Rutgers Poised to Play the Peacocks Tuesday Evening
Dec 21 | Men's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Rutgers (8-2) plays its ninth of 10 non-conference home games this season when it welcomes St. Peter's (5-5) to the Louis Brown Athletic Center on Tuesday for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off. The Peacocks will drive approximately 34 miles south down the New Jersey Turnpike from Jersey City for the contest. St. Peter's is one of seven state opponents on RU's 2009-10 schedule. Tuesday's game marks the second of four consecutive road games for the Peacocks.
Rutgers is off to its best start during the tenure of fourth-year head coach Fred Hill. A win Tuesday night would provide the Scarlet Knights their first six-game winning streak since 2001, when the team won eight straight from November into December.
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 game signals the 12th all-time meeting between the Scarlet Knights and the Peacocks dating back to 1975, with Rutgers holding a 9-2 advantage in victories. The Scarlet Knights defeated St. Peter's by a 68-47 margin on Nov. 30 last year at the RAC. Rutgers put forth a dominant defensive performance, establishing a 48-25 advantage in rebounds and issuing 12 blocks, while holding SPC to 26.7 percent (16-60) shooting.
The Scarlet Knights are coming off a 71-62 overtime victory over NJIT this past Saturday afternoon at the RAC. Senior center Hamady Ndiaye (Dakar, Senegal) was one block shy of a triple-double - posting 11 points, a career-high 13 rebounds and a career-best nine blocks - to help Rutgers to its fifth straight victory. Mike Rosario (Jersey City, N.J.) scored 15 points and Austin Johnson (Elkins Park, Pa.) added a career-high 13 points. Rutgers forced 19 turnovers and established a 41-30 rebounding advantage, while limiting the Highlanders to 36.7 percent (22-60) shooting.
Ndiaye was named to the BIG EAST Conference Honor Roll on Monday for a second consecutive week after averaging 10.0 points, 12.0 rebounds and 7.5 blocks to help the Scarlet Knights to a 2-0 record last week. Ndiaye ranks tied for first nationally, while leading the BIG EAST, with an average of 5.3 blocks-per-game. He is third nationally in career blocks and third all-time at Rutgers with 266 career rejections. In the three games Ndiaye has started this season, he has averaged 14.0 points, 11.3 rebounds and 7.7 blocks per contest.
St. Peter's, under the leadership of fourth-year head coach John Dunne, is coming off an 83-68 win at Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday evening. Five Peacocks scored in double figures as SPC shot 54.3 percent (25-46). Junior forward Ryan Bacon returned from injury to score 19 points and grab 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. Junior guard Wesley Jenkins leads the team in scoring with a 14.7 points-per-game average. GAME NOTES
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