MBB Meets Manhattan in MSG Holiday Festival
Dec 11 | Men's Basketball
| Game Ten: Rutgers vs. Manhattan (MSG Holiday Festival) | |
| Date | Sunday, December 14, 2014 |
| Time | 12:00 p.m. ET |
| Location | New York, N.Y. | Madison Square Garden |
| Radio | Rutgers IMG Radio Network - WOR (710) and WCTC (1450AM) Chris Carlin & Dick Lloyd |
| Game Notes | Rutgers | Manhattan |
| Statistics | Rutgers | Manhattan |
| Social Media | @RutgersMBB  | Facebook/RutgersMBB  |
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - After a 60-56 home win over New Hampshire, Rutgers (5-4, 0-0 Big Ten) travels to the World's Most Famous Arena to meet Manhattan (2-5, 1-1 MAAC) on Sunday (Dec. 14) in a 12 noon tip-off in the 2014 Madison Square Garden Holiday Festival presented by Advanced Auto Parts. With non-conference wins over ACC (Clemson) and SEC (Vanderbilt) foes this season, the Scarlet Knights strength of schedule is currently rated 37th nationally by the ESPN Daily RPI, which tops the Big Ten.
During halftime of the second game (St. John's vs. Fordham) of Sunday's Festival, the ECAC will present a Coaching Excellence Award to former Rutgers Head Coach Tom Young. The winningest coach in RU men's basketball history (.671), Young's squads won 239 games from 1973-1985. In 1975-76, he reached the pinnacle of his career, guiding the Scarlet Knights to a perfect 26-0 regular season, and a 31-0 start with a trip to the Final Four. Young was named 1975-76 UPI National Coach of the Year and would go on to lead Rutgers to four NCAA Tournament appearances and five NIT's.
Sunday afternoon's game will be broadcast live on the Rutgers IMG Sports Network, WOR 710 AM in New York & WCTC 1450 AM in New Brunswick. Chris Carlin will serve as play-by-play announcer and Dick Lloyd will provide commentary. The contest will not be televised.
The Scarlet Knights have played in the ECAC Holiday Festival at MSG on 10 occasions dating back to 1974 and have a 10-9 all-time record in event. In RU's most recent Holiday Festival contest, it defeated Iona, 81-73 on Dec. 8, 2012. Myles Mack shot 7-of-11 to score 19 points with seven rebounds in the victory.
Sunday afternoon's match-up marks the 32nd meeting between Rutgers and Manhattan on the collegiate hardwood dating back to 1907, with the Scarlet Knights holding a 17-14 advantage. The Scarlet Knights and Jaspers have met once before in the Holiday Festival, with RU earning an 80-76 win on Dec. 30, 1992. The last match-up between the schools took place at the RAC on Dec. 29, 2007, with Rutgers capturing a 73-67 victory. Three Scarlet Knights scored in double figures as RU led by as many as 20 points in the second half.
Mack scored a game-high 20 points, including an and-one layup with under a minute to play, in the win over UNH on Tuesday. Tied 52-52 with fewer than three minutes on the clock, he scored five points down the stretch to secure the win. Mack added seven rebounds, three assists and was 4-of-4 from the charity stripe playing 37 minutes. Fellow senior team captain Kadeem Jack grabbed 10 rebounds and had four blocks in 38 minutes.
Mack leads the Big Ten and is eighth nationally in steals (2.89), while placing third in the Conference and 48th nationally in minutes played (35.7) and tied for fourth in the B1G and 55th nationally free throw percentage (87.5).
Manhattan, under the direction of fourth-year head coach Steve Masiello, scored the game's first 12 points and never looked back in a 60-38 win over Marist in the Jaspers' home opener on Sunday. Senior forward Emmy Andujar had 15 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists to fall just two helpers short of the program's first-ever triple double.
