Men's Basketball Faces Fordham on Saturday in the Bronx

Saturday, December 8

Bronx, N.Y.

2:30 p.m.

Rutgers University

Fordham

Photo by: (Ben Solomon/Rutgers Athletics)

Men's Basketball Faces Fordham on Saturday in the Bronx

Dec 05 | Men's Basketball

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RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS (5-3, 0-2 Big Ten) at FORDHAM RAMS (6-2, 0-0 A-10)
Saturday, Dec. 8, 2018 | 2:30 p.m. ET
Rose Hill Gymnasium (3,200) | Bronx, N.Y.

TV: CBS Sports Network (Dave Ryan, play-by-play & Bob Wenzel, analyst)
Radio: Rutgers IMG Sports Network (WCTC 1450 AM/WOR 710 AM) (Jerry Recco & Joe Boylan)

Series Record: Tied, 27-27
Last Meeting: Rutgers 75, Fordham 63 (Dec. 12, 2017 at The RAC)

OPENING TIP: Rutgers travels to the Bronx on Saturday to meet Fordham at the nation's oldest D-I basketball on-campus venue still in use. The drive from the RAC to Rose Hill is approximately 54 miles. The contest signals the third of four road games for RU over a span of five contests.

Rutgers is working to return to the win column following a 69-64 loss at No. 12/16 Wisconsin Monday night, RU's third game against an opponent ranked or receiving votes over a span of six days. The Scarlet Knights established a 10-point lead and held a five point advantage at the break, but were unable to secure the win, as the Badgers shot 58.5% in the second half. Eugene Omoruyi scored 17 points and Geo Baker added 15 to spark RU.

THE SERIES: Saturday marks the 55th meeting between the Scarlet Knights and Rams dating back to 1908, with the series tied at 27-27. Rutgers has won five straight and 10 of the last 11 match-ups. Last season, Rutgers earned a 75-63 win at the RAC, as six RU players scored in double digits. In 2016, RU claimed a 68-53 win over the Rams in the Madison Square Garden Holiday Festival. Rutgers is making its first trip to the Rose Hill Gymnasium since 1980, a 42-39 loss. RU is 4-16 all-time at the venue.

THE OPPONENT: Fordham is 6-2 following a double-overtime loss at Maine on Tuesday night. The team is led offensively by freshman guard Nick Honor, who averages 17.5 points per game. He is joined in double-figures by Jalen Cobb (11.3) and Antwon Portley (10.6). The Rams lead the A-10 and are 27th nationally in 3-point FGs per game (10.0). Fordham has averaged 75.0 points, while the Scarlet Knights have allowed just 60.8 points-per-game this season.

Fordham head coach Jeff Neubauer is in his fourth season and has a 45-54 record following a 9-22 campaign last season. Previously, he spent 10 seasons as head coach at Eastern Kentucky, where he posted a 188-134 record with two NCAA Tournament appearances.

CONNECTIONS: Rutgers freshman Ron Harper Jr. and Fordham senior Chris Downing are both graduates of Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, N.J. Rams Volunteer Assistant Video Coordinator Stephen Zurich walked-on at Rutgers and was a two-year letterwinner (2013-15).

COACHING COMPARISON

Rutgers Head Coach Steve Pikiell
Overall Record (years).................225-197 (14th)
Rutgers Record (years)......................35-40 (3rd)
Record vs. Fordham (RU)...............................2-0
Record vs. Fordham (overall)........................2-1

Fordham Head Coach Jeff Neubauer
Overall Record (years).................234-188 (14th)
Fordham Record (years)....................45-54 (4th)
Record vs. RU (Fordham)...............................0-2
Record vs. RU (overall)...................................0-2

SCARLET KNIGHT NOTABLES

Per KenPom.com analysis, Rutgers is among the nation's youngest teams with 1.21 years of experience to rank 309th nationally out of 353 D-I programs.
Rutgers ranks 21st nationally in scoring defense (60.8), 33rd in blocked shots (5.1) and 72nd in FG% defense (40.0). RU is among the top five in the Big Ten in nine stat categories, including second in blocks (5.1), third in rebounding (39.75) and fourth in scoring defense (60.8) and 3-point FGs made per game (8.4).
Fifteen of Rutgers' 30 regular season games (50%) are against opponents currently ranked or receiving votes in the polls. Five Big Ten programs that have won NCAA titles will compete in Piscataway, including five-time champion Indiana.
Eugene Omoruyi ranks tied for 15th nationally with four double-doubles.
Eugene Omoruyi's 17 rebounds vs. 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 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 analysis, Rutgers is among the nation's tallest teams with an average height of 79.0" to rank fifth behind UCLA (79.3"), Syracuse (79.3"), Siena (79.2") and Stanford (79.1").

QUOTABLE

"Rose Hill is a unique venue. An old, traditional setting for a basketball game. The fans are right on the court, it's loud. Both teams are tough. Fordham is well coached, they have talented young guys, they shoot the three as well as anybody. They are off to a really good start at 6-2. We're still figuring our team and their roles out, but these guys are doing more and more good things on the floor. We hope to continue our good momentum and play 40 minutes of good basketball.

- Rutgers Head Coach Steve Pikiell

"This is the first time that a Big Ten team has been here in Rose Hill Gym since 1980. So we are proud to have them coming here. With that being said, they are having a terrific season. Rutgers has their best team that they've had in over a decade. They've already been down to Miami and beating the Hurricanes down in Florida. They are defending at the highest level."

- Fordham Head Coach Jeff Neubauer