RUTGERS
Record: 10-3
Last Game: W, 71-65 vs. #15 Seton Hall 12/16
Last 10: 7-3
Last Meeting: Rutgers 71, Stony Brook 66 on 12/10/16. Squandered 10-point second-half lead. Akwasi Yeboah team-high 18.
Listen/Watch:TV:
https://www.btn2go.com/game/stony-brook-at-rutgers-on-12222017Rutgers radio:
https://tunein.com/radio/Rutgers-IMG-Sports-Network-s230327/Stony Brook radio:
http://tun.in/piHHANotables:6-2/175 jr G Corey Sanders 13.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 3.4 apg, 1.4 spg
6-4/180 fr G Geo Baker 12.5 ppg, 3.8 apg, 1.3 spg, .800 FT%
6-7/225 sr F Deshawn Freeman 11.3 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 1.4 spg, 1.2 bpg
6-7/235 so F Eugene Omoruyi 9.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.0 bpg
6-10/190 so F Issa Thiam 7.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg, .800 FT%, .367 3-pt FG%
Once again, the Scarlet Knights will tip off in the friendly confines of the RAC, where they’ve gone 10-2 on the year; that’s right, they’ve played once on the road and got blasted at Minnesota. They followed a similar strategy last year, only to open up the year 11-2 on their way to 15-18. But still, Pikiell’s got this program trending upward in a big way, both short term (see this weekend’s win over Seton Hall) and long term.
If you recall, last year went the way that many of this year’s games have gone for us – up in the second half, only to see the favored team come roaring back. Made threes (we had 13) kept us in it, but a 15-0 run and a lack of an inside presence on both ends did us in eventually. Nigel Johnson had a game-high 21 off the bench. He passed up the opportunity to finish his career at Rutgers, instead transferring to Virginia, where he’s their fourth leading scorer as a grad student. Besides the result, it was a heck of a fun night to have a B1G team at our place. Coach P – all class.
Rutgers has been fine in spite of Johnson’s departure. The main reason has been the emergence of freshman Geo Baker, who played his HS ball up in New Hampshire. Baker played his AAU ball for a former player of Karl Hobbs, who’s now an assistant with Pikiell. AAU and the college game #smh. He’s second behind Sanders, and his 17 points was second behind Sanders’ 22 in their triumph over Seton Hall, a game that drew the largest crowd at the RAC since 2002. The 34-11 edge on free throw attempts didn’t hurt (they’ve taken 292 to their opponents’ 197 this year).
I love Freeman’s game. Just a junkyard dog kind of player.
Like you’d expect from a Pikiell-led team, they’re going to fight tooth and nail on the defensive end. They currently rank THIRD in the country in points against (58.3) and FOURTH in field goal percentage defense (.363), not to mention 16th in rebound margin (+9). I also came to expect a lack of flow offensively from our teams under Coach P, and Rutgers is experiencing similar issues it seems. They can’t shoot from two or three, or at the free throw line. I’d like to think this game is up for grabs, but the one thing that we haven’t done well with is pressure on the ball, and they’re going to make us fight for every basket. The perimeter shots have to go down, and we can’t have a million one-and-dones. I’m hoping Elijah digs deep and has a great homecoming, and Akwasi continues to progress as our lead dog.