Though the Big Ten was down in a big way this season, one of the best stories to come out of the conference was the No. 6 seed Northwestern Wildcats who look to be on the verge of going dancing for the first time in program history. All that stands in their way of advancing to the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament is a feisty Rutgers Scarlet Knights team that likely had its day in the sun by upsetting a disinterested Ohio State Buckeyes squad in their Barclays Center debut.
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The Scarlet Knights might have entered the conference tournament with the worst record of all team partaking in it, but they certainly haven’t been the worst over the last two-plus weeks. Though Steve Pikiell’s kids sit two games under .500 overall, their 13-12-1 record against the linemakers show just how competitive this team has truly been. Sure, they own a -.90 scoring differential, but that hasn’t stopped them from beating the pointspread in four of their last five played games which includes covering at Northwestern back on February 18 as 11.5 point underdogs. This young squad has also played an exceptional brand of defense that’s seen the under cash in 16 of 26 lines games.
Chris Collins has done a phenomenal job revamping the Wildcats program since coming over from Duke as one of Coach K’s assistant coaches. The will to compete and talent level has increased dramatically, and with it, the city of Evanston has experienced a ride they won’t soon forget with Northwestern comfortably in the Field of 68 as a No. 9 seed in the West per ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi’s mock bracket. They won 10 of 18 conference games and logged a program record 21 overall wins to punch that ticket, and if Collins has his way, the team isn’t done just yet.
Last Meeting
Both games played between these teams were very competitive. Rutgers took a 28-25 lead with it into halftime when the teams first met in Piscataway back in January. Northwestern battled back in the second half on the back of some fabulous free throw shooting and ultimately ending up blocking a school record 15 shots. The Scarlet Knights shot a woeful 31.9 percent from the floor, but hung close due to 21 offensive rebounds.
The second go round was much higher scoring with the teams combining for 75 first half points and each shooting better than 42 percent from the field. Rutgers once again cleaned the offensive glass, but ultimately relinquished the lead late and fell by just four points. It only turned the ball over eight times to win the turnover battle, but UNW was able to come up with the big plays late to preserve the hard fought victory.
Player to Watch
Nigel Johnson – The young Scarlet Knights senior citizen has been one of the team’s best performers of late. He enters this tilt off a huge outing in the upset of the Buckeyes scoring a game-high 21 points off the bench on 5 of 11 shooting which included knocking down three of his six shots from beyond the arc. In these team’s most recent meeting, he tallied 16 points, once again off the bench, to lead Rutgers to the near upset of the Wildcats as 11.5 point underdogs.
Free College Basketball ATS Pick
The Scarlet Knights already made history last night by logging their first ever triumph in the B1G Tournament. Northwestern has been one and done each of the last two seasons, but will likely put an end to that streak in this one. That doesn’t mean the win will come easy however. Northwestern had its hands full with the Scarlet Knights in each of the regular season meetings, and I expect that to once again be the case on this neutral floor. With this game being played in Brooklyn, there’s no doubt the Barclays Center will be pulling for the hometown team; at least those not sporting purple and white. Look for this one to play out similarly to the game that just went down a couple weeks back. Only this time expect it to be lower scoring with the final outcome in doubt till the bitter end.
College Basketball Odds: Northwestern 68, Rutgers 63
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