PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers men's basketball returns to Jersey Mike's Arena on Tuesday night for the team's fourth straight home game to open the season. The Scarlet Knights host American on Tuesday at 6:30 pm on Big Ten Network with Jason Horowitz and Austin Johnson on the call, and a radio broadcast on WFAN (Jerry Recco/
Chris Corso) and WRSU (Nick Hart & Sean Newcomb).
Rutgers enters the game with a 3-0 record following an 84-72 win over Lehigh on Friday night. The Scarlet Knights were led by career-best outputs from
Dylan Grant (28 points) and
Emmanuel Ogbole (16 points, first double-double with 10 rebounds).
Grant is the team's leading scorer at 18.3 points per game and second leading rebounder at 7.0. He's already matched last season's total of double-digit scoring games with three and is already one third of the way to his made field goal total from last season with an 18-of-30 start from the floor. Grant has made 18-of-23 free throw lines, already surpassing last year's number of makes from the charity stripe (16).
In the early going, Rutgers' top six players (the five starters and
Darren Buchanan Jr.) have played 460 of the 600 available minutes (77%), with seven other players (Dortch, Zrno, Nwuli, Powers, Mark, Ware and Fall) combining for the other 23%.
Through three games, RU boasts a scoring margin of +17.3 (79.0-61.7). RU is shooting 45.1% and holding foes to 38.4%, while outrebounding them by 11.3 boards per game.
American enters the game with a 2-2 record. The Eagles have losses in road games at Wake Forest (88-74) and George Washington (107-67) with home wins over Penn, who Rutgers hosts on December 20 and Central Penn. AU is coming off the largest margin of victory in school history with a 115-50 win over D-II Central Penn on Saturday, the school's most points since 1995 behind 54.7% shooting.
Under third-year head coach Duane Simpkins, AU won the Patriot League Championship last season to earn the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2014. American finished 22-13 overall and 13-5 in the Patriot League, matching the program's all-time record for league wins in a season. The Eagles did so with the league's best scoring defense (67.7) and second-best opponent 3-point field goal percentage (.331).
American was picked fourth in the Patriot League Preseason Poll. Junior guard Greg Jones was named the Patriot League Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and to the Preseason All-Patriot League Team. Jones was on the league's all-defensive team last year and averaged 10.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and had 28 steals, second in the league. This year, he leads the team with 13.8 points per game.
American returns four of its eight leading scorers from last season after losing four starters to graduation, including First Team All-League selection Matt Rogers. Matt Mayock averaged 7.3 points per game last season, while Geoff Sprouse posted 6.9 points and has 142 career three-point field goals. Additionally, the Eagles welcomed nine freshmen, six of them scholarship players.
Rutgers has faced American three times lifetime, all wins. RU's 3-0 record came in games contested in 1976, 1980 and 1984, making this meeting the first between the schools in 41 years. RU won by double-digits each time, winning by 19, 15 and 13 points.
Rutgers concludes the five-game homestand to open the year on Friday. The Scarlet Knights host Central Connecticut State, who owns a win over Boston College. That game is Friday at 6:30 pm streaming on B1G+.
