LAFAYETTE LEOPARDS (7-2, 0-0 Patriot) at RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS (8-3, 1-1 Big Ten)
Sunday, December 22, 2019 | 1 p.m. (ET)
The RAC (8,000) | Piscataway, N.J.

TV: ESPNU (Dave Leno, play-by-play, Robbie Hummel, analyst)
Radio: Rutgers Sports Properties Radio Network (WCTC 1450 AM/WOR 710 AM/SiriusXM 372; Chris Carlin & Joe Boylan); WRSU 88.7 FM (Jake Schmied & Randy DeGregorio)

Series Record: Rutgers leads 68-47
Last Meeting: Rutgers 90, Lafayette 79 (Dec. 5, 2007)

PROMOTIONS: Student for a Game: $15 student section ticket available to the general public.

OPENING TIP: No. 53 in the NCAA NET rankings and No. 56 in the Pomeroy Ratings, Rutgers works to improve to 9-0 at home on Sunday when it welcomes Lafayette to the RAC. Ranked 21^st nationally in rebound margin (+8.4), 31^st in blocks (5.2) and 39^th in scoring defense (61.8), the Scarlet Knights match-up with a Leopards' offense third in 3-point FG% (42.9), fifth in FG% (51.5) and 24^th in both assists (16.9) and FT% (77.3).

RU is coming off a definitive 68-48 win over No. 22 Seton Hall in the annual Garden State Hardwood Classic presented by Affinity Federal Credit Union, out-rebounding the Pirates 46-29 and limiting SHU to season-low 32.2% shooting. The largest RAC crowd in 18 seasons helped Rutgers earn its largest margin of victory against a ranked opponent. Ron Harper Jr. earned the Joe Calabrese Game MVP and MET Player of the Week honors after scoring a game-high 18 points.

THE OPPONENT: Under 25th-year head coach Fran O'Hanlon, Lafayette arrives on a five-game winning streak. Justin Jaworski scored 28 points on 9-of-9 shooting in a 96-56 home win over Widener Thursday night and leads the team in scoring (20.7), while 20^th nationally in 3PT% (47.3). Over their current five-game winning streak, the Leopards have averaged 83.6 points and reached the 90-point plateau twice. Per Ken Pom, Lafayette is second in D-I in effective FG% (59.5), led by Myles Cherry, who is fourth individually at 75.0%. Cherry is LU's second leading scorer (11.8) and paces the team in rebounding (6.8). Lafayette has earned road victories this season at Princeton, St. Joseph's and Cornell.

THE SERIES: Sunday marks the 116th meeting between the schools, representing the second most played series in Rutgers history. Rutgers leads the all-time series 68-47 dating back to 1917.  This will be the first matchup since December 5, 2007, when JR Inman scored 26 points and Corey Chandler added 19 in a 90-79 win at the RAC. Rutgers has defeated the Leopards in the last five matchups and 10 of the last 12 dating back to 1981.

QUOTABLE: "The RAC has been jumping. The students have been awesome. The environment for the Seton Hall game was electric. That really helps our guys. This program has really grown. To come in now and see the place packed and having the support of our community is great. Lafayette is a dangerous basketball team. They are one of the top-three point shooting teams in the country. We'll have to keep our guys focused on this matchup."

- Head Coach Steve Pikiell on the latest episode of the Inside Rutgers Athletics Podcast

HEAD COACH STEVE PIKIELL
 

Overall Record (years)	244-213 (15th)
Rutgers Record (years)	52-57 (4th)
Record vs. Lafayette (RU)	0-0
Record vs. Lafayette (overall)	0-4

SCARLET KNIGHT NOTABLES

• Rutgers is undefeated at home (8-0), when shooting a better percentage than its opponent (6-0), and when limiting foes to less than 60 points (6-0).
• Myles Johnson leads the Big Ten in FG% (73.2), is 7th in offensive rebounds (2.8), 8th in blocks (1.5) and 10th in rebounding (8.1). Per ESPN statistics, he is fifth nationally in FG%.
• Geo Baker is 2nd in the Big Ten in steals (1.5) and 5th in assists (4.4).
• Akwasi Yeboah ranks 43^rd among active players in career points (1,431) and 48^th in rebounds (614). He is 10th in the Big Ten in 3PT% (41.9).
• Rutgers is 2nd in the Big Ten in steals (7.2) and turnovers forced (14.82), 3rd in scoring defense (61.8), 4th in blocks (5.0), and 5th in FG% (46.5) and rebounding margin (+8.4).
• Rutgers is a young squad, ranking 230th nationally in experience per Pomeroy. The starting lineup for the first nine games featured one junior and four sophomores.
• Rutgers 20-point win over No. 22 Seton Hall on Dec. 14 was its largest margin of victory over a ranked opponent in program history.
• 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 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.

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