On the road again
Indiana hits the road for its third conference road game of the season, squaring off with Rutgers at Jersey Mike’s Arena.
Indiana hasn’t won in Piscataway since 2018, when an Archie Miller squad led by Juwan Morgan, Rob Johnson, and Devonte Green beat the Scarlet Knights 65-43. Per Kenpom, this is the worst Rutgers team on paper since that meeting, so it could be a good chance to add another road win to the tournament resume.
Here’s everything you need to know about the game:
When is the game and how can I watch?
Game Date/Time: Tuesday, January 9th, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT
Location: Jersey Mike’s Arena. Piscataway, New Jersey.
TV: Peacock (sigh)
Radio: WHCC 105.1 / WIUX 99.1
Game Notes
Indiana (11-4, 3-1 Big Ten) is coming off of potentially its best win to date, hoping to string together consecutive Big Ten wins for the second time this season.
The most notable development over the last week was Xavier Johnson’s return to form against Ohio State. He struggled against Nebraska, which cost Indiana, and Mike Woodson was not shy about his assessment of his performance that night.
Saturday’s showing was closer to what Indiana needs from Johnson. There’s no guarantee that he brings the stability and consistency that Hoosier fans crave, but his 10.1 points are a big addition to the offense.
Rutgers (8-6, 0-3) has yet to win a game in the Big Ten this year, which can be alternately exciting and terrifying. It’s safe to assume that this team will come out hungry for that first win, but it’s harder to tell at this point whether its capable of executing.
Illinois looked impressive early on, but a 76-58 loss to that team in Piscataway does not reflect well on Rutgers. On the other hand, they were able to keep it to four points against a decent Ohio State team in Columbus, so they can put up a fight.
This is one of those games that will be hard to predict because it seems as though there are two Indiana teams that could show up and potentially two Rutgers teams as well.
KenPom has the Scarlet Knights as three point favorites, but that’s the same margin it favored Ohio state by on Saturday
Notables
- Rutgers is not shooting the ball well this year, with an Effective FG% of 44.7%, good for 333rd nationally
- However bad its offense has been, Rutgers is second nationally in opposing 2-point FG%