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 afternoon at 3 p.m. at Jersey Mike's Arena. FOX will have a national broadcast of the game with Tim Brando and Donny Marshall on the call. On the radio dial, WFAN will have Jerry Recco and the 2012-13 Calabrese Game MVP winner Austin Johnson on the call.
Dylan Harper leads the team at 23.4 points per game, ranking third in the nation and most of any freshmen. He trails just Green Bay's Anthony Roy (28.0 ppg) and Villanova's Eric Dixon (25.7 ppg). The closest freshman to him is Texas' Tre Johnson (21.1 ppg) and the closest Big Ten player is Wisconsin's John Tonje at 20.8 ppg.
Harper (24 points, 12 rebounds) and Bailey (15 points and 15 rebounds) each had a double-double in the win over Penn State. They became just the second freshmen duo this season to record a double-double in the same game (joining Duke's Cooper Flagg and Khaman Maluach) and were the only ones to do so in a conference game. It marked the first time since at least 2004 that a pair of RU freshmen had a double-double in the same game.
Since 2004, there have been 26 double-doubles recorded by Rutgers' freshmen.
Ace Bailey and
Dylan Harper represent 4 of those already (15%). Bailey is one of four freshmen to have at least three double-doubles in a season in that span. The record is five by Gregory Echenique, while Myles Johnson had four and Jonathan Laurent had three.
Bailey had 15 rebounds in the victory, marking the most rebounds for a RU freshmen since Jonathan Laurent in 2016 vs. Penn State. Since 2004, there have only been six games of 15+ rebounds by a RU freshmen, and just three times has that been done in a conference game (Bailey, Laurent, Gregory Echenique vs. Providence in 2009). It was the first 15+ rebound game for a RU player since Cliff Omoruyi collected 15 boards against Nebraska in January.
Rutgers has scored at least 66 points in every game this season, reaching 75 points seven times, and averaging 79.7 points per game this season. Rutgers has never averaged more than 69 points per game under head coach
Steve Pikiell. The last time RU averaged over 70 points per game was 2013-14 (71.1 ppg). In fact, RU has averaged over 70 points per game for a full season just that one time since the start of the 2001-02 season.
Dating back to the start of the 2019-20 season, Rutgers is 73-19 at Jersey Mike's Arena. That includes a 5-0 mark to start this season and 17-5 in the last two years.
Seton Hall enters the game at 5-5 overall, and will play their first true road game this season (2-2 at neutral sites). SHU has defeated St. Peter's, Wagner, VCU, Florida Atlantic and NJIT. They've lost to Fordham, Hofstra, Vanderbilt, Monmouth and Oklahoma State, making them 2-1 against mutual opponents with RU (St. Peter's, Wagner and Monmouth, RU defeated all three). The Pirates allow just 59.4 points per game, 11
th best in the nation, while holding opponents to 40.0% from the field.
Seton Hall is led offensively by Chaunce Jenkins (11.8 ppg) and Isaiah Coleman (11.7 ppg). They don't have a player averaging more than 4.4 rebounds under third-year head coach Shaheen Holloway.
This meeting marks the 75th all-time matchup, dating back to 1919, with SHU leading 42-32. The teams have played 60 times since 1974-75. Over the last 29 meetings, 22 have been decided by six points or fewer and five contests have gone to overtime.
Last season, RU had an outstanding three-point shooting performance, making 50% (12-of-24) of their shots behind the arc, in a 70-63 win at the Prudential Center. The Scarlet Knights were led by Joe Calabrese Game MVP
Clifford Omoruyi, with 11 points, 13 rebounds and seven blocks.
Noah Fernandes had a game-high 19 points.
- 4-3 in the last seven meetings with Seton Hall
- 33rd all-time win over 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, N.J.
The MVP of the annual Garden State Hardwood Classic is presented the Joe Calabrese Game MVP Award. The award honors the memory of long-time 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
2023-24 Cliff Omoruyi Rutgers
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
Rutgers Series Highs (Team/Individual)
Points 119, 12-6-75 36, Phil Sellers 12-6-75
Rebounds 54, 1-27-07 19, Adrian Hill 1-27-07
Assists N/A 12, Brian Ellerbee 12-26-83
Seton Hall Series Highs (Team/Individual)
Points 109, 12-13-86 35, Jeremy Hazell 1-29-09
Rebounds 59, 2-7-96 21, Angel Delgado 12-16-17
Assists N/A 10, Shaheen Holloway 2-21-99
Rutgers has just two games in the final 17 days of the calendar year. RU has a week off before facing Princeton in a neutral site meeting at the Prudential Center on December 21, then another nine-day break before hosting Columbia on December 30.
