Rutgers Hosts No. 2 Pittsburgh Saturday Night at the RAC
Jan 27 | Men's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. -Rutgers (12-8, 3-5) returns to the friendly confines of the Louis Brown Athletic Center, where it has a 9-2 record this season, to host No. 2 Pittsburgh (19-2, 7-1) Saturday in an 8 p.m. tip-off. The Scarlet Knights have an opportunity to defeat a top five ranked team for the first time in program history. The highest ranked opponent toppled by RU was No. 6 West Virginia by a 74-64 score at the RAC on Feb. 27, 1982. The Scarlet Knights have downed a nationally-ranked Panthers squad once before, defeating No. 13 UP 77-64 at the PEC on Jan. 26, 2008. Rutgers guard Mike Coburn (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) shot five-of-nine and three-of-three from behind the arc to score 17 points in that game to help him earn National Freshman of the Week honors.
The Rutgers Athletic Department is encouraging all fans attending the game to bring donations of non-perishable food items, canned goods, and other necessities to help replenish dwindling supplies at New Jersey food banks. Collection bins will be placed in the lobby of the RAC, directly in front of the main entrances. Canned and packaged goods, boxed containers, or items packaged in plastic will be accepted (please do not donate glass items). Paper products, such as paper towels, toilet tissue, toiletries and baby supplies will also be accepted. The food drive is part of the Rutgers Against Hunger (RAH) initiative.
First-year Rutgers head coach Mike Rice, a Pittsburgh native, is very familiar with the Panthers, having served as an assistant under Jamie Dixon in 2006-07. RU associate head coach David Cox worked as the Panthers' Director of Basketball Operations that same season.
The contest will be televised live nationally in high definition on ESPN2 with Beth Mowins calling the action and Mike Kelley offering the analysis. RU is 2-1 on the deuce this season, earning wins over Auburn and USF and suffering a loss to North Carolina. 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) will also broadcast the game.
Saturday evening's match-up marks the 46th meeting between the schools on the collegiate hardwood dating back to 1915, with the Scarlet Knights holding a 23-22 margin in victories. Rutgers is 11-11 all-time at home against UP and 7-6 at the RAC. In BIG EAST regular season play, Pittsburgh holds a 13-6 series lead. The Panthers have won two straight in the series and 10 of the last 11 meetings. Last season, No. 17/18 Pittsburgh defeated Rutgers 83-54 in the regular season finale in the Steel City. Austin Johnson (Elkins, Park, Pa.) shot four-of-five to score 12 points in the loss.
Rutgers is coming off a 72-56 loss at Cincinnati Wednesday evening. Senior forward Jonathan Mitchell (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) shot eight-of-13 to score a game-high 20 points and sophomore wing Dane Miller (Rochester, N.Y.) added 10 points on five-of-10 field goal attempts for the Scarlet Knights in a game that featured eight lead changes. The teams posted similar shooting percentages, with RU making 46 percent (23-50) of its field goal attempts and Cincinnati depositing 46.8 percent (22-47) of its shots. The difference came from behind the arc, where the hosts made six (6-18) three pointers and RU tweaked the twine just once on 11 attempts.
Pittsburgh suffered a 56-51 home defeat to No. 15/14 Notre Dame on Monday night. The loss ended a nine game winning streak and a 10-game BIG EAST regular season victories streak that dated to last season. The 51-points marked the Panthers lowest scoring output of the season. Pittsburgh leads the BIG EAST in scoring margin (+16.7), three point field goal percentage (.398), rebounding offense (42.4), rebounding defense (29.0), rebounding margin (+13.4), assists (19.33) and assist/turnover ratio (1.71). Junior Ashton Gibbs leads the league in three point field goals made with 3.10 per game. GAME NOTES
