Monday, December 29
Piscataway, N.J.
7 PM
Rutgers University
vs
Delaware State
Men’s Basketball Hosts Delaware State Monday For Non-Conference Finale
Dec 25 | Men's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Coming off a thrilling finish to topple Penn in the team's last outing, Rutgers men's basketball has one more non-conference game left on the slate before closing the regular season with 16 straight Big Ten Conference games. On Monday night, RU returns to Jersey Mike's Arena to host Delaware State.
The game is set for a 7 pm broadcast with Big Ten Network providing a national television broadcast. Ed Cohen and Austin Johnson will be on the call for BTN.
Rutgers pulled out a dramatic one-point win in their last game action on December 20, defeating Penn, 70-69. Tariq Francis was the star, scoring 34 points, a new career high for the junior guard from Pittsburgh. The NJIT transfer also had the game-winning bucket, swishing a three-pointer in the final seconds to clinch the victory.
Francis' triple, his first of the night, was buoyed by a 15-of-19 mark at the charity stripe as his 34 points earned him Big Ten Co-Player of the Week honors. Francis' 15 makes at the free throw line was the 3rd most ever by a RU player in a game at Jersey Mike's Arena, only bettered twice by 16 makes from Eric Riggins and Tom Savage in contests played before Francis was born (1985 and 1988 respectively). In the early going, Francis is 42-of-50 at the free throw line (84.0%). Only two players under Steve Pikiell at Rutgers have shot 84% or better from the free throw line for the season – Cam Spencer (89.4% in 2022-23) and Lathan Sommerville (86.3% last season).
Rutgers also got 25 minutes out of Bryce Dortch at center, easily a career-high in playing time for the true sophomore. He responded with a career-high five blocks. He had only had nine career blocks in the first 23 contests of his career prior to the five rejections against the Quakers.
Delaware State, out of the MEAC, enters the contest with a 5-9 record overall. Rutgers will be the third Power 4 Team they have played (previously: losses to Syracuse, 83-43 and Miami, 97-41). Head coach Stan Waterman has led the squad for four seasons, including a 16-4 overall campaign last year, for a third place finish in the MEAC. He has improved the teams win total each year at the helm.
Ponce James, a sophomore who was named Preseason All-MEAC F is top-50 nationally at 2.23 steals per game and leads the squad with 13.7 points per game. Corey Perkins, who recorded a triple-double earlier this season against Navy, averages 8.0 points and has 313 career assists for the Hornets in his fifth year on the squad.
Rutgers has faced Delaware State four times, all wins between 1997 and 2008 at home. RU won 85-60 in 1997, 54-41 in 2002, 49-42 in 2005 and 60-55 in 2008. In 2005, it was a freshman JR Inman that led the team with 21 points for second-round win as RU hosted a contest for the South Padre Island Invitational.
RU will return to Big Ten play following this contest. The Scarlet Knights enter the contest against the Hornets with a 6-4 record against non-league foes, and 0-2 mark in the early Big Ten portion against top-2 opponents in then-No. 1 Purdue and No. 2 Michigan. Rutgers remains home for the resumption of the conference slate, hosting Ohio State (Jan. 2) and Oregon (Jan. 5).
The game is set for a 7 pm broadcast with Big Ten Network providing a national television broadcast. Ed Cohen and Austin Johnson will be on the call for BTN.
| About Rutgers |
Rutgers pulled out a dramatic one-point win in their last game action on December 20, defeating Penn, 70-69. Tariq Francis was the star, scoring 34 points, a new career high for the junior guard from Pittsburgh. The NJIT transfer also had the game-winning bucket, swishing a three-pointer in the final seconds to clinch the victory.
Francis' triple, his first of the night, was buoyed by a 15-of-19 mark at the charity stripe as his 34 points earned him Big Ten Co-Player of the Week honors. Francis' 15 makes at the free throw line was the 3rd most ever by a RU player in a game at Jersey Mike's Arena, only bettered twice by 16 makes from Eric Riggins and Tom Savage in contests played before Francis was born (1985 and 1988 respectively). In the early going, Francis is 42-of-50 at the free throw line (84.0%). Only two players under Steve Pikiell at Rutgers have shot 84% or better from the free throw line for the season – Cam Spencer (89.4% in 2022-23) and Lathan Sommerville (86.3% last season).
Rutgers also got 25 minutes out of Bryce Dortch at center, easily a career-high in playing time for the true sophomore. He responded with a career-high five blocks. He had only had nine career blocks in the first 23 contests of his career prior to the five rejections against the Quakers.
| About the Opponent |
Delaware State, out of the MEAC, enters the contest with a 5-9 record overall. Rutgers will be the third Power 4 Team they have played (previously: losses to Syracuse, 83-43 and Miami, 97-41). Head coach Stan Waterman has led the squad for four seasons, including a 16-4 overall campaign last year, for a third place finish in the MEAC. He has improved the teams win total each year at the helm.
Ponce James, a sophomore who was named Preseason All-MEAC F is top-50 nationally at 2.23 steals per game and leads the squad with 13.7 points per game. Corey Perkins, who recorded a triple-double earlier this season against Navy, averages 8.0 points and has 313 career assists for the Hornets in his fifth year on the squad.
| About the Series |
Rutgers has faced Delaware State four times, all wins between 1997 and 2008 at home. RU won 85-60 in 1997, 54-41 in 2002, 49-42 in 2005 and 60-55 in 2008. In 2005, it was a freshman JR Inman that led the team with 21 points for second-round win as RU hosted a contest for the South Padre Island Invitational.
| Up Next |
RU will return to Big Ten play following this contest. The Scarlet Knights enter the contest against the Hornets with a 6-4 record against non-league foes, and 0-2 mark in the early Big Ten portion against top-2 opponents in then-No. 1 Purdue and No. 2 Michigan. Rutgers remains home for the resumption of the conference slate, hosting Ohio State (Jan. 2) and Oregon (Jan. 5).
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Basketball
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