Northwestern at Rutgers

Former UConn assistant coach Steve Pikiell has the Rutgers program heading in the right direction, but they're still is a long way to go. His team is starting to play a lot better at home, where he has wins vs. Wisconsin, and Iowa, and close games vs. Nebraska, and Purdue, as well as a road loss by just four points at Michigan State. The Scarlet Knights have won just once on the road where they hve a tremendous amount of difficulty taking care of the ball and putting up points. Rutgers averages just 56.4 points per game on the road. There is a huge difference at home, where they produce 68.7 ppg, or over 12 points more per contest. Northwestern comes in a respectable 15-11 on the season, but the road has been a major issue since conference play has begun. The Wildcats have been beaten by 11 points or more four times on the road in Big-10 play. The last time out they allowed 53% shooting against them. I think both of these teams will have success scoring the ball, and in the end Rutgers has a misleading record, one that does not reflect the significant up-tick of their home court. Take Rutgers and the OVER in this one.