Men's Basketball Prepares for Gophers at Capacity RAC
Jan 17 | Men's Basketball
Minnesota Golden Gophers (10-7, 4-3) at RV/RV Rutgers Scarlet Knights (13-4, 4-2)
Sunday, January 19, 2020 | 1 p.m. (ET)
The RAC (8,000) | Piscataway, N.J.
TV: BTN (Cory Provus, play-by-play; Shon Morris, analyst)
Radio: Rutgers Sports Properties Radio Network (WCTC 1450 AM/WOR 710 AM/XM 84; Jerry Recco & Joe Boylan); WRSU 88.7 FM (Randy DeGregorio and Chris Tsakonas)
Series Record: Minnesota leads 8-3
Last Meeting: Rutgers 68, Minnesota 64 (Feb. 24, 2019 at the RAC)
OPENING TIP: Winners of seven of its last eight, Rutgers hosts Minnesota on Sunday afternoon at a sold-out RAC, signaling the third straight sell-out at the venue for the first time since 2004-05. The Scarlet Knights are 12-0 at the RAC, their best on-campus start in program history. A victory over the Gophers would move RU to three games over .500 in conference play for the first time since beginning the 1998-99 Big East season with a 9-5 record. A win would also provide Steve Pikiell the 250th victory of his head coaching career. Sunday is the annual Letterwinners Day, with introductions to take place at halftime.
RU, which garnered one vote in the AP Poll for two weeks in Nov. 2016, received votes in both the AP (8) and Coaches (18) Polls on Monday. The last time the program was ranked was in the final AP Poll of the 1978-79 season (18).
The Scarlet Knights' remaining schedule ranks as the 10th-toughest in the nation per the ESPN BPI, while the team's momentum is rated third nationally per Haslemetrics. Six different players have led the Scarlet Knights in scoring over the last eight games and seven have paced the team this season.
Rutgers led by as much as 17 points and limited Indiana to 19-of-60 shooting in a 59-50 home win over the Hoosiers on Wednesday. Akwasi Yeboah scored 14 points and Geo Baker returned from injury to provide key minutes and highlight-reel plays as RU held UI to its season low in points (50), FG% (31.7), 3-point FG% (10.5), FGs (19), 3-point FGs (2), assists (6) and blocks (2).
THE OPPONENT: Minnesota has played the nation's 16th-most difficult schedule per the NCAA with 12 of its games against teams in the top two quadrants. The Gophers have a pair of ranked victories and rank 23rd nationally in blocks (5.2) and 31st in assists (16.1). Daniel Oturu is second in the Big Ten in scoring (20.3) and leads the league, while placing fifth nationally, in rebounding (12.1). He has 11 double-doubles this season. Marcus Carr is eighth nationally in assists (7.3) and contributes 16.5 points-per-game.
THE SERIES: Sunday marks the 12th meeting, with Minnesota holding an 8-3 advantage. Rutgers has won two of the last three match-ups. In the last meeting, Montez Mathis scored 18 points and Geo Baker deposited a clutch 3-pointer with under a minute left in a 68-64 victory at the RAC, where RU is 2-2 in the series.
RATED RUTGERS
Haslametrics: 14
RPI: 17
NCAA NET: 22
Andy Katz Power 36: 25
Seth Davis Top 25: 25
Jeff Goodman Top 25: 25
CBS Sports Top 25 And 1: 25
Rothstein 45: 27
Ken Pomeroy: 28
Jeff Sagarin: 32
ESPN BPI: 37
Through 1/15/20 games
HEAD COACH STEVE PIKIELL
Overall Record (years): 249-214 (15th)
Rutgers Record (years): 57-58 (4th)
Record vs. Minnesota (RU): 2-3
Record vs. Minnesota (overall): 2-3
SCARLET KNIGHT NOTABLES
- Rutgers is undefeated at home (12-0), when scoring 37 or more points in the paint (9-0) and when scoring 15 or more fast break points (8-0).
- RU has a +19.1 scoring margin, a +10.5 rebounding advantage and has limited visitors to .350 shooting at the RAC this season.
- Rutgers is sixth nationally in FG% defense (36.7), 8th in scoring defense (58.8), 13th in rebound margin (+8.5), 16th rebounding (41.29), 26th in blocks (5.1) and 29th in scoring margin (+12.6).
- Myles Johnson is 4th nationally in FG% (.699) and 20th nationally in offensive rebound percentage (15.6).
- Akwasi Yeboah ranks 47th among active NCAA players in career points (1,475) and 53rd in rebounds (644).
- Rutgers is a young squad, ranking 241st in experience per Pomeroy. The starting lineup for the last three games featured four sophomores.
- Rutgers' 12-3 start was its best through 15 games since the 1975-76 undefeated regular season.
- The Scarlet Knights last began league play with a 3-1 record as a member of the Atlantic 10 in 1994-95 (4-1).
- RU's 20-point win over No. 22 Seton Hall on Dec. 14 was its largest margin of victory over a ranked foe in program history.
- RU has claimed multiple ranked victories in consecutive seasons for the first time since the 2001-02 and 2002-03 campaigns.
- After five sell-outs in 2018-19, its most since 2004-05 (7), Rutgers welcomed 8,329 fans vs. Seton Hall, its largest crowd in 18 seasons, and also welcomed capacity crowds for Penn State and Indiana.
- 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.
PACK THE RAC
The Scarlet Knights have sold-out four games this season, versus No. 22 Seton Hall (Dec. 14), No. 20 Penn State (Jan. 7), Indiana (Jan. 15) and Minnesota (Jan. 19). The latter three represent the first time Rutgers has had three consecutive sell-outs since Jan. 24-Feb. 5 of 2005. Last season, RU had five sell-outs, its most since 2004-05 (7). In the past three seasons, The RAC has been sold-out 11 times.
TRAPEZOID OF TERROR
Rutgers is 12-0 at the RAC this season, one of only four teams in the nation to have a perfect home record with at least 12 games (joining Santa Clara, New Mexico and Wichita State) and the only school to do some from a Power 5 Conference. The mark signals Rutgers' best on-campus start to a season. The 1975-76 Final Four team boasted an undefeated regular season, but played only 10 home games.
BUILDING A RESUME
Rutgers has established a strong resume in the NCAA metrics, currently placing 22nd in the NET rankings. RU has done so via a 4-1 record versus Quad 1 and Quad 2 opponents, defeating Seton Hall (12), Wisconsin (25), Penn State (40) and Indiana (47). Five of Rutgers' next six games are against opponents in Quad 1 or 2.
The Scarlet Knights' resume has also been boosted by its opponent's subsequent performance following a loss to Rutgers. Notably:
- Stephen F. Austin: earned a win over No. 5 Duke in next game.
- Wisconsin: Won 6-of-7 with three wins vs. AP top-20 since loss to RU
- Seton Hall: Won 7 straight with two wins vs. AP top-10 since loss to RU
BUILT ON DEFENSE
Rutgers has built a legacy of tough defense under head coach Steve Pikiell. After Pikiell inherited a team that ranked 236th the season prior in Ken Pom's adjusted defense metric, he raised that number 166 spots the following season. RU has rated among the top-50 in the nation ever since. Currently, the program ranks 8th nationally in adjusted defense.
HISTORIC START
Rutgers' 12-3 start was its best through 15 games since the 1975-76 undefeated regular season. The Scarlet Knights reached two games over .500 in conference play for the first time since Feb. 2002 (7-5). It marked the first time they began league play with a 3-1 record as a member of the Atlantic 10 in 1994-95 (4-1).
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