Previewing Rutgers-Seton Hall and a massive weekend in New Jersey hoops
Weekends like this are why this newsletter was created.
Weekends like this are why this newsletter was created.
The biggest rivalry in New Jersey sports will return Sunday when Rutgers hosts Seton Hall for the annual Garden State Hardwood Classic.
Every state has its own intrastate competition that means the world to the citizens and alumni. Just yesterday, Iowa played Iowa State and Colorado played Colorado State – the home team winning blowouts in each case. Rutgers and Seton Hall have had their share of lopsided affairs, but also just as many thrilling, close endings that keep us returning for more.
Rutgers and Hall also don’t get the benefit of a football rivalry game to complement the basketball season the way many of these other schools do. They have to get all the pent-up frustration out on the hardwood. That’s why the atmosphere at Jersey Mike’s Arena this Sunday is sure to be among the best in recent memory.
Astute observers will notice that the Classic is just the main course of a packed weekend of all-Jersey matchups. For an appetizer Saturday night, I’ll be in Princeton to cover the Tigers’ quest to stretch their winning streak to eight games against Monmouth. And a few hours before Hall and Rutgers tip off Sunday, upstart Fairleigh Dickinson hosts NJIT in Hackensack.
Let’s whet our appetites this Friday morning by previewing all three games, starting with the big one:
Seton Hall at Rutgers (Sunday, Dec. 11, 6:30 p.m.)
Seton Hall (5-4) is the current owner of the Boardwalk Trophy, but the Pirates are working through a bunch of issues at the wrong time. While they pulled away for an 82-55 win over Division II Lincoln in their on-campus gym Wednesday, the Pirates actually trailed as late as 2:45 left in the first half, 28-26, and didn’t lead by more than 12 points until there was 9:06 to play.
Hall, to be fair, was playing without Kadary Richmond (non-COVID illness), Tray Jackson (ankle), Dre Davis (knee) and Alexis Yetna (knee). Still, this team shouldn’t be losing 19 turnovers to a Division II school. The 3-point shooting (5-for-21 Wednesday) also remains a weakness.
Rutgers is now 6-3, but its KenPom.com rating improved a few spots to No. 27 in the country despite losing 67-66 at the buzzer to No. 25 Ohio State on Thursday night. (More on the ending of that game later.) While the Scarlet Knights are now 0-3 on road or neutral courts, they’ve lost those three games by a combined 14 points — while at home, they’re dominating once again.
The home team hasn’t lost in this series since December 2015, before Steve Pikiell took over at Rutgers. Seton Hall was on a dominant run at the time; the Pirates followed up an 81-54 home win in 2014 by taking it to Rutgers on its home floor, 84-55.
The Scarlet Knights had a four-game series losing streak entering the 2017-18 season, and Seton Hall entered that year’s game at the RAC 9-1 and ranked No. 15 in the nation. The Pirates led by 13 late before Rutgers stormed back to win 71-65 in one of the most dramatic finishes in recent series history.
In fact, Seton Hall entered the game nationally ranked in each of the past two trips to Piscataway. The Pirates were No. 22 on Dec. 14, 2019, when Rutgers wiped the floor with them 68-48. Ron Harper Jr. scored 18 points that day, and then-sophomore Caleb McConnell came off the bench for nine points, three rebounds and three steals.
(It’s worth noting that the Pirates responded by winning their next 10 games. They never lost by that a margin that wide again, and they split the regular-season Big East title with Creighton and Villanova.)
Have both Rutgers and Seton Hall been that good at the same time since then? No way. At this time last year, Seton Hall was flying high and ranked No. 23 after upsetting Texas. Rutgers had stunned No. 1 Purdue at Jersey Mike’s, sure, but it was far from a believable tournament team yet, with losses to Lafayette and UMass and a 35-point shellacking at Illinois staining the resume.
Seton Hall comfortably earned a 77-63 win at home last season, but the floor is tilted in Rutgers’ favor now. The Scarlet Knights look more unbeatable at home than ever before. And Thursday’s heartbreaking loss proved this team can hang with some of the best opponents in the country.
Prediction: Rutgers 70, Seton Hall 56
Monmouth at Princeton (Saturday, Dec. 10, 7 p.m.)
In my first visit to West Long Branch last season, Monmouth was behind at halftime before holding Princeton to 18 second-half points to win 76-64, managing to beat a team that Oregon State and South Carolina could not.
“Nobody will play them,” Monmouth coach King Rice said of Princeton. “And that’s hard, and that stinks when people won’t play you because you’re a good program. So I’m happy we get to do this.”
The Hawks threw the Tigers off their game by trapping ball screens and using an active full-court press.
“I thought we had very poor shot selection,” Princeton coach Mitch Henderson said. “We really pride ourselves on sharing the ball, playing together, and we were like One-on-One University. That’s just not us.”
It was Monmouth’s second straight win in the series, after Ray Salnave’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer gave the Hawks a 67-66 win at Jadwin Gym in December 2019. But it would be more than a mild surprise for Monmouth to make it three wins in a row this year, given where both teams stand.
Monmouth entered the win column last Sunday by beating former MAAC foe Manhattan 76-69. The Hawks have played seven of their first nine games on the road, including that Manhattan win, but it doesn’t completely wash away the taste of their 0-8 start. They shot 50% from 3, a massive improvement over their previous single-game high of 37.5%.
Will they keep that up at Princeton and go toe-to-toe with the Tigers’ new backcourt? Matt Allocco and Ryan Langborg have been here before, but I’m looking forward to seeing freshman guards Deven Austin, Xaivian Lee and Jack Scott in person for the first time. Then there’s new starting three Caden Pierce, another freshman, in that Drew Friberg spot. He’s averaging 5.8 points and 6.4 rebounds.
While Tosan Evbuomwan has a team-high 14.0 points per game, he’s one of five players to pace the Tigers in scoring in a game this year, and he hasn’t done so since opening night. Allocco (11.9 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists per game) has taken on a more principal role and is making 41.7% from 3-point range.
Rice’s team isn’t as bad as its 1-8 record suggests, and he knows how to coach against Princeton, but the Tigers should keep it rolling Saturday night.
Prediction: Princeton 81, Monmouth 68
NJIT at Fairleigh Dickinson (Sunday, Dec. 11, 2 p.m.)
If Rutgers-Hall were in Newark this year instead of Piscataway, I’d really make an effort to fit in a trip to Hackensack earlier in the day. First-year coach Tobin Anderson’s Knights are coming off a road win over Saint Joseph’s last Sunday entering tonight’s game at Columbia. A program that went 4-22 last season has already matched that win total in early December.
Fairleigh Dickinson is scoring 80.6 points per game, 41st out of 363 Division I schools, and the Knights are doing it by spreading the offense around. Demetre Roberts (16.9 ppg), Grant Singleton (16.2), Heru Bligen (14.2) and Ansley Almonor (14.1) give FDU four of the top eight scorers in the Northeast Conference.
The Knights need to score to win games, though, because they’re allowing 80.9 points per game, among the bottom 20 teams in the country. It all came together last weekend when, despite allowing 45.5% shooting and 12 3-pointers from Saint Joe’s, FDU shot a blistering 57.6% and made 12 threes of their own to beat the Philadelphia Big 5 program 97-80.
NJIT made a mark in the win column shortly after I visited the Highlanders in November, beating Sacred Heart on the road. It’s been a struggle since then, albeit against good programs like Wagner and Cincinnati. They made a late charge at Army on Wednesday but lost 63-62. Miles Coleman continues to be NJIT’s go-to guy, but guard Mekhi Gray has stepped up, posting 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists against Army.
Prediction: Fairleigh Dickinson 84, NJIT 64
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Thanks for reading a rare Friday edition of Guarden State. As mentioned, I’ll be courtside for Monmouth-Princeton first on Saturday night before heading up to Piscataway the next day, with an eye toward publishing a column Monday morning.
Time to clean the glass with a few notes on Rutgers and the Princeton women’s team:
Confusion reigned after Ohio State’s Tanner Holden knocked down the buzzer-beating, game-winning three to beat Rutgers in Columbus last night. Very few TV replays, if any at all, were shown to litigate whether Holden was eligible to take that shot. Jay Bilas and Jeff Goodman broke it down as simply as possible: Holden definitely had stepped out of bounds before re-entering the court of play. When you do that – much like a receiver in football – you aren’t allowed to be the next person to touch the ball. Yet there was nothing Pikiell could do about it, because the play was not reviewable by rule.
Great insight by Jay here on final play. Here’s the rule. Also, play is not reviewable. https://t.co/5V0jDlFblc
Amazing finish in Rutgers-Ohio State! Before hitting the game winner, OSU’s Tanner Holden was out of bounds before stepping back in to catch the Thornton pass. After stepping OB, you can’t be the first to catch it. Violation. Tough break for Rutgers. https://t.co/OsdvnREjGk
Jay Bilas @JayBilas“I don’t know anything about that. I thought it was (out of bounds) because he was right in front of me,” Pikiell said postgame. “I just thought, you know, with our three-point lead right there, just get them to not be able to heave up with a three with that little time left on the clock. And you know, we got what we wanted, we got to the free throw line, and we just didn’t kind of finish the deal.”
Rutgers trailed that game 31-20 late in the first half. If not for a step up on the defensive end that helped the Scarlet Knights finish the half on a 9-0 run, we’d be talking about a very different outcome this morning.
In women’s hoops: Princeton nearly pulled off an upset of No. 6 UConn last night but fell 69-64. UConn had only eight healthy players, missing the likes of Azzi Fudd and Dorka Juhasz, and starter Nika Muhl got hurt during the game. Still, the Huskies don’t lose at home, and for any team, especially a nominal mid-major like Princeton, to get that close to an upset is eye-popping. The Tigers trailed by as many as 15 points before pushing back in the fourth quarter; Kaitlyn Chen drove and fed freshman Madison St. Rose for a long corner 2 that made it a two-point game with 30 seconds left. It came down to the fouling game and free throws from there. “It was electric,” said Princeton coach Carla Berube, a UConn alum. “It was a great atmosphere.”
