Rutgers hosts Martinelli and Northwestern

Published Jan. 11, 2026 4:43 a.m. ET
Associated Press

Northwestern Wildcats (8-7, 0-4 Big Ten) at Rutgers Scarlet Knights (8-8, 1-4 Big Ten)

Piscataway, New Jersey; Sunday, 5 p.m. EST

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Wildcats -4.5; over/under is 144.5

BOTTOM LINE: Northwestern faces Rutgers after Nick Martinelli scored 28 points in Northwestern's 76-66 loss to the Michigan State Spartans.

The Scarlet Knights have gone 7-3 at home. Rutgers ranks seventh in the Big Ten with 10.9 offensive rebounds per game led by Emmanuel Ogbole averaging 3.1.

The Wildcats are 0-4 in Big Ten play. Northwestern scores 79.4 points while outscoring opponents by 8.6 points per game.

Rutgers averages 69.3 points per game, 1.5 fewer points than the 70.8 Northwestern allows. Northwestern averages 6.2 made 3-pointers per game this season, 2.1 fewer made shots on average than the 8.3 per game Rutgers allows.

The Scarlet Knights and Wildcats face off Sunday for the first time in conference play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Tariq Francis is averaging 14.4 points for the Scarlet Knights. Dylan Grant is averaging 11.6 points over the last 10 games.

Martinelli averages 1.3 made 3-pointers per game for the Wildcats, scoring 23.4 points while shooting 51.4% from beyond the arc. Arrinten Page is averaging 11.3 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Scarlet Knights: 4-6, averaging 67.8 points, 30.2 rebounds, 9.9 assists, 7.3 steals and 3.3 blocks per game while shooting 39.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 76.1 points per game.

Wildcats: 4-6, averaging 77.6 points, 28.7 rebounds, 18.4 assists, 5.3 steals and 4.0 blocks per game while shooting 46.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 73.8 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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