Saturday, December 23
Newark, N.J.
12 PM
Rutgers University
vs
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Mississippi State
Photo by: Ben Solomon
Men’s Basketball Faces Mississippi State in Gotham Classic
Dec 18 | Men's Basketball
Watch on BTNEvent NotesLive StatsRadioTicketsGotham Classic WebsiteRutgers Game NotesMiss. State Game Notes
Scarlet Knights Set to Square off with Bulldogs Saturday at Prudential Center
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers men's basketball will be back in action this Saturday. The Scarlet Knights will face Mississippi State at noon in a neutral-site meeting at the Prudential Center in Newark. This will be the first meeting against an SEC school for RU since 2014, when the Scarlet Knights defeated Vanderbilt at the Barclays Center. This will be the 11th year of the Gotham Classic, a stand-alone showcase game presented by the Gazelle Group. The game will be broadcast by the Big Ten Network.
Rutgers holds a 7-3 record on the season with two more non-conference games to play. Last time out, Cliff Omoruyi posted a career-high 25 points to lead the Scarlet Knights to an 83-61 win over LIU. Omoruyi added 11 rebounds to team with Aundre Hyatt (12 points, career-high 12 rebounds) as the first pair of RU teammates with double-doubles in the same game since Omoruyi and Ron Harper Jr. did so in November of 2021 against Merrimack.
Omoruyi set a new career-high with 12 field goals made in the game. He also swatted three LIU shots and is now second nationally with 3.7 blocks per game. Cliff has rejected at least three shots in eight of the 10 games this season. In his last seven games, he has averaged 4.13 blocks per game, and has averaged 6.0 blocks per game in the last four contests. He is one of just three Rutgers' players to have over 750 career rebounds and 165 career blocks, joining James Bailey and Roy Hinson. Over the past two games, Omoruyi has averaged 18.0 points, 12.0 rebounds and 5.0 blocks.
Jamichael Davis reached his career-high in scoring for the second straight game, with 12 points after posting 11 in the win over Seton Hall. Davis has 19 assists and just two turnovers in his past five games. On the season, the freshman leads the team with 30 helpers. Davis' assist to turnover ratio is 3.75, 14th nationally and best of any freshman.
For the season, Rutgers is 8th nationally in blocks (6.4 bpg), ninth in rebounds (60.9 rpg) and 15th in field goal percentage defense (37.6%).
Rutgers returns to the Prudential Center after recently downing Seton Hall there, 70-63, on December 9, the game prior to the LIU win. Rutgers will play its second neutral site game within the state of New Jersey this season, previously taking on Princeton in a neutral site meeting in the season opener.
Rutgers is 7-11 in neutral site contests under head coach Steve Pikiell. Six of those seven neutral site victories have come in postseason tournament. Rutgers is looking for its first win in a regular season neutral site game since defeat Fordham at Madison Square Garden in the Holiday Festival on December 18, 2016 (coach Pikiell's first season and first neutral site game at the helm of RU).
Mississippi State, ranked as high as No. 21 in the polls this year and in the receiving votes section of the AP Poll this week is No. 30 in Ken Pom this week, the second highest of any foe for RU thus far. The Bulldogs enter the week at 9-2 overall. MSU's only blemishes came on a 0-2 stretch the week after Thanksgiving, falling at Georgia Tech in the ACC/SEC Challenge and then taking a home loss to Southern to fall out of the national rankings.
Chris Jans enters his second season as the Mississippi State head coach, with a 30-15 record. Previously, he was the head coach at New Mexico State and Bowling Green.
The Bulldogs are 13th nationally in blocks (34.45), 14th in three-point defense (27.0), 24th in field goal percentage defense (38.5%) and 25th in scoring defense (63.0).
Josh Hubbard leads the team at 16.0 points per game, the lone double-figure scorer on the team. The freshman comes off the bench as the No. 88 national recruit per ESPN. Tolu Smith, a Preseason All-American, is yet to make his season debut for MSU due to injury but has recently been cleared to return to practice.
This will be the sixth neutral site game for Mississippi State this season, and they have won the previous five (in Chicago, Atlanta, Uncasville, Conn. and Tupelo, Miss.) by an average of 16.8 points this season. State also moved to 10-3 overall in the past two seasons under Coach Jans on neutral floors.
Mississippi State is fresh off a 21-13 record in 2022-23. The Bulldogs finished 8-10 in SEC action each of the last three seasons. The Bulldogs made the NCAA Tournament last March but were eliminated by Pittsburgh in the First Four, 60-59 in Dayton, Ohio.
The Scarlet Knights and Bulldogs have played each other once. RU came away with a 74-69 win on November 27, 1999, in St. Charles, Missouri. Mississippi State is 8-8 all-time against the Big Ten Conference. Scarlet Knights forward, Aundre Hyatt is the lone player on the Rutgers roster to have experience playing against Miss. State in his time at LSU and owns a 3-0 record against them. The Bulldogs will be the first SEC opponent to face off against RU under head coach Steve Pikiell.
In their last meeting against an SEC school, Rutgers downed Vanderbilt, 68-65, in Brooklyn as part of the Barclays Center Classic. Myles Mack (21 points, eight assists, five steals) and Kadeem Jack (20 points, eight rebounds) did not leave the floor for the full 40 minutes in lifting RU to the win over the Commodores.
Career Points at Rutgers
Rutgers continues its stretch of playing each Saturday in December with another one-week stretch before its next game. The Scarlet Knights will close out non-conference play on December 30 with a home game against Stonehill. Following that, RU dives back into Big Ten Conference play, with the resumption of league play seeing three of the first four contests in 2024 on the road.
| About Rutgers |
Rutgers holds a 7-3 record on the season with two more non-conference games to play. Last time out, Cliff Omoruyi posted a career-high 25 points to lead the Scarlet Knights to an 83-61 win over LIU. Omoruyi added 11 rebounds to team with Aundre Hyatt (12 points, career-high 12 rebounds) as the first pair of RU teammates with double-doubles in the same game since Omoruyi and Ron Harper Jr. did so in November of 2021 against Merrimack.
Omoruyi set a new career-high with 12 field goals made in the game. He also swatted three LIU shots and is now second nationally with 3.7 blocks per game. Cliff has rejected at least three shots in eight of the 10 games this season. In his last seven games, he has averaged 4.13 blocks per game, and has averaged 6.0 blocks per game in the last four contests. He is one of just three Rutgers' players to have over 750 career rebounds and 165 career blocks, joining James Bailey and Roy Hinson. Over the past two games, Omoruyi has averaged 18.0 points, 12.0 rebounds and 5.0 blocks.
Jamichael Davis reached his career-high in scoring for the second straight game, with 12 points after posting 11 in the win over Seton Hall. Davis has 19 assists and just two turnovers in his past five games. On the season, the freshman leads the team with 30 helpers. Davis' assist to turnover ratio is 3.75, 14th nationally and best of any freshman.
For the season, Rutgers is 8th nationally in blocks (6.4 bpg), ninth in rebounds (60.9 rpg) and 15th in field goal percentage defense (37.6%).
Rutgers returns to the Prudential Center after recently downing Seton Hall there, 70-63, on December 9, the game prior to the LIU win. Rutgers will play its second neutral site game within the state of New Jersey this season, previously taking on Princeton in a neutral site meeting in the season opener.
Rutgers is 7-11 in neutral site contests under head coach Steve Pikiell. Six of those seven neutral site victories have come in postseason tournament. Rutgers is looking for its first win in a regular season neutral site game since defeat Fordham at Madison Square Garden in the Holiday Festival on December 18, 2016 (coach Pikiell's first season and first neutral site game at the helm of RU).
| About Mississippi State |
Mississippi State, ranked as high as No. 21 in the polls this year and in the receiving votes section of the AP Poll this week is No. 30 in Ken Pom this week, the second highest of any foe for RU thus far. The Bulldogs enter the week at 9-2 overall. MSU's only blemishes came on a 0-2 stretch the week after Thanksgiving, falling at Georgia Tech in the ACC/SEC Challenge and then taking a home loss to Southern to fall out of the national rankings.
Chris Jans enters his second season as the Mississippi State head coach, with a 30-15 record. Previously, he was the head coach at New Mexico State and Bowling Green.
The Bulldogs are 13th nationally in blocks (34.45), 14th in three-point defense (27.0), 24th in field goal percentage defense (38.5%) and 25th in scoring defense (63.0).
Josh Hubbard leads the team at 16.0 points per game, the lone double-figure scorer on the team. The freshman comes off the bench as the No. 88 national recruit per ESPN. Tolu Smith, a Preseason All-American, is yet to make his season debut for MSU due to injury but has recently been cleared to return to practice.
This will be the sixth neutral site game for Mississippi State this season, and they have won the previous five (in Chicago, Atlanta, Uncasville, Conn. and Tupelo, Miss.) by an average of 16.8 points this season. State also moved to 10-3 overall in the past two seasons under Coach Jans on neutral floors.
Mississippi State is fresh off a 21-13 record in 2022-23. The Bulldogs finished 8-10 in SEC action each of the last three seasons. The Bulldogs made the NCAA Tournament last March but were eliminated by Pittsburgh in the First Four, 60-59 in Dayton, Ohio.
| Series Info |
The Scarlet Knights and Bulldogs have played each other once. RU came away with a 74-69 win on November 27, 1999, in St. Charles, Missouri. Mississippi State is 8-8 all-time against the Big Ten Conference. Scarlet Knights forward, Aundre Hyatt is the lone player on the Rutgers roster to have experience playing against Miss. State in his time at LSU and owns a 3-0 record against them. The Bulldogs will be the first SEC opponent to face off against RU under head coach Steve Pikiell.
In their last meeting against an SEC school, Rutgers downed Vanderbilt, 68-65, in Brooklyn as part of the Barclays Center Classic. Myles Mack (21 points, eight assists, five steals) and Kadeem Jack (20 points, eight rebounds) did not leave the floor for the full 40 minutes in lifting RU to the win over the Commodores.
| With a Win |
- First neutral site victory in a regular season game since 2016 (Fordham, MSG Holiday Festival)
- First win over a SEC team since 2014 (Vanderbilt)
- 2-0 all-time against Mississippi State
- Aundre Hyatt would improve to 4-0 all-time against the Bulldogs
- Head coach Steve Pikiell's 125th win at the helm of Rutgers
| Milestone Tracker |
Career Points at Rutgers
- 37. JR Inman: 1,060
- 38. Damon Santiago: 1,056
- 39. Mike Rosario: 1,051
- 40. Gene Armstead: 1,046
- 41. Kadeem Jack: 1,044
- 42. Dane Miller: 1,042
- 43. Cliff Omoruyi: 1,035
| Up Next |
Rutgers continues its stretch of playing each Saturday in December with another one-week stretch before its next game. The Scarlet Knights will close out non-conference play on December 30 with a home game against Stonehill. Following that, RU dives back into Big Ten Conference play, with the resumption of league play seeing three of the first four contests in 2024 on the road.
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