NO. 9/9 MARYLAND TERRAPINS (23-6, 13-5) AT RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS (18-11, 9-9)
Tuesday, March 3, 2020 | 7 p.m. (ET)
The RAC (8,000) | Piscataway, N.J.

TV: BTN (Brandon Gaudin, play-by-play; Stephen Bardo, analyst; Andy Katz, reporter)
Radio: Rutgers Sports Properties Radio Network (WCTC 1450 AM/WOR 710 AM/XM 384; Jerry Recco & Joe Boylan); WRSU 88.7 FM (Justin Sontupe and Jake Ostrove)
 
Series Record: Maryland leads 11-3
Last Meeting: Maryland 56, Rutgers 51 (Feb. 4, 2020)
 
OPENING TIP: Having won a nation's best 17 home games, Rutgers hosts No. 9 Maryland Tuesday at the RAC in the annual Senior Night game. RU will honor student-athletes Akwasi Yeboah, Shaq Carter and Joey Downes, as well as head managers Scott Scherer and Mike Sasso, in a pre-game ceremony. Tuesday night will mark the venues ninth straight sell out of a school-record 10 this season. Rutgers is 17-29 all-time versus ranked foes at a capacity RAC and 4-4 under Steve Pikiell, including three straight wins by double digits.
 
Rutgers has an opportunity to earn its most conference wins (10) since 1990-91 (14-4; A-10) and to capture its most home victories in a season in program history.
 
Last time out, RU's furious second half comeback fell just short in a 65-64 loss at No. 16 Penn State. After trailing by 21 points, RU outscored PSU 40-23 in the second half and took a lead with under a minute to play. The Scarlet Knights have excelled in second halves of late, outscoring opponents 219-175 over the past six games, an average margin of 6.3 points-per-game.
 
The Scarlet Knights' conference losses are by an average margin of 6.0 points, with only one decided by double digits. In those games, opponents have shot 197 free throws, compared to 107 for Rutgers. Rutgers is the nation's only team with its final five regular season games all designated as Quadrant 1 opportunities.
 
THE OPPONENT: One of three teams Rutgers has yet to defeat since joining the Big Ten, Maryland has an opportunity to win its first conference regular season title since 2009-10 with a win Tuesday night. The Terps' six losses have all come against teams currently ranked in the AP Top-25. UM has been nationally-ranked for 17 weeks, reaching as high as No. 3, and have won 10 of its last 12 after a 78-66 loss to Michigan State on Saturday. 18-1 when scoring 70 or more points, the Terrapins rank 18th nationally in fouls (14.9) and 35th in scoring defense (63.8). Senior guard Anthony Cowan Sr. has made a school-record 128 consecutive starts.
 
THE SERIES: Tuesday marks the 15th meeting dating back to 1940 and the second this season after a 56-51 UM win in College Park. The Scarlet Knights overcame an eight-point deficit to tie with three minutes remaining, but could not complete the comeback. The teams had met six times prior to both joining the Big Ten in 2014-15. Rutgers' last win over the Terps was a 95-79 decision on Dec. 28, 1991, in the Fiesta Bowl Classic in Tucson, Arizona. UM has won eight straight in the series.
 
HEAD COACH STEVE PIKIELL
Overall Record (years):  254-221 (15th)
Rutgers Record (years):  62-65 (4th)
Record vs. Maryland (RU):  0-5
Record vs. Maryland (overall):  0-6
 
SCARLET KNIGHT NOTABLES

• Steve Pikiell is one of 15 coaches named to the Werner Ladder Naismith Coach of the Year Late 2020 Season Watch List.
• RU joined the rankings for the first time since the final 1978-79 AP Poll (No. 18). The Scarlet Knight were No. 24/25 & No. 25/25 in the Jan. 20 & 27th polls, respectively.
• RU has earned nine conference wins for the first time since 1998-98 (9-9; Big East).
• RU has ensured its first winning season since 2005-06 (19-14).
• Rutgers has tied its record for home wins (17-1, 1977-78) in a season and boasted the nation's best home record at a perfect 17-0. RU has a +14.3 scoring margin, a +8.6 rebounding advantage and has limited visitors to .365 shooting at the RAC.
• RU has sold-out a record 10 games at the RAC, including the final nine of the regular season. RU welcomed 8,329 fans vs. Seton Hall, its largest crowd in 18 seasons.
• Rutgers is 11th nationally in FG% defense (38.5), 16th in rebounding (40.03), 18th in scoring defense (62.3), 26th in rebound margin (+6.0) and 34th in blocks (4.6).
• Akwasi Yeboah is one of just 15 active players with 1,600 points and 700 rebounds.
• Myles Johnson ranks 13th nationally and second in conference-only games in offensive rebound percentage (15.2). He ranks fourth in the Big Ten with 3.41 offensive rebounds per game.
• Rutgers is a young squad, ranking 224th in experience per Pomeroy.
• RU has claimed three ranked victories for the first time since the 2001-02 campaign.
• 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.
• Rutgers was 4-0 against pro club teams during a tour of Spain in August. RU outscored its opponents 387-284 and had five players average double figures.

RATED RUTGERS

Haslametrics	26
Ken Pomeroy	32
NCAA NET	34
ESPN BPI	35
Rothstein 45	37
Massey	44
Jeff Sagarin	44
RPI	56

Through 3/1/20 games
 
RU & STEVE PIKIELL AGREE TO CONTRACT EXTENSION
Rutgers University and Steve Pikiell have come to terms on a two-year contract extension that will keep the 2020 Naismith Coach of the Year candidate courtside through 2025-26. In his fourth season, Pikiell has led the Scarlet Knights to their first national ranking in 41 years, first winning season in fourteen years, and most conference victories in 22 years.
 
"In just four years Steve has transformed our men's basketball program," said Director of Athletics Pat Hobbs. "Our program is excelling on the court and in the classroom. The RAC has been electric this year. This extension ensures that Steve Pikiell will be leading our program for many years to come. I am enormously appreciative of his leadership."
 
"I'm honored to be the head coach at Rutgers," said Pikiell. "My wife Kate and I are especially grateful for the support our family has received from the University community. Every day this program gets better and that is because of the commitment and hard work of my coaching staff and our student-athletes. I love coming to work and there is much more work to do. Pat Hobbs and Rutgers have made an investment in me, and I intend to do everything possible to provide a return that makes this great University very proud."
 
From 2019-20 through 2025-26, the contract stipulates a guaranteed compensation of $20 million, plus performance and retention bonuses. Introduced as the 19th head coach in program history on March 22, 2016, with an initial contract that ran through 2020-21, Pikiell previously agreed to an extension in January 2018 that secured his services through 2023-24.
 
PIKIELL ON NAISMITH LATE SEASON WATCH LIST
Steve Pikiell is one of 15 men's basketball coaches on the Werner Ladder Naismith Coach of the Year Late 2020 Season Watch List, released Feb. 21 by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. In his fourth season "On the Banks," Pikiell has led the Scarlet Knights to numerous achievements in 2019-20, including the program's first national ranking in 41 years. Rutgers was nationally ranked for consecutive weeks in both the AP and Coaches Polls on Jan. 20 and Jan. 27 after last being selected in the final AP Poll of the 1978-79 season (No. 18).  The Scarlet Knights' 18 regular season victories are their most since 2001-02 (18) and nine Big Ten Conference wins their most in league play since 1998-99 (9-9, Big East).
 
RU began its home season with a nation's best 17-0 record to set the program mark for its best home start, while tying the team record for most home victories in a season (17-1; 1977-78). Rutgers has sold-out a record 10 games at the RAC, including the final nine of the regular season. Nicknamed the "Trapezoid of Terror" by the fan base, the 8,000-seat venue has helped the Scarlet Knights earn three double-digit victories over ranked opponents in 2019-20.
 
A Bristol (Conn.) native with 28 years of coaching experience, Pikiell has ensured Rutgers' first winning season on the hardwood since 2005-06 (19-14). Under his direction, the Scarlet Knights have earned multiple ranked wins in consecutive seasons for the first time since the 2001-02 and 2002-03 campaigns. In 2018-19, RU was recognized as the nation's Most Improved Team by Sports Illustrated after the Scarlet Knights improved 70 positions in the KenPom rankings, best among all power conference programs.
 
The Naismith Men's and Women's College Coach of the Year Awards were established in 1987 and were originally given to the coaches of the men's and women's NCAA Division I Tournament Champions. In 1989, the governing board changed the selection criteria to the voting process used today in which the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors first votes to compile a top 25 list of coaches for each award. Then, through additional votes, the list is narrowed down to four and finally, the national winner.
 
QUADRANT 1/3
Forget Quad 1, Rutgers men's basketball is playing 90% of its Big Ten games away from the RAC in Quad 1/3. Quadrant 1 is defined as games with an opponent NCAA NET ranking of 30 or better at home, 50 or better at a neutral site, and 75 or better on the road. The Scarlet Knights are the nation's only team to play their final five regular season games against all Quadrant 1 teams.
 
On the road in conference, other than Rutgers' game at Nebraska, the nine games are against opponents with Net rankings of 36 or lower. Collectively, the teams boast an average NCAA Net score of 21.5, placing them in the top third of the Quad 1 road game parameters. Including Nebraska, the average NET of RU's Big Ten opponents on the road is 38.9
 
PACK THE RAC
The Scarlet Knights have sold-out a program-record 10 games this season at the RAC. RU has hosted capacity crowds versus No. 22 Seton Hall (Dec. 14), No. 20 Penn State (Jan. 7), Indiana (Jan. 15), Minnesota (Jan. 19), Nebraska (Jan. 25), Purdue (Jan. 28), Northwestern (Feb. 9), Illinois (Feb. 15) and Michigan (Feb. 19), as well as the Senior Knight game against Maryland (March 3). Rutgers streak of nine consecutive sold-out games is also a program record. Last season, RU had five sell-outs, its most since 2004-05 (7). The RAC has been sold-out 17 times in the past three seasons. The prior 17 sell-outs spanned 11 seasons, from 2004-05 to 2014-15.
 
TRAPEZOID OF TERROR
Rutgers began the home season with a nation's best 17 wins at The RAC prior to the Michigan loss. The mark signaled RU's best home start to a season. The 1975-76 Final Four team boasted an undefeated regular season, but played only 10 home games at the College Avenue Gym. The most home wins prior to this season was also 17 (17-1) in 1977-78, the season the RAC opened. The 17 home wins are tied with Louisville and Gonzaga for the most in the nation.
 
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