Men's Hoops Sets Sights on Stony Brook
Dec 08 | Men's Basketball
| Game Ten: Rutgers at Stony Brook | |
| Date | Saturday, December 10 |
| Time | 7:00 p.m. EST |
| Location | Island Federal Credit Union Arena | Stony Brook, N.Y. |
| Video | ESPN3 (Carl Reuter & Curt Hylton) |
| Radio | Rutgers IMG Sports Radio Network - WCTC 1450 AM & WOR 710 AM (Jerry Recco & Joe Boylan) WRSU 88.7 FM (Dom Savino & Matt Salvatore) |
| Live Stats | Live Stats |
| Game Notes | Rutgers | Stony Brook |
| Media Guide | Rutgers |
Rutgers Game Notes
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Rutgers (8-1) plays the third of its four non-conference road games when it travels to Stony Brook (3-5) for a 7 p.m. tip-off on Saturday at 4,160-seat Island FCU Arena. The Scarlet Knights have exceeded their win total from the entire 2015-16 season in under a month. RU enters the contest with an official NCAA RPI of 84, while the Seawolves rank 289 in the category. The Scarlet Knights are second nationally in offensive rebounding (17.9) after concluding the 2015-16 campaign tied for 249th in the category. RU is also fifth in rebounding margin (13.0) and sixth in total rebounding (45.8).
Saturday's game will be streamed live via the web on ESPN3 with Carl Reuter calling the action and Curt Hylton providing the commentary. On the radio, 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. Jerry Recco will serve as play-by-play announcer and Joe Boylan will provide commentary. WRSU (88.7 FM) will also broadcast the game.
The match-up is the fourth on the collegiate hardwood between the Scarlet Knights and Seawolves and will be the first on SBU's home floor. RU is 3-0 in the series. Rutgers defeated Stony Brook during the 200-01 and 2001-02 season at the RAC before downing the Seawolves 67-58 in the MSG Holiday Festival on Dec. 17, 2011. Then freshman Myles Mack scored 22 points and RU limited SBU to 26.7 percent (16-of-60) shooting. Current Rutgers Director of Basketball Operations Bryan Dougher scored 14 points for the Seawolves. He scored 1,609 points at Stony Brook playing point guard under Steve Pikiell from 2008-12.
Pikiell served as head coach from 2005-06 to 2015-16 and led Stony Brook to six postseason appearances over his last seven years. The 2016 America East Conference Coach of the Year, SBU won four America East regular season championships, achieved 22 or more victories on six occasions and captured five conference player of the year awards under his leadership. A four time America East Coach of the Year, Pikiell compiled a 119-48 (.713) record over his last five seasons on Long Island.
In total, six current RU staffers have strong Stony Brook ties. Assistant coach Jay Young spent the past 11 seasons as an assistant under Pikiell, including the last seven as associate head coach. Senior advisor Steve Hayn is a Stony Brook alum and scored 1,157 points from 1988-91. Assistant Athletics Director for Athletic Performance David VanDyke spent the past 11 years at Stony Brook under Pikiell, while athletic trainer Richard Campbell served as the SBU team trainer for the past two seasons.
Rutgers shot a blistering 64.8 percent (35-of-54) and outscored Central Connecticut State 60-14 in the paint in a decisive 79-37 victory over the Blue Devils Tuesday night at the RAC. The win signaled the largest margin of victory over a Division I opponent for the Scarlet Knights in 11 seasons and provided Pikiell his 200th career win as a head coach. The shooting percentage marked RU's best since a 69.6 percent (32-of-46) performance in a 95-87 win over Saint Joseph's on Feb. 13, 1991. Meanwhile, Rutgers limited the visitors to a 25 percent (14-of-56) mark from the field, the lowest for an opponent since Pittsburgh shot just 21.1 percent (12-of-57) in a 62-39 RU win on Jan. 11, 2012.
Stony Brook, under the direction of first-year head coach Jeff Boals, is coming off a 62-57 home win over Lehigh on Tuesday. The Seawolves deposited 17-of-19 free throws and helped to force 19 visitor turnovers. Junior forward Tyrell Sturdivant posts 12.8 points-per-game to lead three SBU players averaging double figures. SBU ranks 10 nationally in turnovers, committing an average of just 10.4 miscues per game. Senior guard Lucas Woodhouse is 10th nationally in free throw percentage (97.2).
