There certainly has been no easy entry into Big Ten play for Rutgers.
On Tuesday, the Scarlet Knights opened their conference schedule at home against No. 1 Purdue and lost 81-65.
So what’s next for Rutgers? A game on Saturday afternoon in Ann Arbor, Mich., against No. 3 Michigan (7-0, 0-0), which many feel is the best team in the country at the moment.
Welcome to conference play, indeed.
“It doesn’t get any easier in this league,” Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell said. “Michigan is as good as any team in the country. So they’re up next and they’re an excellent rebounding team, too. So we got to figure that thing out.”
To Pikiell’s point, Rutgers (5-4, 0-1) was outrebounded 36-25 against Purdue. Performing better on the boards will be point of emphasis against a Michigan team that might have the best frontcourt in the country.
Multi-skilled 6-foot-9 wing player Yaxel Lendeborg, 6-9 forward Morez Johnson Jr. and 7-3 center Aday Mara are potential first-round NBA draft picks.
Largely because of that trio, Michigan is averaging a 13.0 rebounding margin, tied for fifth-best in the country. In comparison, Rutgers has a 1.8 rebounding margin.
“We do more rebounding drills than any team in the country,” Pikiell said. “We talk about it. We send them texts about it. We email them about it. But we got to find a way to do it, or I’ve got to find the right guys that are willing to, you know, sacrifice.”
Pikiell also is trying to figure out rotations and continuity for a roster that has seven freshmen and three transfers.
This season, Rutgers has been led in scoring by sophomore Dylan Grant (15.3 ppg.) and junior Tariq Francis (12.1).
Michigan will return from a nine-day layoff after turning heads over a three-game stretch at the Players Era men’s championship in Las Vegas. Michigan scored nearly 300 points in the three games in beating San Diego State 94-54, Auburn 102-72 and Gonzaga 101-61 by a combined 110 points.
Wolverines coach Dusty May said the mission now is to keep it going and stay grounded now that the rest of the country is on full alert.
“On Dec. 1, we’re good enough to compete with anyone and everyone in the country right now,” May said. “On April 6 (date of national championship game), are we going to be good enough to compete with anyone in the country that night? If we get stagnant, we’re not going to be in position to do what we want to do.”
Lendeborg leads Michigan in scoring at 16.0 points per game and averages 7.6 rebounds a contest, while Johnson is averaging 13.1 and 6.6, respectively.
