UMass (5-2) vs. Rutgers (5-1)
Louis Brown Athletic Center, Piscataway, New Jersey; Friday, 2 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: UMass plays Rutgers in a non-conference matchup. Rutgers won at home over NJIT 85-58 on Tuesday, while UMass came up short in a 78-63 game to St. John's on Sunday.
FEARLESS FRESHMEN: UMass has benefited heavily from its freshmen. T.J. Weeks, Tre Mitchell, Sean East II and Carl Pierre have collectively accounted for 70 percent of the team's scoring this year and 77 percent of all Minutemen points over the team's last five games.TERRIFIC T.J.: Weeks has connected on 52.4 percent of the 42 3-pointers he's attempted and has made 11 of 21 over the last three games. He's also converted 76 percent of his free throws this season.
STREAK SCORING: Rutgers has won its last five home games, scoring an average of 75 points while giving up 56.4.
ASSIST DISTRIBUTION: The Scarlet Knights have recently created buckets via assists more often than the Minutemen. Rutgers has 52 assists on 81 field goals (64.2 percent) across its previous three games while UMass has assists on 34 of 63 field goals (54 percent) during its past three games.
SECOND CHANCES: Rutgers has posted an excellent offensive rebound percentage of 36.5 percent this year. That rate is ranked 29th in Division 1. The offensive rebound percentage for UMass stands at just 24.7 percent (ranked 275th).
