Meet The Opponent: Indiana Restarts Big Ten Play As Rutgers Visits

Indiana will try to smooth its rough edges as Rutgers brings two freshman phenoms to Bloomington.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights guard Dylan Harper (2) drives to the basket as St. Peter's Peacocks forward Stephon Roberts (15) defends during the second half at Jersey Mike's Arena. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Rutgers is one of those teams that can bring dread to the minds of Indiana fans but also fails to move the needle if the Hoosiers defeat them.

Not that the above theory has been tested much in recent seasons. Rutgers is one of the few Big Ten teams to have a series lead over the Hoosiers, a 9-8 edge since the 2017-18 season. Indiana has only beaten Rutgers once in the 2020s.

That Rutgers dominance coincides with the arrivals of coach Steve Pikiell at Rutgers and Archie Miller and Mike Woodson at Indiana. Pikiell is 9-4 against the Hoosiers, having single-handedly flipped the series himself.

You’d think Rutgers would have gained grudging respect from Indiana fans thanks to their recent dominance, but it doesn’t work that way. Indiana fans expect to beat Rutgers, regardless of the recent history. Hoosiers supporters have cause to feel that way – Rutgers has not won more than 12 Big Ten games in any one of Pikiell’s nine seasons.

Given Indiana’s struggles in compiling a 10-3 record, a win is more than welcome. But the only way the Hoosiers can perhaps calm some of the fan sentiment is with a well-played win.

That’s not something that the Hoosiers have been able to muster in recent seasons against Rutgers, but this is a different Scarlet Knights team, in ways both good and not-so-good.

Here's a breakdown of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

Key players

Rutgers Scarlet Knights guard Ace Bailey (4) drives to the net while being defended by Princeton Tigers guard Dalen Davis (22) during the first half at Prudential Center. / Tom Horak-Imagn Images

• G Dylan Harper: 22.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 4.8 apg

• G-F Ace Bailey: 18.2 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 0.7 apg

• C Lathan Sommerville: 7.8 ppg, 4 rpg, 0.6 apg

• G Jeremiah Williams: 7.8 ppg, 3 rpg, 2.2 apg

• G Jordan Derkack: 7.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.7 apg

• C Emmanuel Ogbole: 4.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 0.2 apg

• F Zach Martini: 4.3 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 0.4 apg

• F P.J. Hayes: 4.2 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 0.7 apg

• G Jamichael Davis: 3.2 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 1.8 apg

• G Tyson Acuff: 3 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 0.6 apg.

2024-25 Schedule (8-5, 1-1)

• W, 75-52, Wagner, Nov. 6

• W, 75-65, Saint Peter’s, Nov. 11

• W, 98-81, Monmouth, Nov. 15

• W, 74-63, Merrimack, Nov. 20

• L, 79-77, at Kennesaw State, Nov. 24

• W, 85-84, OT, Notre Dame, Nov. 26 – Players Era Festival in Las Vegas

• L, 95-90, Alabama, Nov. 27 – Players Era Festival in Las Vegas

• L, 81-77, Texas A&M, Nov. 30 – Players Era Festival in Las Vegas

• L, 80-66, at Ohio State, Dec. 7

• W, 80-76, Penn State, Dec. 10

• W, 66-63, Seton Hall, Dec. 14

• L, 83-82, Princeton, Dec. 21 – At Newark, N.J.

• W, 91-64, Columbia, Dec. 30

Series history

Rutgers leads 9-8. Indiana has lost seven of the last eight games against the Scarlet Knights. The lone win since 2019 was a 66-60 victory at Assembly Hall on Feb. 7, 2023.

Head coach: Steve Pikiell

Rutgers Scarlet Knights head coach Steve Pikiell speaks with the officials against the Princeton Tigers during the first half at Prudential Center. / Tom Horak-Imagn Images

Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell is in his ninth season at Rutgers, and he’s amassed a 140-128 record with the Scarlet Knights. Pikiell is in his 20th season overall as a head coach. He coached Stony Brook from 2005-16 and amassed a 192-156 record there.

Pikiell’s teams are known for their toughness – the Scarlet Knights typically excel at rebounding and defense – and until recently their slow pace. Until last season, Rutgers usually ranked in the bottom 100 in FBS in tempo, preferring to grind out low-scoring games.

That began to change last year when Rutgers was in the top half of Division I in pace, and that swing in philosophy has become set in with the addition of super-freshmen Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey. Rutgers is up to 58th in Division I in tempo, according to Kenpom.com. It’s a major reason why Rutgers is averaging 79.7 points per game – their highest single-season average since 1993.

The flip side is that Rutgers’ opponents have averaged 74.3 points – the highest total since 2016 when the Scarlet Knights were 7-25.

Strengths

With five-star Harper and Bailey, the Scarlet Knights have two of the most promising players in the Big Ten. Both have mostly lived up to their hype.

Harper has converted 52.5% of his shots, including 37.3% from 3-point range, a big reason why he leads the Big Ten in scoring at 22.8 points. Harper can also rebound (5.3 rpg) and dish (4.8 apg) – a very dangerous player.

Bailey, a 6-foot-10 swingman, is a big challenge for big defenders as he takes 4.2 of his 15.5 shots per game from 3-point range. Bailey makes 32.6% of them, but he is also adept at the things 6-foot-10 players typically are – such as rebounds (7.6 rpg) and blocked shots (1 bpg).

Rutgers does a good job of avoiding turnovers at 10.7 per game. The sometimes foul-prone Hoosiers will be tested as the Scarlet Knights march to the free throw line 23.4 times per game, a top 50 national standing.

The Scarlet Knights are big. Bailey, Lathan Sommerville and Emmanuel Ogbole are all 6-foot-10.

Weaknesses

Partly due to pace and partly to roster turnover, Rutgers has not been up to its recent standard defensively. It’s unusual to see Rutgers rank 242nd nationally in field goal defense at 44.1%. The Scarlet Knights haven’t guarded the 3-point line well as they rank 243th nationally at 34.1%.

Rutgers is out-rebounding its opponents, but only by a 37-36 margin. The 36.1 rebounds conceded ranks 271st nationally.

Once you get past the prodigious talents of Harper and Bailey, scoring falls off dramatically. Jeremiah Williams and Lathan Sommerville are the next highest scorers at 7.8 points each.

Season and game outlook

Rutgers Scarlet Knights center Lathan Sommerville (24) looks to the basket as Columbia Lions forward Blair Thompson (3) defends during the second half at Jersey Mike's Arena. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Much like Indiana, Rutgers began the season with great expectations. Like the Hoosiers, the Scarlet Knights were ranked in the preseason Top 25 and fell out of the poll in November after playing stronger competition.

Rutgers has been uneven as it has lost five of its last nine games. However, only one of those losses – an 80-66 defeat at Ohio State – was by more than 10 points. Rutgers only lost to Alabama by five and Texas A&M by four. Both are currently entrenched in the Top 25.

For Indiana to be successful against Rutgers, the Hoosiers will obviously have to shoot better than 1 of 20 from 3-point range as they did in Sunday’s win over Winthrop. The Hoosiers do rank 49th nationally in 2-point shots at 57.8%, so that will have to continue. The status of center Oumar Ballo, who sat out the Winthrop game for an undisclosed reason, will loom large in that mission for the Hoosiers.

The Hoosiers also have to demonstrate they can stop elite shooters, something they’ve failed to do against Louisville’s Chucky Hepburn, Gonzaga’s Khalif Battle and Nebraska’s Brice Williams, all of whom exceeded their season scoring averages against the Hoosiers.

Harper and Bailey might be the best tandem Indiana has faced yet. The Hoosiers need to embrace a defensive mindset to limit them.

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