MBB Travels to St. John's Thursday in Gavitt Games
Nov 17 | Men's Basketball
| Rutgers at St. John's | |
| Date | Thursday, November 19 |
| Time | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| Location | Queens, N.Y. | Carnesecca Arena |
| Television | Fox Sports 1 Tim Brando and Bil Raftery |
| Radio | Rutgers IMG Radio Network - WOR (710) and WCTC (1450AM) WRSU (88.7 FM) |
| Game Notes | Rutgers | St. John's |
| Live Stats | |
| Team Info | Online Media Guide |
| Statistics | Rutgers | St. John's | Big Ten Conference |
| Social Media | @RutgersMBB  | #RHoops | Facebook/RutgersMBB  |
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Rutgers travels to regional rival St. John's on Thursday evening for a 7 p.m. tip-off at Carnesecca Arena in the inaugural Gavitt Games. Both teams will be working to improve to 3-0, with the Scarlet Knights seeking to achieve the mark for the first time since 2008-09. The match-up marks the first of three games away from the RAC over the next four contests.
The game will be televised live on FS1 with Tim Brando calling the action and Bill Raftery providing the analysis. The contest will be broadcast live on the Rutgers IMG Sports Network, WOR 710 AM in New York and WCTC 1450 AM in New Brunswick. Chris Carlin will serve as play-by-play announcer and Joe Boylan will provide commentary. WRSU (88.7) will also broadcast the game.
The renewal of the series features many new faces. RU travels six players competing in a Rutgers uniform for the first time, while the Johnnies have eight players competing for the first time in Jamaica. Only active players Greg Lewis (RU) and Christian Jones (STJ) have competed in the series, combing for just eight minutes without a point in two games. It also signals the first game for Eddie Jordan and Chris Mullin as head coaches in the series, but certainly not as players at their alma maters. Jordan was 3-1 running the point versus the Johnnies, with the loss coming at Carnesecca as a senior on Dec. 11, 1976 in his only contest at the site. Mullin was 3-1 versus Rutgers, with the only loss coming at the RAC his freshman season.
Jordan and Mullin are two of five head coaches to have played in the NBA currently directing their alma mater, joining Bryce Drew (Valpo), Kevin Ollie (UConn) and Lorenzo Romar (Washington).
Thursday evening's contest marks the 41st meeting between the schools dating back to 1974 with the Red Storm holding a 26-14 advantage in victories. Rutgers is 4-11 in contests designated as St. John's home games. In the last meeting, the Johnnies secured a 72-60 win at the RAC on Jan. 23, 2013 to break a two-game losing streak in the series. The Red Storm shot 59.1 percent (13-of-22) in the second half, while RU made just 11-of-33 field goal attempts after the break. In the last game at Carnesecca Arena, STJ captured a 58-56 win on Feb. 2, 2011.
Rutgers is coming off an 82-70 home win over Howard on Sunday afternoon. Junior forward Deshawn Freeman shot 7-of-11 to score 17 points and freshman guard Corey Sanders made 4-of-7 field goals to post 15 points in his first collegiate game. The Scarlet Knights dished-out 18 assists for a second consecutive contest and out-rebounded the Bison 42-31. Sanders added five assists and Freeman grabbed seven rebounds off the bench as the Scarlet Knights established a 41-16 advantage in bench points.
Freshman guard Federico Mussini scored a game-high 18 points and handed out six assists to help lead St. John's to a 75-53 win over UMBC on Monday night at Carnesecca. Ron Mvouika added 16 points and Durand Johnson had 15, shooting a combined 13-of-19. St. John's shot 51.9 (27-of-52) percent. Mussini deposited all eight free-throw attempts to anchor an 82.4 percent (14-of-17) showing at the charity stripe.
