Rutgers Men’s Basketball Weekly Preview: No.1 Purdue, No.7 Michigan

After an ugly performance in the Players’ Era Tournament, where they went 1-2, Rutgers men’s basketball will open Big Ten play with its most difficult week of the season, as they are set to take on No.1 Purdue at home on Tuesday and No.7 Michigan on the road on Saturday.

Not only is Purdue thought to be the best team in the country, but they are battle-tested enough to reinforce that thinking. The Boilermakers are a perfect 7-0 to start the year. They have gotten their easy wins over lower-level non-conference opponents like Evansville, Oakland, Akron, Memphis, and Eastern Illinois, but they have also gotten convincing wins over strong non-conference opponents. These wins include an 87-80 win over No.8 Alabama and an 86-56 win over No.20 Texas Tech.

The starting five for Purdue is talented across the board. Braden Smith has set himself apart as one of the best point guards in college basketball. He leads the team in assists with 9 per game and steals, with 1.1 per game. The rest of their lineup is full of stars as well. Guard Fletcher Loyer is averaging 16 points per game, while Forward Trey Kaufmann-Renn is scoring 14.8 points per game. They are led in rebounds by center Oscar Cluff, who is averaging 10.1 rebounds per game.

It will get no easier for the Scarlet Knight in their game against the Wolverines. Like the Boilermakers, Michigan is battle-tested and has earned its current top 10 ranking. They took care of their easier non-conference opponents, Oakland, Wake Forest, TCU, Middle Tennessee, and San Diego State, while blowing out their ranked opponents to the tune of a 40-point drubbing of No.12 Gonzaga and a 30-point domination of No.21 Auburn.

Everyone on the Wolverines’ starting five is averaging more than 10 points per game. Forward Yaxel Lendeborg leads the way in points per game with 16, while center Aday Mara leads the way with rebounds and blocks per game with 8.7 and 2.7. To add to that, Morez Johnson Jr does it all by scoring 13.1 points per game, grabbing 6.6 rebounds per game, and has 1.4 blocks per game.

Rutgers should just be looking to play a competitive game in both of these matchups. Since the talent differential will be so vast between these squads when they play each other, the Knights should go out there and play loose because there isn’t a lot of pressure for them to win a game like this. After the Players’ Era Tournament, expect to see some slight changes in the rotations for Rutgers. The lineup that the Knights trotted out for the second half against UNLV might be the most cohesive unit that they have experimented with yet.

Rutgers will tip off against Purdue at 8 pm on Tuesday at home, while they will face Michigan on the road at 4 pm on Saturday. The Knights’ game against the Boilermakers will be broadcast live on FS1, while their game against the Wolverines will be available on the Big Ten Network.