After earning their first win in Big Ten conference play over Oregon 88-85, Rutgers men’s basketball is set to head out to Champaign, Illinois, to take on the No. 16-ranked Illini.
The Illini are coming into this game on a three-game winning streak that includes and eight point win over Penn State, an easy victory over Southern University, and a 91-48 route of Missouri. Illinois only has three losses on the year, one against No.23 Nebraska, where they lost by 3, a 13-point loss to No.5 UConn, and a four-point loss to No.11 Alabama. Their impressive wins include their complete dominance of Missouri, their four-point win over then No.11 Texas Tech, and a 13-point win over a ranked Tennessee team.
All four of the Illini’s top scorers are averaging 13 points or more per game. The team leader in points per game is Guard Keaton Wagler, with 15.4 points per game. He also leads the team in assists per game with 3.8 and steals with .9. Forward David Mirkovic leads the team in terms of rebounds, as he grabs 8.4 rebounds per game. In total, the Illini have seven players who grab an average of four or more rebounds per game. As a team, they average 87.1 points per game and 42.4 rebounds per game. In comparison, Rutgers is averaging 70.3 points and 35.7 rebounds per game.
Rutgers itself is coming off two very solid performances, but it will need to show more to even have a chance against the Illini. Tariq Francis has proven himself to be one of, if not the, most reliable scorers on the team, as he now has two games this season where he netted 30 points.
However, the biggest piece of Rutgers’ recent success story has been the turnover margin. In the Knights closer than expected loss to Ohio State, they won the turnover battle by four. In their victory over Oregon, they won the turnover battle by 10. Rutgers needs to win the turnover battle by a decent margin in this game to give itself its best chance to win. They also need to find a way to get to the free-throw line. In both their win over Delaware State and their win over Oregon, the Knights’ ability to get to the free-throw line played a major role in the team’s ability to put up points, and they will need to do that to keep pace with a very offensively talented Illini squad. Both of these need to happen to give Rutgers a puncher’s chance in this game.
Rutgers at Illinois will tip off at 8:30 tomorrow inside the State Farm Center in Champaign. Live coverage will be available on the Big Ten Network.
