Massachusetts @ Rutgers preview

Massachusetts at Rutgers

Last Meeting ( Nov 27, 2009 ) Massachusetts 75, Rutgers 83

Rutgers looks to extend its home winning streak to six games when it hosts Massachusetts on Friday. The Scarlet Knights have won back-to-back games, including an 85-58 victory over NJIT on Tuesday, following their first loss of the season against St. Bonaventure in Toronto on Nov. 16, and hope to stay on the right track by improving to 30-4 in non-conference home games under fourth-year coach Steve Pikiell.

"I like the way this team is starting to defend and play together," Pikiell told reporters. "Good things happen when everyone touches the ball and everyone plays team basketball." The Scarlet Knights have dropped nine of their last 10 meetings with UMass, but they won the most recent matchup in 2009 and hope to vanquish their former Atlantic 10 rival while moving to 6-1 for the second time in the last three seasons. The Minutemen raced out to a 5-0 start to the campaign before dropping back-to-back games to No. 6 Virginia (58-46) and St. John's (78-63) as part of the Air Force Reserve Tip-Off Tournament last weekend, and hope to bounce back by knocking off a Big Ten opponent for the first time since 2013. "This team over these two days have shown what we're capable of and there's a lot of room to grow," UMass coach Matt McCall told reporters. "I think our best basketball is ahead of us, but we just need to get back to the process of getting better every day."

TV: 2 p.m. ET, No TV

ABOUT UMASS (5-2): T.J. Weeks came off the bench to score a game-high 19 points against St. John's, but the Minutemen, who held a halftime lead, were undone by 17 turnovers and a 32.8 percent shooting performance from the field. Tre Mitchell added 14 points, 12 rebounds and four assists against the Red Storm to record the first double-double of his career en route to being named to the all-tournament team. Keon Clergeot finished with 11 points, but committed five turnovers while Carl Pierre had eight points.

ABOUT RUTGERS (5-1): Ron Harper Jr. led the way with 25 points on 12-of-16 shooting from the floor to go along with seven rebounds to help the Scarlet Knights beat NJIT for the seventh consecutive time. Myles Johnson added a career-high 17 points and 11 rebounds against the Highlanders to record the fourth double-double of his career. Geo Baker scored 14 points and dished out five assists to finish in double figures for the fifth time in six games this season while Caleb McConnell tallied 10 points, as Rutgers shot 58.3 percent from the floor.

TIP-INS

1. Rutgers leads all Big Ten teams in blocks per game (6.6).

2. Weeks is tied for eighth nationally in 3-point shooting percentage (52.4).

3. The Scarlet Knights have outrebounded their opponents in all six games.

PREDICTION: Rutgers 79, UMass 75