Men's Hoops Hosts No. 16/17 Ohio State Wednesday Evening

Saturday, January 5

Piscataway, N.J.

2 p.m.

Rutgers University

Maryland

Photo by: Rich Graessle

Men's Hoops Hosts No. 16/17 Ohio State Wednesday Evening

Jan 07 | Men's Basketball

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NO. 16/17 OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (12-2, 2-1) AT RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS (7-6, 0-3)
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 9, 2019 | 7 P.M.
THE RAC (8,000) | PISCATAWAY, NJ

TV: BTN (Brandon Gaudin, play-by-play & Stephen Bardo, analyst)
Radio: Rutgers IMG Sports Network (WCTC 1450 AM/WOR 710 AM/XM 384) (Jerry Recco & Joe Boylan); WRSU 88.7 FM (Matt Howe & Sam Marsdale)

Series Record: Ohio State leads 6-2
Last Meeting: Ohio State 79, Rutgers 52 (Feb. 20, 2018 at Value City Arena)

PROMOTIONS: R B1G Build Night: Fans will have the opportunity to write a note to be buried in a time capsule at the RWJBarnabas Health Athletic Performance Center site. Winter Break at The RAC: Students with a valid Rutgers ID can bring guests in the student section.

OPENING TIP: Rutgers welcomes No. 16/17 Ohio State on Wednesday in RU's first of three consecutive games against foes either ranked or receiving votes. The Scarlet Knights have the opportunity to earn their first ranked victory since defeating No. 15 Seton Hall at the RAC last season. Seven of Rutgers' next nine games are versus opponents ranked or receiving votes in the polls.

RU is coming off a 77-63 home loss to Maryland on Saturday. Montez Mathis scored a career-high 11 points and grabbed a career-best eight rebounds. Eugene Omoruyi scored 12 points, and has scored in double-figures in nine straight games and 12 of 13 contests overall. Rutgers out-scored Maryland 32-30 in the paint, becoming the first Big Ten team to do so this season.

THE SERIES: Wednesday is the ninth meeting in the series dating back to 1978, with OSU holding a 6-2 advantage. The teams had met just once prior to Rutgers joining the Big Ten in 2014-15, a 97-96 overtime victory for the Scarlet Knights on Dec. 30, 1978 in the ECAC Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden. Rutgers also claimed a 66-57 win over OSU in the 2017 Big Ten Tournament, the Scarlet Knights' first Big Ten Tournament victory.

THE OPPONENT: Under second-year head coach Chris Holtmann, Ohio State is 12-2, having lost its last game to No. 8 Michigan State on Saturday. The Buckeyes are 4-0 away from home this season. Sophomore Kaleb Wesson paces the squad with 17.1 points and 6.9 rebounds-per-game. Keyshawn Woods, a graduate transfer from Wake Forest is second in the Big Ten with an assist/turnover ratio of 3.43. The Buckeyes are also top-30 in the NCAA in scoring defense (63.6) and FG% defense (39.2).

CONNECTIONS: OSU freshman guard Luther Muhammed is from Newark and attended Hudson Catholic. RU freshman guard Caleb McConnell attended SPIRE Academy in Geneva, OH.

COACHING COMPARISON
Rutgers Head Coach Steve Pikiell
Overall Record (years): 227-199 (14th)
Rutgers Record (years): 37-43 (3rd)
Record vs. Ohio State (RU): 1-3
Record vs. Ohio State (overall): 1-3

Ohio State Head Coach Chris Holtmann
Overall Record (years): 151-96 (8th)
Ohio State Record (years): 37-11 (2nd)
Record vs. RU (Ohio State): 2-0
Record vs. RU (overall): 2-0

QUOTABLE
"We're moving in the right direction offensively. We're running a bit more. We need to stay out of foul trouble and find someone that can be consistent knocking down threes. I like the way the rest of the team is progressing. We need our guys to keep shooting the ball and good results will happen for us. We have that capability; we just need to put it together."
- Rutgers Head Coach Steve Pikiell

"(Rutgers) is a tremendous offensive rebounding team. They're really good at chasing 50-50 balls. They are athletic, they're big, but their pursuit of the ball is tremendous. It's a credit to how well coached they are. You can see that in how they play, they play with great effort."
- Ohio State Head Coach Chris Holtmann

SCARLET KNIGHT NOTABLES

Per KenPom.com analysis, Rutgers is among the nation's youngest teams with 1.18 years of experience to rank 312th nationally out of 353 Division I programs. The D-I average is 1.68 years.
Rutgers ranks 12th nationally in offensive rebounds per game (14.15), 27th in rebounds per game (40.62), 35th in scoring defense (64.1), 49th in rebound margin (5.7) and 41st in blocked shots (4.8). RU is among the top five in the Big Ten in six stat categories, including first in offensive rebounds (14.15).
Seventeen of Rutgers' 30 regular season games (56%) are against opponents currently ranked or receiving votes in the polls. Five Big Ten programs that have won NCAA titles will compete in Piscataway, including five-time champion Indiana.
Eugene Omoruyi is tied for 53rd nationally with five double-doubles.
Eugene Omoruyi's 17 rebounds vs. BU marked the most for a Rutgers player since Adrian Hill grabbed 18 versus Notre Dame on March 3, 2007, a span of 12 seasons.
Against Eastern Michigan, Rutgers allowed four points in the opening half to tie the NCAA D-I record for fewest points allowed in a half during the shot clock era (since 1985-86). The 36 points allowed also tied the school record, matching the defensive effort against Columbia (60-36) on Nov. 18, 2002 in the preseason NIT at the RAC.
In the shot clock era, Rutgers has held an opponent under 40 points eight times. Steve Pikiell has been the head coach in four of those contests.
Per KenPom.com analysis, Rutgers is among the nation's tallest teams with an average height of 79.0" to rank sixth among all D-I programs.