The Monday Morning Kickoff
The weekend was jam packed with Rutgers sports action and The Monday Morning Kickoff has the latest to start off a new week in the Scarlet Nation.
A view from the gridiron (Rutgers Football)
Rutgers fell to Michigan State this past weekend by a fiunal of 49-0 to fall to 2-8 in what has become a forgettable season. Very little went right for the Scarlet Knights as they were blanked for a third time this season.
“That is a team that was 2-7 but we did not see that on tape or on the field,” head coach Chris Ash said of Michigan State after the loss. “From the film that we watched in our preparation, they have a lot of players that have played here and been a part of a lot of success. They dominated us up front on both sides of the ball.”
Rutgers has just two games left, the next of which will take place at home next Saturday night against No.9-ranked Penn State.
In recruiting news, four-star athlete Markquese Bell told Rivals.com he will announce his college decision on Dec 1st as he is down to Rutgers, Ohio State and Maryland as his three finalists.
“Coach [Aaron] Henry is on me all the time,” Bell said. “I am sorry to hear his grandmom just passed away. He is a great guy, he has been recruiting me hard since he has been at the school. He is showing me a lot of love."
Later this morning, Ash will hold his weekly press conference inside the Hale Center. Stay logged onto Scarlet Nation for LIVE updates from Piscataway.
The take from center court (Rutgers basketball)
The Rutgers men’s basketball team is off to a 2-0 start following 29 and 21-point wins over Molloy and Drexel respectively. Head coach Steve Pikiell saw six players score in double figures last night in a 87-66 win over Drexel.
“I want to play a lot of guys. We didn’t get into our full-court pressure as much tonight. We had to rotate for foul reasons," Pikiell said post-game. "I want to play guys. I have a lot of faith in Eugene. Eugene [Omoruyi] didn’t play as much tonight as he did the other night, but there are different games and matchups for both of them. Adding Shaq [Dorson] to the rotation which is another big body. As the game dictates, I have confidence in our guys and want to play everyone. That’s the kind of program I want to have.”
Forward Jonathan Laurent and guard Nigel Johnson each had a team-high 15 points while center C.J. Gettys scored 13 points and collected nine rebounds.
“C.J. plays with great energy,” Pikiell said. “He knows how to play and he’s huge out there. He set great screens, which is his next step. He has to start doing those things. He causes a lot of problems. He’s a fifth-year guy, so he’s been around a little bit. We’re excited about what he brings.”
Rutgers dominated the glass, outrebounding Drexel 56-29. That marked only the fifth game in the last 13 seasons when the Scarlet Knights grabbed 20 or more rebounds than their opponent.
Rutgers’ next contest will take place on the road against DePaul Thursday night with tip-off set for 8:30 p.m.
On the mat (Rutgers Wrestling)
The RU grapplers made good on a trip out to the West Coast, tallying three wins over the weekend. The most recent of those victories came yesterday when Rutgers bested Cal Poly 38-4.That followed a pair of wins on Friday in which Rutgers beat Cal –Bakersfield 26-15 and San Francisco 45-0.
Rutgers is currently the No.10-ranked team in the nation and will return to action next Saturday against Princeton (0-0) for the “Battle at the Birthplace” inside High Point Solutions Stadium. The dual is set to begin at 11 a.m.
To promote that match, RU head coach Scott Goodale will hold a press conference later today inside The Hale Center.