Tuesday, November 26
Piscataway, NJ
7:00 PM ET
Rutgers University
vs
NJIT
Photo by: Ben Solomon
Men's Basketball Hosts In-State Foe NJIT Tuesday
Nov 25 | Men's Basketball
Rutgers Scarlet Knights (4-1) vs. NJIT Highlanders (2-4)
Tuesday, November 26, 2019 | 7 p.m. (ET)
The RAC (8,000) | Piscataway, N.J.
TV: BTN (Wayne Randazzo, play-by-play, Christy Winters Scott, analyst)
Radio: Rutgers Sports Properties Radio Network (WCTC 1450 AM/WOR 710 AM/SiriusXM 372; Jerry Recco & Joe Boylan); WRSU 88.7 FM (Justin Sontupe & Chris Tsakonas)
Series Record: Rutgers leads 6-0
Last Meeting: Rutgers 73, NJIT 64 (December 7, 2017)
OPENING TIP: Rutgers remains home for its second straight contest at The RAC as the Scarlet Knights will host in-state foe NJIT on Tuesday. The two New Jersey schools are seperated by approximately 20 miles.
The Scarlet Knights are 28-4 in non-conference home games under head coach Steve Pikiell. Through the initial five games of a season, Rutgers is 18-2 under Coach Pikiell. Rutgers ranks 225th in the nation in experience per Ken Pom and is 27th in offensive rebound percentage.
RU will have a six-day break following a return to the win column with a 69-57 win over Stephen F. Austin on Wednesday night. Caleb McConnell was 5-of-9 from the field, including 3-of-5 from behind the arc, with six rebounds to help spark the convincing win.The Scarlet Knights limited the Lumberjacks to just two 3-pointers (2-of-13) and out-rebounded the visitors by a 34-31 margin.
PROMOTION: $15 200 Level Tickets with the Michigan State Football game Ticket Stub
THE OPPONENT: Under fourth-year head coach Brian Kennedy, NJIT was picked fourth in the Atlantic Sun Preseason Poll. The Highlanders have opened the year with a 2-4 mark, earning wins over Cornell and Wagner.
Preseason All-Conference guard Zach Cooks averages 25.5 points per game, which is fifth nationally. Cooks is in the top-10 in free throws made (seventh) and field goals made (fourth). San Antonio Brinson joins him in double-figures at 10.8 points per game.
THE SERIES: Rutgers and NJIT will match up for the seventh time on the hardwood, with Rutgers winning the first six matchups, which took place from 2007-2017. In the last meeting on December 7, 2017, then-freshman Geo Baker scored 11 points in a 73-64 win. Head Coach Steve Pikiell has faced NJIT seven times, with six of those matchups coming as the head coach of Stony Brook, and has won six out of seven times overall.
HEAD COACH STEVE PIKIELL
RUTGERS IN GAME SIX UNDER PIKIELL
SCARLET KNIGHT NOTABLES
Tuesday, November 26, 2019 | 7 p.m. (ET)
The RAC (8,000) | Piscataway, N.J.
TV: BTN (Wayne Randazzo, play-by-play, Christy Winters Scott, analyst)
Radio: Rutgers Sports Properties Radio Network (WCTC 1450 AM/WOR 710 AM/SiriusXM 372; Jerry Recco & Joe Boylan); WRSU 88.7 FM (Justin Sontupe & Chris Tsakonas)
Series Record: Rutgers leads 6-0
Last Meeting: Rutgers 73, NJIT 64 (December 7, 2017)
OPENING TIP: Rutgers remains home for its second straight contest at The RAC as the Scarlet Knights will host in-state foe NJIT on Tuesday. The two New Jersey schools are seperated by approximately 20 miles.
The Scarlet Knights are 28-4 in non-conference home games under head coach Steve Pikiell. Through the initial five games of a season, Rutgers is 18-2 under Coach Pikiell. Rutgers ranks 225th in the nation in experience per Ken Pom and is 27th in offensive rebound percentage.
RU will have a six-day break following a return to the win column with a 69-57 win over Stephen F. Austin on Wednesday night. Caleb McConnell was 5-of-9 from the field, including 3-of-5 from behind the arc, with six rebounds to help spark the convincing win.The Scarlet Knights limited the Lumberjacks to just two 3-pointers (2-of-13) and out-rebounded the visitors by a 34-31 margin.
PROMOTION: $15 200 Level Tickets with the Michigan State Football game Ticket Stub
THE OPPONENT: Under fourth-year head coach Brian Kennedy, NJIT was picked fourth in the Atlantic Sun Preseason Poll. The Highlanders have opened the year with a 2-4 mark, earning wins over Cornell and Wagner.
Preseason All-Conference guard Zach Cooks averages 25.5 points per game, which is fifth nationally. Cooks is in the top-10 in free throws made (seventh) and field goals made (fourth). San Antonio Brinson joins him in double-figures at 10.8 points per game.
THE SERIES: Rutgers and NJIT will match up for the seventh time on the hardwood, with Rutgers winning the first six matchups, which took place from 2007-2017. In the last meeting on December 7, 2017, then-freshman Geo Baker scored 11 points in a 73-64 win. Head Coach Steve Pikiell has faced NJIT seven times, with six of those matchups coming as the head coach of Stony Brook, and has won six out of seven times overall.
HEAD COACH STEVE PIKIELL
| Overall Record (years) | 240-211 (15th) |
| Rutgers Record (years) | 48-55 (4th) |
| Record vs. NJIT (RU) | 1-0 |
| Record vs. NJIT (overall) | 6-1 |
RUTGERS IN GAME SIX UNDER PIKIELL
| Date | Opponent | Result |
| 11/283/18 | at Miami | W, 57-54 |
| 11/24/17 | East Carolina | W, 61-47 |
| 11/25/16 | Hartford | W, 77-75 |
SCARLET KNIGHT NOTABLES
- Rutgers announced 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 (6.6), and second in steals (7.6).
- Rutgers ranks 9th nationally in blocks (6.6) and 45th in rebounding margin (+8.4).
- Geo Baker is tied for 7th nationally among guards in blocks (1.4)
- Montez Mathis is 5th in the Big Ten in steals (1.8)
- Caleb McConnell is 7th in the Big Ten in free throw percentage (86.7%)
- Rutgers is still a young squad, ranking 225th 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 benefitting 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
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