Sunday, December 11, 2021 | 7:30 p.m.
Prudential Center | (Newark, N.J.) 

TV: FS1 with Alex Faust & Casey Jacobsen
Web: FOX Sports Live
Radio: Rutgers Sports Properties Radio Network (WCTC 1450 AM/WOR 710 AM; PXP: Jerry Recco and Color: Austin Johnson), WRSU: Dylan McCoy, Chris Tsakonas
 
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers (5-4, 1-1) returns to action on Sunday night for an eagerly awaited in-state showdown. The Scarlet Knights will travel 27 miles up the New Jersey Turnpike to the Prudential Center to take on in-state rival Seton Hall in the Garden State Hardwood Classic.
Sunday marks the 72nd meeting dating back to 1916, with SHU leading 40-31.

The teams have played 57 times since 1974-75. Over the last 26 meetings, 21 have been decided by six points or fewer and five contests have gone to overtime.

The last time these teams met in 2019, Rutgers dominated No. 22 Seton Hall from start to finish in a definitive 68-48 victory.

New Jersey native Ron Harper Jr. earned Joe Calabrese Most Valuable player honors with 18 points, as the Scarlet Knights out-rebounded SHU 46-29.

The Pirates enter the contest nationally ranked at No. 23/25 in the country. SHU also earned a top-10 win Thursday night, taking down No. 7 Texas to improve to 8-1. It was their second top-10 win this season after earlier defeating No. 4 Michigan.

Down goes Purdue

The Scarlet Knights made history on December 9 with a 70-68 defeat of No. 1 Purdue, the first victory in program history over a top ranked team.
Ron Harper Jr. launched in a buzzer-beating three-pointer to give RU the victory and send the fans at Jersey Mike's Arena storming onto the court to celebrate.

Harper Jr. led the way in the game with a career-high 30 points, his most ever against a Big Ten team, becoming just the second Rutgers' player ever to post 30+ points in Big Ten conference play. He became the first player to score 30 points and hit a buzzer beater to beat the AP No. 1 team in the country in the history of college basketball.

The win marked:

• Rutgers' first ever win over a No. 1 ranked team.
• Rutgers' highest ranked win since a victory over No. 2 UCLA on Dec. 3, 1981.
• Rutgers' fourth straight win over the Boilermakers, the third active four-game winning streak over a Big Ten foe.
• Rutgers' 11th top-10 win all-time and 43rd all-time ranked win.
• It was the 9th ranked win under head coach Steve Pikiell and second top-10 win under Pikiell (No. 9 Maryland, March 3, 2020).
• It was the first time Rutgers won on a buzzer beater since Myles Mack swished a buzzer-beating shot to defeat Monmouth, 59-58, on Dec. 28, 2014.
 
The Garden State Hardwood Classic Trophy

The #GSHClassic Trophy is a perpetual rivalry trophy constructed primarily from recycled Asbury Park boardwalk planks, which were retrieved during a re-decking after Superstorm Sandy. The trophy topper is formed in the state of New Jersey with the base mimicking the form and texture of a basketball.

"1916" is branded on the topper, which signifies the year of the initial meeting between the schools on the hardwood. The athletics logos are affixed at their geographic locations.

The official logo of the Garden State Hardwood Classic, which was conceived and created by former Seton Hall women's soccer student-athlete Peggy Nicolle, adorns the base.

The trophy stands 32 inches tall and weighs 33 pounds. New Jersey resident Colin Pezzano, a 2014 graduate of the University of the Arts, created the one-of-a-kind award. The trophy was constructed in a workshop on a farm in Cumberland County.

New Jersey Garden State Hardwood Classic connection

Director of Athletics Pat Hobbs joined Rutgers on Nov. 29, 2015, moving south down the New Jersey Turnpike after notable achievements at SHU. He served as Dean at the Seton Hall School of Law from 1999 to 2015 and oversaw the Department of Athletics from 2009 to 2011.

Seton Hall last time out
 
The Pirate defense held No. 7 Texas scoreless for 7:40 late in the second half as the No. 23 Seton Hall men's basketball team outlasted the Longhorns, 64-60, at the Prudential Center on Thursday as part of the BIG EAST-Big 12 Battle.
 
Trailing by two with just over 8:00 left in the game, the Pirates defense took over.  Clinging to a one-point lead with under a minute to play, Bryce Aiken scored the Pirates final five points, including a huge three-pointer, to secure the victory.
 
Senior Jared Rhoden led the Pirates with 18 points to go with five rebounds.  Alexis Yetna had a double-double with 12 points and a team-best 11 rebounds. 
 
The victory is the second over an AP Top-10 team this season already for the Pirates having defeated No. 4 Michigan in Ann Arbor back on Nov. 16. Currently only three programs in the nation have at least two AP top-10 wins so far this season: Duke, Gonzaga and Seton Hall.