Fresh off its biggest win of the season in knocking off No. 1 Purdue, No. 18 Indiana looks to avoid a letdown spot on Tuesday in Big Ten action as it tries for the regular-season split with No. 24 Rutgers, which still has a shot at the Big Ten title. Here’s a look at that game and one other ranked matchup Tuesday and which side of the NCAAB odds to play.
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No. 24 Rutgers at No. 18 Indiana (-4)
On Dec. 3 in New Jersey, Rutgers thumped Indiana 63-48. Freshman guard Derek Simpson scored 10 straight points in a game-deciding run and Rutgers beat Indiana for the sixth time in a row and ninth time in 10 meetings. Caleb McConnell added 16 points and 10 rebounds. IU shot 30.4% from the field, including 6 of 21 from long range. Star forward Trayce Jackson-Davis, who faced a packed in defense, was held to 13 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out late.
Rutgers (16-7) beat Michigan State 61-55 on Saturday but it was costly as big man Mawot Mag suffered a knee injury in the first half and is expected to miss some time. A third-year forward who has started the first 23 games of the season, Mag left the game with 6:25 remaining in the first half. He fell hard on the floor after going up for a lay-up and grabbed his knee immediately upon landing.
Mag entered Saturday’s game averaging a career-high in minutes (25.4), scoring (7.9 points), rebounds (5.4) and assists (1.2). Losing Mag for any period of time would certainly hurt the Scarlet Knights.
“That’s really tough, especially what he brings to this team,” McConnell said. “He brings a lot more. Everyone looks at the stat sheet and everyone looks at (offense). He brings way more. He absolutely stuffs the stat sheet. He comes through when you need him. Hard worker and he’s kind of our anchor on both ends.”
Rutgers has been propelled by an outstanding defense. The Scarlet Knights are 16-1 when holding their opponents to 65 or fewer points and 8-0 when doing so in Big Ten games. Rutgers has allowed 65 points or fewer in all but 3 games this year.
Prior to the 2018-2019 season, RU only had four true road ranked wins in program history. A win at No. 18 IU would give RU four ranked wins in true road games over the past six seasons. Over the past two seasons, RU is 5-9 on the road in Big Ten play and has eight Big Ten road wins in the past three seasons. Prior to that, RU won just five Big Ten road games in the first five seasons as a league member.
Indiana (16-7) beat No. 1 Purdue 79-74 on Saturday as star Trayce Jackson-Davis totaled 25 points, seven rebounds and five blocks. Jackson-Davis has made 92-of-170 (54.1%) of his shots from the floor and 48-of-66 (72.7%) of his free throw attempts in the first 10 games of the new year. Indiana snapped Purdue’s streak of 24-straight games with holding opponents to under 70 points. It was the longest active streak in the country. Indiana’s 79 points were the most scored by a Purdue opponent this season.
Indiana claimed the first six games of the series with Rutgers, including the first five as Big Ten foes. However, since the 2018 Big Ten Tournament, the Scarlet Knights have won eight of the last nine matchups against the Hoosiers.
No. 22 NC State at No. 8 Virginia (-7.5)
This is the only scheduled meeting between the ACC rivals. NC State (19-5) won its fourth straight game with a 72-64 win over Georgia Tech on Saturday. The Pack trailed by three, 61-58, with 4:10 remaining in the game, but held the Yellow Jackets scoreless for almost four minutes, going on an 11-0 run before Georgia Tech hit a three with 25 seconds remaining to stop the NC State run.
Forward DJ Burns led NC State in points (24) and rebounds (8) in the win. Burns is averaging 23.3 points on 56.6 percent shooting and also pulling down 7.0 rebounds per game over the last three outings. Guard Terquavion Smith passed out a career-high 10 assists in the win. He ranks fifth in the ACC in assists per game and still leads the ACC in scoring with an average of 18.5 points per game, despite scoring just five points – his first single digit scoring game of the season – against the Yellow Jackets.
NC State has won eight of its last nine ACC games. The last time the Pack had that much success in a nine-game conference stretch was when the 1973-74 team went 12-0 in the ACC on its way to a 30-1 record and the National Championship. The Pack’s 9-4 conference record marks the first time since March 6, 2013 that the Pack has been five games over .500 in ACC play. NC State guard Casey Morsell played two seasons at Virginia from 2019-21.
Virginia (17-4) comes off a 74-68 loss at Virginia Tech on Saturday but is a very different team at home. The loss, the Wahoos’ first since Jan. 3, ended their seven-game winning streak. Jayden Gardner has led the Cavaliers in scoring in each of the past three games and is averaging 18.3 points and 8.0 rebounds during that span.
UVA has limited 37 consecutive ACC opponents to fewer than 70 points at John Paul Jones Arena. UVA ranks first nationally in assist/turnover ratio (1.76), fourth in turnovers per game (9.3), 10th in scoring defense (60.9 ppg), 17th in assists per game (16.4), 19th in 3-point percentage (38.3%), 22nd in fouls per game (14.3), 32nd in turnover margin (3.0) and 41st in scoring margin (9.5).
NC State holds an 85-68 lead in its series with Virginia. In the teams’ only 2021-22 meeting, the Pack won 77-63 in Raleigh.
Expert Picks
Indiana and NC State against the spread
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