After a wild regular season that was paid off with a trip to Dayton, Rutgers finds itself in a First Four matchup reminiscent of a time not too long ago when it and Notre Dame were members of the Big East.
"Notre Dame for years has been one of the great offensive programs,” head coach Steve Pikiell said. "They have a lot of answers and shoot a ton of threes. They remind me a little bit of some teams in our league, you've got to be on top of your game offensively."
Whether it is Blake Wesley averaging 14.6 points per game or Dane Goodwin with 13.9, the Scarlet Knights need to be careful with the Fighting Irish as they shoot 38 percent from three and are ranked second in the NCAA in fewest fouls per game.
"They do a great job of not fouling down at the other end of the court and have a lot of answers," Pikiell added. "They have a lot of guys that are capable of scoring a lot of points so we'll be challenged on the defensive end of the floor for sure and we've got to be on top of our game on the offensive end."
Now in his second trip to the NCAA Tournament with the Scarlet Knights, Pikiell believes there is a lot he and his veteran team can draw from.
"I think those experiences of being in the tournament in the past and knowing how exciting it is, it's just nice now to have people live and have you guys here and to be able to have shootarounds and do some things in the gym live," he said. "We played a lot of different styles and a lot of different teams so I think anytime experience really helps you in these kinds of situations."
The Scarlet Knights also got some good news prior to the game when Ron Harper Jr. was named an All-American Honorable Mention.
"When you win honors like that come but Ron's come a long way," Pikiell said. "That's certainly a terrific honor and I still say this all the time: his best basketball is ahead of him."
Coming in as a player who was not highly sought after, to see Harper Jr.'s growth as a Scarlet Knight is something Pikiell will always be proud of.
"Everyone will talk about his points and what he does on the offensive end of the floor but he's really improved being able to defend different players in games and taking on that responsibility," he continued. "He's gotten to the point where he can play the point guard or the four spot for us or the five, his versatility certainly is really great. I think his IQ is really really good at a high level and his work has enabled him to be a three-level scorer, which there's not a lot of those guys in college basketball."
Growing up as part of an Irish-Catholic family, facing the Fighting Irish on such a big stage is somewhat of a full-circle moment for the sixth-year Rutgers head coach.
"I started at a young age watching Notre Dame football and had a few chances to go out and play when I was at Stony Brook," he said. "Those were big games for my dad when we played Notre Dame back in those days. Notre Dame is a school that is talked about a lot around the house when you get together with families and all that."
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