PISCATAWAY, N.J. (February 8, 2010) - Rutgers (11-12, 2-9 BIG EAST) will be preparing to win its sixth game against an in-state foe this season when it hosts Caldwell (3-18, 2-11 CACC) in a 7:30 p.m. tip-off Tuesday (Feb. 9) at the Louis Brown Athletic Center. The contest marks the 13th and final non-conference, regular season game for the Scarlet Knights, who are 9-3 in non-league play and 5-0 against Garden State foes. The game versus the Cougars will serve as “Fan Appreciation Night,” as fans will be able to attend the game free of charge. General admission seating will be employed.
The game will be streamed live on the web via KnightVision Broadband at www.scarletknights.com with Danny Breslauer and Adam Helfgott calling the action. On the radio, the contest will be broadcast live on the Rutgers Radio Network, WOR 710 AM in New York City and WCTC 1450 AM in New Brunswick. Chris Carlin will serve as play-by-play announcer and Dick Lloyd will provide commentary. WRSU 88.7 FM will also broadcast the game.
Tuesday evening’s contest will mark the first, regular season meeting between Rutgers and Caldwell on the collegiate hardwood. The Scarlet Knights defeated the Cougars in exhibition match-ups in 2005, 2006 and 2008.
Rutgers is coming off a hard fought, 76-60, loss to Louisville Saturday afternoon before 19,775-fans at Freedom Hall. Redshirt junior forward Jonathan Mitchell (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) scored 17 points, had a career-high seven assists and added seven rebounds to lead four Rutgers players in double figures. Trailing by 17 points in the opening half, the Scarlet Knights battled back to within four points after the break but would get no closer. Dane Miller (Henrietta, N.Y.) scored 17 points, while Mike Rosario (Jersey City, N.J.) added 13 and Hamady Ndiaye (Dakar, Senegal) 10 to spark RU. The starting five for the Scarlet Knights all played 31-plus minutes, with Rosario and Mitchell logging the entire 40. The Scarlet Knights managed 10 more shots than their hosts, but Louisville connected on a higher percentage. The Cardinals made 54 percent (27-50) of their attempts from the field, while Rutgers had 38.3 percent (23-60) fall through the cylinder.
Miller was named the BIG EAST Conference Rookie of the Week on Monday. He is averaging 12.5 points-per-game in league contests to leads all BIG EAST rookies in scoring in conference games. Among freshmen in league games, Miller also ranks first in steals (1.55), tied for third in rebounding (6.0), third in assists (2.73), and tied for fifth in blocks (0.64). Ndiaye leads the BIG EAST and is third nationally in blocks with an average of 4.7 rejections-per-game. As of Feb. 8, he had accumulated more blocks this season than 11 teams in the conference.
