Men's Basketball Welcomes Maryland Saturday

Photo by: (Ben Solomon/Rutgers Athletics)

Jan 03 | Men's Basketball

Rutgers Game Notes Watch Listen Live Stats TuneIn Student Ticket Claim Alternate Traffic Pattern Gameday Flipcard Coach Pikiell Pregame Media Availability Maryland Game Notes

Maryland Terrapins (11-3, 2-1 Big Ten) at Rutgers Scarlet Knights (7-5, 0-2 Big Ten)
Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019 | 2 p.m. The RAC (8,000) | Piscataway, N.J.

TV: BTN (Brandon Gaudin, play-by-play & Bob Wenzel, analyst)
Radio: Rutgers IMG Sports Network (WCTC 1450 AM/WOR 710 AM/XM382) (Jerry Recco & Joe Boylan) WRSU 88.7 FM (Matt Howe & Corey Jason)
Series Record: Maryland leads 9-3
Last Meeting: Maryland 61, Rutgers 51 (Feb. 17, 2018 at the Xfinity Center

PROMOTIONS: 1969 Team/Letterwinner Recognition. Ugly Sweater Blanket Giveaway. Postgame Court Club Auction. Winter Break at The RAC: Students with a valid Rutgers ID can bring guests in the student section.

OPENING TIP: Rutgers welcomes Maryland on Saturday to resume Big Ten Conference play. The contest is sold out to the general public, marking RU's second sell-out of the season. It signals the first time in 20 years that Rutgers has experienced multiple home sell-outs this early in its calendar schedule. During the 1998-99 campaign, the Scarlet Knights enjoyed capacity crowds at the RAC versus Temple on Dec. 19 and against No. 12 St. John's on Jan. 2.

Rutgers is coming off a 70-55 home victory against Maine last Saturday. The Scarlet Knights had 20 assists on 23 field goals, while out-rebounding Maine by a 40-26 margin. Freshman Myles Johnson scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to register his first career double-double.

THE SERIES: Saturday is the 13th meeting in the series dating back to 1940. The teams had met six times prior to both joining the Big Ten in 2014-15. Rutgers' last win over the Terps was a 95-79 decision on Dec. 28, 1991, in the Fiesta Bowl Classic in Tucson, Ariz., under coach Bob Wenzel, who will serve as Saturday's television analyst. UM has won six straight in the series, including two trips to The RAC. Maryland is one of four (Michigan, Michigan St., Purdue) foes RU has yet to defeat since joining the Big Ten.

THE OPPONENT: The Terps are 11-3 and have been ranked as high as No. 23 this season under eighth-year head coach Mark Turgeon. Maryland has won four of its past five games, including a 74-72 defeat of No. 24 Nebraska on Wednesday, behind 18 points and 17 rebounds from Bruno Fernando. Anthony Cowan leads the team with 16.6 points-per-game. Fernando paces the Big Ten in blocks (32) and FG% (70.2). UM leads the conference and is fourth nationally with a +11.9 rebounding margin, while also pacing the league in blocks (5.6).

CONNECTION: RU freshman Montez Mathis competed in the Baltimore Catholic League, along with UM's Darryl Morsell and Jalen Smith.

QUOTABLE: "This is a new year now. Hopefully the lessons we learned from the first 12 games in 2018, we can put all together now. I love the fact that we're playing at home in front of a sold-out RAC. I'm excited about this team. I like this team a lot. They work hard. They do a good job in preparation. I'm excited about the challenges that lay ahead. Maryland is an awesome rebounding team. We have to do a great job with that. So, rebounding will be huge moving forward for us."
- Head Coach Steve Pikiell

COACHING COMPARISON
Rutgers Head Coach Steve Pikiell
Overall Record (years): 227-198 (14th)
Rutgers Record (years): 37-42 (3rd)
Record vs. Maryland (RU): 0-3
Record vs. Maryland (overall): 0-4

Maryland Head Coach Mark Turgeon
Overall Record (years): 417-241 (17th)
Maryland Record (years): 168-83 (8th)
Record vs. RU (Maryland): 6-0
Record vs. RU (overall): 6-0

SCARLET KNIGHT NOTABLES

Per KenPom.com analysis, Rutgers is among the nation's youngest teams with 1.22 years of experience to rank 307th nationally out of 353 D-I programs.
Rutgers ranks 10th nationally in offensive rebounds per game (14.58), 24th in rebounds per game (41.00), 29th in scoring defense (63.0), 43rd in rebound margin (6.4) and 44th in blocked shots (4.8). RU is among the top five in the Big Ten in seven stat categories, including first in offensive rebounds (14.58).
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 is tied for 40th nationally with five 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 sixth among all D-I programs.