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