GAME NOTES: The Rutgers Scarlet Knights will make their Big Ten Conference debut Tuesday afternoon as they entertain the Northwestern Wildcats at the RAC.

Northwestern comes into its first conference matchup of the 2014-15 season sporting a 9-4 overall record, which includes a 1-1 mark away from home. The Wildcats have won three games in a row, and four of their last five altogether as they prepare to hit the road.

Rutgers is coming off a narrow 59-58 win over in-state rival Monmouth, in which Myles Mack hit a game-winning shot at the buzzer to provide the team with its second win in a row. The Knights are 8-5 on the season heading into their first-ever Big Ten Conference slate.

The two sides have met five times on the floor before in their series history. The Wildcats own the all-time advantage over the Scarlet Knights, 4-1, although Rutgers won the most recent matchup between the sides back in the 2003 season.

Northwestern breezed past Northern Kentucky in the Wildcats' last outing by routing the Norse, 76-55. Northwestern connected on 44.1 percent of its shots in the contest, and made a perfect 18-of-18 from the free-throw line. Tre Demps scored 23 points to lead the Wildcats, and added six rebounds in the win. Bryant McIntosh netted 15 points, and Scottie Lindsey came off the bench to score 12. Alex Olah led the team with seven assists in the contest, and grabbed six rebounds as well.

Three players are all scoring within half a point of each other for Northwestern this season, as Demps (11.5 ppg), McIntosh (11.3 ppg) and Olah (11.0 ppg) make up the trio of double-digit scorers through 13 games played. As a unit, Northwestern is netting 65.8 ppg this season on 43.1 percent shooting, and is holding opponents to just 59.8 ppg in the same frame. McIntosh's 65 assists is the most on the team so far, while Olah leads the Wildcats in rebounding at 7.3 boards per outing.

The smallest player on the court has continuously come up the biggest for Rutgers this season, as the 5-foot-10 Mack hit a game-winning shot at the buzzer to lift his Scarlet Knights over the Monmouth Hawks on Sunday night. Mack netted 16 points to lead the team, with five rebounds and four assists in the contest. Bishop Daniels scored 12 with a team-high five assists, and Kadeem Jack chipped in with 11 points in the one-point victory.

Rutgers' offense has been a work in progress this season, as the team comes in averaging just 60.5 ppg. The Scarlet Knights have played strong defense, limiting opponents to 62.0 ppg this season on 39.6 percent shooting from the floor. Mack paces the Knights in scoring with a 13.8 ppg mark, adding in 4.5 rpg and a team-best 62 assists. Jack is the only other Rutgers players averaging a double-digit scoring total with 13.1 ppg. The forward also brings in a team-high 6.7 rpg.

Rutgers has the home advantage in its first-ever matchup against a fellow Big Ten member, but the Wildcats should be able to score with relative ease against the Scarlet Knights, who haven't been shooting the ball well from the floor at all this season (39.5 percent).