Sunday, January 26
Ann Arbor, Mich.
2:00 PM (ET)
Rutgers University
at
Michigan
Photo by: Ben Solomon/Rutgers Athletics
Game 19: Women's Hoops at Michigan
Jan 25 | Women's Basketball
The Scarlet Knight-Wolverine series has seen the home team win in each of the last four contests.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (Jan. 25, 2020) - Rutgers women's basketball (15-3, 5-2) treks to Michigan (12-6, 3-4) in a Big Ten road test on Sunday, Jan. 26 at 2 p.m. ET inside the Crisler Center.
The Scarlet Knights and Wolverines are both looking to bounce back from a loss off their bye week, playing their last games on Monday and Sunday, respectively. The home team has won each of the last four games in a series that Rutgers leads 5-2 since 2003, despite Michigan taking two of the last three.
OPENING TIP: Rutgers is 15-3 to start a season for the second straight year. RU's 15-2 start was its best opening during the C. Vivian Stringer era (since 1995) and best overall since the 1990-91 squad opened 16-1.
B1G TIME: C. Vivian Stringer, the all-time winningest coach in Big Ten play with 217 victories, leads the Scarlet Knights through the conference slate one year after RU's most successful season in the league since joining in '14-15. Rutgers' 13 regular season Big Ten wins, the No. 3 B1G Tournament seed and the tourney semis finish in '18-19 were all program bests.
AG1K: Redshirt Jr. guard Arella Guirantes leads the Big Ten in scoring at 19.6 points per game (23rd nationally). Amid a 16-point third quarter against Michigan State on Monday, Guirantes became the 39th player in Rutgers history to score her 1,000th career point in a Scarlet Knight uniform. She scored 288 at Texas Tech as a freshman, 386 as a redshirt sophomore at Rutgers, and 326 this season "On the Banks." She has been honored in six Big Ten weekly awards this year, twice as the Big Ten Player of the Week and four times on the weekly honor roll.
PLAYING B1G: Rutgers has owned the paint this season, outscoring opponents by an average of 14.5 points per game down low. The Scarlet Knights are 15-2 this season when outscoring opponents in the paint. RU has outrebounded 10 of its last 12 opponents and ranks third in the B1G in rebounding margin at +4.3.
IN THE POLLS: Rutgers is once again receiving votes in both the AP (31 points) and and ESPN/USA Today Coaches (1 point) Polls. Rutgers received votes in both polls in Weeks 1-3 and 5-11. RU is currently listed No. 38 in the RPI rankings with three victories against teams in the current RPI Top 50 (#25 Purdue, #33 Virginia and #46 Georgia Tech).
D-FENCE: The Scarlet Knights' 15 wins have been fueled by stifling defense. RU ranks No. 6 in the nation in field goal percentage defense at .331 and No. 14 in the nation in scoring defense at 53.8 points allowed per game. RU, who leads the Big Ten in points allowed and field goal percentage defense, has held 17 of 18 opponents under its scoring average, while doing the same in 47 of its last 50 dating back to last season.
NEW-LOOK KNIGHTS: Rutgers women's basketball entered the 2019-20 season without four of the top five leaders in games started from last winter, returning 45% of its points and 35% rebounds. The eight returning Scarlet Knights (seven letterwinners) make up 29 percent of last year's games started. The projected starting lineup with last year's number of starts in parantheses: Khadaizha Sanders (0 – injury), Arella Guirantes (21), Tekia Mack (2), Mael Gilles (9) and Jordan Wallace (0).
FUTURE IS BRIGHT: C. Vivian Stringer and her staff have secured the No. 8 nationally ranked recruiting class for 2020 according to ESPN, led by the signing of No. 6 ranked prospect Diamond Johnson out of Neumann Goretti in Philadelphia. Blue Star Basketball ranks the class No. 5 in the nation.
• Rutgers' four turnovers was its lowest in a game since its five against Wisconsin on Jan. 7, 2016. RU has committed six or less turnovers in two of its last three games, with a 1.5 assist to turnover ration over the last four.
• RU erased a deficit of 12 points to tie the game in the fourth against Michigan State. It was the third time this season RU has come back from down 10 points or more, but falls to 2-1 in those contests.
• At least two players have scored in double-figures in 17 of 18 games. RU is 13-0 when three or more score in double-digits.
• Tekia Mack has put together two 3-block games this season, including the last time out against Michigan State.
• Nine different Scarlet Knights have scored at least one point on six occasions this season.
• Rutgers is 15-2 when scoring more points in the paint and more points off turnovers.
• The Scarlet Knights have held 47 of its last 50 opponents under their scoring average. Since the beginning of 2017-18, RU has held 76 of its last 82 opponents under their scoring average.
• The victory at Wisconsin marked Rutgers' fourth comeback for a win after trailing by six points or more this season after erasing a six-point deficit to Georgia Tech, eight points against Harvard, and an 11-point disadvantage to Vanderbilt.
Rutgers, as a team or individually, is ranked in the Top 25 in the nation in four statistical categories through games played on Jan. 23, including a pair of Top 20 marks in key defensive figures..
• Team: FG% defense (6th - .331)
• Team: Scoring defense (14th - 53.6)
• Arella Guirantes: Points/gm (23rd - 19.6)
• Arella Guirantes: FT attempts (25th - 112)
Rutgers returns home to the RAC to host Illinois on Thursday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. The Scarlet Knights will conclude a two-game season series with the Illini, which started with RU's 75-51 victory in Champaign on Jan. 9.
Follow Rutgers women's basketball on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The Scarlet Knights and Wolverines are both looking to bounce back from a loss off their bye week, playing their last games on Monday and Sunday, respectively. The home team has won each of the last four games in a series that Rutgers leads 5-2 since 2003, despite Michigan taking two of the last three.
| ON THE AIR |
- Watch on BTN+
- Listen on WCTC 1450 AM (Play-by-play: Ralph Bednarczyk, Color: Mark Peterson)
- Listen on WRSU 88.7 FM (Play-by-play: Jake Ostrove and Chris Tsakonas)
| THE SCOUT |
- The Wolverines (12-6, 3-4) opened their season 5-0 after making the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament last winter. Three of their six losses have come against ranked squads - No. 8 Florida State, No. 12 Maryland and again to then-ranked No. 17 Maryland.
- Michigan is 8-2 at home in 2019-20 before hosting the first of a home-and-home series with Rutgers.
- The Wolverines excel on the glass with a +7.6 rebounding margin, good for second in the Big Ten. They are led by sophomore Naz Hillmon, who already has grabbed 392 rebounds in her career, good for a 7.6 per game average. With eight more boards, she will become the 39th Wolverine in program history to reach 400.
- Hillmon's 4.2 offensive rebounds per game are second in the Big Ten and 21st nationally.
- Hillmon (15.9 points per game) leads three Wolverines averaging double-digit points, joining Kayla Robbins (11.6) and Amy Dilk (10.6).
| HEAD-TO-HEAD |
| KNIGHT NOTES |
B1G TIME: C. Vivian Stringer, the all-time winningest coach in Big Ten play with 217 victories, leads the Scarlet Knights through the conference slate one year after RU's most successful season in the league since joining in '14-15. Rutgers' 13 regular season Big Ten wins, the No. 3 B1G Tournament seed and the tourney semis finish in '18-19 were all program bests.
AG1K: Redshirt Jr. guard Arella Guirantes leads the Big Ten in scoring at 19.6 points per game (23rd nationally). Amid a 16-point third quarter against Michigan State on Monday, Guirantes became the 39th player in Rutgers history to score her 1,000th career point in a Scarlet Knight uniform. She scored 288 at Texas Tech as a freshman, 386 as a redshirt sophomore at Rutgers, and 326 this season "On the Banks." She has been honored in six Big Ten weekly awards this year, twice as the Big Ten Player of the Week and four times on the weekly honor roll.
PLAYING B1G: Rutgers has owned the paint this season, outscoring opponents by an average of 14.5 points per game down low. The Scarlet Knights are 15-2 this season when outscoring opponents in the paint. RU has outrebounded 10 of its last 12 opponents and ranks third in the B1G in rebounding margin at +4.3.
IN THE POLLS: Rutgers is once again receiving votes in both the AP (31 points) and and ESPN/USA Today Coaches (1 point) Polls. Rutgers received votes in both polls in Weeks 1-3 and 5-11. RU is currently listed No. 38 in the RPI rankings with three victories against teams in the current RPI Top 50 (#25 Purdue, #33 Virginia and #46 Georgia Tech).
D-FENCE: The Scarlet Knights' 15 wins have been fueled by stifling defense. RU ranks No. 6 in the nation in field goal percentage defense at .331 and No. 14 in the nation in scoring defense at 53.8 points allowed per game. RU, who leads the Big Ten in points allowed and field goal percentage defense, has held 17 of 18 opponents under its scoring average, while doing the same in 47 of its last 50 dating back to last season.
NEW-LOOK KNIGHTS: Rutgers women's basketball entered the 2019-20 season without four of the top five leaders in games started from last winter, returning 45% of its points and 35% rebounds. The eight returning Scarlet Knights (seven letterwinners) make up 29 percent of last year's games started. The projected starting lineup with last year's number of starts in parantheses: Khadaizha Sanders (0 – injury), Arella Guirantes (21), Tekia Mack (2), Mael Gilles (9) and Jordan Wallace (0).
FUTURE IS BRIGHT: C. Vivian Stringer and her staff have secured the No. 8 nationally ranked recruiting class for 2020 according to ESPN, led by the signing of No. 6 ranked prospect Diamond Johnson out of Neumann Goretti in Philadelphia. Blue Star Basketball ranks the class No. 5 in the nation.
| TRENDING |
• RU erased a deficit of 12 points to tie the game in the fourth against Michigan State. It was the third time this season RU has come back from down 10 points or more, but falls to 2-1 in those contests.
• At least two players have scored in double-figures in 17 of 18 games. RU is 13-0 when three or more score in double-digits.
• Tekia Mack has put together two 3-block games this season, including the last time out against Michigan State.
• Nine different Scarlet Knights have scored at least one point on six occasions this season.
• Rutgers is 15-2 when scoring more points in the paint and more points off turnovers.
• The Scarlet Knights have held 47 of its last 50 opponents under their scoring average. Since the beginning of 2017-18, RU has held 76 of its last 82 opponents under their scoring average.
• The victory at Wisconsin marked Rutgers' fourth comeback for a win after trailing by six points or more this season after erasing a six-point deficit to Georgia Tech, eight points against Harvard, and an 11-point disadvantage to Vanderbilt.
| NATIONAL RANKS |
• Team: FG% defense (6th - .331)
• Team: Scoring defense (14th - 53.6)
• Arella Guirantes: Points/gm (23rd - 19.6)
• Arella Guirantes: FT attempts (25th - 112)
| UP NEXT |
Follow Rutgers women's basketball on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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