EASTERN MICHIGAN EAGLES (4-1) AT RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS (2-1)
Monday, Nov. 19, 2018 | 7 p.m. ET
The RAC (8,000) | Piscataway, N.J.
 
TV: BTN (Jason Horowitz, play-by-play; Jon Crispin, analyst)
Radio: Rutgers IMG Sports Network (WCTC 1450 AM/WOR 710 AM), XM380 (Jerry Recco & Joe Boylan) and WRSU 88.7 FM (Stephen Nelson & Brant Wolff)

Series Record: Eastern Michigan leads 1-0
Last Meeting: Eastern Michigan 74, Rutgers 71 (Dec. 9, 1995 at the RAC)

PROMOTION(S): $10 admission with ticket stub from football game against Penn State; Hub City Jr. Classic halftime game.

OPENING TIP: Rutgers hosts Eastern Michigan on Monday night in the third of four games at the RAC in the Hub City Classic. The Scarlet Knights will work to improve upon their 20-4 record in non-conference home games and 13-3 mark in the month of November under Steve Pikiell.

Rutgers seeks a return to the win column after an 84-65 home loss to St. John's on Friday in the Gavitt Tip-Off. The Scarlet Knights out-rebounded St. John's and outscored the visitors 28-12 in the paint, but the Red Storm tied their school record with 16 3-pointers. Juniors Issa Thiam and Eugene Omoruyi posted 13 and 12 points, respectively, to pace RU in the scoring column.

THE SERIES: Rutgers and Eastern Michigan have met once before, with the Eagles escaping the RAC with a 74-71 win on Dec. 9, 1995. That Eagles' squad went on to win the MAC title and defeat Duke in the NCAA Tournament, before falling to UConn in the round of 32. Current Rutgers Associate Head Coach Karl Hobbs was an assistant coach with the Huskies.

THE OPPONENT: Eastern Michigan was picked first in the West Division in the MAC preseason poll. The Eagles received 183 total points, trailing only Buffalo (210) for the overall conference lead. EMU is the only MAC school to have two players named to Naismith Starting Five teams, with James Thompson IV a candidate for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award and Elijah Minnie a nominee for the Julius Erving Award. The Eagles' only loss was an 84-46 defeat at No. 1 Duke on Wednesday. EMU rebounded with an 80-62 victory over Boston University to improve to 3-1 at home. Minnie scored 28 points on 10-of-17 shooting and Thompson had a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds.

CONNECTIONS: Rutgers junior guard Issa Thiam and EMU redshirt junior center Boubacar Toure both hail from Dakar, Senegal. RU freshman guard Montez Mathis (John Carroll) and EMU freshman guard Andre Rafus (Lake Clifton) were both named to the 2016-17 Baltimore Area 1st Supreme Team.

COACHING COMPARISON

Rutgers Head Coach Steve Pikiell
Overall Record (years)                       223-194 (14th)
Rutgers Record (years)                      32-38 (3rd)
Record vs. EMU (RU)                         0-0
Record vs. EMU (overall)                  0-0

Eastern Michigan Head Coach Rob Murphy
Overall Record (years)                       132–111 (8th)
EMU Record (years)                           132–111 (8th)
Record vs. RU (EMU)                          0-0
Record vs. RU (overall)                      0-0

SCARLET KNIGHT NOTABLES 

• RU ranks seventh nationally in blocks-per-game (7.3) and 13th in 3-point FG% (45.8). The Scarlet Knights are among the top five in the Big Ten in nine statistical categories, including leading the league and placing 36th nationally in offensive rebounding (14.67).
• The Scarlet Knights opened the season by scoring 90 points in consecutive games, while also winning both contests by 25 points or more. Both achievements marked firsts in program history to begin a campaign. Rutgers has opened a season with back-to-back wins of more than 20 points three times, with Pikiell-coached teams accomplishing the feat twice (2016-17, 2018-19). RU was 26-of-46 (.565) from behind the arc in the wins over FDU and Drexel, signaling the most 3-pointers in a two-game span in program history.
• Thirteen of Rutgers' 30 regular season games in 2018-19 are against opponents currently ranked or receiving votes in the AP poll. The Scarlet Knights must replace two regular season starters, six scholarship letterwinners, 55% of its scoring and 48% of its rebounding from last season.
• Rutgers returns seven scholarship lettermen, including 2017-18 redshirts Peter Kiss and Myles Johnson, from a team that advanced to the 2018 Big Ten quarterfinals at MSG via victories over Minnesota and Indiana. It marked the first time RU won two conference tournament games since 1998. Four players who started in the B1G Championship return in co-captains Shaquille Doorson and Eugene Omoruyi, Issa Thiam and MET Rookie of the Year Geo Baker.
• Rutgers welcomes a signing class that includes multiple (Montez Mathis, Ron Harper, Jr.) four-star players for the first time since 2008. Junior college transfer Shaq Carter is a preseason Big Ten All-Newcomer selection by Street & Smith's.
• Five Big Ten programs that have won NCAA men's basketball titles will compete in Piscataway, including five-time champion Indiana.