Rutgers, Northwestern meet in search of 3-point turnarounds

Two teams struggling in Big Ten play will meet Sunday when Northwestern faces Rutgers in Piscataway, N.J.

The game will feature teams that haven't had much success shooting from beyond the 3-point arc this season. Northwestern (8-7, 0-4 Big Ten) is last among Big Ten teams in 3-point field goal percentage (30.8). Rutgers is slightly better at 31.7.

The Scarlet Knights are averaging 69.3 points per game, which puts them at the bottom of the Big Ten in scoring. The team's shooting woes were evident in Thursday's 81-55 loss to Illinois, which went on a 20-0 run in the first half. Rutgers missed 12 straight field-goal attempts during that stretch.

Tariq Francis, Rutgers' leading scorer (14.4), was held to six points in the loss that dropped the Scarlet Knights to 8-8 and 1-4.

"They beat us every way possible," Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell said. "Just disappointed coming off a good win. The backboards, we talked about that, talked about that, talked about that, and then we can't make a shot in the first half either. That didn't help. But we just got to play better and we got no time here. ... We didn't rebound, didn't get to the free throw line - key things for us and that's been giving us a lot of success."

Northwestern forward Nick Martinelli leads the Big Ten in scoring (23.4) and has topped 20 points in six straight games.

However, the Wildcats missed 20 of their 26 3-point attempts in Thursday's 76-66 loss to No. 12 Michigan State. Northwestern was outrebounded 25-12 in the second half, when it was outscored 48-31.

Northwestern, which will be looking to end a two-game losing streak, is shooting 25% (34 of 136) from 3-point territory in its last six contests.

"We took 26 (3-point attempts)," Northwestern coach Chris Collins said. "I would venture to say that 25 were wide open. We have to be able to loosen the defense with the way that people guard Martinelli. We got to help him more."

--Field Level Media