NO. 22 SETON HALL PIRATES (6-3) AT RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS (7-3, 1-1 BIG TEN)
Saturday, December 14, 2019 | 4 p.m.
The RAC (8,000) | Piscataway, N.J.

TV: BTN (Brandon Gaudin, play-by-play, Bob Wenzel, analyst)
Radio: Rutgers Sports Properties Radio Network (WCTC 1450 AM/WOR 710 AM/SiriusXM 372; Jerry Recco & Joe Boylan); WRSU 88.7 FM (Troy DeSavino & Justin Sontupe)
 
Series Record: Seton Hall leads 40-30
Last Meeting: Seton Hall 72, Rutgers 66 (Dec. 15, 2018)
 
PROMOTIONS: "Scarlet Out," rally towel giveaway, student section t-shirts, pre-game fan integration light show via app download. Head football coach Greg Schiano to address the crowd at halftime.
 
OPENING TIP: Rutgers hosts. No. 22 Seton Hall Saturday in the annual Garden State Hardwood Classic presented by Affinity Federal Credit Union. It will mark the 13th time that RU has welcomed the Pirates to a sold-out RAC, with the prior meetings split 6-6, including 1-1 when SHU has arrived with a national ranking. The RAC opened Nov. 30, 1977 with RU-coached Tom Young defeating Bill Raftery-coached Seton Hall 81-76 with the venue at capacity.
 
The Scarlet Knights are working to improve to 8-0 at home after a 72-65 victory over Wisconsin Wednesday evening. Geo Baker scored a season-high tying 22 points as RU led for 37 of the game's 40 minutes. Rutgers had 23 second chance points, its most ever in a Big Ten game. In two career games against Seton Hall, Baker has averaged 15.5 points and 4.5 assists.
 
THE OPPONENT: Seton Hall, ranked No.  12 preseason, has six days to prepare after a 76-66 loss at Iowa State on Sunday.  The Pirates, whose other defeats have come to No. 3 Michigan State and No. 11 Oregon, are 2-0 following a loss. SHU is 4-0 this season, 9-1 last season and 74-7 (.914) under Kevin Willard when it scores at least 80 points. The Pirates are 88-13 (.888) since 2015-16 when building a lead of seven points or more. Preseason first team All-American Myles Powell ranks sixth nationally in scoring (22.9) and third in 3-pointers (3.89).
 
THE SERIES: Saturday marks the 71st meeting dating back to 1916, with SHU leading 40-30. The teams have played 56 times since 1974-75 and have met every season since 1995-96. Rutgers is 17-17 against Seton Hall at home and 12-13 at the RAC. Over the last 25 meetings, 21 have been decided by six points or fewer and five contests have gone to overtime. Rutgers outrebounded SHU 52-38 at the Rock last season, but the Pirates prevailed 72-66. In the last meeting at the RAC, the Scarlet Knights overcame a 13-point deficit to topple No. 15 Seton Hall 71-65 before 8,318 fans.
 
The #GSHClassic Trophy will be presented post-game. The perpetual rivalry trophy is handcrafted primarily from recycled Asbury Park boardwalk planks, which were retrieved during a re-decking after Superstorm Sandy. The Joe Calabrese Award, named in honor of the late journalist who covered the series for 38 years, will be bestowed to the contest's most valuable player.
 
HEAD COACH STEVE PIKIELL
 

Overall Record (years)	243-213 (15th)
Rutgers Record (years)	51-57 (4th)
Record vs. Seton Hall (RU)	1-2
Record vs. Seton Hall (overall)	1-4

SCARLET KNIGHT NOTABLES

• Rutgers is undefeated at home (7-0), when shooting a better percentage than its opponent (5-0), and when limiting foes to less than 60 points (5-0).
• Rutgers is a young squad, ranking 232nd nationally in experience per Pomeroy. The starting lineup for the first nine games featured one junior and four sophomores.
• Rutgers had 23 second chance points (23-5) in its victory over Wisconsin on Dec. 11, its most ever in a Big Ten game.
• Rutgers announced the signings of 6-7 F Mawot Mag, 6-8 F Oskar Palmquist and 6-10 F Dean Reiber.
• Rutgers entered the Fall 2019 semester with a 3.06 cumulative team GPA.
• Rutgers is second in the Big Ten in steals (7.0), fourth in turnovers forced (14.9), and fifth in scoring defense (63.2), FG% (46.5), blocks (4.9) and defensive rebounds (31.8)
• Rutgers ranks 39th nationally in blocks (4.9) and 41st in rebounding margin (+7.5).
• Myles Johnson is second in the Big Ten in FG% (72.5), seventh in offensive rebounds (2.7) and 10th in rebounding (7.6) and blocks (1.4)
• Geo Baker is second in the Big Ten in steals (1.7) and fifth in assists (4.3)
• Montez Mathis is seventh in the Big Ten in steals (1.4)
• Paul Mulcahy is third in the Big Ten in assist to turnover ratio (2.87)
• 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.
• 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.
• Of Rutgers' 11 scholarship players, 10 are 6'4 or above and seven are 6'6 or taller.

GARDEN STATE HARDWOOD CLASSIC CONNECTION
Director of Athletics Pat Hobbs joined Rutgers on Nov. 29, 2015, moving south down the New Jersey Turnpike after notable achievements at SHU. He served as Dean at the Seton Hall School of Law from 1999 to 2015 and oversaw the Department of Athletics from 2009 to 2011.
 
THE GARDEN STATE HARDWOOD CLASSIC TROPHY
The #GSHClassic Trophy is a perpetual rivalry trophy constructed primarily from recycled Asbury Park boardwalk planks, which were retrieved during a re-decking after Superstorm Sandy. The trophy topper is formed in the state of New Jersey with the base mimicking the form and texture of a basketball. "1916" is branded on the topper, which signifies the year of the initial meeting between the schools on the hardwood. The athletics logos are affixed at their geographic locations. The official logo of the Garden State Hardwood Classic, which was conceived and created by former Seton Hall women's soccer student-athlete Peggy Nicolle, adorns the base. The trophy stands 32 inches tall and weighs 33 pounds. New Jersey resident Colin Pezzano, a 2014 graduate of the University of the Arts, created the one-of-a-kind award. The trophy was constructed in a workshop on a farm in Cumberland County, N.J.

QUOTABLE
"Since I've been here, they've been really exciting games. Real close games. It's a great rivalry for New Jersey. You see two programs that are on the rise. Seton Hall, they've been ranked for the last few years with a Player of the Year candidate and a really great coach. The RAC will be rocking. People have been excited about this game for a long time. We've developed a nice home court advantage here. So it's an exciting rivalry. The guys look forward to these games, that's why they come to places like this. We look forward to the challenge and having a great game. To have this opportunity at home is a great thing for our program."
Rutgers Head Coach Steve Pikiell

"It really energizes us with The RAC is packed. When we have the crowd on our side, it feels like the momentum is going our way. That gives us great energy and a bit of a boost. That home court advantage is so important and that's why we really appreciate all the fans that come out. The fans, the student section have been packed, that really helps us."
Rutgers junior Geo Baker

"I know our fans are going to pack the RAC on Saturday. I know they'll bring it. There will be 8,000 Scarlet Knights fans there. When you have those thousands of fans screaming in your favor, it makes you want to play harder. Having that crowd there is like having a sixth man supporting you on the floor. They've been great supporters of us all year and we need them to bring the same energy on Saturday. I'm really looking forward to it."
Rutgers sophomore Ron Harper Jr. 


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