The Big Ten is a dogfight night in and night out, and the NCAAB Rutgers at Indiana pick should be no different. The Hoosiers are in the always dangerous letdown spot, coming off a huge 81-69 win over #4 Iowa as +10 point road underdogs.
Rutgers can’t seem to find the magic on the road as they do at home, going just 1-3 away from the RAC this season. Lately the Scarlet Knights can’t seem to get anything going no matter where they play, having dropped five straight and six of their last seven. The Hoosiers are -4.5 favorites in this matchup.
Scarlet Knights in a Rut
Steve Pikiell’s squad is struggling right now, some of what could be expected while battling through injuries to Ron Harper, Jr. and Geo Baker. The Scarlet Knights are relatively healthy heading into the NCAAB Rutgers at Iowa pick, but they still had one of their worst games the last time out, falling behind by as many as 18 vs. Penn State.
Indiana stepped up their defense in holding the Hawkeyes to 69 points on Thursday. Iowa is the highest scoring team in the Big Ten, which doesn’t bode well for Rutgers who are 10th. There’s always potential for the Scarlet Knights though, as they were ranked as high as 11th at one point this season.
Harper, Jr. did have 18 points vs. the Nittany Lions as well, his highest scoring output in the last five games which means he could be finally getting healthier. Harper had 20+ in four straight prior to suffering through some nagging ailments. Jacob Young has 19 in two of the last three as well.
Hoosiers Try to Keep Pressing
Indiana has just the #6 scoring defense in the Big Ten, but they looked great in holding the Hawkeyes to 38% shooting from the field and just 5-23 from beyond the arc. Luka Garza did get his with 28 points, but that’s also the likely player of the year.
Indiana has some star power of their own, as Trayce Jackson-Davis continues his strong play with 23 points. The sophomore has gone for 20+ in five of the last six, but Indiana is still just 11th in the conference in scoring. Rob Phinisee has upped his game as of late too, going for 18+ in two of the last three. The betting total is 135.5 for Sunday’s matchup.
The home team has won three straight in this series, with Indiana scoring an 89-73 win as -7.5 favorites when these teams last met in Bloomington. Rutgers notched a low scoring 59-50 when these teams last met, but that was at the RAC where the Scarlet Knights were nearly unbeatable last season.
Free NCAAB Rutgers at Indiana Pick
It’s really hard to trust Rutgers going on the road this season, and a team on a 5-game winning streak seems like they should be getting more than +4.5 points. The Scarlet Knights have lost by 8, 23, and 12 in their last three conference road losses, which shows they have a tendency to let things get out of control.
Jackson-Davis will be too much in this one, and the Indiana defense showed their ability to crack down on a team vs. Iowa.
Indiana 69 – Rutgers 61
Free Pick: Indiana -4.5
