Ex-roommates at Rutgers become Sweet 16 opponents in Newark
Mawot Mag and Cliff Omoruyi discuss their bond, their thoughts on what happened at Rutgers and what they miss about New Jersey.
NEWARK – Rutgers fans surely wish Mawot Mag and Clifford Omoruyi were wearing scarlet this week while playing in the Sweet 16.
Instead, they’ll be on opposite sides of tonight’s East Region semifinal game between BYU and Alabama – and for the cherry on top, the NCAA Tournament has brought Mag and Omoruyi back to the state of New Jersey.
“It’s a special experience,” Omoruyi said Wednesday in the Alabama locker room inside the Prudential Center. “We are going back eight years in Jersey. Just being able to come back and compete here is such a great experience.”
Mag was born in Sudan and grew up in Australia, while Omoruyi moved to New Jersey from Nigeria at 14 years old. Their paths crossed at Rutgers, where they were assigned to be each other’s freshman roommates; they stayed roommates for all four years.
“I’m excited to play against him, you know,” Mag said. “Not many teammates get that opportunity to be with each other for four years and then play in the Sweet 16 together.”
When the bracket came out on Selection Sunday, it didn’t take long for Mag and Omoruyi to realize how soon their new teams could meet.
“See you in the Sweet 16,” Omoruyi recounted with a smile. “That was like when we just saw (the bracket). So we didn’t even know if we were both going to make it. So he said, ‘See you in the Sweet 16.’ I was like, ‘See you soon.’ That’s all we said.”
The pair have made key contributions to their squads’ tournament runs already. Omoruyi has started the tournament 13-for-15 from the floor (8-for-8 in the first round against Robert Morris) and added 11 rebounds in Alabama’s second-round win over Saint Mary’s.
Then there was Mag’s game-sealing stop of Wisconsin dynamo John Tonje, beating him in one-on-one coverage by forcing an airball before the buzzer as BYU won 91-89.
In a way, Mag and Omoruyi embody exactly what the 2024-25 Rutgers team was missing. A lockdown defender who can switch onto multiple positions – Mag – and a rim protector who’s good for eight points per game – Omoruyi. There were other weaknesses, to be sure, but in an alternate universe where Rutgers’ starting lineup looks something like Harper, Williams, Mag, Bailey, Omoruyi, that could have been a top-four team in the Big Ten.
Omoruyi had just six points and four rebounds when Alabama fended off Rutgers 95-90 at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas back in November. He saw the new-look Scarlet Knights firsthand. There were high hopes back then for the team’s tournament ambitions, but we know what happened next – Rutgers petered out to a 15-17 finish.
“I was a little surprised, but you know, they got great dudes on that team,” Omoruyi said. “… They’re great guys, they could hoop. So I’m just happy for them. You know, (Harper and Bailey) are going to be top draft picks, and good luck to them.”
Mag, who said he believes Rutgers center Emmanuel Ogbole will attend the game Thursday, watched only a bit of the Scarlet Knights from afar this year. He said he understood why Rutgers fans may feel bitter about how things have worked out.
“I definitely think there’s definitely mixed emotions, but they have every right to feel that way,” Mag said. “However they want to take it, I’m fine with that.”
Mag tearing his ACL in the 2022-23 season led to one of Rutgers’ greatest “what-ifs” in the modern era. The Scarlet Knights beat Michigan State at Madison Square Garden that day but have not been the same ever since – crashing out of NCAA Tournament contention with a 3-7 finish without Mag, which was followed by consecutive 15-17 seasons.
Mag wasn’t in the rotation yet when Rutgers made the Round of 32 in 2021. Omoruyi played a bit part and went 7-of-9 for 15 points in the 2022 First Four loss to Notre Dame.
Now two guys from “the other side of the world,” as Omoruyi says, are back on college basketball’s biggest stage, already further than they ever got with Rutgers.
“We kind of bonded over it because when everybody is going home for weekends and stuff, we just stayed on campus,” Omoruyi said. “We don’t got to go to drag, like, 21 hours on the plane to Nigeria or a whole day flight to Australia.”
One more thing Mag and Omoruyi have in common: When asked what they miss about New Jersey, they both mentioned the food.
“On campus, the little pizza spots,” Mag said. “Hansel ‘n Griddle is nice, I like Hansel ‘n Griddle. The Playa Bowls they got over here, and also I forgot the name… it’s a little Jamaican spot in Piscataway.”
This marks the second time Newark has hosted a regional semifinal, a 14-year wait since the Prudential Center’s tournament debut in 2011. (The old Izod Center was a frequent venue before that, its 11th and final time hosting the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight coming in 2007.)
The last time Mag and Omoruyi played at the Rock, they took down rival Seton Hall. One of them will follow that up with a Sweet 16 win Thursday night.
“I felt like our team came in, it was an away game, it was a packed arena, very hectic environment, and we came in and we got a job done,” Mag said. “… We have many memorable moments and I’m going to cherish them.”
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Hello, and thanks for stopping by this morning. Let’s clean the glass with some news and notes from the past week:
On Tuesday the Daily Princetonian reported, and I confirmed, that Princeton is parting ways with two of Mitch Henderson’s three assistant coaches, Brett MacConnell and Lawrence Rowley. MacConnell’s contract will not be renewed and Rowley will be let go. Luke Gore, with the program for the past two seasons, is set to be the only assistant to return.
It’s especially surprising news regarding MacConnell, who’s been involved with Princeton basketball since 2012. He was both Princeton’s associate head coach and its recruiting coordinator, chiefly responsible for bringing Devin Cannady, Tosan Evbuomwan, Xaivian Lee, Caden Pierce and others to the Tigers. That’s a lot of responsibility for the program to replace, and it’s unclear what led to the staff shakeup beyond just a disappointing 2024-25 season. MacConnell is viewed as a future head coach and has ties to Rutgers – his father Kevin is Greg Schiano’s chief of staff in the football program.New notable names to hit the transfer portal: Jeremiah Williams, Jordan Derkack and Lathan Sommerville (Rutgers), Madison Durr (Monmouth), Armoni Ziegler and Mouhamed Sow (Saint Peter’s), Jo’el Emanuel (FDU) and Tariq Francis, Sebastian Robinson and Tim Moore Jr. (NJIT). Oh, and nearly the entire Rider roster, from Alvarez to Young.
In other news, talk of the facilities arms race is like a relic from a different time, but Seton Hall cut the ribbon on the new Seton Hall Basketball Performance Center. It features a new practice court, locker rooms, film/sports medicine/strength and conditioning rooms and more inside the Richie Regan Recreation & Athletic Center. The photo below is courtesy of Seton Hall athletics:
