Scarlet Knights Host the Hawks on Thursday

Thursday, December 28

Piscataway, NJ

7 p.m.

Rutgers University

Hartford

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Photo by: Rich Graessle

Dec 26 | Men's Basketball

Rutgers Game Notes Hartford Game Notes

PISCATAWAY - Rutgers (10-4) works to conclude its non-conference campaign with an 11-2 mark, and improve to 19-2 overall in non-league home match-ups under head coach Steve Pikiell, when it welcomes Hartford (6-7) to the RAC on Thursday for a 7 p.m. tip-off. Via the new "Winter Break at the RAC" promotion, Rutgers students with a valid ID can bring up to two free guests in the student section. The Rutgers Dance Team will perform its Nationals routine at halftime.

Rutgers leads the nation in rebounding (45.36) and is second in offensive rebounding (16.07), while placing fourth in scoring defense (59.5) and fifth in field goal percentage defense (36.4). The Scarlet Knights are among the top three in the Big Ten in 12 stat categories.

The game will be streamed live via BTN Plus with Lou Brogno and Dom Savino calling the action. 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, as well as on Sirius 138 and XM 195. Jerry Recco will serve as play-by-play announcer and Mark Peterson will provide commentary. WRSU (88.7 FM) will also broadcast the game.

The contest will mark the third meeting on the hardwood between the Scarlet Knights and Hawks, with RU winning both prior match-ups at the RAC. Last season, Rutgers closed on a 20-5 run to earn a 77-75 comeback victory over Hartford, which led by 13 points with five minutes to play. Deshawn Freeman scored a career-high 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. RU also defeated UH 63-53 on Dec. 13, 2001 behind 18 points from Jerome Coleman.

The Hawks are a familiar foe for Pikiell. Between his tenures at Stony Brook and RU, he has a 17-8 record against UH and has won 17 of the past 18 meetings, including nine straight.

Mike Williams scored 10 points to become the 43^rd Scarlet Knight to reach the millennium mark, but his contributions off the bench were not enough, as Rutgers dropped a 75-73 overtime decision to Stony Brook Friday evening. RU could not overcome an 8-of-19 performance at the charity stripe in a contest that featured 12 ties and 11 lead changes. Four Scarlet Knights posted double digits. Freeman led the way with 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting, Geo Baker was 5-of-10 from the field to add 15 points and Issa Thiam contributed 12 points. The Seawolves grabbed 23 offensive boards en route to a 48-41 rebounding advantage that resulted in a 38-28 scoring margin for the visitors in the paint.

Hartford, under the leadership of eighth-year head coach John Gallagher, attempts 26.9 three-pointers per game. Juniors John Carroll and Jason Dunne lead the Hawks in scoring, averaging 17.2 and 16.0 points-per-contest, respectively. UH has won three of its last four, including a 79-72 victory at Florida International on Friday.

Single game tickets for Rutgers men's basketball home games are available online or by calling the Rutgers Ticket Office at 1-866-445-GORU. Fans also have the opportunity to purchase flex ticket plans, which enable consumers to select any four games from the home schedule to create their own package.

Follow Rutgers men's basketball on Facebook (www.facebook.com/RutgersMBB), Twitter (www.twitter.com/RutgersMBB) and Instagram (www.instagram.com/RutgersMBB) for additional news and updates.