Indiana @ Rutgers preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 1, 2018 ) Rutgers 76, Indiana 69

Rutgers will try to kick Indiana when it's down and extend its winning streak to three games when the Big Ten teams meet Wednesday night at The RAC in Piscataway, N.J. Indiana is struggling big time through a six-game losing streak that includes a 23-point loss at home Friday night to No. 5 Michigan.

Asked this week what's responsible for Rutgers playing better lately, coach Steve Pikiell said it's taking phones out of his players' hands and getting them focused on basketball. "The phones don't help them shoot free throws, the phones don't help them shoot 3s, the phones don't help them prepare for games; give the phones a break, enough with the phones," Pikiell told reporters. The Scarlet Knights have never won three straight Big Ten games since entering the conference in 2014, but see a chance to do just that by beating the Hoosiers for the second straight year. As far as what ails Indiana, coach Archie Miller summed it up like this: "Our team in general right now is soft, and we're also for whatever reason right now scared, and you can just tell by the way that we played, the fight isn't there right now, and the confidence isn't there on either end of the floor to be able to capitalize on any type of opportunity that we have, to be honest with you, (and) "there's nothing we're doing well."

TV: 7 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network

ABOUT INDIANA (12-8, 3-6 Big Ten): Injuries have impacted the Hoosiers this season, but poor shooting has proved a bugaboo to the tune of 25.2 percent from 3-point range in conference games - the lowest percentage in the Big Ten. One of the worst 3-point shooters is standout freshman Romeo Langford at 21 percent from long range, but he leads Indiana in scoring at 17.2 points per game by mostly driving to the hoop for his buckets. Miller said the Hoosiers are in need of a leader and the obvious choice is senior Juwan Morgan, Indiana's top rebounder (8.1 per game) and second-best scorer (16.5 points) who had a team-high 16 in the loss to Michigan.

ABOUT RUTGERS (10-9, 3-6): The Scarlet Knights are brimming with confidence after consecutive wins over Nebraska and at Penn State. The catalysts are guards Geo Baker and Montez Mathis, who have combined to average 33.5 points in the two victories. Rutgers is not a particularly good shooting or ball-handling team, ranking last in the Big Ten in field goal (40.5) and free throw percentage (63.8) and in assist-to-turnover ratio, but it leads the conference in offensive rebounding (13.3 per game).

TIP-INS

1. Rutgers wiped out a 16-point deficit to beat Indiana last year in the Big Ten tournament at Madison Square Garden, the Scarlet Knights' biggest comeback under Pikiell.

2. Indiana's losing streak is its longest since the 2010-11 season.

3. Pikiell awarded a scholarship to former walk-on Joey Downes, who planned to play NCAA Division III basketball but now plays an integral part in Rutgers' preparation for games.

PREDICTION: Indiana 65, Rutgers 62