BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: DEPAUL @ RUTGERS

January 31, 2009


Well, something has to finally give here. DePaul travels to New Jersey to take on Rutgers in a battle between the last remaining winless teams in Big East play. Both the Scarlet Knights and Blue Demons are 0-8 in conference play.

Here are some pregame stories and previews:

Rutgers-DePaul Scouting Report (Asbury Park Press)
Blue Demons Head East to Rutgers (bluedemons.com)

Thus far this season, Rutgers has proven to be an enigma, as their talent does not seem to be matching their results. DePaul, on the other hand, just seems to be plain old bad.

Even though it was a stretch to think RU was going to compete for a spot in the top half of the league, they seemed to have a mix of potential and experience that could make them dangerous, but their 0-8 start in the league has things looking bleak.

DePaul has already been swept by South Florida, losing both handily, so we see where their standing in the conference currently is. Mac Koshwal and Dar Tucker are good players and will be matched against Mike Rosario and Greg Echenique of RU. The supporting casts for each team have been a disappointment, but the group at Rutgers should be the difference in this game.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Rutgers 66
DePaul 60

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RUTGERS LOSSES NINTH STRAIGHT, 0-8 IN BIG EAST

January 30, 2009


In the first have, Seton Hall scored 26 points and found themselves trailing Rutgers 27-26 at the Prudential Center.

In the second half, however, Jeremy Hazell exploded for 28 points himself and the Pirates held off a late Scarlet Knight rally as Seton Hall Knocks off Rutgers, 70-67, Behind Hazell's 35 Points (Star-Ledger).

Hazell finished with his first career double-double as he also added 10 rebounds in the contest. He was effecient offensively, scoring 35 points on 17 field goal attempts (10-17), connecting on three of four from beyond the arc and made 12 of 13 free throws.

It was SHU's second consecutive win after beginning conference play 0-6. Robert Mitchell added 11 points and Eugene Harvey fought off strept throat to add nine points and nine assists in the win.

The Struggle Continues for Rutgers, Now 0-8 in Big East, After Loss to SHU (Star Ledger) and are now 5-37 in the Big East under Fred Hill Jr.

The hope of the RU program is that freshmen Mike Rosario and Greg Echenique lead them to better days. Rosario scored 25 points last night and Echenique added 13 points (all in the second half) and 8 rebounds, but they can not do it themselves. Their teammates shot just 12-35 from the floor, good for just 34%

With No Love Lost Between the Jersey Coaches (SNY.tv), the game was full of subplots, but in the end, it was settled on the court in a game that tightened up in the last 30 seconds with Rutgers failing to get off a potential game-tying three before the buzzer sounded after a SHU turnover.

Rutgers will match-up with winless DePaul on Saturday, but their schedule is looking much tougher here on out. Matching last year's 3-15 Big East record is looking like a very tall order for the Scarlet Knights. With a new AD on the horizon, the pressure on Fred Hill will only become greater if progress continues to lack in the program.

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: RUTGERS @ SETON HALL

January 29, 2009


The battle of New Jersey in the Big East will commence tonight in Newark at the Prudential Center, aka 'the Rock', as Seton Hall will welcome in Rutgers.

This is as true of a rivalry game as there is. In many cases, it is the fans that get worked up for a rivalry game, but this is one that the players, coaches and everyone else associated with each school and program has a deep desire to win.

Last season the two teams split their two meetings, each winning on the other's home court in thrilling fashion. The second meeting, the RU win at Seton Hall, set off quite an interesting post-game with Bobby Ganzalez's tantrum toward the officials that led to his one-game suspension that was served in their conference-opening loss to Syracuse last month. From the handshake between the coaches after the game to the postgame comments, this was a rivalry game that meant something.

Here are some pregame stories and previews from the internet this morning on the game:

Rutgers' Farmer is Approaching 1,000 Points, but all he Wants are Wins (Press of Atlantic City)
Rutgers, Seton Hall Reunite at the Rock (Asbury Park Press)
Rutgers, Seton Hall Excited to Renew Rivalry (Star-Ledger)
Scouting Report for Rutgers-Seton Hall (Asbury Park Press)
SHU Not Taking Rutgers Lightly as RU Looks for First Big East Win
Rutgers Freshman Rosario Makes Most of Transition (NY Times)

Never mind the fact that Rutgers and Seton Hall have a combined Big East W/L record of 1-13. Records will mean very little for the two+ hours that the Scarlet Knights and Pirates will battle tonight in Newark. One could be undefeated and the other winless and this game would still be a battle that will have fans from both schools at the edge of their seats.

There is no question that Rutgers has been a disappointment. While most reasonable prognosticators felt Rutgers would win six, maybe seven in the Big East this season, they are looking like a team that will struggle to exceed last year's total of three conference wins, even matching that will be difficult if they do not find a way to pull out a win very soon.

With star Jersey recruits in Mike Rosario and Greg Echenique making the highly publicized decisions to stay in the Garden State for their college careers, Fred Hill's program was one many thought would begin to rise from the ashes of the Big East cellar. The duo was to join sophomores Corey Chandler and Mike Coburn, junior Hamady N'Diaye and seniors JR Inman and Anthony Farmer to form a line-up capable of playing with the top teams, winning their share against the middle of the pack and pulling themselves out of the bottom. So far, none of that has happened.

While the schedule has not been much of a help, RU has not helped themselves by losing by double-digits on the roas to St. John's and Cincinnati. When looking at RU, you can't really pinpoint their biggest weakness other than they do not have 'it.' What exactly 'it' is can vary from one explanation to the next, but this team seems to have some form of a dis-connect somewhere, which leads to the poor results. Progress was needed in the third year of Fred Hill's tenure, not an 0-7 start with a season looking to be going down the drain quickly like his previous two, and with it is likely any recruiting momentum built with the signings of Echenique and Rosario.

Seton Hall picked up their first conference win on Saturday with a 65-60 win over slumping and floundering Georgetown. The Pirates have also not had much luck with a tough early conference schedule, but they also had lost two of their last three out of the conference to the likes of IUPUI (home) and James Madison (away). The schedule eases significantly now with Rutgers twice in 11 days and St. John's at home in the middle and DePaul following the second meeting with RU. That is as winnable of a four game stretch any team will face in the Big East this season and the Georgetown win has given Bobby Gonzalez's team a new thrust of energy.

The Pirates are led by long-range bomber Jeremy Hazell and forward Robert 'Stix' Mitchell going inside and out. Point guard Eugene Harvey runs the show with defensive dynamo Paul Gause, the lone SHU senior, teamming in the backcourt with him.

Where the Pirates are really thin is the frontcourt where oft-injured John Garcia, the under-performing Mike Davis (fouled out in two minutes against Georgetown) and the still-developing Brandon Walters make up the ranks. Walk-on Matt Cajuste has been getting playing time lately to help counter the lack of depth.

Will Rutgers take advantage of their size advantage with JR Inman, Echenique and N'Diaye inside? They have been too content much of the season to let Rosario shoot them into, or just as easily, out of games. Rosario will likly bethe target of the SHU defense and the fans. If RU can find some sort of balance offensively, they would be helping themselves out tremendously.

In the end, SHU seems to have the confidence in themselves and each other, despite the losses. I do not see that with Rutgers. If RU is off to a slow start, it could be lights out for the game...and their season...

Seton Hall is a 7 1/2-point favorite in this game tonight.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Seton Hall 74
Rutgers 65

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RUTGERS NOW 0-7 IN BIG EAST

January 25, 2009

More of the same for Rutgers as a Sluggish Start Dooms Scarlet Knights (Asbury park Press) in a 70-59 loss at St. John's in Big East play.

It was the eighth straight loss for RU and Rutgers is Still Winless in the Big East (NJ.com) at 0-7.

SJU led by 11 at the half and RU got it to as close as two points late in the game, but the Redstorm held them off and scored the games last 9 points.

Paris Horne hit 12 of 13 shots and finished with 27 points to lead the way. DJ Kennedy added 16 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists.

Mike Rosario, the lone Scarlet Knight in double figures, scored 16.

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: RUTGERS @ ST. JOHN'S

January 24, 2009

Rutgers, 0-6 in Big East play, will look for their first conference win tonight when they travel into the Big Apple to take on St. John’s at Carnesecca Arena. The Redstorm were left reeling after collapsing down the stretch in a 71-60 loss against Cincinnati Thursday night. The ‘storm had an 11-point lead in the second half, put were outscored 31-9 to finish the game.

One has to wonder how St. John’s will rebound from that loss with such a short turnaround. Luckily for the Redstorm, Rutgers has enough of their own problems that will probably make sure this is a competitive ball game.

One thing SJU will do is defend. They play tough on the defensive side of the ball and will look to pressure the Rutgers backcourt into mistakes and forced shots. The RU offense is nearly entirely centered and dependent on Mike Rosario connecting from the perimeter. That is a lot of pressure for a freshman on the road who will face a pretty good defensive team.

However, SJU has their own ballhandling concerns with point guard Malik Boothe out with an injury and freshman Quincy Roberts running the show. While SJU is at home, there is something that keeps telling me that Rutgers is not as bad as their 0-6 record would indicate. After being thoroughly embarrassed by Louisville on their home floor this week, I look for a more urgent performance and the front court trio of Greg Echenique, Hamady N’Diaye and JR Inman to control the paint on both ends of the floor. If Mike Rosario does not shoot the Knights out of it, I like for them to come up with a surprise and win one on the road, even if the college basketball odds tell me I am wrong by listing SJU as the 4 ½-point favorite at home.


NBE Blogger Prediction:

Rutgers 67
St. John’s 64

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LOUISVILLE SPANKS RUTGERS AT THE RAC

January 22, 2009

The Scarlet Knights drops their seventh straight game as Louisville earns a Runaway Win in Piscataway (Louisville Courier-Journal) over Rutgers, 78-59.

Louisville Routs Rutgers (NY Daily News) using an early 23-0 run to take command of the game with a 28-7 lead on their wat to a 40-20 lead at the half and the Scarlet Knights, dropping their seventh straight game, never challenged to streaking Cardinals.

Former New Jersey high school stars Earl Clark and Samardo Samuels each added 15 for UL and Edgar Sosa added 10 as Louisville Rolls over Rutgers (Asbury Park Press).

Freshmen Mike Rosario (21 points) and Greg Echenique (13 points), a high school teammate of Samuels, were the only Scarlet Knights to reach double-figures.

Notes:

-Schedule eases up for RU, which is now 0-6 in the Big East and has lost 35 of 40 conference games under Fred Hill. The next three games for Rutgers comes against St. John's, Seton Hall and DePaul, teams with a combined conference record of 1-15 currently.

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: RUTGERS HOSTS LOUISVILLE

January 21, 2009


Louisville will hope to extend their 4-0 start in Big East play while preventing Rutgers (0-5) from earning their first conference of the year.

The Cards come in hot after beating Notre Dame and knocking Pittsburgh from their top-ranked perch last week. Now, ahead of a date in the Carrier Dome against Syracuse this weekend, Louisville travels to take on Rutgers at the RAC.

Rutgers continues to sputter in the third year of the Fred Hill era. There was some new excitement around the program heading into the season as the Scarlet Knights added McDonalds All-American Mike Rosario and highly toured Greg Echenique to a line-up that had some solid returning players. However, much like the first two years under Hill, wins have been hard to come by in the Big East. Hill is now just 5-34 in Big East games as a head coach. With a new athletic director soon to be coming on board, the pressure on Hill and his staff to find some wins is sure to mount.

Here are some pregame stories and previews found on the internet:

Rutgers Game Not a Trap Game to Cardinals (Louisville Courier-Journal)
Pitino Talks About Rutgers Match-up (Courier-Journal)
It's Apparent Cards Possess a T-Will to Win (Courier-Journal)
Pitino Pep Talk Charged Cards After Tough Loss (Kentucky.com)
Former St. Benedict's Stars Echenique and Samuels to Face Off Tonight (Star-Ledger)
Echenique, Samuels Meet Again (Asbury Park Press)

Although Louisville is saying all the right things, it is only natural to have a letdown tonight. That does not mean Rutgers is an 'upset' alert or the Cards will not win handily, but after the two tough games at home last week, overtime win over Notre Dame and stirring comeback against Pitt, the Cards probably need to take a breath and come up for air...and, with SU looming ahead this weekend, they might be taking that breath tonight.

On the flip side, and this makes this conference SOOOO tough, Rutgers is desperate for a win, playing at home against a hot opponent with a lofty national ranking, Rutgers will come out firing on all cylinders.

However, when the game gets settled down, Louisville's talent will take over. Senior Terrence Williams has assumed command of the UL ship and is coming off an MVP-worthy week where he compiled 24 points, 16 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals against ND and then followed it up with 20 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists in the win over Pittsburgh. Rutgers' Corey Chandler will have his hands full on both ends of the floor with T-Will.

Rutgers put a scare into Pitt and Marquette on their home floor and will look to do so against Louisville tonight. Mike Rosario scored 22 against both Pitt and MU, but in the other three conference losses, the former McDonald's AA is shooting just 12-50 (24%) from the floor overall and 5-28 (18%) from three-point range. He has totalled 36 points on those 50 shot-attempts.

Rosario certainly has the confidence to make 'the next one' and the green light to do so, but often times it looks to be at the expense of getting the ball inside. In those very same three losses, Greg Echenique, Hamady N'Diaye and JR Inman have combined for 51 field goal attempts (one more than Rosario) and 75 points. So, where should the RU coaching staff be trying to get more scoring opportunities from?

In the end, Louisville will have the better game plan and their constant defensive pressure should prey on the Rutgers backcourt that is prone to make poor decisions and force shots when panicked. The oddsmakers have pegged Louisville as a 10 1/2 point favorite on the road. At times I think RU will make a few runs to make it somewhat interesting, but the Cards will turn it on when they need to in order to get the win, but a little closer than expected at the end.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Louisville 70
Rutgers 60

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: RUTGERS @ CINCINNATI

January 14, 2009


Rutgers and Cincinnati meet tonight in a Big East conference match-up between two schools looking for their first wins of the 2008-2009 conference season. Rutgers is zero for four in Big East play, losing at home to Pittsburgh, Marquette and, in their last game, Syracuse. They were also bombed by UConn, 80-49, in their lone road game.

The Bearcats are 0-3 in Big East play, losing on their home floor to Providence and Connecticut. To open Big East play, they were mauled on their road against Marquette.

Here are some pregame stories and previews from the web:

Time for Bearcats to get Ugly (Cincinnati.com)
UC, Rutgers Starved for Win (Cincinnati.com)
For Knights, Rebounding Will be the Key (Asbury Park Press)

The biggest culprit in UC's poor conference start has been their defense. The Bulls have surrendered an average of 84 points a game in the three conference games with opponents bombing away at a clip of 55% (35-64) from three-point range and the field overall (84-152).

Defense was the main ingredient for the Bearcats last season as they raced out to an 8-3 conference mark to begin conference play. However, a rotation that is on the inexperienced size, other than junior Deonta Vaughn, is not creating the defensive pressure that the previous team was able to do. Outside of Vaughn and the potential of freshman Yancy Gates, this is not a team that has the talent on offense to outscore Big East competition.

If your defense is ailing, Rutgers is usually a cure. However, other than their 49-point performance on the road against UConn, the Scarlet Knights are averaging just over 71 in their other conference games. Mike Rosario is leading the offensive improvment, but the key seems to be production from Corey Chandler, something that was not happening consistently in their pre-conference struggles early on.

Rutgers would be much better served if they would be able to get more production from the paint from Greg Echenique, Hamady N'Diaye and JR Inman. The trio has been effecient, but touches and opportunities have been limited as their backcourt has dominated the offensive chances.

Cincinnati can ill-afford to go 0-3 in this rare three-game conference homestand. A win could give the Bearcats some momentum as they hit the road for three games that are winnable with some improved play on the defensive side of the court. UC is an 8 1/2-point favorite on their home floor tonight according to the latest college basketball odds and they should come up with a win.

NBE Blogger Preview:

Cincinnati 69
Rutgers 62

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: SYRACUSE @ RUTGERS

January 10, 2009


Every so often Rutgers rises from the depths of despair to pull out a few surprising wins at home at the RAC. And, more than once, Syracuse has been their victim. However, those wins have yet to come in the Fred Hill era, although, they have made a couple runs already in close losses to Pitt and Marquette at home early in conference play.

Syracuse has a killer 10-game stretch beginning next week. They look to close out this four game conference opening stretch with another win, but they can not afford to be looking past the Scarlet Knights who are itching to knock one of the big boys off.

Here are some game articles and previews from the web:

Chandler Excels on the Wing for RU (myCentralJersey.com)
Orange Scouting Report: Syracuse vs. Rutgers (Post-Standard)
Syracuse Heads to Rutgers on Saturday (Syracuse.com)
Orange Set for Scarlet Knights (Syracuse.com)
Super Frosh Chose Rutgers (Post-Standard)

This one might be an interesting game with a Saturday night RAC crowd ready for something positive to happen for their Scarlet Knights. RU has size inside to match up with Arinze Onuaku and Rick Jackson with Hamady N’Diaye and Greg Echenique starting and JR Inman coming off the bench. Corey Chandler will have his hands full with Paul Harris, but Chandler is not one to back down from a mano-y-mano challenge on the court. SU has a clear advantage at point guard with Jonny Flynn, although Anthony Farmer, a senior, has been playing pretty well at times this season. RU also has a zone buster in Mike Rosario who has the green light to shoot RU into (or, at sometimes out) of games.

The early college basketball odds have Syracuse as a road favorite of 7 ½ points. With SU 3-0 in the Big East and a brutal stretch coming, and the Scarlet Knights 0-3, it will be mighty hard for the Orange not to take a breath in this game and let their guard down. Eric Devendorf off the bench is likely to be the difference in tilting the game to SU’s favor as RU narrowly misses another upset.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Syracuse 74
Rutgers 69

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RUTGERS/SU GAME NOTES

By Zach Smart

A wild, 60-foot buzzer-beater and an off-campus incident supposedly sparked by Eric Devendorf may have but the lone blemishes on Syracuse’s otherwise unflappable road to redemption, but the Orange are certainly back on the map.

The sense of urgency is certainly there for the Orange, which has arguably the best backcourt in the conference in Jonny Flynn and Devendorf.

The Orange have sacrificed individual totals for team harmony, unison, and the inevitable success that this selfless surrender yields way to.

The Orange trounced DePaul (8-8, 0-3 Big East) to the tune of 85-68 Wednesday night. Andy Rautins continued his hot shooting, scoring a team-high 17 points. Paul Harris and Arinze Onuaku scored 14 a piece, and Devendorf chipped in with 13. Flynn handed out a game-high eight dimes, and the Orange withstood an 18-point performance from Demon forward Dar Tucker.

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“In the first half, I thought our defense was good for long stretches,” said coach Jim Boeheim, following the beatdown.

“I thought we really helped each other and did a good job rebounding and offensively, we moved the ball. In the second half we came out a little bit like (we did against) South Florida, we made 2-3 mistakes and, you know, just couldn’t get a rhythm going on offense. Sometimes that happens when you have a lead. You still don’t want that to happen, but we made enough plays and we got an opportunity, I thought, to work on our defense. We did a lot of good things, some things I think we could have done better.”

It was the first time the Orange (15-1) sat in a man-to-man defense for an extended period, as Boeheim would add.

Paul Harris, who missed the South Florida game, looked a step behind at first but picked it up as the game progressed. He was aggressive and active, pulling down nine rebounds to supplement AO and Rick Jackson down low. Jackson, who’s beginning to flower, scored 11 points to go with six boards.

This triumvirate needs to be just as efficient against Rutgers, which has upgraded their frontline with Gregory Echenique and Hamady N’dyiaye, who are an average height of 6-10. The two bigs were apparent against Marquette, as they helped Rutgers outrebound the Golden Eagles 37-25. Marquette, of course, was able to eke out the win.

Echenique has emerged into one of the conference’s top rebounders. N’dyiaye, still green and frail, is slowly coming along.

-The 9-7 Scarlet Knights, who everyone pegged as the surefire Big East doormat after witnessing them lose games to Lehigh, Stony Brook, and St. Bonaventure, has shown some toughness. They hung tough with a formidable Marquette team, falling by a tight 81-76 margin.

-After UConn clamped down on fabulous freshman Mike Rosario, throwing him into a 2-for-13 funk, the Jersey City native scored 22 points against Marquette. Corey Chandler helped the Scarlet Knights with 19 as their upset bid of the Golden Eagles fell short.

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: MARQUETTE @ RUTGERS

January 7, 2009


While Rutgers might be through with the brutal stretch of top 5 teams North Carolina, Pittsburgh and UConn, who were ranked 1, 2 and 3 when they played them, the Big East allows no breathers and next up for the Scarlet Knights is Marquette. The Golden Eagles will look to build on their best-ever 2-0 Big East start at the RAC tonight.

Here are some of the pregame stories and previews found on the web this morning:

Seniors Hoping to Avoid Letdown Against Rutgers (Journal-Sentinel)
Stats Don’t Tell Story for Knights (mycentraljersey.com)

Peeking ahead in your schedule is not hard to do in this league, but Marquette will try and concentrate at the task on hand tonight in New Jersey. The Scarlet Knights gave #1 ranked Pittsburgh all they could handle in their Big East opener on New Year’s Eve and that should certainly have the attention of the Golden Eagles this evening.

Marquette is coming off an 84-50 route of Cincinnati and if they unleash their defensive pressure from the outset, they could do something similar to RU. Jerel McNeal, Dominic James and Wesley Mathews have been excellent this season both offensively and defensively. In their last game, they held Deonta Vaughn scoreless against Cincinnati and will look to make life just as difficult tonight against RU freshman Mike Rosario, who seems to be the catalyst of the RU offense.

Marquette is not the biggest team in the conference and the Scarlet Knight could match-up very well in the frontcourt with Greg Echenique, Hamady N’Diaye and JR Inman, but they will only be as productive as their backcourt getting them the ball in position to score.

Marquette is a 9 ½ point favorite on the road, but look for RU to play this one tough. Marquette still pulls it out with more talent, but the young Knights will also use some of their experienced players and play well at home.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Marquette 70
Rutgers 63

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ROSARIO HAS BIG TARGET ON HIS BACK

Rutgers freshman Rosario romped in Gampel debut


By Zach Smart



Storrs—It was a rude awakening for highly-touted freshman Mike Rosario at UConn last night.

The Huskies’ trio of Jerome Dyson, Stanley “Sticks” Robinson, and Craig Austrie negated the scoring machine that eclipsed Samuerdo Samuels as the top freshman scorer in the Big East.

Dyson hounded, harassed, and hurled Rosario into the worst shooting night of his young collegiate career. The 6-foot-3 neophyte from Jersey City shot an arctic 2-for-13 from the field, finishing with just 10 points.

While he drew fouls and sank 5-of-6 from the charity stripe, Rosario hit nothing but iron during the first half, going 0-for-8 before an announced crowd of 10,167 at the Gampel Pavilion.

Rosario, who hit up North Carolina for 26 and hung 22 on Jamie Dixon and Pittsburgh, watched his hot-streak quickly falter as he met a team dripping with height, long arms and athletic wings in UConn.

So, he wrapped up his three-game stiff competition test with an average of 19.3 points.

Not bad for a callow freshman but Rosario’s got to watch out for those older, wiser, big dog gamers.

On a night when the Huskies were thirsting to come back with a vengeance in the worst way imaginable (they were outplayed by Georgetown in Monday’s lost and got a classic Jim Calhoun earful for their listless performance), they put a straightjacket on Rutgers.

The Scarlet Knights looked as if they were handcuffed in the jungle at midnight, shooting a paltry 6-foot-23 in the first half. The confines of the perimeter weren’t much more comfortable for Rosario.

The kid that rained threes on bottom-tier teams such as Robert Morris and NJIT (though he hit 4-for-8 from beyond the arc against UNC), shot just 1-for-6 from three-point territory.

“All great players go through games like that,” said Rutgers head coach Fred Hill, who knows how important a productive Rosatio is to the Knight's college basketball odds of winning.

“In the second half when you're grinding it and you're not making shots, I think you mentally get worn down. I think in the second half the end of the week got to us mentally more than I would have liked, but you've got to give UConn the credit for being so physical and so tough."

While Austrie did a good job denying and Robinson used his freakish athleticism and aggression to keep Rosario at bay, Dyson deserves most of the credit for the negating job he did.

“We were able to get stops,” explained Dyson. “Defense is what drives us.”

Rosario tried to get himself free, but was cut off. The long arms were in his face all night, making it difficult for him to get some good shots off. Shooting over opponents that stand 6-feet-7 is much more difficult than Rosario’s workaday matchup.

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: RUTGERS @ CONNECTICUT

January 3, 2009


Rutgers completes their grueling three-game stretch on Saturday when they travel to Storrs (CT) to take on Connecticut in a Big East conference match-up on Saturday evening.

Rutgers has already lost to No. 1 North Carolina on Sunday and #3 Pittsburgh on Wednesday and now must face the second-ranked Huskies to finish an unprecedented three-game stretch. So far, as expected, RU is 0-2 in the stretch. However, they have shown some signs of improvements since dropping home contests to St. Bonaventure, Lehigh and Binghampton earlier in the pre-conference schedule. The Scarlet Knights lost at UNC 97-75 and hap Pitt on the ropes, with a 55-50 lead with just over 10 minutes left on New Year’s Eve before a 20-4 Panther run ended the hopes for an upset.

Connecticut fell from the ranks of the unbeaten when they were surprised by Georgetown at home in the conference opener Monday night in Hartford. The Hoyas took command early with a 15-1 run to start the game and they turned back every Husky run in the 74-63 victory.

Here are some pre-game stories and previews found on the internet this morning:

Rosario Brings Respectability to Rutgers (Bristol Press)
UConn Men Jump Back into Big East Battle (Connecticut Post)
Happy New Year; Sticks to Start, Rutgers Coming In (Hartford Courant)
A Line-up Change for UConn (TheDay.com)


Well, it did not take long, after one-loss, Stanley Robinson is back in the starting line-up and Craig Austrie will be coming off the bench. It was not too long ago that Robinson was an expendable piece of the UConn puzzle, but after Nate Miles was expelled from school and the NCAA decision on the Ater Majok eligibility continues to hang in the balance, the former sheet metal industry professional is back in Jim Calhoun’s starting line-up just three weeks after coming back into the program after a hiatus.

Rutgers will not be intimidated heading into Storrs, but a Jim Calhoun team coming off a loss in a game where he did not like their effort or toughness, the Scarlet Knights could be in some serious trouble. Rutgers is led by freshman scoring machine Mike Rosario, who has averaged 24 PPG the last two against UNC and Pitt, but the emergence of Corey Chandler from an early shooting slump seems to be a catalyst for their improved play.

Improvements or not, look for UConn to be personally challenged and motivated in this game. Jeff Adrien, Hasheem Thabeet and Stanley Robinson is an NBA-sized frontcourt and AJ Price and Jerome Dyson make up an excellent backcourt duo.

Look for a complete effort early on from the Huskies at both ends of the floor as they quickly put the memories on Monday’s beating behind them and put Rutgers, who is a 21 1/2–point underdog according to the latest college basketball odds away early on.

Prediction:

Connecticut 86
Rutgers 66

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