Fordham @ Rutgers preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 18, 2016 ) Fordham 53, Rutgers 68

Rutgers looks to build on its current two-game winning streak when it hosts non-conference foe Fordham Tuesday night. The Scarlet Knights bounced back from two conference losses to ranked teams - Minnesota and Michigan State - with victories over NJIT and Fairleigh Dickinson, while the Rams are also coming off a win over St. Francis (N.Y.) on Saturday.

Fordham has struggled to score, managing just 45 in a loss to Harvard less than a week ago, but senior guard Will Tavares can be dangerous - averaging a team-high 17 points and scoring in double figures in every game. The Rams can play solid defense, allowing just 63.7 points a game, but they are facing one of the top scoring defenses in the Scarlet Knights, who rank third in the nation in scoring defense (57.3). Junior guard Corey Sanders leads Rutgers offensively with a team-best 13.1 points a game, with freshman guard Geo Baker right behind him (12.1). The Scarlet Knights shoot just 42 percent from the field as a team but are the nation's best team when it comes to hitting the offensive glass, averaging 16 per contest.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPNU

ABOUT FORDHAM (4-5): One of the more difficult areas for the Rams this season has been on the backboards, with opponents outrebounding coach Jeff Neubauer's squad by an average of almost nine per game. Fordham finally came out on top of an opponent in rebounding in the win over St. Francis (N.Y.), with Prokop Slanina leading the way with nine and David Pekarek adding nine. It's something Neubauer knows his team - which shoots 40.3 percent from the field -must concentrate on at both ends of the floor if it hopes to win, especially against an opportunistic team like Rutgers.

ABOUT RUTGERS (8-3): With two freshmen in the starting lineup, coach Steve Pikiell must have veteran players coming off the bench and not being upset by it. Pikiell says he sees that more and more from senior guard Mike Williams, who is starting to thrive as the team's sixth man and averaging 9.3 points, including 11.3 points on 55.6 percent shooting over the team's last three contests. Williams started 51 games in his first three seasons at Rutgers but he's still averaging 21.8 minutes as a reserve and his attitude has helped Pikiell and the Scarlet Knights incorporate the younger players into the rotation easier.

TIP-INS

1. Sanders is just three points short while Williams is 21 points shy of becoming the 42nd and 43rd players to reach 1,000 career points at Rutgers.

2. Fordham ranks fourth in the nation in steals per game, averaging 11.4, with G Joseph Chartouny leading the way with nearly four per contest.

3. Baker notched 11 assists in the Scarlet Knights' win over Fairleigh Dickinson, the most by a Rutgers player in a regulation game since January 2005.

PREDICTION: Rutgers 70, Fordham 60