Northwestern vs. Rutgers Preview: Who Will Make Adjustments?
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The Rutgers Scarlet Knights (8-8, 1-4 Big Ten) will be at home to take on the Northwestern Wildcats (8-7, 0-4 Big Ten) today at 5 pm ET at Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, NJ.
Both teams are seeking to secure wins, but only one can emerge victorious. The Scarlet Knights are coming off a terrible performance against Illinois, losing to them 81-55.
In this Big Ten showdown, the Scarlet Knights are on a mission to be sharper and focus primarily on the defensive end.
The Wildcats are entering this game with a two-game losing streak. Wildcats' losses come against the Minnesota Golden Gophers and Michigan State Spartans. Although the Wildcats are playing on the road against Rutgers, they are 4.5-point favorites to win. Northwestern leads the all-time series 12-9.
We are in for a treat to see a battle between Tariq Francis and Nick Martinelli. Both men are huge, lethal scoring threats. Francis must keep in mind that he can’t repeat the same performance as he did against Illinois. Martinelli will bring his game and give it 110 percent. He has five straight games with at least 25 points. Martinelli leads the Big Ten with 23.4 points per game.
Francis must have a big game. He’s averaging 14 points a game, but he needs to go for 20 or more against the Wildcats. Aside from Francis having a big performance, the Rutgers bench must produce and win the rebound battle. The Scarlet Knights are one of the best in the conference when it comes to bench points and rebounding.
Senior big man Emmanuel Ogbole is their best rebounder. He has to dominate the boards and help Rutgers get those second-chance points. Ogbole is averaging 6.8 rebounds per game and 1.3 blocks per game.
Dylan Grant’s impact needs to be strong. He’s their second leading scorer. The Scarlet Knights' defense also needs to focus on its assignment on guard Jayden Reid. He’s one of the weapons that’s on the Wildcats team. He’s a great facilitator. Rutgers would need to make it difficult for him to make tough passes to his teammates, especially Martinelli.
Sometimes it’s not about slowing down the team's best player, but sending a message to the second-best player or the go-to guy. It’s a strategy that perhaps could work in the Scarlet Knights' favor.
The team will try to win their 10th game against the Wildcats and avoid going under .500. The game will be streaming on Peacock.
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Miguel Mike Medina is a Writer and Freelance Sports Journalist who contributes to Rutgers On SI. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in Creative Writing and a Minor in Journalism in 2014 from City College of New York.