With their win over Penn State last Sunday, No.14 Rutgers men’s basketball is slated to play No.11 Minnesota in the second round of the Big Ten tournament on Wednesday, March 11th. The two teams squared off earlier this season, with the Golden Gophers earning a dominating 80-61 victory over the Scarlet Knights.
Both Minnesota and Rutgers are coming into this game having gone 2-1 in their last three games. The Knights earned victories over Maryland and Penn State, while almost knocking off No. 8 Michigan
State, and the Gophers earned victories over UCLA and Northwestern but were blown out by Indiana. Minnesota finished the season with an overall record of 8-12 in Big Ten play, while Rutgers finished with a record of 6-14.
The Gophers are led on offense by guard Cade Tyson, who averages a team-leading 19.4 points per game. He also leads the active members of the team in rebounds per game with 5.4. Minnesota’s second-best scorer and top rebounder this season, Forward Jaylen Crocker-Johnson, was ruled out for the season in early February with an injury. In his absence, guard Langston Reynolds has become the secondary scorer, averaging 11.7 points per game. Guard Isaac Asuma is another player to watch for Minnesota, as he averages 11.2 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. He had a very good performance against Rutgers the last time the two teams played, recording 11 points and six assists in the Gophers’ lopsided win.
As a team, Minnesota is averaging 70.1 points, 31.2 rebounds, and 17.2 assists per game while shooting 45.8 percent from the field, 70.1 percent from the line, and 34.5 percent from three. Rutgers, in comparison, is averaging 70.9 points, 33 rebounds, and 11.9 assists per game while shooting 41.8 percent from the floor, 73.9 percent from the line, and 32.4 percent from three.
For Rutgers to have a chance of winning this game, they need to slow down Tyson and be more competitive on defense than they were in their last matchup. In their last matchup, Tyson had 27 points and 10 rebounds, good for a double-double and more than 1/4th of the Gophers total points. The Knights’ defense had an awful performance in that game, allowing Minnesota to shoot 60 percent from the field and 58 percent from three, while grabbing nine fewer defensive rebounds than the Gophers. Disrupting Minnesota’s passing lanes would go a long way toward improving the overall defensive performance, as the Knight surrendered 23 total assists in their last matchup.
ESPN’s matchup predictor gives Rutgers a 29.7 percent chance to win.
Rutgers vs Minnesota will tip off on Wednesday, March 11th, inside the United Center in Chicago, 25 minutes after the conclusion of game 5, which will be at approximately 9 pm. Live coverage for the game will be available on the Big Ten Network.
