12/12/2021 basketball Edit

Seton Hall defeats Rutgers to win 2021 Garden State Hardwood Classic

Richie O'Leary • TheKnightReport

Publisher

Rutgers Basketball couldn't do much of anything to stop the Seton Hall offense tonight as the Pirates defeated the Scarlet Knights 77-63.

If you missed any of tonight's action we've got you covered with a complete recap of how things unfolded below.

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FIRST HALF NOTES.....

-- Second half leaders for Rutgers are as follows

-- PTS: McConnell (8)

-- REBS: McConnell (8)

-- ASTS: McConnell (2)

-- The game was off to a great start for both teams as they were neck and neck for the first 15 or so minutes, as the score was tied 23-23 with 4:18 left and then the Rutgers offense went cold and Seton Hall exploded for a 14-0 run.

-- One hell of a first half from Caleb McConnell, finishing with 8pts and 8rebs as he had a near double-double In the first 20 mins of play. Not to mention he's played great defense, holding Rhoden to just 2 points (averages 17.6ppg this season) in the first.

-- The offense as a whole struggled and once again we saw a ton of isolation basketball causing the team's ugly output on offense. Take away McConnell's 3-of-5 and the rest of the team went 7of-20 from the field.

-- The two most glaring team stats in the first half were the turnovers (10) and the rebounding differentials (16 to 22). This Seton Hall team is missing their best big man and they still managed to outrebound Rutgers, not a good look for the future as the Big Ten is filled with dominant big men.

-- Solid start for Rutgers in the first half, but they couldn't make their shots or hold onto the rock for the final five minutes, thus causing the big SHU lead.

SECOND HALF NOTES.....

-- Second half leaders for Rutgers are as follows

-- PTS: Omoruyi (11)

-- REBS: McConnell / Omoruyi (4)

-- ASTS: McConnell / Omoruyi / Mag / Baker (1)

-- Despite a hard fought effort from Scarlet Knights to bring it within as close as six points halfway through the second, it wasn't ever enough to retake the lead.

-- Rutgers did a solid job defensively vs. SHU's top scorer Rhoden early on, but he finally woke up in the second half scoring 14 of his 16 total points in the final 20 minutes.

-- On top of that, the Scarlet Knights also did much better on the glass in the second, outrebounding the Hall 18 to 15.

-- Overall not a pretty game for the Rutgers offense today and way too many empty offensive possesions (.926 points per possession today) cost them them any chance of a victory.

RHOOPS PLAY OF THE GAME: Early on Caleb McConnell hits Cliff Omoruyi in the paint and he finishes it with the BIG SLAM!

UP NEXT: Rutgers will have a few days of rest as they won't return to play until Saturday, December 18th when the Scarlet Knights welcome Rider to the RAC for a 5pm tipoff. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.