INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (March 3, 2020) - Rutgers women's basketball (21-8, 11-7) begins a brand new season at the Big Ten Tournament presented by SoFi from March 4-8 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The Scarlet Knights are seeded fifth, and after a first round bye, will face 12-seed Wisconsin in the second round on Thursday, March 5 at approximately 2:30 p.m. (25 minutes after the conclusion of the day's first game).
No. 4 Indiana awaits in a potential quarterfinal on Friday, March 6 at approximately 2:30 p.m. (25 minutes after the conclusion of the day's first game).
The Scarlet Knights, entering their sixth Big Ten Tournament, have been seeded No. 5 or higher three times, including this season. RU is 4-5 at the tournament since its 2015 debut, and has advanced to the quarterfinals in four of its five previous appearances. Last season, Rutgers had its highest seed (No. 3) and highest finish (semifinals) since joining the conference in 2014-15.
- Watch on BTN (Play-by-play: Chris Vosters, Color Analyst: Vera Jones, Sideline: Christy Winters Scott)
- The game can also be streamed on the Fox Sports app. A subscription is required.
- Listen on WCTC 1450 AM (Play-by-play: Ralph Bednarczyk, Color Analyst: Dom Savino)
- Listen on WRSU 88.7 FM (Randy DeGregorio, Corey Jason, and Raj Shah)
STATE OF SUCCESS: Boosted by a 15-2 start to the season - Rutgers' best to open a campaign since the 1990-91 squad started 16-1 - the Scarlet Knights have clinched their third straight 20-win season and the 37th in the career of Hall of Fame head coach
C. Vivian Stringer, which breaks a tie with Pat Summitt for most all-time.
B1G TIME: C. Vivian Stringer, the all-time winningest coach in Big Ten play with 223 victories, leads the Scarlet Knights into the conference tournament 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.
B1G HONORS: Redshirt junior guard
Arella Guirantes has been named to the All-Big Ten First Team by the coaches (unanimous) & media after leading the conference in scoring with 20.0 points per game.
Tekia Mack has been selected as one of five members of the Big Ten All-Defensive Team along with an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention following a season with 4 double-doubles, 6.9 rebounds per game and 2.1 steals per game (4th in B1G).
NO ANSWER FOR AG: Guirantes is ranked No. 14 in the nation in scoring (20.0ppg). She scored a career-high 36 points against Ohio State, including the game-winning jumper with less than four seconds to play in the 59-57 victory. The 36 points were the second most scored in the Big Ten this season (most in a conference game) and were the most by an RU player since RU Hall of Famer Cappie Pondexter netted 40 in January of 2006.
CHASING HISTORY: Guirantes is seeking to become the first RU player since Cappie Pondexter in '06 to average 20 points per game for a season. She would be the first player in program history to average 20+ points, 6+ rebounds and 3+ assists per game. She set a school record with 14 makes without a miss from the free throw line.
PLAYING B1G: Rutgers has owned the paint this season, outscoring opponents by an average of 11.8 points per game down low. The Scarlet Knights are 19-5 this season when outscoring opponents in the paint. RU has outrebounded 16 of its last 23 opponents and ranks fourth in the B1G in average rebounding margin at +4.4.
RESUME BUILDING: Rutgers is back receiving votes in both national polls with 10 points in the AP and 1 point in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. RU has received votes in 13 AP Top 25 Polls this season. RU is currently listed No. 42 in the RPI rankings with victories over No. 12 Iowa, No. 22 Ohio State, No. 38 Michigan and No. 46 Purdue, with losses to No. 7 Northwestern, No. 15 Indiana, No. 33 LSU and No. 38 Michigan.
D-FENCE: The Scarlet Knights' 21 wins have been fueled by stifling defense. RU ranks No. 15 in the nation in field goal percentage defense at .350 and No. 21 in the nation in scoring defense at 56.1 points allowed per game. RU leads the Big Ten in points allowed and field goal percentage defense, and has held 27 of 29 opponents under their scoring averages, while doing the same in 57 of its last 61 dating back to last season.
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.
• RU is scoring 66.8 points per game, as it stands the 5th most offensively productive
C. Vivian Stringer team "On the Banks" behind four NCAA Tournament teams ('99, '15, '98 & '03).
• With a 78-74 win in overtime on Sunday, Rutgers defeated Iowa for the first time as Big Ten opponents and first time since 2006 - snapping an eight-game streak.
• Rutgers' 15 points in OT vs. Iowa were its most in an extra period since netting 19 in double-OT on 3/27/14 in a 91-79 win over Seton Hall in the WNIT.
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Mael Gilles' 13 points and 11 rebounds vs. Iowa marked her first B1G double-double.
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Arella Guirantes has 13 20-or-more point games this season, and 17 for her career.
• RU's +23 rebounding (42-19) margin against Penn State was the program's highest in a B1G game since joining the conference in 2014-15.
• Penn State's 39 points was Rutgers' second lowest allowed since joining the Big Ten. It was the lowest allowed since Illinois' 37 in 2018.
• Illinois' .264 shooting on Jan. 30 was RU's lowest field goal percentage allowed in a Big Ten game since Michigan managed a mark of .262 on 2/8/15.
• RU is 18-3 when 3+ players score double-digits.
• RU is 16-1 when scoring more fast break points.
• Rutgers is 19-5 when scoring more points in the paint and 20-4 with more points off turnovers.
• The Scarlet Knights have held 57 of its last 61 opponents under their scoring average. Since the beginning of 2017-18, RU has held 86 of its last 93 opponents under their scoring average.
Rutgers, as a team or individually, is ranked in the Top 25 in the nation in six statistical categories through games played on March 2, including a pair of Top 20 marks in key defensive figures.
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Arella Guirantes: FT made (11th - 152)
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Arella Guirantes: FT attemtps (12th - 191)
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Arella Guirantes: Points/gm (14th - 20.0)
• Team: FG% defense (15th - .350)
• Team: Scoring defense (21st - 56.1)
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Arella Guirantes: FG attempts (21st - 457)
In Rutgers' 21 victories, all five starters have averaged at least 7.7 or more points per game – with three at 10.0 or more. In those wins,
Arella Guirantes (20.9),
Tekia Mack (12.0),
Khadaizha Sanders (10.0),
Jordan Wallace (7.9) and
Mael Gilles (7.7) have paced the scoring in winning games.
In the 21 wins, four different Scarlet Knights have averaged 5.5 or more rebounds per game – with two at 6.8 or more.
Tekia Mack (7.0),
Arella Guirantes (6.8),
Jordan Wallace (5.9) and
Mael Gilles (5.5) have cleaned the glass in Rutgers victories this winter.
Rutgers is 18-3 this season when three or more players score in double-figures (Rutgers has three in double-figures in 72 percent of its games).
When __ scores in double-figures, Rutgers is __:
• Mael Gillles, 9-0
•
Jordan Wallace, 11-1
•
Khadaizha Sanders, 15-3
•
Tekia Mack, 14-4
You can find Rutgers leading the Big Ten in scoring defense (56.1) and field goal percentage defense (35.0), while ranking second in blocked shots per game (4.8).
Among conference peers:
Arella Guirantes leads the Big Ten in scoring (20.0), minutes (36.8) and free throws made (152).
In conference games only:
• Rutgers has the conference's second leading scoring defense with 59.8 points allowed on average.
• First in the conference with a .382 field goal percentage defense.
• Second in blocked shots per game with 5.1.
• Second in offensive rebounds per game at 13.9.
• Third in steals at 9.7 per game.
• Third in turnover margin at +3.5.
• Fourth with a +2.8 rebounding margin.
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