PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers men's basketball plays its first game of the year at Jersey Mike's Arena on Friday night, as the Scarlet Knights will host Boston University. The home opener tips off at 7 p.m., streaming on B1G+ with Dom Savino and Eddie Kalegi on the call.
Rutgers opened the season against in-state foe Princeton, in a neutral site game held at Trenton's Cure Insurance Arena as part of the Jersey Jam. The Tigers claimed a 68-61 win behind game MVP Matt Allocco's 21 points.
The Scarlet Knights showcased their depth with nine players seeing action in the opener, all between 14 and 29 minutes of action. Senior center
Clifford Omoruyi led the Scarlet Knights with 12 points, seven rebounds, four blocks, and a steal in 27 minutes, shooting 6-of-10. The Scarlet Knights reserves outscored Princeton's bench, 29-4. 40 of Rutgers' 60 points came in the paint. RU had the edge in points in transition, 11-0. RU posted 14 assists on 25 field goals and shot 7-of-7 from the free throw lines.
Boston University opened the season on Monday with a 67-58 road loss to CAA foe Northeastern in a game that featured 13 lead changes and a Terriers' halftime lead. The Terriers, who graduated 10 student-athletes in the offseason, were led by a freshman duo in the game. BU freshman Kyrone Alexander scored a team-high 15 points while Matai Baptiste added 11.BU lost its top six scorers from a 15-17 squad last season.
Rutgers holds a 14-5 advantage in the all-time series. The two schools last met on Nov. 23, 2018, a Black Friday matinee that Rutgers claimed a 54-44 victory in as part of the final game in the Hub City Classic. Rutgers used a 45-33 rebounding advantage with Shaquille Doorson collecting a career-best 12 boards, and
Geo Baker posting 19 points, while holding BU to 33.3 percent from the field and 3-of-23 shooting behind the 3-point line. In the 2012 meeting, RU claimed a two-point win behind 20 points from Eli Carter, 17 from Malick Kone and 15 from Myles Mack, who all shot 50% or better from the field.
Rutgers is 10-1 at home against BU and have played just twice since 1972. The Scarlet Knights have won the past nine games in the series, dating back to 1965.
Rutgers went 14-6 at home last season and the team is 56-14 at Jersey Mike's Arena since the start of the 2019 season. The Scarlet Knights are unbeaten (7-0) in home openers under
Steve Pikiell and are 35-10 under
Steve Pikiell in the month of November.
Cliff Omoruyi is currently at 673 rebounds, seven behind Kevin Black for 15th all-time at Rutgers. He can also pass Hamady Ndiaye (14th, 681) and JR Inman (13th, 688) in the near future. Omoruyi also have 132 career blocks and is six blocks behind Myles Johnson for 8th all-time at Rutgers.
The Scarlet Knights will play their next six games at Jersey Mike's Arena. Prior to Thanksgiving, RU also hosts Bryant (Nov. 12), Georgetown (Nov. 15), Howard (Nov. 18) and Saint Peter's (Nov. 27).
