#718 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Rutgers -3 over Northwestern, Thursday at 6:30 PM ET - Rutgers is peaking right now to say the least having won 3 in a row, 2 of those wins on the road, and in their most recent game on Saturday they rolled Wisconsin, one of the top teams in the Big 10, by 22 points. Much of that has been their outstanding defense holding 3 straight opponents to less than 60 points and all scored fewer than 0.87 PPP, but the offense received a boost as well. That’s because Temple transfer, Jeremiah Williams, finally was on the court the last 3 games after missing the first 20 games of the season. Williams has scored 42 points, grabbed 16 board, and had 9 assists in those 3 wins giving them a huge offensive boost. If the offense continues to improve, watch out. They should play well in this one vs a NW defense that has struggled all year ranking dead last in the Big 10 in eFG% allowed. The Rutgers defense ranks 2nd nationally in efficiency and have allowed opponents to shoot only 36% at home while giving up only 60 PPG. They are catching Northwestern in a bad spot. The Cats are off back to back home wins vs Nebraska & Penn State, however this team has been flat out poor on the road with a 1-5 SU record with their only road win coming @ PSU by 4 points in a game the Nittany Lions blew and 2nd half double digit lead. On top of that, NW will be playing without one of their key starters, Ty Berry, who injured his knew 2 games ago vs Nebraska and is now out of the season. He is their top 3 point shooter and averages 12 PPG. He would also be key in this game vs the Rutgers full court pressure so his absence will be a problem here. We feel the Scarlet Knights will be a problem for a number of teams down the stretch and call for a home win and cover on Thursday night.