Penn State began its Big Ten journey by taking down No. 8 Purdue on Thursday night in the Bryce Jordan Center. On Tuesday, the Nittany Lions will head to Piscataway, N.J. to take on Rutgers and its pair of NBA Draft prospects.
This will be PSU’s first true road game of the season. The Nittany Lions and Scarlet Knights have matched up 82 times, with the former owning the all-time series 46-36. These two teams last met on Jan. 31, with Penn State winning 61-46.
PENN STATE’S OUTLOOK
Mike Rhoades on the sidelines during Penn State Basketball’s 86-64 win over Virginia Tech. Photo via Penn State Athletics.
If Penn State wins, it will start 2-0 in conference play for the first time in nearly two decades (the last time being the 2007-08 season).
“Our guys raised the standard the other day of how we can play and our approach,” Mike Rhoades said on Monday of the win against Purdue.
“So let’s make that our standard. Let’s make those habits come through every day.”
Part of that standard is playing Penn State’s brand of basketball regardless of the opponent: selfless, uptempo and aggressive on defense.
“You got to stick to who you are. Because if we’re going to win in this league, it’s because we’re different and we’re going to be aggressive and bold in our approach… You can’t change your identity when you get to league play. You got to enhance it.”
Against a Rutgers team that likes to play with pace (63rd in adjusted tempo per KenPom), PSU’s pressing, physical defense will be tested in a hostile environment.
RUTGERS (5-4, 0-1)
HEAD COACH
Steve Pikiell (ninth season, 137-127)
Pikiell guided the Scarlet Knights to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 30 years in 2021. They took down No. 7 Clemson in the opening round for their highest-seeded team defeated since 1979. The following year, Rutgers returned to the national tournament for consecutive seasons for the first time in 46 years. Pickiell became the Rutgers all-time leader in ranked wins (15) in 2022 and reached career milestones of 100 and 300 wins at the school.
KEY PLAYERS/STATS
Dylan Harper, 6-foot-6, Guard
Harper was a top-five high school recruit from Don Bosco Prep and was the only freshman named to the All-Preseason Big Ten Team. He leads Rutgers and the conference in scoring (23.2) and is seventh in the Big Ten in assists (4.6). Harper is already a two-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week and is coming off a 20-point, four-assist effort in a loss to Ohio State.
Ace Bailey, 6-foot-10, Forward
Bailey was a consensus five-star prospect out of McEachern High School. Along with Harper, Bailey was named to the Naismith Player of the Year Watchlist. He is sixth in the Big Ten in scoring (17.9) and leads Rutgers with 6.0 rebounds a game. After missing the first two games of the season due to injury, Bailey has reached double-digit points in all seven of his games. In the loss to Ohio State, he scored 12 points (6-of-16 shooting) and grabbed seven rebounds.
Lathan Sommerville, 6-foot-10, Center
Sommerville entered Rutgers as an ESPN top-100 recruit from Richwoods High School. His 8.1 points per game are good for fourth on the team, while his 1.0 blocks lead the Scarlet Knights. In his second college game, he scored a career-high 14 points against St. Peters. In Sommerville’s most recent outing, he tallied eight points and five rebounds at Ohio State.
Scoring Duo
Rutgers is one of seven teams to feature two players (Harper and Bailey) averaging at least 17 points through a minimum of seven games. Of those seven duos, Rutgers’ future lottery picks combine for the highest points per game total of 41.2.
Ace Bailey (left) and Dylan Harper (right) are the highest-scoring duo in the country, averaging 41.2 combined points per game. Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
METRICS
Penn State enters Tuesday’s game 33rd in KenPom’s net ratings and 18th in the NCAA’s NET Rankings. Rutgers, meanwhile, is 74th in the KenPom standings and 84th in NET.
GAMETIME
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. You can find Penn Stateโs full schedule here.
SPREAD
Rutgers is a three-point favorite against Penn State, per DraftKings Sportsbook. The over/under is set to 157.5 and the Moneylines are Penn State +124 and Rutgers -148.
TV
You can watch Tuesday’s game on Peacock.
