Let the games begin.
The Big Ten gauntlet is here. Eighteen games of solely conference play has arrived. Rutgers, which is 9-4 overall and 1-1 in Big Ten play so far, traveled to the state of Indiana over the weekend for its road game on Monday night at No. 1 ranked Purdue at Mackey Arena.
Rutgers is coming off of a 90-57 win over Coppin State on Friday to close its non-conference slate. The Boilermakers are 13-0 with wins already against Gonzaga, Duke, Florida State, West Virginia outside of the league. They are 2-0 in conference action with victories against Minnesota and Nebraska.
DON'T HAVE TKR PREMIUM? SIGN UP TODAY FOR JUST $9.95/MONTH!
"I like that we're healthy," Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell said after the Coppin State win on where he things his team is at the moment. "I like that we are getting better. We have challenges ahead. I like this team a lot. We'll go to Purdue, a tough place to play. An undefeated team, there's only a couple left in the country. (They're) well-coached and a real tough place to play, but we're no strangers to tough schedules and tough starts to the season. We've got to go there and play great basketball."
Rutgers and Purdue will match up for the 19th time at 7:00 p.m. (BTN). The Scarlet Knights have won four of the last five meetings. Rutgers knocked-off then-No. 1 Purdue last December at Jersey Mike's Arena on Ron Harper Jr.'s heave at the buzzer. That was Rutgers' first-ever win over a top ranked team, and now it has a chance to do it again against the same squad.
The Scarlet Knights' lone win at Mackey Arena -- regarded as one of the toughest places to play in the nation -- came on March 7, 2020. That helped secure a would-be NCAA Tournament trip and drought-ender if COVID didn't hit. The tournament was later cancelled a few days later due to the pandemic.
"It is just another Big Ten game," Pikiell said. "They are a good team and then the next team we play is good. I don't know how many teams are ranked in the Big Ten, maybe six or five. It is a great league and the challenges come. We will play a lot of ranked teams throughout the years and it's the joy of playing in the Big Ten.
"They always have great big guys. [Purdue's] Matt Painter is one of the best coaches in the country. They have always been good since I've been in the league. It has always been a difficult team, well coached, talented guys and hard place to play so it's no different this year. They always find themselves 7'5" guys."
Purdue made the Sweet 16 a year ago and saw Jaden Ivey become a lottery pick in the NBA Draft, but Zach Edey (21.9 points, 13.6 rebounds, 2.17 blocks), Fletcher Loyer (12.3 ppg), Braden Smith (9.1 ppg), and Ethan Morton (3.75 assists/turnover ratio) lead the way. The Boilermakers average 77.2 points per game.
Purdue, which is 42-8 since the start of last season (23-1 at home), has lost the first game of the calendar year at Mackey in three of the last seven years (2016, 2017, 2022).
"I think everyone in the league pretty much says it's the toughest place to play," Pikiell said. "They're all tough in their own ways. A great fan base and have been very successful. It's loud. They are the number one team in the country. We've been there before when they're top-five, top-10 every year. So it's a tough, challenging environment."
The last time Rutgers won at Mackey, Paul Mulcahy (freshman) and Caleb McConnell (sophomore) were young players back now. The majority of the roster is back from last year's team that beat Purdue in Piscataway. The Scarlet Knights have a veteran core who won't be afraid of the crowd in West Lafayette.
"I think it's huge. I mean, these guys share their stories already with Derek Simpson and Antwone Woolfolk (freshmen) and those guys. You have veteran guys and they kind of know what it brings and they know the opposing team is going to be counting down the shot clock seven seconds before," Pikiell said. "We've been there, we've done that and these guys shared those stories. But they also know how challenging these places are. So you've got to come with your "A" game and be prepared.
"Veterans. I mean, I think anyone will tell you, there's more veterans now in college basketball than ever, COVID, sixth years. Every team has gotten older, Purdue has got guys that have been around."
Follow Chris Nalwasky on Twitter @ChrisNalwasky.
--------------------------------------------------------------
• Subscribe to our YouTube Channel
