PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers men's basketball plays well against non-conference opponents at Jersey Mike's Arena.
RU moved to (23-1) in the past three seasons in those games with the 83-49 victory over Central Connecticut State on Saturday at Jersey Mike's Arena.
Senior wing
Caleb McConnell returned to action after being sidelined for six weeks due to a knee injury and his presence was felt immediately. McConnell made his first shot attempt from the field in the first half. McConnell finished with four points, four rebounds, three assists, and a block.
"Our fans were great today, it's great to have Caleb (McConnell) back on the court," head coach
Steve Pikiell said. "We missed him. I really thought – and he was the appropriate guy to have here – Jalen (Miller) gave us great energy off the bench and did some really good things as did Wolf (Antwone Woolfolk) and those guys, so everyone contributed. Good win here. A lot of guys playing valuable minutes in his (Caleb's) absence and in Paul's (
Paul Mulcahy) absence. I hope that bodes well for us moving forward. Looking forward to having Paul back too on the court hopefully soon."
When the 2021-22 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year stepped onto the floor, a few minutes into the game, he received a standing ovation from the crowd in Piscataway. The team fed off his energy in his 25 minutes played. Pikiell commented on the energy that McConnell brings every time he steps on the floor.
"Well you saw the energy he just brings," Pikiell said. "I think he's the best defender in the country, too. He's going to have to get his timing back and everything, but he causes major disruption on the other end of the floor. His athleticism, his quick hands, he knows our system as well as anybody, and I love the fact that I can play him almost at any position. He knows all the positions. While our young guys are figuring out just one position, he knows five positions. It's just great to have him back. He gives me a lift. We've missed him, but I'm glad he's healthy now and hopefully he stays healthy for a long time."
Rutgers as a team shot a red-hot 61.5 percent in the first half. The team shot (8-18) from long range good for 44.4 percent. RU racked up 19 team assists. The perimeter defense continued to be a strength as the Scarlet Knights limited CCSU to (3-27) from long range.
Junior guard Cam Spencer had all 18 of his points in the first half to help RU, take a 20-point lead into the break. Spencer was (6-8) from the field and made four three-pointers on six attempts. Spencer played a team-high 36 minutes, had five assists, four rebounds and a pair of steals. Spencer is up to 22 steals on the season good for tied for third in the nation in that category.
Sophomore guard
Jalen Miller had a career-high six points in 18 minutes played and gave the Scarlet Knights a jolt off the bench.
"I thought he was locked in defensively," Pikiell said. "These guys (CCSU) take a ton of threes. They average nine, almost nine-and-a-half threes per game. We held them to three threes. He was a big part of that, keeping guys out of the lane, and he did a good job on the offensive end. When we needed him, he rose in the lane, hit a nice jump shot and made his free throws. I'm real pleased with what he gave us."
Freshman forward Antwone Woolfolk had another strong performance with nine points, four rebounds and made all four shot attempts off the bench.
Gallery: (11-26-2022) MBB Defeats CCSU
His fellow freshmen Derek Simpson started his third consecutive game in senior guard
Paul Mulcahy's absence. Simpson had 14 points, a pair of assists and made five of six shots. Simpson played 21 minutes and continues to show promise for the future. The third freshman on the team Antonio Chol sunk a three-pointer in the final minutes for his first-career basket as a Scarlet Knight.
"I think they really grew too," Pikiell said. "There's nothing better than game film to really teach a guy. They've been better in practice, too. Wolf got 9 points today. He has some abilities and obviously Derek does and you saw Antonio, too, come off the bench. Cam's new to us too and I'm thankful for his contributions. He's been as good a player as I think there is in the conference. We've got to get Paul back, obviously, the leading assist guy and a huge voice for our program. Hopefully, he'll heal soon and those young guys got valuable minutes that we're going to need moving forward."
Junior center
Clifford Omoruyi drew a double-team from CCSU every time he touched the ball and scored 11 points with six rebounds in 25 minutes. Junior forward
Mawot Mag started his sixth consecutive game and had 11 points, eight rebounds and a pair of assists. Senior forward
Aundre Hyatt also started his sixth-straight game and chimed in with five points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Rutgers will head on the road next to take on Miami in Coral Gables, Florida on Wednesday night.
"We're very different than we've been in the past," Pikiell said. "We change up defenses a lot. We can do a lot of different things. He (Caleb) brings another level of versatility to our defense. Today, I liked 19 assists without
Paul Mulcahy who's the leading assist guy in our conference. We share the game. Again, I think our guys got some valuable minutes. Derek and Wolf trying to figure out how to play college basketball."
As of Sunday morning, Rutgers is tied for sixth in the country in steals-per-game (11.8) and tied for tenth in the country in total steals (71). Rutgers is first in the Big Ten Conference in both steals categories. RU is first in the country in three-point defense percentage (18 percent). Rutgers is eighth in the country in turnover ratio (7.7). Rutgers is 8th in the country in total field goal percentage defense (34.125). Rutgers is 9th in the country in points allowed per game (52.8).
Rutgers men's basketball released a new postgame show following the success of last year's "Ralph's Corner" with the first edition of "The Freshmen Corner" featuring Simpson, Woolfolk and Chol. Miller was the guest of the first episode.
