No. 15 Wisconsin a daunting challenge for Rutgers (Jan 28, 2017)
NEW YORK -- Since joining the Big Ten Conference in 2014, Rutgers has struggled mightily, winning just four of their 46 league games.
Rutgers (12-9, 1-7 Big Ten) faces another stern test when it clashes with No. 15 Wisconsin (17-3, 6-1) at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. The Badgers are tied with Maryland for first place in the league.
Under first-year coach Steve Pikiell, the Scarlet Knights have shown marked improvement from last season's 7-25 campaign. They surpassed their 2015-16 win total thanks to an 11-2 non-conference showing and are fresh off their first Big Ten triumph after rallying to a 65-64 win over Nebraska at the Rutgers Athletic Center on Jan. 21.
"Every team is terrific, and challenges us in a lot of different ways,'' Pikiell said. "From top to bottom, they say this is the best the league's been in awhile from 1-to-14. So ... I picked a tough year to get into the league. That's okay. I knew it would be difficult. They picked us 14th, and we're getting better."
Wisconsin has won 13 of the last 14 games and is outscoring foes by an average of 18.8 points (79.6 to 60.8) during that stretch.
Rutgers is fourth nationally in rebounding (42.14), 19th in rebound margin (plus-7.3), 16th in blocks (5.6) and 23rd in field goal percentage defense (39.3). Wisconsin is fifth in rebound margin (plus-10.2), eighth in scoring defense (60.9) and 11th in scoring margin (plus-15.8).
In its Big Ten opener on Dec. 27, the Badgers defeated Rutgers 72-52 at the Kohl Center. After trailing by 21 points in the second half, Rutgers fought back to within nine with possession, but would get no closer.
"We're a totally different team now," offered Pikiell. "We all struggled in that game. We missed a lot of layups, but we're a better offensive and defensive now."
Sophomore guard Cory Sanders led Rutgers in scoring in five of its past six games, and is averaging 18.3 points in that span. He's averaging 12.5 points on the season for a team that ranks last in the conference in points per game (67.5).
Wisconsin's trio of Bronson Koenig (14.6 ppg), Nigel Hayes (13.7 ppg) and Ethan Happ (13.7 ppg) is carrying a heavy load this season. The Badgers have not had a trio of players average at least 13.0 points in the same season since 1983-84
Hayes, the Big Ten's Preseason Player of the Year, is the only active player in college basketball to accumulate 1,600 points, 650 rebounds and 250 assists in his career. He is also just the 13th player in Big Ten history to reach those marks.
Happ is the co-Big Ten Player of the Week with Indiana guard James Blackmon Jr. Happ averaged 19.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 3.5 blocks and 1.5 steals in victories over Michigan and Minnesota. Last season, Happ dished out a total of 44 assists. He already has 58 this season,
"The biggest things are poise and patience -- he (Happ) doesn't try to play too fast out of the double team," Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said. "He doesn't get as frantic as maybe he did when he was younger. He seems to enjoy picking people apart a little bit. For his size, he's a pretty adept passer and sees the floor very well."
The Badgers lead the series 5-1.
