Rutgers Readies for 2012 BIG EAST Championship
Mar 04 | Men's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Rutgers heads to the 2012 BIG EAST Championship Presented by American Eagle Outfitters as the No. 11 seed and will meet No. 14 seed Villanova in a 9 p.m. tip-off on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden. The winner of the contest will play No. 6 seed USF in a second round match-up at 9 p.m. on Wednesday. The winner of the 11/14 vs. No. 6 game will play No. 3 seed Notre Dame in a quarterfinals contest at 9 p.m. on Thursday.
Tuesday night's first round game will be televised live nationally in high definition on ESPNU and via the web at ESPN3.com. Sean McDonough will serve as play-by-play announcer and Bill Raftery and Jay Bilas will provide analysis, with Andy Katz working as the sideline reporter. If Rutgers advances, its second and quarterfinal round games will be broadcast by the same primary crew on ESPN at approximately 9 p.m. On the radio all RU games 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 games.
Rutgers has a 6-12 overall record in the BIG EAST Tournament. The Scarlet Knights and Wildcats have met once before in Championship play. In a quarterfinals match-up in 2006, No. 2 seeded VU defeated No. 10 seed RU 87-55. Tuesday evening's contest marks the 37th meeting between Rutgers and Villanova on the hardwood dating back to 1932, with the Wildcats holding a 27-9 advantage in victories. On March 1, RU battled back from a 19-point first half deficit to get within one on two occasions in the second half, but would get no closer in a 77-71 loss to VU at the RAC. Dane Miller (Rochester, N.Y.) shot five-of-eight to score a team-best 16 points with nine rebounds.
Rutgers and USF have never met in BIG EAST Championship play. The Scarlet Knights and Irish have squared-off three times in the BIG EAST Tournament, with UND holding a 2-1 advantage.
Picked 11th in the league's preseason coaches poll, Rutgers earned six BIG EAST victories this season, its most since posting a 7-9 mark in 2005-06. With seven freshmen on the roster and no scholarship seniors, RU ranks as the nation's fifth youngest team according to StatSheet.com. The Scarlet Knights enter the tournament after winning two of their final three games, which included victories over metro rivals Seton Hall and St. John's. It signaled the first time Rutgers had defeated both in the same season since 2005-06.
Miller, who posted seven double-doubles this season, capped the regular season by being named to the BIG EAST's final Weekly Honor Roll. In the last four regular season games, he averaged 14.3 points and 8.8 rebounds-per-contest, while shooting 57.5 percent (23-40) from the field and 81.8 percent (9-11) from the free throw line.
