Rutgers Hosts Norfolk State Tuesday Evening
Nov 22 | Men's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Rutgers hosts its third consecutive home game and looks for its third straight victory when it welcomes MEAC member Norfolk State to the RAC on Tuesday for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off. The contest marks the second of three games the Scarlet Knights will play in the Philly Hoop Group Classic. After defeating Fairfield 68-53 at home on Nov. 15, RU meets Saint Joseph's at the Palestra in Philadelphia this Friday (Nov. 26) in a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.
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 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.
Rutgers, under the leadership of head coach Mike Rice, is 2-1. The last head coach to begin their RU career with a 2-1 record or better was Bob Wenzel, who started with a 3-1 mark in 1988-89.
Tuesday evening's match-up will mark the second meeting on the collegiate hardwood between the Scarlet Knights and Spartans. RU defeated NSU 63-58 at the RAC on December 18, 2004. Ollie Bailey scored 21 points on eight-of-10 shooting to pace the home squad.
Rutgers is coming off a convincing 61-45 victory over ACC foe Miami (Fla.) Sunday afternoon at the RAC. The Scarlet Knights held the Hurricanes to 29.2 percent (14-48) shooting and outscored UM by a 30-16 margin in the paint. Senior guard Mike Coburn (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) had six assists and four steals while committing just one turnover to help spark a complete team effort. Senior forward Jonathan Mitchell (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) and sophomore wing Dane Miller (Rochester, N.Y.) scored 12 and 11 points, respectively to pace RU in the scoring column. Mitchell also grabbed a team-high seven boards as the Scarlet Knights out-rebounded the much larger Hurricanes by a 37-36 margin. Miller made five-of-eight from the field and posted all of his points in the second half. Rutgers had assists on 17 of its 24 field goals. Miami, conversely, had just five assists on the afternoon with 17 turnovers.
Rutgers is limiting opponents to 35.9 percent (56-156) shooting and just a 29.4 percent (20-68) mark from behind the arc.
Norfolk State (1-2), under the leadership of fourth-year head coach Anthony Evans, suffered a hard-fought, 70-65, loss at Saint Joseph's on Saturday. Kyle O'Quinn had 23 points and 13 rebounds, as the Spartans out-scored the Hawks 32-22 in the paint. Rob Hampton, who leads NSU in the scoring column with 19.7 points-per-game, had 19 points. O'Quinn was a preseason First Team All-MEAC selection, while Hampton was a second team choice. GAME NOTES
