Thursday, January 30
Piscataway, N.J.
7:00 PM (ET)
Rutgers University
vs
Illinois
Photo by: Ben Solomon/Rutgers Athletics
Game 20: Women's Hoops vs. Illinois
Jan 29 | Women's Basketball
Scarlet Knights attempt the season series sweep against the Illini
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (Jan. 29, 2020) - Rutgers women's basketball (15-4, 5-3) hosts Illinois (10-9, 1-7) in the final leg of a home-and-home season series at the RAC on Thursday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m.
The Scarlet Knights are 8-2 at home this season and 34-7 over the last three seasons at the RAC. The home-court advantage helped fuel a 15-2 start to the year, Rutgers' best opening to a season since the 1990-91 squad began 16-1 on their way to the NCAA Tournament.
OPENING TIP: Rutgers is 15-4 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 is the second leading scorer in the Big Ten at 19.4 points per game (24th nationally). Amid a 16-point third quarter against Michigan State on Jan. 20, 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 13.8 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 13 opponents and ranks fourth in the B1G in average rebounding margin at +3.8.
TRAPEZOID OF TERROR: Since the 2002-03 season, the Scarlet Knights have gone 213-50 (.810) at the RAC. RU is 34-7 (.829) over the last three seasons at home, finished out 2018-19 at 13-2 and started this season 8-2.
RESUME BUILDING: Receiving one point in this week's AP Top 25 Poll, Rutgers has been listed as receiving votes in 11 of 12 polls this season. RU is currently listed No. 36 in the RPI rankings with victories over No. 29 Purdue, No. 35 Virginia and No. 50 Nebraska and losses to No. 12 Indiana and No. 24 LSU.
D-FENCE: The Scarlet Knights' 15 wins have been fueled by stifling defense. RU ranks No. 9 in the nation in field goal percentage defense at .340 and No. 15 in the nation in scoring defense at 54.7 points allowed per game. RU, who leads the Big Ten in points allowed and field goal percentage defense, has held 18 of 19 opponents under its scoring average, while doing the same in 48 of its last 51 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 has swiped double-digit steals in four of the last five games and are 9-1 this season in games with 10 or more steals.
• KK Sanders is 20 assists away from becoming the 10th player in RU history with 400 helpers in a career.• Rutgers' four turnovers vs. Michigan State was its lowest in a game since five against Wisconsin on Jan. 7, 2016. RU has committed six or less turnovers in two of its last four games.
• 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 fell to 2-1 in those contests.
• At least two players have scored in double-figures in 18 of 19 games. RU is 13-1 when three or more score in double-digits.
• Tekia Mack has put together two 3-block games this season, including the last home game against Michigan State. Jordan Wallace picked up three blocks at Michigan on Sunday.
• 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 48 of its last 51 opponents under their scoring average. Since the beginning of 2017-18, RU has held 77 of its last 83 opponents under their scoring average.
Rutgers, as a team or individually, is ranked in the Top 25 in the nation in three statistical categories through games played on Jan. 28, including a pair of Top 15 marks in key defensive figures.
• Team: FG% defense (9th - .340)
• Team: Scoring defense (15th - 54.7)
• Arella Guirantes: Points/gm (24th - 19.4))
Rutgers flies to Minnesota for a Big Ten road game on Sunday, Feb. 2 at 3 p.m. ET (2 p.m. CT).
Follow Rutgers women's basketball on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The Scarlet Knights are 8-2 at home this season and 34-7 over the last three seasons at the RAC. The home-court advantage helped fuel a 15-2 start to the year, Rutgers' best opening to a season since the 1990-91 squad began 16-1 on their way to the NCAA Tournament.
| ON THE AIR |
- Watch on BTN+ (Play-by-play: Lou Brogno, Color: Dom Savino)
- Listen on WCTC 1450 AM (Play-by-play: Ralph Bednarczyk, Color: Mark Peterson)
- Listen on WRSU 88.7 FM (Play-by-play: Corey Jason and Doug Willig)
| PROMOTIONS |
- Fitness Frenzy Presented by RWJBarnabas Health
- Pregame Yoga! Purchase tickets and the yoga package or the yoga class only.
- First 250 fans receive a free Rutgers water bottle!
- In-game exercise!
- Halftime Dance Party presented by RFit!
| THE SCOUT |
- The Illini (10-9, 1-7) are 1-5 away from Champaign this season and have lost their last three Big Ten games to Purdue, Ohio State and No. 20 Maryland.
- Illinois completed the nonconference portion of their schedule with a 9-2 record, marking the best 11-game start for Illinois since the 2006-07 season.
- Redshirt junior Petra Holešínská ranks in a tie for 11th in the conference with 14.3 points per game and sits third the Big Ten with a .442 three-point shooting percentage.
- Freshman Kennedi Myles ranks second in the Big Ten with 9.0 rebounds per game, fourth-most among all Division I true freshmen, while also sitting in a tie for fourth with 2.1 steals per game in the Big Ten.
- Illinois has three freshmen - Myles, Jeanae Terry, and Jada Peebles - contributing major minutes. Those three have combined for 32% of the team's points, 35% of rebounds, 43% of assists, 49% of steals and 50% of blocks.
| 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 is the second leading scorer in the Big Ten at 19.4 points per game (24th nationally). Amid a 16-point third quarter against Michigan State on Jan. 20, 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 13.8 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 13 opponents and ranks fourth in the B1G in average rebounding margin at +3.8.
TRAPEZOID OF TERROR: Since the 2002-03 season, the Scarlet Knights have gone 213-50 (.810) at the RAC. RU is 34-7 (.829) over the last three seasons at home, finished out 2018-19 at 13-2 and started this season 8-2.
RESUME BUILDING: Receiving one point in this week's AP Top 25 Poll, Rutgers has been listed as receiving votes in 11 of 12 polls this season. RU is currently listed No. 36 in the RPI rankings with victories over No. 29 Purdue, No. 35 Virginia and No. 50 Nebraska and losses to No. 12 Indiana and No. 24 LSU.
D-FENCE: The Scarlet Knights' 15 wins have been fueled by stifling defense. RU ranks No. 9 in the nation in field goal percentage defense at .340 and No. 15 in the nation in scoring defense at 54.7 points allowed per game. RU, who leads the Big Ten in points allowed and field goal percentage defense, has held 18 of 19 opponents under its scoring average, while doing the same in 48 of its last 51 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 |
• KK Sanders is 20 assists away from becoming the 10th player in RU history with 400 helpers in a career.• Rutgers' four turnovers vs. Michigan State was its lowest in a game since five against Wisconsin on Jan. 7, 2016. RU has committed six or less turnovers in two of its last four games.
• 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 fell to 2-1 in those contests.
• At least two players have scored in double-figures in 18 of 19 games. RU is 13-1 when three or more score in double-digits.
• Tekia Mack has put together two 3-block games this season, including the last home game against Michigan State. Jordan Wallace picked up three blocks at Michigan on Sunday.
• 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 48 of its last 51 opponents under their scoring average. Since the beginning of 2017-18, RU has held 77 of its last 83 opponents under their scoring average.
| NATIONAL RANKS |
• Team: FG% defense (9th - .340)
• Team: Scoring defense (15th - 54.7)
• Arella Guirantes: Points/gm (24th - 19.4))
| UP NEXT |
Follow Rutgers women's basketball on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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Players Mentioned
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