The Rutgers Scarlet Knights (6-23) will try to put an end to their 16-game skid when they take on the No. 2-ranked Michigan State Spartans (24-5) at Louis Brown Athletic Center. Action gets underway at 7:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Mar. 2 and can be seen on BTN.
The Scarlet Knights are hoping to rebound after their 98-59 loss to Northwestern on Saturday. Jonathan Laurent was the team’s high scorer with 17 points. The Spartans, meanwhile, are coming off an 88-57 win against Penn State on Sunday. Denzel Valentine led the team in scoring with 19 points on 5-for-14 shooting.
Valentine has upped his play over the last five games for the Spartans, averaging 23.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 9.4 assists, 1.2 steals, and 4.0 three-pointers.
The ineffective offense of Rutgers (334th in the nation with an offensive efficiency of 94.0) will square off against the elite defense of Michigan State (12th in the nation with a defensive efficiency of 94.6). The Spartans figure to have the advantage on that end of the court. Moreover, the seventh-ranked offense of the Spartans (offensive efficiency of 118.6) will try to exploit the 277th-ranked defense of the Scarlet Knights (defensive efficiency of 112.8).
This is the second game of the season between these two teams, with the Spartans winning the first matchup 96-62. Matt Costello played a big role with 12 points and 13 rebounds.
The Scarlet Knights enter the game with records of 6-23 Straight Up (SU) and 9-16 Against The Spread (ATS). In their last 10 games, they are 9-1 ATS. The most recent ten-game stretch for the Scarlet Knights has gone great. Over that span, Rutgers is averaging 81.3 points per game, well over their season average of 67.3. Over their past 10 games, the Rutgers defense has been playing lights out, only allowing 64.4 points per game, well under their season average of 80.5.
As for their opponent, the Spartans head into the game with records of 19-9 ATS and 24-5 SU. Michigan State has been particularly bad ATS over its past 10 matchups, going 3-7. They sport the 30th-ranked scoring offense in the country, averaging 79.8 points per game. The Spartans rely heavily on three-pointers on offense, ranking 37th in the nation with 262 made (9.0 per game). The Spartans have controlled the glass with an average of 42.1 rebounds per game, fourth in the country. The Spartans rarely make costly errors handling the ball. They have the second-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the country at 1.72. Moving on to the Michigan State defense, the Spartans allow just 63.3 points per game, ranking them 13th in the nation. Michigan State’s defense has set the standard for nation, with opponents shooting a Division I-low .371 from the field. They average 5.3 blocks per game, good for 24th in the nation.
Michigan State beat Rutgers in their most recent meeting this season, bringing its SU record to 2-0. Furthermore, with a 2-0 record, Michigan State has the advantage ATS.
Predictions: SU Winner – MSU, ATS Winner – MSU
Notes
“Rutgers is 1-7 ATS in its last 8 games “.
“Rutgers is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games “.
“The total has gone OVER in 15 of Rutgers’s last 17 games “.
“Rutgers is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games at home”.
“Rutgers is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games at home”.
“The total has gone OVER in 7 of Rutgers’s last 8 games at home”.
Rutgers scores an average of just 67.3 points per game (ranked 227th). Michigan State ranks 13th in points allowed, giving up 63.3 points per game.
Rutgers scores just 71.6 points per home game (ranked 206th). Michigan State ranks 46th in points allowed on the road, giving up 69.4 points.
Michigan State won its last game by a 31-point margin. In games decided by a margin of 18 points or more, Rutgers is 1-12. Michigan State is 14-0 in blowouts this season.
Ranked seventh, the Michigan State Spartans have an offensive rating of 118.6. The Rutgers Scarlet Knights rank 277th with a defensive rating of just 112.8.
Michigan State has the 21st-ranked average field goal percentage at 48.2%. Rutgers has not won a game this season when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage (0-8).
The Rutgers Scarlet Knights rank higher based on their field goal percentage (289th) than their effective field goal percentage (323rd). The Michigan State Spartans rank higher based on their effective field goal percentage (14th) than their field goal percentage (21st).
Michigan State ranks tops in the nation in number of assists per game with 20.6. Rutgers does much worse, registering an average of 11.6 per game for a rank of 297th in the nation.
The Michigan State Spartans average 5.3 blocks per game, the 24th-ranked team in the country. The Rutgers Scarlet Knights rank a lowly 151st in blocking with just 3.6 per game.
Rutgers ranks 253rd in offensive rebounds, while Michigan State ranks first in the nation in defensive rebounding.
On average, Rutgers makes 6.0 steals per game. Michigan State has a stellar 10-3 record when it gives up at least 6 steals.
