PISCATAWAY, N.J.— Indiana guard Romeo Langford may have received most of the pre-season hype, but there is little doubt Michigan’s 6-7 small forward Iggy Brazdeikis is the most influential freshmen in the Big Ten.

Brazdeikis is part of the newest generation of Canadian imports like future NBA high lottery pick RJ Barrett of Duke who are destined to play a major role in the upcoming NCAA tournament. He ripped Rutgers for 23 points and knocked down five three-point shots as the seventh ranked Wolverines (21-2) defeated the gritty Scarlet Knights, 77-57, before a sellout crowd of 8,000 at the RAC.

I got to a taste of his talent in mid-November this season when he outplayed Villanova’s future NBA forward Eric Paschall as Michigan defeated Villanova, 73-46, at the Finn in a replay of the 2018 national championship game that the Wildcats won in Houston. 

And he has only gotten better, becoming Michigan’s first option on offense.

Brazdeikis, who is Michigan’s leading scorer and has 20 double figure scoring games, came to Michigan with a strong pedigree. He was born in Kaunas, Lithuania. His father Sigis, a mixed martial arts fighter, moved the family to Chicago and they finally settled in Oakville, Ont. where he attended Orangeville Prep, playing at the same prep power that produced NBA players Thon Maker and Jamal Murray.

Braddeikis was the MVP of the Ontario Scholastic Basketball Association in 2017 and 2018. He led his team to an Ontario Scholastic championship in 2018 and played for the Canadian national youth teams. Brazdeikis was mentored by former Michigan star Nic Saukas. He was recruited nationally and eventually committed to Michigan over Vanderbllt and Florida. Once he committed, Michigan stopped recruiting Barrett.

Interestingly, at Orangeville, he played with Rutgers’ 6-7 rising junior star Eugene Omoruyi. “Eugene and I actually roomed together my first year at Orangeville,’’ Brazdeikis said. “We’re friends and still keep in touch. It was a lot of fun playing against him. But whenever I take the floor the other team is the enemy. All I see is a blank face, whoever is guarding me. He took me a lot about mental toughness, but I didn’t take a step back from anybody.’’

Brazdeikis scored Michigan’s first eight points and Charles Mathews chipped I with nine as Michigan raced to a 27-10 lead. Brazdeikis shot 8 for 14 and finished one point shot of his career high against North Carolina. Point guard Xavier Simpson, who Brazdeikis referred to as ‘our pit bull,’’ had 14 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists and helped shot down Rutgers’ sophomore point guard Geo Baker, who shot just 1 for 9 and scored just eight points.

“When you are playing an elite team you can’t have a bad start, you can’t have a bad middle and you can’t have a bad ending,’’ Rutgers’ coach Steve Pikiell said. “You have to play well all the time. You can’t have any bad against an elite team and we didn’t start off the right way.’’

Michigan coach John Beilien had to replace three starters including 6-10 NBA first round pick Moe Wagner from Germany off last year’s Final Four team, but no one from that league—which could produce upwards to 10 NCAA teams– rebuilds more efficiently. Michigan made 9 of its first 11 shots to put Rutgers in a 29-14 hole and finished with 11 three-point goals. “They all shoot. I think five of their guys made threes. We really tried to close out on them but every time we made a mistake Brazdeikis made us pay. Obivously, one of the best young guys in the league and he played that way.’’

Despite the loss, it is increasingly obvious PIckiell, who is in his third season at Rutgers, has been the right choice as the school makes a course correction. The Knights, who have not made the NCAA tournament since 1991, won just nine Big Ten games during their first four years in the league. Rutgers (11-11) has won four so far this year and have a shot at four more with games against Minnesota and Penn State and road games at Northwestern, Illinois and Indiana.

This is a young team that will return its core players next year and has two potential stars in Omoruyi, who scored 21 points against a nationally ranked Michigan defense that was only allowed 57 points a game, and Baker. The Knights, who like to play big and have three useful players who are 6-9 or taller, have the requisite size and athleticism to be competitive with the middle of the pack in this league and are a dependable perimeter shooter away from moving up from the back of the standings. The Knights has excited their fan base, who sold out the RAC for playing before three Big Ten sellouts against Michigan State, Maryland and the Wolverines.

“They have the young players right now that they can build a great culture with,’’ Beilein said. “I say this to our people all the time. When Michigan came into the league, the league was strong in certain areas and you need to continue to press on and press on. But you need some teams to drop. When I came in, Indiana broke through and suddenly they were always in there. Purdue over a period won the championship and finished last, then won another championship. Those things need to happen. When I came in, the league had 11 teams. It’s up to 14 now and it’s difficult to move up. They just have to continue to get good freshman, build a good culture, get the right kids. They have good young players and they can win with those kids as they’ve already shown.’’