Friday, March 5
Piscataway, N.J.
8 PM ET
Rutgers University
vs
No. 22/20 Ohio State
Game 17: No. 24 Women's Hoops vs. No. 22/20 Ohio State
Mar 04 | Women's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - No. 24 Rutgers women's basketball (13-3, 9-3) wraps up the 2020-21 regular season in style, hosting a battle of Top 25 teams on ESPN as the Scarlet Knights take on No. 22/20 Ohio State (13-6, 9-6) at the RAC on Friday, March 5 at 8 p.m. ET, presented by RWJBarnabas Health.
The Scarlet Knights will honor three players on Senior Night - Mael Gilles, Arella Guirantes, and Tekia Mack - in a ceremony broadcast live on the @rutgerswbb Instragram Story.
RU is riding an eight-game winning streak, its longest in conference play since the 2004-05 squad won its 24th-straight Big East game by going 16-0 that season. The defense has held opponents to less than 60 points in seven consecutive games, the longest streak of its kind in conference play since the 2006-07 National Championship runner-up season.
With head coach C. Vivian Stringer's patented defense ranked first in the Big Ten with 55.6 points allowed per game, the offense is producing with historic voracity. The Scarlet Knights recently scored 70 or more points in five consecutive games for the first time in Big Ten play (since 2014), and the first time in any conference since the 1997-98 squad scored 70-plus in seven-straight in the Big East.
RUTGERS RANKED: Rutgers women's basketball moved up in the Associated Press Poll on Monday with a No. 24 national ranking. The Scarlet Knights received 120 points and have now been nationally ranked in three of the last four seasons since 2017-18. Following a five-week hiatus, Rutgers has won eight consecutive games in the Big Ten by an average margin of 17.4 points, including a road victory at then-No.21/20 Northwestern.
CHASED EIGHT: Rutgers is on its longest Big Ten winning streak since joining the conference. RU opened the 2018-19 Big Ten season with seven wins in a row. The Scarlet Knights have their first eight-game conference winning streak since the perfect 16-0 Big East season of 2005-06, which was an actual 24-game Big East streak going back to '04-05.
NET WORKING: Rutgers is listed at No. 11 in the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings, which replace RPI as a guide for selecting at-large bids for the NCAA Tournament. The NET rankings take into account Adjusted Net Efficiency (offensive vs. defensive points per possession weighted on quality of opponent) and Team Value Index (results-oriented).
Rutgers is ranked fifth in the NCAA with 112.6 points per offensive possessions, and fifth in the NCAA with a 30.0 average point margin per 100 possessions.
ARELLA RISING: Redshirt senior guard Arella Guirantes is on six national watch lists: The Senior CLASS Award, the Wooden Award for Most Outstanding Player, the Naismith Trophy and Wade Trophy for National Player of the Year, a Top 5 finalist for the Meyers Shooting Guard Award, and the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award.
Only Player to rank Top 5 in Big Ten in these four categories: scoring, assists, blocks & steals
Triple-double on Dec. 23 vs. Manhattan (6th in RU history) with 17 points, 10 rebounds & 11 assists
Three 30+ point performances vs. No. 9 Maryland, Iowa & Purdue
SHINE ON: True freshman Diamond Johnson, the No. 6 overall recruit in the nation according to ESPN, is one of 10 named to the Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List semifinalists for the country's top point guard. The Neumann Goretti product earned Rutgers' first ever Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor on Dec. 21. Johnson scored in double-figures in 15 of her first 16 games and has scored 18 or more in nine of her last 12.
Ranks 3rd in the NCAA with a .495 three-point shooting percentage.
THOU SHALL STEAL: Rutgers ranks fourth in the country with 13.0 steals per game and is sixth in the nation in turnover margin at 7.6. Four Scarlet Knights make up the Top 7 in the Big Ten in steals per game with Tekia Mack (7th in the nation - 3.4), Arella Guirantes (2.2), Diamond Johnson (2.1) and Mael Gilles (2.0).
THAT'S OFFENSIVE: Rutgers has scored 80 or more points in three Big Ten games this season. Before this year, Rutgers has had a total of three 80+ games since joining the conference in 2014-15. RU had a five-game streak of scoring 70+ in conference games, the first time since 1997-98 in the Big East. RU earlier scored 80+ in five consecutive games for the first time since the 1990-91 season. The Scarlet Knights rank seventh in the nation in scoring margin at +21.2, scoring 76.9 points per game (24th in the nation, 5th in the B1G).
TRAPEZOID OF TERROR: Since the 2002-03 season, RU has gone 227-51 (.815) at the RAC. RU is 48-8 (.857) over the last three+ seasons at home.
WELCOME TO THE B1G: Rutgers is one of the youngest teams in the nation with eight newcomers and 71 percent of the roster starting the season with two years experience or less in Division I. RU is one of just 32 teams across the nation with 10 or more players on the roster with two years experience or less.
FUTURE IS NOW: 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, one of four recruits ranked in the Top 55 - Sakima Walker (#21), Chyna Cornwell (#48) and Liz Martino (#53). Blue Star Basketball ranks the class No. 5 in the nation.
• Versus PSU, Rutgers held its seventh Big Ten foe in a row under 60 points. That is the longest streak in league play since the 2006-07 National Championship runner-up squad in the Big East.
• Tekia Mack tied a RAC record with eight steals vs. Minnesota, the most in any Rutgers game since Syessence Davis had 10 at Penn State in Jan. 2015 (the school record), then set a career high with eight assists in the Illinois victory.
• Rutgers' win at No. 21/20 Northwestern was its first ranked road win since a 73-65 victory at No. 4 Maryland on Dec. 31, 2018.
• In consecutive games, Tyia Singleton set new career highs in rebounding (11 vs. Nebraska) and point scoring (17 vs. Northwestern).
• Currently graded .784 from the charity stripe, RU is strongly challenging its single-season free throw percentage record of .734 ('80-81).
• RU has outscored opponents in the paint in 15 of 16 games this season.
• RU is 10-0 with a lead at halftime.
• The Scarlet Knights have outscored opponents by an average of 14.8 in points off turnovers (26.2 - 11.4).
• Arella Guirantes has five career 30+ point games, all against Big Ten opponents.
• RU's 87 points against Maryland were Rutgers' most in a Big Ten game since joining the conference in 2014-15 ... and most in a conference game since 90 vs. Seton Hall in the Big East in 2013.
• Guirantes' 30+point double-double vs. Maryland was Rutgers' first since Kahleah Copper had 30 and 10 against St. Joseph's on Nov. 13, 2015.
• With Diamond Johnson at 18.0 points per game, a look at the Top 5 freshman scoring averages in team history:
Follow Rutgers women's basketball on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The Scarlet Knights will honor three players on Senior Night - Mael Gilles, Arella Guirantes, and Tekia Mack - in a ceremony broadcast live on the @rutgerswbb Instragram Story.
RU is riding an eight-game winning streak, its longest in conference play since the 2004-05 squad won its 24th-straight Big East game by going 16-0 that season. The defense has held opponents to less than 60 points in seven consecutive games, the longest streak of its kind in conference play since the 2006-07 National Championship runner-up season.
With head coach C. Vivian Stringer's patented defense ranked first in the Big Ten with 55.6 points allowed per game, the offense is producing with historic voracity. The Scarlet Knights recently scored 70 or more points in five consecutive games for the first time in Big Ten play (since 2014), and the first time in any conference since the 1997-98 squad scored 70-plus in seven-straight in the Big East.
| ON THE AIR |
- Watch on ESPN (Play-by-play: Roy Philpott; Analyst: Christy Thomaskutty)
- Listen on WCTC 1450 AM (Play-by-play: Ralph Bednarczyk; Analyst: Mark Peterson)
- Listen on WRSU 88.7 FM Tuesday (Play-by-play: Jake Schmied & Christian Vasquez)
| THE SCOUT |
- The No. 22/20 Buckeyes (13-6, 9-6) will play their final game of 2020-21 as the program is on a postseason ban for this season. The Buckeyes are looking to end the season on a high note as they are currently on a three-game skid.
- Jacy Sheldon leads five Buckeyes in double-figures at 16.7 ppg. She has scored 318 points this season in 19 games which is one more than what she scored last season in 33 games. Sheldon is also the only Buckeye to play and start every game this season.
- Dorka Juhasz has had a double-double in eight of her last nine games and a total of 12 this season. Her 12 double-doubles are tops in the conference. She is also tied with Michigan's Naz Hillmon for the league lead in rebounding at 11.3 rpg.
| HEAD-TO-HEAD |
| KNIGHT NOTES |
CHASED EIGHT: Rutgers is on its longest Big Ten winning streak since joining the conference. RU opened the 2018-19 Big Ten season with seven wins in a row. The Scarlet Knights have their first eight-game conference winning streak since the perfect 16-0 Big East season of 2005-06, which was an actual 24-game Big East streak going back to '04-05.
NET WORKING: Rutgers is listed at No. 11 in the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings, which replace RPI as a guide for selecting at-large bids for the NCAA Tournament. The NET rankings take into account Adjusted Net Efficiency (offensive vs. defensive points per possession weighted on quality of opponent) and Team Value Index (results-oriented).
Rutgers is ranked fifth in the NCAA with 112.6 points per offensive possessions, and fifth in the NCAA with a 30.0 average point margin per 100 possessions.
ARELLA RISING: Redshirt senior guard Arella Guirantes is on six national watch lists: The Senior CLASS Award, the Wooden Award for Most Outstanding Player, the Naismith Trophy and Wade Trophy for National Player of the Year, a Top 5 finalist for the Meyers Shooting Guard Award, and the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award.
Only Player to rank Top 5 in Big Ten in these four categories: scoring, assists, blocks & steals
Triple-double on Dec. 23 vs. Manhattan (6th in RU history) with 17 points, 10 rebounds & 11 assists
Three 30+ point performances vs. No. 9 Maryland, Iowa & Purdue
SHINE ON: True freshman Diamond Johnson, the No. 6 overall recruit in the nation according to ESPN, is one of 10 named to the Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List semifinalists for the country's top point guard. The Neumann Goretti product earned Rutgers' first ever Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor on Dec. 21. Johnson scored in double-figures in 15 of her first 16 games and has scored 18 or more in nine of her last 12.
Ranks 3rd in the NCAA with a .495 three-point shooting percentage.
THOU SHALL STEAL: Rutgers ranks fourth in the country with 13.0 steals per game and is sixth in the nation in turnover margin at 7.6. Four Scarlet Knights make up the Top 7 in the Big Ten in steals per game with Tekia Mack (7th in the nation - 3.4), Arella Guirantes (2.2), Diamond Johnson (2.1) and Mael Gilles (2.0).
THAT'S OFFENSIVE: Rutgers has scored 80 or more points in three Big Ten games this season. Before this year, Rutgers has had a total of three 80+ games since joining the conference in 2014-15. RU had a five-game streak of scoring 70+ in conference games, the first time since 1997-98 in the Big East. RU earlier scored 80+ in five consecutive games for the first time since the 1990-91 season. The Scarlet Knights rank seventh in the nation in scoring margin at +21.2, scoring 76.9 points per game (24th in the nation, 5th in the B1G).
TRAPEZOID OF TERROR: Since the 2002-03 season, RU has gone 227-51 (.815) at the RAC. RU is 48-8 (.857) over the last three+ seasons at home.
WELCOME TO THE B1G: Rutgers is one of the youngest teams in the nation with eight newcomers and 71 percent of the roster starting the season with two years experience or less in Division I. RU is one of just 32 teams across the nation with 10 or more players on the roster with two years experience or less.
FUTURE IS NOW: 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, one of four recruits ranked in the Top 55 - Sakima Walker (#21), Chyna Cornwell (#48) and Liz Martino (#53). Blue Star Basketball ranks the class No. 5 in the nation.
| #TRENDING |
• Tekia Mack tied a RAC record with eight steals vs. Minnesota, the most in any Rutgers game since Syessence Davis had 10 at Penn State in Jan. 2015 (the school record), then set a career high with eight assists in the Illinois victory.
• Rutgers' win at No. 21/20 Northwestern was its first ranked road win since a 73-65 victory at No. 4 Maryland on Dec. 31, 2018.
• In consecutive games, Tyia Singleton set new career highs in rebounding (11 vs. Nebraska) and point scoring (17 vs. Northwestern).
• Currently graded .784 from the charity stripe, RU is strongly challenging its single-season free throw percentage record of .734 ('80-81).
• RU has outscored opponents in the paint in 15 of 16 games this season.
• RU is 10-0 with a lead at halftime.
• The Scarlet Knights have outscored opponents by an average of 14.8 in points off turnovers (26.2 - 11.4).
• Arella Guirantes has five career 30+ point games, all against Big Ten opponents.
• RU's 87 points against Maryland were Rutgers' most in a Big Ten game since joining the conference in 2014-15 ... and most in a conference game since 90 vs. Seton Hall in the Big East in 2013.
• Guirantes' 30+point double-double vs. Maryland was Rutgers' first since Kahleah Copper had 30 and 10 against St. Joseph's on Nov. 13, 2015.
• With Diamond Johnson at 18.0 points per game, a look at the Top 5 freshman scoring averages in team history:
- 1. Cappie Pondexter (02-03) - 18.3ppg
- 2. Patti Sikorski (76-77) - 15.8ppg
- T3. Kathy Glutz (76-77) - 15.5ppg
- T3. June Olkowski (78-79) - 15.5ppg
- 5. Sue Wicks (84-85) - 14.9 ppg
Follow Rutgers women's basketball on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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