-6.7

F/C #11 Kadeem Jack-6.2

Assists

G #4 Myles Mack-4.3

G #2 Bishop Daniels-1.7

Obviously I wish I was writing this preview after a big win against a rival in Purdue. Unfortunately, not the case…and here we are looking to rebound on the road in conference play. For some, there is great confidence heading up to New Jersey and playing a seemingly very weak Rutgers team on their home floor toward the end of their season. However, on the other hand, coaches are making a push for their teams to finish the season strong no matter what their record or chances for postseason play. Let's not forget that this same team beat Wisconsin at home earlier in B1G play, though it might be their only significant win this season. Myles Mack is the real deal, and with a coach like Eddie Jordan they are always motivated to play hard. That said, I just don't want to have the feeling this is going to be like a walkthrough practice over in Cook Hall, because it won't be. Also, I usually get this feeling with Tom's teams that as the season progresses our guys get slightly worn down and it seems tougher to squeak out wins for whatever reason, though I can't put my finger on the reason for that type of thing. Not being critical, but just something that myself and several Hoosier fans have noticed during his tenure as head coach in Bloomington. We don't exactly peak in post-season play!

On paper and from a statistical viewpoint Rutgers is miserable with their best category coming in with 'fouls per game' at 48th in the country. In all other categories they rank well below above the century mark…but again I worry about the intangibles for the game tomorrow. Playing down to our competition, motivated Rutgers team looking for a big end-of-season win. Hopefully TC and the staff have our guys motivated and the players realize the importance of the upcoming games at the end of our season, as we also have NW on the road and end with Iowa and Michigan State at home, neither of which will be easy victories simply because we are playing at Assembly Hall. All that said, I'm still predicting a victory tomorrow for our guys and still see us making the big dance come March. Leave us a comment below and give us a prediction for the game. Enjoy the game and go Hoosiers!

Score Prediction: IU 73 Rutgers 66

IU Most Valuable Player Prediction: Yogi Ferrell

Quote Before the Game:
"When we play our game, our rhythm, our spacing and just take care of the basketball we’re a pretty good basketball team." ~Mike Davis

The Venue