MBB Travels to Minnesota Saturday
Jan 15 | Men's Basketball
| Rutgers at Minnesota | |
| Date | Saturday, January 17, 2015 |
| Time | 12:00 p.m. ET |
| Location | Minneapolis, Minn. | Williams Arena |
| Television | Big Ten Network Cory Provus and Stephen Bardo |
| Radio | Rutgers IMG Radio Network - WOR (710) and WCTC (1450AM) Chris Carlin & Dick Lloyd Rutgers Student Radio - WRSU (88.7 FM) |
| Game Notes | Rutgers | Minnesota |
| Statistics | Rutgers | Minnesota | Big Ten Conference |
| Social Media | @RutgersMBB  | #RHoops | Facebook/RutgersMBB  |
Rutgers Game Notes
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - After a pair of hard-fought contests versus nationally-ranked foes, Rutgers (10-8, 2-3) remains on the rugged Big Ten road to meet Minnesota (11-7, 0-5) at 14,625-seat Williams Arena on Saturday afternoon. It marks the first of two times this season that the Scarlet Knights will play back-to-back league road games. With an 11:00 a.m. local (12 noon ET) tip-off it marks the earliest start for RU in 2014-15. Rutgers enters the game with an ESPN Daily RPI (Jan. 15) of 60 and with its strength of schedule ranked tops in the Big Ten at 10th nationally. Four of the Golden Gophers' five league losses have been by five points or less.
Saturday afternoon's game will be televised live nationally on BTN with Cory Provus calling the action and Stephen Bardo 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 third meeting on the collegiate hardwood between Rutgers and Minnesota dating back to 1973 with the Gophers holding a 2-0 advantage. The Scarlet Knights dropped a 68-59 decision to No.10-ranked Minnesota at Madison Square Garden in the NIT on March 19, 1973 with current radio analyst Dick Lloyd at the helm. RU also suffered a 98-59 loss at UM on Dec. 28, 1979 in the Pillsbury Classic.
Despite a game-high 19 points from senior guard Myles Mack, Rutgers dropped a 73-65 battle at fellow Big Ten newcomer and No. 14/11-ranked Maryland on Wednesday evening at the XFINITY Center. Freshman guard Mike Williams and junior guard Bishop Daniels both contributed 12 points for the Scarlet Knights in a gritty contest that featured seven ties and seven lead changes. RU shot 45.5 percent (25-of-55), while limiting the Terrapins to a 34.4 percent (21-of-61) field goal percentage. The home squad benefitted from 11 three-pointers, however, and a 46-33 advantage on the glass to escape with the victory before 12,419 fans.
The Scarlet Knights' defense has been solid and is ranked among the top 75 nationally in several categories. RU is 63rd in field goal percentage defense (39.4), 64th in scoring defense (61.3), 69th in three-point field goal defense (30.6) and 75th in blocked shots per game (4.6).
Minnesota, under the direction of second-year head coach Richard Pitino, suffered a 77-75 home loss to Iowa on Tuesday night as senior guard DeAndre Mathieu's full-court drive for a layup at the buzzer was ruled a split-second late. The Gophers battled back from a 17-point deficit and took a four-point lead with 3:11 remaining before falling. UM ranks second nationally in steals per game (11.1) and sixth in both turnover margin (5.4) and assists per game (17.8). The Gophers have received votes in both polls on multiple occasions this season.
