The Wisconsin Badgers are out to claim top status in the Big Ten, while the Rutgers Scarlet Knights seek a rare regular season conference win.
TV schedule: Monday, December 3, 8:00 PM ET, BTN
Location: Kohl Center, Madison, Wisconsin
While the rest of the country sits and waits, the Big Ten Conference continues to rush conference play through the gates.
The Wisconsin Badgers play host to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on December 3, following both team’s conference openers; Rutgers lost a tight one against Michigan State, while the Badgers scored a big road win over Iowa.
Rutgers is off to a better start than expected after losing star Corey Sanders in the offseason. The Scarlet Knights are 5-2, including a road win over Miami in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Eugene Omoruyi has been a big reason why the Scarlet Knights have excelled to this point. The junior is having a career year, averaging 15.1 points and 9.1 rebounds per game, buoyed by a newfound 3-point shot – prior to this season, he was 0-for-16 from 3-point range in his collegiate career.
Meanwhile, the Badgers are off to a better start than expected as well – and they had higher expectations from the jump.
Their non-conference schedule includes dominant wins over Stanford and Oklahoma, as well as closer wins over Xavier and North Carolina State – all impressive.
But their biggest win of the season came in their most recent game, a road win over an Iowa team that won the 2K Classic and distinguished themselves as a legitimate Big Ten favorite.
Ethan Happ is unsurprisingly leading the team in points and rebounds, but the Badgers are finding new contributors as well. Sophomore D’Mitrik Trice is averaging 17.4 points per game, nearly double what he averaged a season ago.
Just last season, Rutgers knocked off Wisconsin in New Jersey, one of the Scarlet Knights’ three Big Ten regular season victories.
In Madison, it’s going to be tougher to come away with a victory.
Prediction: Wisconsin 65 – Rutgers 51