Rutgers Scarlet Knights (4-1) at rv/rv Miami Hurricanes (5-1)
Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018 | 7:15 p.m. ET
Watsco Center (7,972) | Coral Gables, Fla
 
TV: ESPNU (Doug Sherman, play-by-play; Cory Alexander, analyst)
Radio: Rutgers IMG Sports Network (WCTC 1450 AM/WOR 710 AM) (Jerry Recco & Joe Boylan)
 
Series Record: Miami leads 10-5
Last Meeting: Miami 73, Rutgers 61 (Nov. 30, 2016 at the Watsco Center)
 
OPENING TIP: Rutgers plays its first road game of the season when it travels to Coral Gables to meet Miami in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Wednesday. The Hurricanes are receiving votes in both polls. Seventeen of Rutgers' 30 regular season games (57%) are against opponents currently ranked or receiving votes. UM is the first of three games over six days for RU against foes ranked or receiving votes, including two on the road. After the Hurricanes, RU hosts 9/8 Michigan State on Friday before playing at 22/22 Wisconsin on Monday.
 
Rutgers will be working for its third straight win on the heels of a 54-44 home defeat of Boston University on Friday. Eugene Omoruyi scored 20 points and grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds.
 
The Scarlet Knights are 1-3 in the Challenge and 1-1 on road, including a 69-64 victory at Clemson on Dec. 1, 2014, in their first event appearance.
 
THE SERIES: The contest signals the 16th meeting between the Scarlet Knights and Hurricanes on the collegiate hardwood dating back to 1989 with UM holding a 10-5 advantage. The Hurricanes have been successful in all six games played on their home floor. In the last meeting, UM defeated RU 73-61 in the Challenge at the Watsco Center in Steve Pikiell's first loss at the helm. Mike Williams scored 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting off the bench.
 
THE OPPONENT: Five players have double figure scoring averages for Miami, including sophomore guard Chris Lykes, with a team-best 19.3 points-per-game. The Hurricanes dropped an 83-81 decision to Seton Hall on Sunday night in the Wooden Legacy championship on the campus of Cal State Fullerton. Both teams shot better than 50% in a contest that featured 12 ties and 16 lead changes. Miami has defended its home turf well in recent years, winning 41 of its last 46 games at the Watsco Center. The Canes are 91-25 (.784) at home under Jim Larrañaga and finished 11-3 at home last season.
 
CONNECTION: RU freshman guard Montez Mathis and Lykes competed against one another in high school. Mathis graduated from the John Carroll School and Lykes attended Gonzaga College HS. Both were named to the 2017 All-DMV Team.
 
COACHING COMPARISON
Rutgers Head Coach Steve Pikiell
Overall Record (years)            224-195 (14th)
Rutgers Record (years)           33-39 (3rd)
Record vs. Miami (RU)            0-1
Record vs. Miami (overall)       0-1
 
Miami Head Coach Jim Larranaga
Overall Record (years)            636–414 (35th)
Miami Record (years)             166–80 (6th)
Record vs. RU (Miami)            2-0
Record vs. RU (overall)           2-0
 
SCARLET KNIGHT NOTABLES

• Per KenPom.com roster analysis, Rutgers is among the nation's youngest teams with 1.15 years of experience to rank tied for 316th nationally out of 353 Division I programs.
• Rutgers ranks 10th nationally in scoring defense (57.0) and 17th in blocked shots (3.8). RU is among the top five in the Big Ten Conference in 11 stat categories, including fourth in 3-point FG% (40.7) to rank 38th nationally. The last time Rutgers concluded a season ranked among the top 50 in 3-point FG% was 1999-00 (.373; 42nd).
• Seventeen of Rutgers' 30 regular season games (57%) are against opponents currently ranked or receiving votes in the polls. Five Big Ten programs that have won NCAA men's basketball titles will compete in Piscataway, including five-time champion Indiana.
• Eugene Omoruyi's 17 rebounds versus BU marked the most for a Rutgers player since Adrian Hill grabbed 18 versus Notre Dame on March 3, 2007, a span of 12 seasons.
• Against Eastern Michigan, Rutgers allowed just four points in the opening half to tie the NCAA Division I record for fewest points allowed in a half during the shot clock era (since 1985-86). The 36 points allowed also tied the school record, matching the defensive effort against Columbia (60-36) on Nov. 18, 2002 in the preseason NIT at the RAC.
• In the shot clock era, Rutgers has held an opponent under 40 points eight times. Steve Pikiell has been the head coach in four of those contests.
• Per KenPom.com roster analysis, Rutgers is among the nation's tallest teams with an average height of 79.1" to rank tied for fourth nationally behind UCLA (79.3"), Syracuse (79.3") and Stanford (79.2"), while tied with Siena.