The Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Tournament second-round games are set for this Thursday, and the Michigan Wolverines take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in the first clash of the day. These two schools have already met twice this past regular season, and the Wolverines have been victorious on both occasions, defeating Rutgers 69-63 as 2-point home favorites and 60-52 as 4-point road underdogs. THis is a double revenge spot for RUTGERS and I like the way they are playing right now.

Rutgers has been one of the worst programs in the country for a while. The Scarlet Knights haven't appeared at the Big Dance since 1991. However, things have changed, and we'll be shocked if Rutgers doesn't get an invitation for the upcoming NCAA tournament. The Scarlet Knights finished the regular season in fashion, recording a couple of straight wins over Maryland 78-67 as 1-point home favorites and Purdue 71-68 in overtime as 5-point road dogs.


The Scarlet Knights enter the second-round clash against Michigan as No. 31 at the NCAA NET Rankings and No. 27 at the latest KenPom rankings. They mostly lean on a stout defense, surrendering only 90.2 points per 100 possessions (6th in the country) on 38.3% shooting from the field (8th). On the other side of the ball, the Scarlet Knights tally 108.0 points per 100 possessions (73rd) on 44.7% shooting from the field. Sophomore guard Ron Harper Jr. leads the way for Rutgers with 12.1 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, while junior guard Geo Baker adds 10.9 points and 3.5 assists per outing. Take the underdog Rutgers here in the early tip-off on Thursday afternoon.