Who’s Playing
Rutgers Scarlet Knights @ Penn State Nittany Lions
Current Records: Rutgers 10-8, Penn State 12-6
How To Watch
What to Know
Rutgers and Penn State are an even 5-5 against one another since March of 2019, but not for long. Both will face off in a Big Ten battle at 6:30 p.m. ET on Monday at Bryce Jordan Center. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Rutgers can’t be too worried about heading out to take on Penn State: they just beat Nebraska at home, who had been dominant on their own court up to that point. Rutgers narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past Nebraska 85-82. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Scarlet Knights.
Among those leading the charge was Ace Bailey, who shot 4-for-7 from downtown and dropped a double-double on 24 points and 11 rebounds. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in assists (four). Another player making a difference was Dylan Grant, who went 7 for 8 en route to 15 points.
Rutgers smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 17 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they’ve now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in four consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Penn State’s recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Wednesday after their fourth straight defeat. They took a 90-85 hit to the loss column at the hands of Michigan State.
The loss doesn’t tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Ace Baldwin Jr., who almost dropped a double-double on 20 points and nine assists. His performance made up for a slower match against Illinois last Wednesday. The team also got some help courtesy of Yanic Konan Niederhauser, who went 5 for 8 en route to 13 points plus three blocks.
Rutgers’ victory ended a seven-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 10-8. As for Penn State, their loss dropped their record down to 12-6.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as both are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Rutgers hasn’t had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 76.8 points per game. However, it’s not like Penn State struggles in that department as they’ve been averaging 84.4. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Rutgers didn’t have too much breathing room in their matchup against Penn State in their previous matchup back in December of 2024, but they still walked away with an 80-76 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Rutgers since the squad won’t have the home-court advantage this time around. We’ll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Series History
Penn State and Rutgers both have 5 wins in their last 10 games.
- Dec 10, 2024 – Rutgers 80 vs. Penn State 76
- Jan 31, 2024 – Penn State 61 vs. Rutgers 46
- Feb 26, 2023 – Rutgers 59 vs. Penn State 56
- Jan 24, 2023 – Rutgers 65 vs. Penn State 45
- Mar 06, 2022 – Rutgers 59 vs. Penn State 58
- Jan 11, 2022 – Penn State 66 vs. Rutgers 49
- Jan 21, 2021 – Penn State 75 vs. Rutgers 67
- Feb 26, 2020 – Penn State 65 vs. Rutgers 64
- Jan 07, 2020 – Rutgers 72 vs. Penn State 61
- Mar 06, 2019 – Penn State 66 vs. Rutgers 65
