MBB Travels to Minnesota Tuesday
Feb 22 | Men's Basketball
| Rutgers at Minnesota | |
| Date | Tuesday, February 23 |
| Time | 8:30 p.m. ET |
| Location | Minneapolis, Minn. | Williams Arena |
| Television | Big Ten Network Dave Revsine and Stephen Bardo |
| Radio | Rutgers IMG Radio Network - WOR (710) and WCTC (1450AM) Chris Carlin and Joe Boylan |
| Game Notes | Rutgers | Minnesota |
| Statistics | Rutgers | Minnesota | Big Ten Conference |
| Social Media | @RutgersMBB  | #RHoops | Facebook/RutgersMBB  |
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - In the midst of three road dates over four games, Rutgers (6-21, 0-14) travels to Minnesota (7-19, 1-13) to meet the Golden Gophers in an 8:30 p.m. ET tip-off on Tuesday at Williams Arena. RU will be working to earn its initial B1G victory of the season and first Big Ten road win overall, while the Golden Gophers will be looking capture its second straight victory after a 68-63 home upset of No. 6 Maryland this past Thursday.
The contest will be televised live on BTN with Dave Revsine calling the action and Stephen Bardo providing the analysis. On the radio, the match-up 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 Joe Boylan will provide commentary.
The game will mark the fifth meeting on the collegiate hardwood between Rutgers and Minnesota dating back to 1973, with the Gophers holding a 4-0 advantage. Last season, the Scarlet Knights shot 50.8 percent and established a 39-28 advantage on the boards, but fell 89-80 at Williams Arena. Minnesota made 10 three-pointers and also forced RU into 19 turnovers to benefit from a 26-6 discrepancy in points-off-turnovers. In the first round of last season's Big Ten Tournament, Rutgers dropped an 80-68 decision to Minnesota at the United Center. The Gophers shot 51.7 percent (30-of-58) and had a 19-9 advantage in bench points to earn the victory. The Scarlet Knights dropped a 68-59 decision to No.10-ranked Minnesota at Madison Square Garden in the NIT on March 19, 1973. RU also suffered a 98-59 loss at UM on Dec. 28, 1979 in the Pillsbury Classic.
Freshman forward Jonathan Laurent had his second straight double-double, posting 19 points and 15 rebounds, but Rutgers dropped a 70-58 home decision to Penn State on Saturday afternoon. The Scarlet Knights overcame a 15-point first half deficit to take a second-half lead, but could not sustain the momentum in another hard-fought loss. Laurent was 6-of-10 from the field and 7-of-9 from the charity stripe. He was joined in double figures by Bishop Daniels and D.J. Foreman, who scored 13 and 10 points, respectively. RU held the Nittany Lions to 38.5 percent (25-of-65) shooting, but the visitors made their mark behind the arc, depositing 9-of-22.
the second straight contest, Rutgers had only ten players available, including just seven on scholarship. The Scarlet Knights were without the services of guard Corey Sanders (16.2 ppg, 4.1 apg), forward Deshawn Freeman (13.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg), center Ibrahima Diallo (3.8 ppg, 3.7 rpg) and center Shaquille Doorson.
Laurent becomes first RU player to have consecutive double-doubles since Kadeem Jack in Nov. 2013. The 15 rebounds versus Penn State were most by a Rutgers freshman since March 1, 2009 (Gregory Echenique, 16).
Nate Mason had 18 points, six rebounds and six assists versus the Terps to help Minnesota get its first Big Ten win of the season, its first victory in more than two months. Jordan Murphy added 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Gophers, who shot just 33 percent, but established a 24-2 advantage in bench points. Minnesota ranks 26th nationally in turnovers-per-game (10.7), while Joey King is sixth in the country in free throw percentage (89.7).
