The Rutgers Scarlet Knights are desperate for a victory against the Providence Friars Wednesday night in Big East Conference basketball action at the Dunkin Donuts Center (7 p.m. ET, ESPNU).

Rutgers (12-10, 4-5) comes in off of a nice win against Cincinnati after dropping consecutive games to DePaul and Georgetown. Head coach Mike Rice has to be pleased overall with the pluck of his young team. A victory on Wednesday would get Rutgers back to even in the Big East and give them a fighting chance to make the NCAA tournament.

Providence (12-10, 1-8) has had a brutal season in-conference. The season started with hope in Rhode Island, with the Friars off to an 11-2 start including wins over South Carolina and Boston College. Since then, the wheels have absolutely fallen off. Providence made headlines in its only Big East win, a 90-59 thrashing of No. 25 Louisville.

This game provides a nice opportunity for Rutgers to get on a bit of a roll. Eli Carter and Myles Mack will look to score on a pedestrian Friars defense and lead their team to a very important victory.

Junior guard Vincent Council is the key for Providence, who paces his squad averaging 16.3 points per game.