Rutgers Scarlet Knights (6-2) at No. 11/12 Michigan State (5-3)
Sunday, December 8, 2019 | 7 p.m. (ET)
Breslin Center (14,759) | East Lansing, Mich. 

TV: BTN (Brandon Gaudin, play-by-play, Shon Morris , analyst)
Radio: Rutgers Sports Properties Radio Network (WCTC 1450 AM/WOR 710 AM/SiriusXM 390; Jerry Recco & Joe Boylan); WRSU 88.7 FM (Justin Sontupe & Randy DeGregorio)
Series Record: Michigan State leads 8-0
Last Meeting: Michigan State 78, Rutgers 67 (November 30, 2018)

OPENING TIP: Rutgers will play its first Big Ten game this season on Sunday night, looking to earn its highest-ranked road win in program history as it travels to take on No. 11/12 Michigan State. RU opens Big Ten play for 2019-20 after earning seven league victories last season, its most in conference play in 13 years. The team won three of those league games on the road, their most league road wins since 2005-06. 

It is the first game of the year against a ranked opponent, and will be one of two matchups over the next three contests against a ranked foe. The win last year at No. 22/21 Iowa was the program's first ever Big Ten ranked road win. 

The Scarlet Knights will be playing their second straight road game following a loss Tuesday night at Pittsburgh. Since the 2002-03 season, RU's last opponent, Pitt has the sixth most homecourt wins. RU's next opponent, Michigan State, is eighth, with 245 wins over that time. 

On Tuesday, Myles Johnson (14 points and a career-best 14 rebounds) and Ron Harper (14 points and a career-best 10 rebounds) each had double-doubles, the first time that RU had two players with a double-double in the same game since 2015. Montez Mathis added 14 points, his season high. Rutgers outrebounded its opponent for the eighth time in as many game this season.

THE OPPONENT: Under Hall of Fame head coach Tom Izzo, Michigan State was the consensus preseason No. 1 ranked team in the nation. The Spartans are off to a 5-3 start that includes losses to No. 2 Kentucky, No. 10 Duke and Virginia Tech, with wins including No. 12 Seton Hall, Georgia and UCLA. Cassius Winston, a Preseason All-American and Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year, leads the team with 17.1 points and 6. 1 assists per game, ranking in the top-four in the league in both categories. Xavier Tillman averages 13.3 points and leads the team with 9.8 rebounds per game. MSU is second in the nation with 18.8 assists per game and fourth in the nation with an assist to turnover ratio of 1.58. According to the Ken Pomeroy ratings, they have the top offensive efficiency in the nation. 

THE SERIES: Rutgers and MSU will match up for the 9th time on the hardwood, with Michigan State holding an 8-0 advantage in the series. This will be RU's fourth straight year making a trip to East Lansing, which includes an overtime game in 2018. Since the Big Ten began scheduling early December home-and-homes to
begin its season, RU has played MSU every year.

QUOTABLE: "They have a Hall of Fame coach in Tom Izzo and that's a very tough, tough place to play on the road. It's the first league game of the year, at a time early in December when the team is still coming together. You are going to have to play really good basketball when you go to a place like that, on both sides of the ball. It's a huge challenge. Everyone has to be ready to go. It's going to take unbelievable effort. We're going to have to be tough as nails. I love coaching this group of guys. I think we can have a really fun season if we continue to sacrifice and continue to work hard."
- Rutgers Head Coach Steve Pikiell


HEAD COACH STEVE PIKIELL
                                                                                                                                                                                        

Overall Record (years)	242-212 (15th)
Rutgers Record (years)	50-56 (4th)
Record vs. Michigan State (RU)	0-4
Record vs. Michigan State (overall)	0-4

 
RUTGERS IN THE BIG TEN OPENERS UNDER PIKIELL
 

Date	Opponent	Result
11/30/18	#8/9 Michigan State	L, 78-67
12/3/17	at #12 Minnesota	L, 89-67
12/27/16	at #14 Wisconsin	L, 72-52

 
Scarlet Knight Notables

• Rutgers is third in the Big Ten in blocks (5.5), steals (7.4) and turnovers forced (15.4) and is fourth in scoring defense (61.3).
• Rutgers ranks 24th nationally in blocks (5.5) and 25th in rebounding margin (+8.6). 
• Geo Baker leads Big Ten guards in blocks (1.0), 6th in steals (1.6), eighth in assists (4.3) and 10th in FT percentage (85.0).
• Paul Mulcahy is 5th in the Big Ten in assist/turnover ratio (2.37).
• Myles Johnson is second in the Big Ten in field goal percentage (72.1%), 7th in offensive rebounds (2.9), 9th in blocks (1.8) and 10th in rebounds (8.3).
• Montez Mathis is second in the Big Ten in steals (1.8).
• Rutgers is still a young squad, ranking 239th nationally in experience per Pomeroy. The starting lineup has featured one junior (Geo Baker) and four sophomores (Myles Johnson, Montez Mathis, Ron Harper Jr. and Caleb McConnell).
• Rutgers announced that 6-7 F Mawot Mag, 6-8 F Oskar Palmquist and 6-10 F Dean Reiber 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.

 


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