Men's Basketball Travels to Pittsburgh for Big Ten / ACC Challenge

Tuesday, December 3

Pittsburgh, PA

9:00 PM ET

Rutgers University

University of Pittsburgh

Photo by: (Ben Solomon/Rutgers Athletics)

Men's Basketball Travels to Pittsburgh for Big Ten / ACC Challenge

Dec 01 | Men's Basketball

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Rutgers Scarlet Knights (6-1) at Pittsburgh Panthers (6-2)

Tuesday, December 3, 2019 | 9 p.m. (ET)

Petersen Events Center (12,508) | Pittsburgh, Pa.

TV: ESPNU (Chris Cotter, play-by-play, Dan Bonner, analyst)

Radio: Rutgers Sports Properties Radio Network (WCTC 1450 AM/WOR 710 AM/SiriusXM 988; Jerry Recco & Joe Boylan); WRSU 88.7 FM (Troy DeSavino & Chris Tsakonas)

Series Record: Rutgers leads 25-23

Last Meeting: Rutgers 67, Pittsburgh 62 (Jan. 5, 2013)

OPENING TIP: Rutgers will play its first true road game of the season and second game away from home on Tuesday night at Pittsburgh at 9 p.m. on ESPNU as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge presented by Continental Tire. Rutgers is 2-3 in its history playing in the Big Ten / ACC Challenge, with both wins coming in road games (at Miami, 2018 and at Clemson, 2015).

The last time out, RU had four players scoring in double figures in a definitive, 82-57, win over UMass, the fourth straight game that Rutgers had four players reach double-figures in scoring. The Scarlet Knights achieved season-highs in both points in the paint (54) and fast break points (34). The 34 fast break points is the most by a Pikiell-coached RU team.

Rutgers is 6-1 on the year, with five of the six wins coming by at least 12 points. Last week, RU earned wins over NJIT and UMass by margins of 27 and 25 points.

THE OPPONENT: Under second-year head coach Jeff Cappel, Pitt has opened the season with a 6-1 record. After early season losses to Nicholls State and West Virginia, the Panthers have won four straight, including neutral site victories over Kansas State and Northwestern to take the title at the Fort Myers Tip-Off.

Justin Champagnie leads Pitt with 12.3 points per game, one of four players averaging in double-digits. The Panthers are 25th nationally in scoring defense (58.8).

THE SERIES: Rutgers and Pitt will match up for the 49th time on the hardwood, with Rutgers holding a 25-23 advantage in the series. The former Big East Conference rivals will meet for the first time since 2013. The Scarlet Knights have taken the last two meetings.

On Jan. 5, 2013, the Scarlet Knights won 67-62 over No. 22/24 Pitt at The RAC behind 23 points from Eli Carter. In RU's the last trip to Pittsburgh, the team earned a 62-39 win.

CONNECTION: Rutgers assistant coach Brandin Knight played at Pittsburgh, where he was a 2003 Wooden All-American, 2002 Associated Press All-American and two-time All-Big East honoree as a point guard for the Panthers from 1999-2003. He was on the Pitt staff from 2006-16.

HEAD COACH STEVE PIKIELL

Overall Record (years)	242-211 (15th)
Rutgers Record (years)	50-55 (4th)
Record vs. Pitt (RU)	0-0
Record vs. Pitt (overall)	0-0

RUTGERS IN THE BIG TEN / ACC CHALLENGE

Date	Opponent	Result
11/28/18	at Miami	W, 57-54
11/21/17	Florida State	L, 78-73
11/30/16	at Miami	L, 73-61
11/30/15	Wake Forest	L, 69-68
12/1/14	at Clemson	W, 69-64

SCARLET KNIGHT NOTABLES

Rutgers is second in the Big Ten in blocks (6.0), and steals (7.6), and is third in scoring defense (59.9) and turnovers forced (15.71).

Rutgers ranks 15th nationally in blocks (6.0), 25th in rebounding margin (+8.9), 29th in scoring defense (59.9) and 35th in scoring margin (+16.0).
Geo Baker leads Big Ten guards in blocks (1.14).
Paul Mulcahy is 2nd in the Big Ten in assist/turnover ratio (3.16).
Myles Johnson is third in the Big Ten in field goal percentage (68.6%) and seventh in blocks (1.9).
Montez Mathis is 4th in the Big Ten in steals (1.9).
Caleb McConnell is 6th in the Big Ten in three-point percentage (47.1%).
Rutgers is still a young squad, ranking 237th nationally in experience per Pomeroy. The starting lineup has featured one junior (Baker) and four sophomores (Johnson, Mathis, Harper Jr., McConnell).
Rutgers announced that 6-8 F Oskar Palmquist and 6-10 F Dean Reiber have signed NLIs to compete for RU.
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.