MBB Hosts Northwestern Tuesday in B1G Opener
Dec 29 | Men's Basketball
| Game Fourteen: Northwestern at Rutgers | |
| Date | Tuesday, December 30, 2014 |
| Time | 12:00 p.m. ET |
| Location | Piscatway, N.J. | The RAC |
| Tickets | Tickets |
| Radio | Rutgers IMG Radio Network - WOR (710) and WCTC (1450AM) Chris Carlin & Dick Lloyd |
| Television | ESPNU |
| Game Notes | Rutgers | Northwestern |
| Statistics | Rutgers | Northwestern |
| Social Media | @RutgersMBB  | Facebook/RutgersMBB  |
Rutgers Game Notes 
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Rutgers (8-5) hosts Northwestern (9-4) on Tuesday at 12 noon in the Scarlet Knights' inaugural Big Ten Conference game. RU will be working to earn its third straight victory, while the Wildcats will be seeking their fourth consecutive win. The first 1,000 fans at the RAC will receive t-shirts commemorating Rutgers' initial B1G game on the hardwood. Tuesday will also feature post game foul shots on the court for Junior Knights Club members ages 12 and under. Children who are not members of the Junior Knights will have the opportunity to sign up and participate.
Tuesday afternoon's game will be televised live nationally on ESPNU with Doug Sherman calling the action and Craig Robinson providing the analysis. On the radio, the contest 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. WRSU (88.7 FM) will also broadcast the game.
The game will mark the sixth meeting on the collegiate hardwood between RU and Northwestern, with the Wildcats holding a 4-1 advantage in victories. RU won the last meeting, however, 80-75 on Dec. 27, 2003, in the Sierra Sun Classic in El Paso, Texas. Ricky Shields scored 24 points and Herve Lamizana added 21 points and 15 rebounds. Three of the five match-ups have taken place at neutral sites. The Wildcats won the lone meeting at the RAC, a 75-69 decision on Dec. 5, 1988.
Myles Mack hit a buzzer-beating, 20-foot shot to provide Rutgers a dramatic 59-58 victory at Monmouth on Sunday afternoon. The senior guard led the Scarlet Knights with 16 points, while also dishing out four assists and grabbing five rebounds. He was joined in double figures by junior guard Bishop Daniels (12 points) and senior forward Kadeem Jack (11 points). The Scarlet Knights had 16 assists and committed just seven turnovers. Mack's game winner marked the first time Rutgers won via a buzzer-beating shot since Jonathan Mitchell's four-point play on Feb. 9, 2011 helped the Scarlet Knights defeat No. 9 Villanova, 77-76.
Mack is fourth in the Big Ten and is 31st nationally in steals (2.3), fourth in the league in minutes played (35.5) and tied for sixth in assists (4.8). Jack is third in the conference in offensive rebounding (2.7) and eighth in rebounding (6.7).
Northwestern, under the direction of second-year head coach Chris Collins, closed out the nonconference portion of its season with a 76-55 home win over Northern Kentucky on Saturday. Tre Demps tied a career high with 23 points to lead all scorers. NU used a 24-4 run spanning both halves to turn a two-point deficit into an 18-point lead. The Wildcats finished a perfect 18-for-18 from the free throw line in Saturday's win, the third-best single-game performance in school history. Demps paces a balanced Northwestern scoring attack with an average of 11.5 points, while freshman Bryant McIntosh is close behind at 11.3. Alex Olah contributes 11.0 points and a team-leading 7.3 rebounds.
