PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers men's basketball is back in the state of New Jersey this game, playing an annual rivalry game. The Scarlet Knights face in-state foe Seton Hall on Saturday night at 8 pm at the Prudential Center, with a TV broadcast on FS1 with Gary Apple and Nick Bahe on the call. There will also be radio broadcasts on WFAN and WRSU.
The home arenas for Rutgers and Seton Hall, Jersey Mike's Arena and the Prudential Center, are separated by an approximate 27-mile drive. The former BIG EAST conference foes now play annually in a trophy game. The winner of the contest will be presented the Garden State Hardwood Classic Trophy. The Joe Calabrese Award, named in honor of the late sportswriter who covered the series extensively, be presented to the game's most valuable player post-game.
Rutgers returns to non-conference play for this contest. The Scarlet Knights will see a BIG EAST foe for the first time this year after playing teams from the SEC, ACC, Mountain West, and Big Ten for five straight games. Per Warren Nolan, those conferences represent five of the top six leagues in the nation.
Last week, RU faced No. 1/1 Purdue and No. 3/2 Michigan to open Big Ten play in the annual December 2-game early portion of the league slate. That represented the toughest back-to-back opponents for RU since the 2008-08 season and just the third time that RU had two face two top-two teams in the same season. The stretch gives RU the top-rated conference strength of schedule NET marking currently.
Sophomore forward
Dylan Grant leads the team in scoring at 14.9 points per game, shooting exactly 50% from the field on exactly 50-of-100 for the year. Grant has scored in double-figures in nine of 10 games, reached 22+ points twice and 15+ points five times. Despite having played in 11 less games this year than in his freshman campaign, he has already set a new career-high in field goals made for the season, and has equaled last years output in three-pointers made (10), while boosting his three-point percentage from 23.3% last year to 43.5% this year. His scoring average has nearly triples as well, scoring 124 points in 21 games last year, while this year already posting 149 points in 10 contests.
Tariq Francis is second on the team at 11.8 points per game. The guard shoots 96.3 percent from the free throw line, 10
th nationally.
Jamichael Davis leads the team with 30 assists. He is just seven assists shy of 150 assists for the junior's collegiate career.
Freshman
Harun Zrno entered the starting lineup for the first time last game against Michigan. Across the last two games, he has shot 10-of-18 from the field (56%) with five three pointers, posting 13 points in each conference game.
Seton Hall, receiving votes in both the AP and Coaches Poll this week, enters the matchup at 9-1 overall, with the lone loss coming by one possession to Big Ten foe USC (83-81). The Pirates have wins over two Power 4 Conference teams in Kansas State and NC State, both coming away from their home court.
AJ Staton-McCray leads the team at 13.9 points per game. In his sixth year of collegiate athletics with 125 career games played, he averaged 7.3 points per game at Miami last season and 11.5 in his final of four campaigns at Samford in 2023-24. Tajuan Simpkins is at 11.2 points per game, shooting 53.8 percent from the field, having scored 14.6 a game last year at Elon. Point guard Budd Clark previously played two seasons at Merrimack, averaging 19.8 points and 6.0 assists last season, and had 22 points and six assists against the Scarlet Knights last season. Mike Williams, an LSU transfer, averages 9.6 points per game. Including Elijah transfer (Texas Tech/DePaul/Pacific), the top five Pirates scorers this season are first-year transfers, as well as top rebounder Stephon Payne (5.7 rebounds via Incarnate Word/Jacksonville). Freshman Najai Hines is in the top-25 nationally at 2.3 blocks per game.
The Pirates are fourth nationally averaging 6.6 blocks per game and seventh in turnover margin (+6.0). Their scoring defense is 11
th nationally (61.9) and the team is 12
th in the nation with 10.7 steals per game.
For SHU, it is their best record entering the Garden State Hardwood Classic since an 8-1 start leading into the 2022 edition, and they were also 9-1 leading into the 2018 contest.
This meeting marks the 76th all-time matchup, dating back to 1919, with SHU leading 42-33. The teams have played 61 times since 1974-75. Over the last 30 meetings, 23 have been decided by six points or fewer and five contests have gone to overtime.
Last season, a
Dylan Harper buzzer-beater gave RU a thrilling victory. In a game with four ties and 10 lead-changes, Harper had a game-high 24 points, with no shot bigger than his 28-foot three-pointer that he swished at the final horn. The Scarlet Knights overcame a 10-point second half deficit behind the heroics of Harper, who earned the Joe Calabrese MVP award, alongside 15 points from
Ace Bailey for the 66-63 win.
Rutgers has held Seton Hall under 65 points in the last three games and four of the past five. The Scarlet Knights also won a 70-63 contest in the last meeting at the Prudential Center (Dec. 9, 2023). In that contest, it was Clifford Omoruyi earning the Joe Calabrese MVP award with 11 points, 13 rebounds and seven blocks, while Noah Fernandes had a game-high 19 points.
Jamichael Davis made his first collegiate start against the Pirates in 2023 with 11 points and six assists and will be playing in his third edition of the rivalry game.
Emmanuel Ogbole also played in the 2024 contest against Seton Hall, while every other Scarlet Knight will be making their first appearance in the Garden State Hardwood Classic.
Since the trophy was unveiled in 2014 at a media conference held at the Skylark Diner in Edison, N.J., Seton Hall leads the series 6-4. However, Rutgers has won the last two meetings, three of the past five, and four of the past seven dating 2017. Rutgers is 1-4 at the Prudential Center since 2014 in the trophy game.
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.
- 5-3 in the last eight meetings with Seton Hall
- Third straight victory in the series for RU
- Fifth time raising the Garden State Hardwood Classic Trophy
- 34rd all-time win over Seton Hall
Rutgers returns next to Jersey Mike's Arena with another week break, hosting Penn on Saturday, December 20. While that will be the first home game since December 2 and just the second since November 21, RU then has four straight games at home with Delaware State (December 29), Ohio State (January 2) and Oregon (January 5) after that.
