PISCATAWAY, N.J. – It's Garden State Hardwood Classic time. Separated by just 27 miles, in-state rivals Rutgers and Seton Hall will renew the rivalry series on Saturday night. The Scarlet Knights will make the trip this year to play at the Prudential Center in an 8:30 p.m. tipoff.
The game will be broadcast on FS1 with John Fanta and Jim Spanarkel on the call. Rutgers' radio broadcast will be on 880 AM, with Jerry Recco and the 2012-13 Calabrese Game MVP winner Austin Johnson on the call.
Rutgers enters the matchup with a 5-3 overall record. RU is looking to snap a two-game losing streak that has come at the hands of No. 24 Illinois and in a road game at Wake Forest.
Last time out, the Scarlet Knights took a 76-57 road loss at Wake Forest. Rutgers countered an early Wake Forest lead with an impressive run to cut the game to one possession but were able to get no closer.
Noah Fernandes and
Aundre Hyatt shared the team-lead with 13 points.
Cliff Omoruyi is at 999 points, just one shy from becoming the 46th Rutgers player to record 1,000 career points. Omoruyi also is at 734 career rebounds and is 7 boards away from tying Dane Miller for 8
th all-time at RU.
Omoruyi has had at least three blocks in five straight games. He averages 3.38 blocks per game this season, third in the nation. He is also sixth in the Big Ten at 8.5 rebounds per game. Omoruyi (10.1 ppg) is second on the team in scoring behind Audre Hyatt at 11.8 points per game.
Derek Simpson and
Jamichael Davis share the team lead with 21 assists. Simpson has five games of 3+ assists and Davis has 14 assists in the past four games with just two turnovers in that span.
In the national rankings, Rutgers is 13
th in scoring defense (60.6), 14
th in field goal percentage defense (37.3%), 15
th in blocks per game (5.8) and 16
th in turnover margin (5.0).
Under second-year head coach Shaheen Holloway, Seton Hall enters the matchup with a 5-3 record overall after being picked ninth in the preseason Big East coaches poll. The Pirates took losses in a Thanksgiving tournament to No. 23 USC and Big Ten foe Iowa, then a loss Tuesday night in Waco to No. 6 Baylor. The five wins all have come to Northeastern based opponents with a KenPom rating of 200 or worse. SHU is fourth nationally in free throw percentage at 80.1% and are also top-50 nationally in steals at 8.9 per game (first in the Big East).
The Pirates have a veteran squad, featuring a starting lineup of four seniors and one graduate student. Senior Kadary Richmond leads the team at 15.1 points per game and with 35 assists and 18 steals. Graduate student Jaden Bediako is the team's top rebounder (7.2 rpg). Dre Davis has 12.9 points per game and Al-Amir Dawes, a fifth year who has faced RU with both Clemson and Seton Hall, is at 12.1 points per game.
This meeting marks the 74th all-time matchup, dating back to 1919, with SHU leading 42-31. The teams have played 59 times since 1974-75. Over the last 28 meetings, 22 have been decided by six points or fewer and five contests have gone to overtime. Last season, Seton Hall defeated RU 45-43 in a hard-fought defensive game. Rutgers is 2-4 against Seton Hall under head coach
Steve Pikiell. Rutgers will be looking for its first road win at the Prudential Center in this series since March 8, 2013 (a 56-51 win).
- Rutgers would claim its 32nd all-time win over Seton Hall
- Rutgers would earn its first road win over Seton Hall since 2023
- Rutgers would earn its first win over Seton Hall since 2019 and be 3-3 in the last six meetings with Seton Hall
The #GSHClassic Trophy is a perpetual rivalry trophy constructed primarily from recycled Asbury Park boardwalk planks, which were retrieved by then-Rutgers Director of Athletic Communications Kevin Lorincz 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.
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.
The MVP of the annual Garden State Hardwood Classic is presented the Joe Calabrese Game MVP Award. The award honors the memory of longtime New Jersey sports writer Joe Calabrese, who covered the rivalry and college athletics or the Newark Star Ledger, Trenton Times, and Bridgewater Courier News.
Season .....................Player ............................................................. Team
2022-23...................KC Ndefo........................................... Seton Hall
2021-22...................Bryce Aiken........................................... Seton Hall
2020-21...................No Game Contested
2019-20 ...................
Ron Harper Jr. ............................................. Rutgers
2018-19 ...................Myles Powell ........................................... Seton Hall
2017-18 ...................Corey Sanders.............................................. Rutgers
2016-17 ...................Angel Delgado ......................................... Seton Hall
2015-16 ...................Angel Delgado ......................................... Seton Hall
2014-15 ...................Isaiah Whitehead .................................... Seton Hall
2013-14 ...................Eugene Teague........................................ Seton Hall
2012-13 ...................Austin Johnson ............................................ Rutgers
2011-12 ...................Dane Miller.................................................. Rutgers
2010-11 ...................Jordan Theodore ..................................... Seton Hall
2009-10 ...................Jeremy Hazell .......................................... Seton Hall
2008-09 ...................John Garcia.............................................. Seton Hall
2007-08 ...................Corey Chandler............................................ Rutgers
2006-07 ...................Adrian Hill.................................................... Rutgers
The rivalry series now has its own banquet. On December 7, two days prior to the game, representatives from each team gathered at McLoone's Boathouse in West Orange to celebrate the rivalry. Rutgers was represented by current student-athletes
Noah Fernandes and
Gavin Griffiths alongside alumns
Geo Baker & Mike Dabney
The matchup wraps a challenging three-game stretch against Power 6 Conference foes. The Scarlet Knights now have just one game a week, playing on each of the next three Saturdays to conclude the 2023 calendar year. Rutgers will host LIU (Dec. 16), play a neutral site game against Mississippi State (Dec. 23 at the Prudential Center) and host Stonehill (Dec. 30).
