Currently on a four-game skid, Penn State basketball will travel back from East Lansing, Michigan, to the Bryce Jordan Center for a game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.
In their previous matchup this season, the Scarlet Knights edged out the Nittany Lions 80-76, with Dylan Harper scoring a 24-point double-double. Penn State basketball will look to even the season series in the last regular season matchup between these two programs.
PENN STATEโS OUTLOOK
From left to right: Zach Hicks, Ace Baldwin Jr., Puff Johnson, Mike Rhoades, Nick Kern Jr. (Penn State Athletics)
Rutgers enters Monday night on a two-game winning streak. The Scarlet Knights beat UCLA (NET 34, Q2) at home and defeated Nebraska (NET 49, Q1) on the road. That Nebraska win was Rutgers’ first on the road out of four contests. Against Quad 1 competition โ which Penn State ranks as on Monday โ Rutgers is 1-6.
However, Harper and Ace Bailey are two of the most talented players in all of college basketball, something Mike Rhoades knows well.
โTheir talent level is so high that you have to โ you respect that,” Rhoades said during his media availability on Friday.
“But it’s still all about us, and we’ve guarded really good players like those two before. You just got to make it really hard. They’re going to make an incredible shot. They’re going to make a play that only 5% of college basketball players could make. You just got to make it really hard for them. You respect them, but you got to go after them, too. You got to put bodies on them, and you got to be really in the moment when they have the ball because they’re so elite with the ball of creating makes and creating shots and opportunities. Just make it really hard.โ
RUTGERS (10-8, 3-4)
HEAD COACH
Steve Pikiell (ninth season, 142-131)
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 PLAYER
Dylan Harper, 6-foot-6, Guard
Leading the Big Ten in points per game, Harper (20.1 points) has been worth all the hype. In his last game against Penn State, Harper went 8-of-14 from the field for 24 points, snagging 12 rebounds and dishing out five assists. The projected top-three pick in this yearโs draft has struggled in conference play โ 14.8 points on 42.6% efficiency โ but against Nebraska, he had 21 points (8-of-17), five rebounds and four assists.
Ace Bailey, 6-foot-10, Forward
Bailey didnโt shoot well in the previous matchup against Penn State, going 6-of-14 from the field with three turnovers and no assists. But, he had arguably the play of the game when he intercepted a Baldwin pass and took it coast-to-coast to put the Scarlet Knights up four with 50 seconds left. Bailey comes into Monday averaging 19.3 points and a team-high 7.9 rebounds. In Big Ten play, he leads Rutgers in points (19.4), rebounds (9.3) and blocks (2.1). Against Nebraska, Bailey had a 24-point, 11-rebound double-double while tacking on three blocks.
Jeremiah Williams, 6-foot-4, Guard
Williams averages the third most points on the team (7.3) while grabbing 3.3 rebounds and serving up 2.1 helpers a night. In his last outing against the Nittany Lions, Williams had eight points, four rebounds and three assists. In conference action, the redshirt senior averages 5.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists.
Lathan Sommerville, 6-foot-10, Center
Sommerville โ a former ESPN top 100 recruit โ is averaging 6.9 points and 4.4 rebounds while shooting 52.4% from the field. While the big man is only 1-for-4 on his 3s this season, he has shown great touch from the free-throw line, making 80% (36-of-45) of his attempts. In the first matchup against Penn State, Sommerville had six points, four rebounds and four assists. In seven games of Big Ten action, the first-year center has averaged 5.4 points and 4.4 rebounds.
KEY STAT: Scoring Duo
Rutgers is the only team in the country with two players (Harper and Bailey) averaging at least 19 points. The future lottery picks combine for 39.4 points on 47.9 field goal shooting.
METRICS
Penn State basketball is 49th on KenPom and 47th in NET. Rutgers comes into Monday ranked 82nd on KenPom and 85th in NET.
GAME TIME
Mondayโs game is scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. tipoff. Penn Stateโs full schedule is available here.
SPREAD
Penn State is favored by six points over Rutgers on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Over-Under Total is 156.5, while the Penn State Moneyline is -285.
TV
Penn State-Rutgers will be available on Peacock.
