Rutgers, showing improvement, aims for sweep of Penn State

In the midst of a disappointing season, Rutgers has shown signs of life over the last week.

The Scarlet Knights aim for their third straight victory Monday when they visit Penn State for a Big Ten matchup in University Park, Pa.

Rutgers (10-8, 3-4 Big Ten) also is trying to sweep the season series with Penn State (12-6, 2-5) after defeating the Nittany Lions 80-76 at home on Dec. 10.

"Our defense still has a long way to go, and I think our offense does, too," Scarlet Knights coach Steve Pikiell said after that contest. "But we did what we had to do."

Dylan Harper led the way in that one with 24 points and 12 rebounds, and he authored another strong effort Thursday in an 85-82 road win over Nebraska. The freshman guard recorded 21 points against the Cornhuskers, alongside Ace Bailey's 24 points and 11 rebounds, as Rutgers moved within a game of .500 in Big Ten play.

"Every win in this league is important," Pikiell said. "When you go on the road and see these tough environments -- every place is sold out -- you gotta play really well and do that for 40 minutes, so every win is important and certainly an important game for us."

That mindset should serve the Scarlet Knights well as they venture into the Bryce Jordan Center, where the Nittany Lions and their fans are desperate for a victory.

Penn State has lost four straight games -- the last three coming against ranked opponents -- and is coming off a frustrating 90-85 loss on Wednesday at No. 12 Michigan State. The Nittany Lions allowed 15 offensive rebounds in that game, committed 14 turnovers and could not get enough stops against the talented Spartans.

"We just had some tough turnovers late that really hurt us. (Taking care of the ball) really hurt us, and we needed to get a couple of rebounds," Penn State coach Mike Rhoades said.

Ace Baldwin Jr. paced the Nittany Lions with 20 points and nine assists, while D'Marco Dunn chipped in 18 points off the bench. Yanic Konan Niederhauser added 13 points, snapping a streak of four straight games in single-digit scoring for the Swiss big man, who is averaging 12.1 points per contest.

--Field Level Media