Indiana Basketball vs Rutgers: Game info, preview, and prediction

The Indiana basketball program looks to end their six game skid on Wednesday as they go on the road to Piscataway, New Jersey to take on Rutgers.

Sitting at 10-9 (3-6), the Scarlet Knights are playing their best Big Ten basketball of the season coming off a home win vs Nebraska and an away win at Penn State.

Similar to the Hoosiers, Rutgers has two stars in Geo Baker and Eugene Omoruyi with a balanced team surrounding them.

Baker is averaging 13.5 points per game while shooting 36 percent from deep, but raises that average, in their three conference wins, to 17.0 points per game.

Omoruyi on the other hand is a threat in the post averaging 13.9 points and pulling down 7.2 rebounds per contest.

After missing three and a half games in a row, Omoruyi has been working his way back into an offensive rhythm in their last two games.

Ranked in the bottom of the Big Ten in every single offensive category, Rutgers relies heavily on that duo to be everything and more on that end of the floor.

Last season, Indiana’s season ended losing 76-69 to Rutgers in the Big Ten Tournament at Madison Square Garden.

A major contributor of that game was Geo Baker who finished with15 points. The Hoosiers have to stop him from breaking through the defense on Wednesday if they want to win.

Keys to the game

Something to keep an eye on is rebounding.

For Rutgers, they rank second in the Big Ten and 33rd in the NCAA with 39 rebounds a game, so the Hoosiers will have their hands full with a team that makes it a group effort to rebound the ball, with their leading rebounder at just 7.2 a game.

For a team that only shoots 40.5 recent from the field, which is 329th in the NCAA, rebounding is what will either keep Rutgers in the game, or could possibly make this a one-sided affair.

Archie Miller has been quoted saying that he likes to run a transition offense system. However, over the last six games, the team has averaged less than five fast break points a game which can be correlated to their losing streak. The Hoosiers have to get in transition early and often.

With Devonte Green, De’ron Davis and Race Thompson not available to play on Wednesday, Indiana has to spread the floor and get productive bench minutes.

Lastly, for the Hoosiers to end their six game losing streak and come back to Bloomington with a win, Romeo Langford in combination with Juwan Morgan have to get back into rhythm and instill confidence into a group that desperately needs guidance.

What you need to know

What? Indiana 12-8 (3-6) at Rutgers 10-9 (3-6)
When? Wednesday, January 30 – 7:00 pm EST
Where? Louis Brown Athletic Center – Piscataway, New Jersey
TV? BTN
Radio? Indiana Radio Network
All-Time series? Indiana leads series, 6-1
Prediction? Indiana 68, Rutgers 65