PISCATAWAY, N.J. – This is New Jersey basketball.
The Rutgers men’s basketball team defeated No. 22 Seton Hall, 68-48, in front of a raucous 8,329 inside the RAC.
Rutgers, which led by as much as 22 points, jumped out to a big lead to begin the game and never looked back.
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Check out the instant recap below and stay tuned for more.
THE GOOD: FANS / DEFENSE / SHARING THE GAME / NO POWELL
We have to give a huge credit to the Rutgers faithful and fans in attendance. The 8,329 who came out is the most since 2002. The atmosphere inside the RAC was absolutely electric. Before the game, there were tailgates going in the parking lot and you guys arrived early and were loud. There’s no doubt the energy from the crowd fed off on the Scarlet Knights. Rutgers began the game on a 14-0 run and led 19-3 at the under 12 timeout before a free throw after the stoppage made it 20-3. The only three points for Seton Hall at the time were courtesy of a banked 3-pointer.
Rutgers shot the lights out early, making over 50 percent of its shots. It finished the game 47 percent from the floor. Scarlet Knights head coach Steve Pikiell always talks about sharing the game, in the first half, Rutgers assisted on 19 of its 27 made buckets.
On the other end of the floor, Rutgers played suffocating defense. The Scarlet Knights held tight to their man, got into passing lanes, blocked some shots, the whole nine yards. Seton Hall made just one of its first 10 attempts, the banked triple.
Star guard Myles Powell, who had six points on 3-of-9 shooting including 0-for-4 behind the arc, did not play in the second half, reportedly due to a head injury.
THE BAD: REFS / FOULING / TURNOVERS
The officials missed a few calls near the end of the first half especially a goaltending and a travel which turned into a 3-pointer on the other end for the Pirates. To be honest, not a lot went wrong for Rutgers other then maybe called for a bunch of fouls. Despite a big lead for the most of the contest, too, the Scarlet Knights did commit 16 turnovers, but they were all for naught.
GAME BALL: AKWASI YEBOAH
Yeboah showed a side we haven’t really seen yet at Rutgers. Through the first 10 games, Yeboah mostly hung around the 3-point line, but on Saturday, countering the scouting reports, the graduate transfer drove to the hoop a bunch and either finished and passed it off for the assist. The England native tallied 14 points, seven rebounds, two assists. two blocks, and a steal on the afternoon and played solid defense.
PLAY OF THE GAME: Geo Baker found Ron Harper Jr. for an alley-oop for the game's first pounds just moments in.
