Wednesday, November 20
Piscataway, NJ
7:00 PM ET
Rutgers University
vs
Stephen F. Austin
Photo by: (Ben Solomon/Rutgers Athletics)
Men's Hoops Hosts Stephen F. Austin Wednesday Evening
Nov 18 | Men's Basketball
RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS (3-1) VS. STEPHEN F. AUSTIN LUMBERJACKS (4-0)
Wednesday, November 20, 2019 | 7 p.m. (ET)
The RAC (8,000) | Piscataway, N.J.
TV: BTN Plus (Ralph Bednarczyk, play-by-play, Tim Catalfamo, analyst)
Radio: Rutgers Sports Properties Radio Network (WCTC 1450 AM/WOR 710 AM/SiriusXM 974; Jerry Recco & Chris Carlin); WRSU 88.7 FM (Justin Sontupe & Corey Jason)
Series Record: First Meeting
OPENING TIP: Rutgers returns home to host Stephen F. Austin to conclude the Garden State Showcase. The Lumberjacks will travel approximately 1,280 miles from Nacogoches, Texas to The RAC for Wednesday's match-up. The Scarlet Knights are 27-4 in non-conference home games under head coach Steve Pikiell.
On Saturday evening, RU faced St. Bonaventure in the Naismith Classic in Toronto. Despite a second half comeback, outscoring the Bonnies 44-37 in the final frame, RU was unable to overcome an early deficit and fell 80-74. The Scarlet Knights had a balanced scoring output, with a season-high four players reaching double digits, led by Caleb McConnell, who's 13 points were boosted by a career-best 8-of-8 output at the charity stripe.
PROMOTION(S): International Students Day; $15 200-level tickets with ticket stub from football games versus Ohio State.
THE OPPONENT: Under fourth-year head coach Kyle Keller, Stephen F. Austin was tabbed for fourth in the Southland Preseason Poll. The Lumberjacks won the Southland Conference Tournament in 2017-18, earning a 14-seed in the NCAA Tournament and falling to Texas Tech in the opening round. Under current Illinois coach Brad Underwood, SFA won three straight conference titles and NCAA berths, from 2014-16
Stephen F. Austin has opened the year with four straight wins, defeating Letourneau, North Carolina Central, Niagara and Drexel. Against a mutual opponent in DU on Saturday, the Lumberjacks forced 30 turnovers to earn an 82-67 win. SFA averages 27.5 turnovers forced per game, which leads the nation. Kevon Harris paces the Lumberjacks with a 19.8 scoring average, while John Comeaux is 9th nationally with 12 steals.
THE SERIES: Rutgers and Stephen F. Austin will match up for the first time on the collegiate hardwood. The Scarlet Knights last played a current Southland Conference member on Nov. 21, 2015, defeating Central Arkansas 87-84 at the RAC.
CONNECTION: Rutgers athletic trainer Richard Campbell is a graduate of Stephen F. Austin, beginning his career there as a graduate assistant trainer from 2009-2011.
HEAD COACH STEVE PIKIELL
RUTGERS IN GAME FIVE UNDER PIKIELL
SCARLET KNIGHT NOTABLES
Wednesday, November 20, 2019 | 7 p.m. (ET)
The RAC (8,000) | Piscataway, N.J.
TV: BTN Plus (Ralph Bednarczyk, play-by-play, Tim Catalfamo, analyst)
Radio: Rutgers Sports Properties Radio Network (WCTC 1450 AM/WOR 710 AM/SiriusXM 974; Jerry Recco & Chris Carlin); WRSU 88.7 FM (Justin Sontupe & Corey Jason)
Series Record: First Meeting
OPENING TIP: Rutgers returns home to host Stephen F. Austin to conclude the Garden State Showcase. The Lumberjacks will travel approximately 1,280 miles from Nacogoches, Texas to The RAC for Wednesday's match-up. The Scarlet Knights are 27-4 in non-conference home games under head coach Steve Pikiell.
On Saturday evening, RU faced St. Bonaventure in the Naismith Classic in Toronto. Despite a second half comeback, outscoring the Bonnies 44-37 in the final frame, RU was unable to overcome an early deficit and fell 80-74. The Scarlet Knights had a balanced scoring output, with a season-high four players reaching double digits, led by Caleb McConnell, who's 13 points were boosted by a career-best 8-of-8 output at the charity stripe.
PROMOTION(S): International Students Day; $15 200-level tickets with ticket stub from football games versus Ohio State.
THE OPPONENT: Under fourth-year head coach Kyle Keller, Stephen F. Austin was tabbed for fourth in the Southland Preseason Poll. The Lumberjacks won the Southland Conference Tournament in 2017-18, earning a 14-seed in the NCAA Tournament and falling to Texas Tech in the opening round. Under current Illinois coach Brad Underwood, SFA won three straight conference titles and NCAA berths, from 2014-16
Stephen F. Austin has opened the year with four straight wins, defeating Letourneau, North Carolina Central, Niagara and Drexel. Against a mutual opponent in DU on Saturday, the Lumberjacks forced 30 turnovers to earn an 82-67 win. SFA averages 27.5 turnovers forced per game, which leads the nation. Kevon Harris paces the Lumberjacks with a 19.8 scoring average, while John Comeaux is 9th nationally with 12 steals.
THE SERIES: Rutgers and Stephen F. Austin will match up for the first time on the collegiate hardwood. The Scarlet Knights last played a current Southland Conference member on Nov. 21, 2015, defeating Central Arkansas 87-84 at the RAC.
CONNECTION: Rutgers athletic trainer Richard Campbell is a graduate of Stephen F. Austin, beginning his career there as a graduate assistant trainer from 2009-2011.
HEAD COACH STEVE PIKIELL
| Overall Record (years) | 238-211 (15th) |
| Rutgers Record (years) | 46-55 (4th) |
| Record vs. SFA (RU) | 0-0 |
| Record vs. SAF (overall) | 0-0 |
RUTGERS IN GAME FIVE UNDER PIKIELL
| Date | Opponent | Result |
| 11/23/18 | Boston U | W, 54-44 |
| 11/21/17 | Bryant | W, 83-54 |
| 11/23/16 | North Texas | W, 66-53 |
SCARLET KNIGHT NOTABLES
- Rutgers announced Monday that 6-8 F Oskar Palmquist and 6-10 F Dean Reiber have signed NLIs to compete for RU.
- Rutgers leads the Big Ten in blocks (6.5) and is third in rebounds (42.0)
- Rutgers ranks 17th nationally in blocks (6.5) and 41st in rebounding margin (+9.8).
- Geo Baker is tied for 6th nationally among guards in blocks (1.75).
- Montez Mathis is 3rd in the Big Ten in steals (2.0) and Ron Harper Jr. is 8th (1.8)
- Caleb McConnell is 8th in the Big Ten in free throw percentage (90.9%)
- Rutgers is still a young squad, ranking 215th nationally in experience per Pomeroy. The starting lineup has featured one junior (Baker) and four sophomores (Johnson, Mathis, Harper Jr., McConnell).
- Rutgers entered the Fall 2019 semester with a 3.06 cumulative team GPA.
- Rutgers was named the Most Improved Team of the 2018-19 season by Sports Illustrated in its year-end awards. The Scarlet Knights improved 70 positions in the Pomeroy ratings since the season's initial rating, best among all power conference programs.
- Rutgers was among the approximately 30,000 individuals who joined in the 18th annual Tunnel to Towers 5K Run & Walk on Sept. 29. It marked the third consecutive year the team has participated in the event, with proceeds benefiting first responders and catastrophically injured service members. Under Steve Pikiell, RU has maintained 100 percent team participation in Leadership Development and Strategic Partnerships community service initiatives for the past three seasons.
- Rutgers posted a 4-0 record against professional club teams during a tour of Spain in August. RU outscored its opponents 387-284 and had five players with double figure scoring averages.
- Rutgers has its deepest roster in some time, with all 11 scholarship players expected to see action in the rotation. Of the 10 scholarship players who made the trip to Spain, all averaged 15 or more minutes.
- Of Rutgers' 11 scholarship players, 10 are 6'4 or above and seven are 6'6 or taller.
Players Mentioned
Guard/Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's BasketballSteve Pikiell Podcast: Seton Hall Week, Fan Questions
Thursday, December 11
Men's Basketball Postgame Press Conference - Purdue
Wednesday, December 03
Rutgers Men's Basketball Postgame Press Conference - Notre Dame
Tuesday, November 25
Men's Basketball Postgame Press Conference - Central Connecticut State University
Saturday, November 22
