Wolverines to Restart Big Ten Play at Rutgers on Tuesday Night

» Michigan is set to restart Big Ten play heading to Jersey Mike's Arena to face Rutgers.
» Tuesday's game is the first of two meetings as the Scarlet Knights will return to Ann Arbor on Feb. 23.
» In his last three games, DeVante' Jones has scored in double figures, while shooting 17-for-28 (60.7%) and 7-for-12 (58.3%) from long range.
» Hunter Dickinson has grabbed 10+ rebounds in five of his last seven games and leads U-M with 9.1 per game.

• Complete Game Notes (PDF)

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The University of Michigan men's basketball team will restart its Big Ten season as the Wolverines head to Piscataway, N.J., on Tuesday (Jan. 4) to face Rutgers (7-5; 1-1 Big Ten) at Jersey Mike's Arena. Tip off is scheduled for 7:01 p.m. on B1G Network with Jeff Levering (play-by-play) and Robbie Hummel (analyst) on the call, remotely.

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights

• After two closing non-conference wins, Rutgers -- winners of three of its last four -- host the Maize and Blue with an identical 7-5 overall record. In Big Ten play, the Scarlet Knights are 1-1 after knocking off No. 1 Purdue, 70-68, with a last second three-pointer from Ron Harper, Jr (Dec. 9). In its conference opener (Dec. 3), Rutgers dropped an 81-51 match up at Illinois.

• Rutgers is led by the senior trio of Ron Harper, Jr., who returned after testing the NBA waters; Geo Baker, who returned for the NCAA's extra season and Caleb McConnell, who is in his fourth season.

• Harper, Jr., leads the team in scoring (14.9), rebounding (7.4), three-pointers (23) as 40 percent of his offense comes from long range. He has 10 double-figure scoring games and a team-best five double-doubles. He tied his career-high with 30 points in the win over the Boilermakers.

• After battling a hamstring injury, Baker is back in the starting line-up averaging 10.9 points and iis second with 16 three-pointers. Nearly 55 percent of Baker's offense comes from long distance.

• McConnell averages 7.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. He has a team-best 29 steals (2.4 spg), which is 11th in the nation. He has five games with 3+ steals.

• In addition to the Rutgers senior trio, sophomore Clifford Omoruyi has paced Rutgers with 12.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. He leads the team in shooting, good for 61.5 percent from the field. Junior Paul Mulcahy averages 6.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, a team-best 4.4 assists and 1.4 steals per game.

• Rutgers averages 68.1 points, 37.9 rebounds and 16.0 assists per game.

• Rutgers averages 7.6 steals per game with McConnell (22), Harper, Jr. (18) and Mulcahy (17) combining for 57 or its 91 total.

• The Scarlet Knights have played eight of its 12 games at home and sport a 7-1 record at Jersey Mike's Arena. They are 0-4 on the road.

• Steve Pikiell, now in his sixth year as head coach, led Rutgers to their first 20-plus win record in 37 years during their 2019-20 campaign before their tournament chances were ended due to the global pandemic.

• In 1976, Rutgers and U-M participated in the last NCAA Tournament that featured two undefeated teams heading to the Final Four. Rutgers and Indiana both escaped the regular season undefeated and advanced to the Final Four with 30-0 records. The Wolverines ended the Scarlet Knight's perfect run with an 86-70 win before losing to the Hoosiers in the championship game, 86-68. The Scarlet Knights finished 30-2 after losing to UCLA, 106-92, in the NCAA Third Place game.

The Michigan / Rutgers Series

• Michigan and Rutgers have played 14 games, with the Wolverines leading the series, 14-0.

• U-M holds a 5-0 record against the Scarlet Knights in Ann Arbor, following its 71-64 victory at Crisler Center (Feb. 18, 2021).

• U-M has a 6-0 record in Piscataway, following its 60-52 victory at the RAC (Feb. 19, 2020).

• U-M has a 3-0 record in neutral site games -- the 1976 Final Four (W, 86-70), the 2004 NIT championship (W, 62-55) and 2020 B1G Super Saturday at Madison Square Garden (W, 69-63).

• Since Rutgers joined the Big Ten (2015), U-M has a 9-0 record against the Scarlet Knights.

• There are no games affected by U-M's NCAA Sanctions.

• There has been one game when both teams were ranked among the nation's top 25. En route to U-M's trip to the 1976 national title game, No. 9 U-M defeated No. 4 Rutgers, 86-70, at the Final Four played in Philadelphia.

• There have not been any games decided by three-or-fewer points and there has never been an overtime game between the two programs.

• Longest Win Streak: 14 games (Dec. 20, 1933 to Feb. 18, 2022).

• Longest Losing streak: none | Largest Loss: none

• Largest Victory: +28 (97-69) at Rutgers (Dec. 21, 1983)

• Most Points: U-M, 97 (Dec. 21, 1983; W, 97-69) | Most Points: Rutgers, 77 (Dec. 22, 1984; L, 93-77)

• Winning Margin: U-M, +11.8 (14 wins) | Losing Margin: none

• 10+ Point Wins: 8 | 10+ Point Losses: none

• Total Points: U-M, 978 (69.9) | Total Points: Rutgers, 824 (58.9)

Last Year: U-M Grinds Out Win Over Rutgers in Return Home

• No. 3-ranked Michigan returned home for the first time in 30 days and grinded out a 71-64 win over Rutgers (Feb. 18) at Crisler Center to win its 15th game of the season.

• After Rutgers led 9-4 at the first media timeout, the Wolverines adjusted to tie the score by the second break. U-M took the lead just after and never relinquished it again, building as high as a 17-point lead in the second half.

• The Scarlet Knights were led by Jacob Young's 16 points off the bench.

A Michigan win would ...

• Help Juwan Howard win his 50th career game at U-M; making him the fastest coach to 50 wins (71 games)

• Help U-M closes its non-conference season with a 7-3 record

• Help U-M improved to 2-1 in true road games; 4-2 with neutral games added

• Give Eli Brooks his 113th career win -- most at U-M and best among Big Ten players

What You Should Know

• For a second season, Dickinson leads U-M in scoring (15.3) and rebounding (9.1). Brooks is second with 13.1 points per game and Caleb Houstan is third at 9.3.

• DeVante' Jones has posted three straight games in double figures including a season-best 17 at Central Florida. He has gone 17-for-28 (60.7%) over those three games and 7-for-12 (58.3%) from long range.

• Jones has made seven of his 11 three-pointers over his last two games.

• Brooks (23), Houstan (19) and Jones (11) have 53 of U-M's 84 three-pointers -- 63.0 percent.

• Houstan (4.3 rpg) has nabbed 32 of his 47 rebounds over his last six games -- 68.1 percent.

• This season, Brooks has gone 24-for-27 (88.9%) from the free throw line. He is 64-for-71 over (90.1%) over the last two seasons. For his career, Brooks is an 80 percent free throw shooter (80.8%; 110-for-136).

• Right behind Brooks is Houstan, who is 21-for-26 (80.8%) from the free throw line.

• Jones leads U-M in assists with 48 (4.0 apg). He had a season-best eight assists at Nebraska (Dec. 7) and vs. UNLV (Nov. 19) at the Roman Main Event in Las Vegas.

• In 28 games last season, Dickinson had 25 total assists. This season (12 games), he already has 23, including tying a career-best with four against Seton Hall (Nov. 16). He has six games of 3+ assists.

• Dickinson has grabbed 10+ rebounds in five of his last seven games, leading to four double-doubles. He posted a season-best 14 boards against San Diego State (Dec. 4)

• Moussa Diabate, who is second on U-M with 5.8 boards per game, has nearly evenly split his rebounding (25 offensive, 39 defensive). He posted his first career 10+ board game with 13 against Minnesota (Dec. 11).

• Dickinson (13) and Diabate (10) have 23 of 38 blocks -- 61 percent.

Up Next

Saturday, Jan. 8 -- vs. Michigan State (Crisler Center), 2:30 p.m. -- MAIZE OUT