Rutgers Basketball

At one of the most exciting come from behind wins in the history of the Rutgers baseball program, it was the behavior of basketball coach Fred Hill Jr. that became the story.

Amazingly, the 51 year-old basketball coach of a major university could not control his behavior. His alleged antics; a profanity-laced tirade aimed at Rutgers' baseball opponent Pittsburgh's coaching staff, are the stuff that would usually be attributed to drunk student-fans at a college sporting event.

The embattled Rutgers coach has faced and dodged a lot of adversity this year.  He was the target of a facebook-fued fueled by former RU standout basketball player J.R. Inman.  He has watched as over half of his recruits have transferred to other Universities. 

The transfers only served to support the attack of Inman that Hill doesn't care about his players after they have committed to the school.  Inman claimed he was "lied to" and "disrespected" by Coach Hill.

I chalked that up to the sour grapes of a former player who did not live up to his enormous potential. I ignored the transfers and chose to focus on the positives.

The win against Georgetown, the win over Notre Dame, and the victories over DePaul and St. John's served to supply an optimist with a glimmer of hope. 

Even the news that Pat Jackson was transferring did not deter me.  The fact that Seton Hall and St John's were getting new coaches?  No big deal.  Stay the course.  Believe in your guy. 

But now, this kind of behavior is unacceptable.  He has already embarrassed the university enough with the poor play of his basketball team, but now, the embarrassment extends beyond poor play. 

It is now a national story.  While A.D. Tim Pernetti, "actively looks into" the alleged antics of Freddie Hill, news rolls out that star player Rosario is seeking a transfer.  He is embarrassed too.

One of the two heralded recruits, Gil Beruta is asking out of his letter of intent.  This is now officially a sinking ship and it is time to bail out. 

The Big East Tournament takes place all week at Madison Square Garden. Yet, the natives would be hard-pressed to pay attention to it.

No one here cares about college basketball. It's hard to get excited when three local Big East teams offer lousy basketball year after year.

St. John's, Rutgers, and Seton Hall not only do not win, but they never get the stars to help them win games. Most homegrown stars would rather play for other programs in the Big East.

West Virginia, Louisville, Villanova, Connecticut, and Syracuse know what to do when it comes to poaching players out of the metropolitan area.

It's hard to blame the kids here. They not only want to win, but they want to develop into good players. Bob Huggins, Jay Wright, Rick Pitino, Jim Calhoun, and Jim Boeheim can do those things for the players.

Rutgers, Seton Hall, and St. John's try to change all that by hiring coaches who know how to get the local kids.

Rutgers hired Fred Hill based on his success in recruiting stars in New Jersey as an assistant coach.

Seton Hall picked Bobby Gonzalez in an attempt to improve recruiting. They felt Gonzalez's relentless work ethic and coaching would sell players.

St. John's liked Norm Roberts for getting the city guys to play for Kansas.

These hirings haven't worked out for their respective programs.

Hill and Roberts failed to get a star to play for their respective teams, and they haven't won.

Gonzalez has been so-so when it comes to victories and recruits.

Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez can get the most out of marginal players, but he can't work well with stars. Gonzalez needs to be the star of the show not the players

That type of approach does not work in the Big East. It's no wonder why Seton Hall has been mediocre right there.

Until Gonzalez knows how to put down his ego and let the players do their job, no star is coming to play for him.

Don't count on that to change. The immature coach prefers working with his type of guys rather than handling a superstar.

Plus, he hasn't exactly won at Seton Hall. It's unacceptable that his team is fighting for a tourney bid in his third season.

The Pirates still have a shot to make the tourney. If they defeat Notre Dame tonight, they should be in. It would be wise for them to beat Pittsburgh for them to officially earn an NCAA big if they can get by Notre Dame.

Gonzalez did okay enough to survive for another few years, but Hill and Roberts aren't so lucky.

Hill likely coached his last game after Rutgers lost 69-68 to Cincinnati last night in the first round of the Big East tournament. There's that one million buyout the university owes Hill, but the boosters could pay his buyout.

They should do everything possibly to send Hill packing. No one needs to see another season of bad basketball by the Scarlet Knights.

If Hill is gone, the Knights should do everything possible to hire Fran McCaffery before St. John's beat them to the punch.

Rutgers screwed up by not moving quickly in hiring Jay Wright several years ago. Wright went to Villanova instead. They can't make the same mistake again.

One wonders what could have been if Wright took the job. He wanted to coach at Rutgers, and it could have happened.

If Wright is here, Rutgers would be making multiple March Madness appearances. When Rutgers wins, people follow. We saw that when they had a great year in college football several years ago.

St. John's defeated UConn yesterday afternoon, but they negated that performance by losing to Marquette this afternoon. This should be the end of Roberts' tenure at St. John's.

Roberts coached long enough with no success. Sure he cleaned up the program, but at some point, he is being paid to win.

He hasn't done it so it's time for a change. McCaffrey would be a fine choice there too.

St. John's would be wise to hire Hill as assistant coach. He can go back to recruiting around the city and the state of New Jersey.

It's great all the Big East teams are doing well, but they don't capture the imagination of the folks here.

In this market, locals only root for their own teams, not elsewhere.

They miss the days when St. John's and Seton Hall would compete for Big East titles and make a long run for March.

It hasn't happened in quite some time. No wonder why there is apathy.

It would be nice to see all three local teams do well. It's not only good for the conference, but it's good for college basketball.

The sport can flourish if all three teams are winning at the same time.

That's why it's frustrating to see them not doing well.

Here's hoping things start changing soon. This area deserves college basketball success.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights @ Pittsburgh Panthers

4:30PM ET, March 6, 2010

Peterson Events Center

Pittsburgh, PA

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights Men’s basketball team hasn’t fared too well against the Pittsburgh Panthers in years past. Since 2002, Rutgers (15-15, 5-12 Big East) record against the Panthers (23-7, 12-5 Big East) is 1-8, their lone victory coming two years ago, when the Scarlet Knights pulled off the upset victory in Pittsburgh.

They hope the tables turn against the Panthers as they travel to Pittsburgh before the Big East tournament kicks off.

The Scarlet Knights are coming off a devastating loss to their in-state rival Seton Hall Thursday on Senior Night.

With 4:51 left in the first half, a Jeff Robinson tip-in basket would give Seton Hall the lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

Two Jordan Theodore free throws in the middle of the second half, would begin an 11-3 Seton Hall run, giving the Pirates a nine point lead over the Scarlet Knights.

Rutgers missed seven shots with under five minutes to play, and Seton Hall’s free throw shooting would seal the victory, as the Pirates would go on to sweep the season series against the Scarlet Knights for the second year in a row, 85-74.

Mike Rosario led the Scarlet Knights with 17 points (16 coming in the second half). Jonathan Mitchell helped out with 13 points and 13 rebounds, while Hamady Ndiaye kicked in with 12 points, five rebounds, and five blocks.

Mike Rosario broke 1,000 points for his career with a three-pointer at the 17:53 mark in the second half.

Hamady Ndiaye will break the career record for blocked shots in Rutgers’ history with five blocks today. With seven blocks he’ll break the single-season record.

If Rutgers loses today and Seton Hall loses tonight there is a strong possibility these two foes could brawl for the third time in less than three weeks in the first round of the Big East tournament next week at Madison Square Garden.

The Pittsburgh Panthers needed some luck Thursday night to fend off the Providence Friars.

With 12:25 left in the second half, a Marshon Brooks dunk gave Providence its first lead of the second half.

With 40 seconds left in the game, Jermaine Dixon’s lay-up handed the lead back to the Panthers. Five seconds later, Sharand Curry sank two free throws to tie the game at 70-70.

Brad Wanamaker missed a jumper with nine seconds left, handing the Friars one last shot to run away with the upset win.

A Jermaine Dixon foul with 3.5 seconds left put Brian McKenzie at the free throw line. His first attempt from the charity stripe rimmed out, but he capitalized on his second attempt, giving Providence a one-point advantage.

A heroic run up three-point shot by Ashton Gibbs, at the buzzer, would lift the Panthers to the victory, and prevent an embarrassing home defeat to the Providence Friars, as they won 73-71.

Ashton Gibbs led all scorers with 25 points. Jermaine Dixon broke career and season highs with 24 points, while Brad Wanamaker also broke career and season highs with 13 assists in the win for the Panthers.

With a win today against the Scarlet Knights, the Panthers would clinch the second seed in the Big East tournament, meaning they won’t play until the third round (quarterfinals) of the tourney.

You can also find this article on: moxieTODAY.com

Seton Hall Pirates @ Rutgers Scarlet Knights

7:00PM ET, March 4, 2010

Louis Brown Athletic Center

Piscataway, NJ

Hamady Ndiaye's first ever block in a Rutgers uniform, at the RAC, came on Nov. 11, 2006 against Kansas State. It was his debut performance for the Scarlet Knights.

Coming off the bench, Ndiaye logged 18 minutes, while missing his only shot attempt and failing on his five free-throw attempts. But like most games since his debut, the 6’11” center from Dakar, Senegal led all players with the most blocked shots.

346 career blocked shots later, Ndiaye has the opportunity to go down as the single-season and career record holder for blocked shots in Scarlet Knights history. He needs 10 more blocked shots to break Roy Hinson’s (1979-1983) record of 355 blocked shots in a career and 12 to break Hinson’s single-season record of 144.

With two regular season games left and at least one guaranteed game in the Big East tournament, those three games should be more than enough to catapult the lone senior on the Scarlet Knights roster into the record books as the career and single-season record holder in Rutgers history, while at the same time stealing the reins as “greatest shot blocker in Rutgers men’s basketball history” from the great Roy Hinson.

Tonight’s game is a 7PM ET tip-off and will be nationally televised on ESPN. If you can’t make the game and Pack the RAC with the rest of the crazies, try to tune in and watch as Rutgers will salute and thank Ndiaye for his excellence on the basketball court and in the classroom over his past four exciting years as a Scarlet Knight.

Nine days ago, these two in-state rivals clashed at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. The Seton Hall Pirates (16-11, 7-9 Big East) sprung to a 28-10 lead to start the game and would never look back, as they would go on to steal the first of two games between these two foes, 76-70.

Jeremy Hazell, second in the Big East in scoring, led all scorers with 25 points, and Herb Pope, the Big East leader in rebounding, helped out with six points and 12 rebounds for the Pirates.

Mike Rosario kicked in 17 points, and Dane Miller contributed with 16 points, nine rebounds, and five blocks for the Scarlet Knights.

Seton Hall is coming off a heartbreaking, overtime thriller loss against the Marquette Golden Eagles Sunday afternoon, 84-83.

Down eight at halftime, the Pirates offense went crazy against the Golden Eagles defense for 43 points in the second half.

Down two with 30 seconds left, Eugene Harvey of Seton Hall hit a pair of free throws to tie the game, 69-69. Marquette would have a shot to prevent overtime and slip away with the victory in regulation, but a Lazar Hayward three-point attempt for the Golden Eagles was no good.

In overtime, Marquette jumped out to a 76-71 lead. With less than two minutes to play, Seton Hall came storming back. Hazell, the Big East leader in three-pointers made, nailed three three-pointers in a one minute span, his last three-pointer resulting in a four-point play to put Seton Hall behind only one.

Marquette would go on to make two free throws but also miss two free throws to give Seton Hall one last shot to send the game into another overtime. A Hazell last-second desperation three-point attempt to send the game into a second overtime would hit rim and bounce out. The Golden Eagles would depart New Jersey with their sixth victory on the season by three points or less.

The Scarlet Knights haven’t been above .500 this late in the season since the 2005-2006 season. Thanks to Saturday's victory over DePaul, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (15-14, 5-11 Big East) finally got above that mark.

Just like Seton Hall in their last game, the Scarlet Knights would be down at halftime and put up huge second-half numbers. But the only difference between the two games would be the fact that Rutgers would go on to be victorious.

DePaul was up at halftime by 11 points, but Rutgers would throw down 45 points in the second half. A Hamady Ndiaye jumper to open the second half ignited a wild 30-7 RU run that lasted 12 minutes and 26 seconds. This run included six three-pointers (four by Rosario) after Rutgers only managed one three-pointer in the entire first half. This dominating run would give the Scarlet Knights a 14-point lead, 58-44.

Jeremiah Kelly’s three-pointer at the 2:13 mark in the second half would get DePaul within six, but Rutgers’ free-throw shooting (7-8, 87.5 percent) with under a minute to play would seal the victory for the Scarlet Knights.

Rosario would lead all scorers with 24 points and six rebounds, his first 20-point game since Feb. 9, 2010. Jonathan Mitchell would add 18 points and seven rebounds but was 0-of-7 from behind the three-point arc.

With six points tonight, Rosario will break the 1,000-point mark for his career.

You can find this article and many more from James Surmonte at: moxieTODAY.com

DePaul Blue Demons @ Rutgers Scarlet Knights

4:00 PM ET, February 27, 2010

Louis Brown Athletic Center

Piscataway, NJ

Less than two weeks ago, DePaul (8-19, 1-14 Big East) and Rutgers (14-14, 4-11 Big East) battled in Rosemont, IL. Up by as many as 17 points in the first half, DePaul thought they had the game in the bag. Rutgers would have something to say about that.

The Scarlet Knights dropped 44 points on the Blue Demons in the second half en route to pull off the comeback victory 68-64.

Mac Koshwal led all scorers with 24 points and 12 rebounds for the Blue Demons, while Will Walker added 19 points in the face-off earlier this month against Rutgers.

Hamady Ndiaye guided the Scarlet Knights with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Dane Miller kicked in 14 points and 8 rebounds.

Tuesday night, Rutgers traveled up to Newark, NJ for an in-state rivalry game against the Pirates of Seton Hall. The Pirates jumped out to an early 28-10 lead over the Scarlet Knights. Rutgers would slowly inch closer later in the game, but it wouldn’t be enough, as Seton Hall would go on to take the first of two games between the two New Jersey teams this season 76-70.

Rutgers outrebounded Seton Hall on both ends of the floor, 17-to-12 on the offensive side and 45-to-35 all together. The Pirates would only turn the ball over a season-low 6 times compared to the Scarlet Knights 16.

Mike Rosario led Rutgers with 17 points, while Dane Miller contributed 16 points, nine rebounds, and five blocks. Hamady Ndiaye captured his sixth double-double on the season with 12 points and 14 rebounds. Jonathan Mitchell also took home his second double-double, with 11 points and 13 rebounds.

This was only the second game this season that someone other than Ndiaye led the team in blocks for the Scarlet Knights.

Seton Hall and Rutgers are scheduled to battle again next week, Thursday March 4, at the RAC.

DePaul is coming off a close loss to the Cincinnati Bearcats in Ohio Wednesday night, 74-69. This was their ninth loss in a row. The Blue Demons haven’t won a game in over a month, when they defeated Marquette by one, 51-50, on January 20 .

Will Walker steered the Blue Demons with 24 points, and Mac Koshwal posted his ninth double-double on the season with 19 points and 12 rebounds against the Bearcats.

With a loss later today against the Scarlet Knights, the Blue Demons would claim last place in the Big East for the second consecutive season. They would also clinch the last seed in the Big East Tournament for the second straight season, as well.

DePaul is 1-for-32 against Big East foes over the past two seasons.

With 14 wins on the season, and four wins in the Big East, Fred Hill Jr. is having his best coaching season as Rutgers head coach since taking over in 2006.

Statistic leaders:

Scoring: Mike Rosario (Rutgers): 16.2 PTS/GM; Will Walker (DePaul): 16.6 PTS/GM

Rebounds: Hamady Ndiaye (Rutgers): 7.2 REB/GM; Mac Koshwal (DePaul): 10.1 REB/GM

Assists: James Beatty (Rutgers): 3.5 AST/GM; Jeremiah Kelly (DePaul): 2.6 AST/GM

Steals: James Beatty (Rutgers): 1.4 STL/GM; Mac Koshwal (DePaul): 2.1 STL/GM

Blocks: Hamady Ndiaye (Rutgers): 4.6 BLK/GM; Eric Wallace (DePaul): 1.0 BLK/GM

YOU CAN ALSO FIND THIS ARTICLE ON: moxieTODAY.com

Everyone thought the negative perception of Rutgers basketball would change when Fred Hill was hired. They cited Hill's ability to recruit players in New Jersey based on his work as as assistant coach.

Then-Rutgers athletic director Bob Mulcahy hired him only for that purpose. It certainly wasn't for his coaching ability.

This decision proved to be a mistake. Rutgers has not gotten any better under Hill's leadership.

This pessimist does not expect anything to change.

Hill received enough chances to turn it around, but it hasn't happened. Certain players regressed, and recruiting hasn't gotten better.

The Rutgers coach keeps talking about getting the best players, but the reality is, they would rather play for a legitimate college program than play at Rutgers.

They know those other Big East or ACC coaches will do a better job of getting the most out of them than the Rutgers coaching staff.

This has been a humbling experience for Hill, after being successful as an assistant coach for several programs.

It's a tough situation. Hill's predecessors were no better in recruiting New Jersey.

Something has to change.

Rutgers must hire a guy who can coach, not a guy who can only schmooze with the boosters or be an active recruiter. 

The university and the boosters must find a way to pay for a legitimate coach. It won't be easy, but something has to be done.

Maybe that guy is Rick Pitino.

Why not be bold? Pitino may be looking for another challenge, not to mention he may enjoy being away from the presence of John Calipari at Lexington.

Someone needs to feed Pitino's ego. One thing about him: He likes the attention and the schmoozing from team.

Rutgers owes it to themselves to take their best shot of getting the Louisville coach.

If not him, Billy Gillispie would be another fine choice.

What Rutgers does not need is a coach from a mid-major program or an assistant coach that is looking for an opportunity to grow as a head coach.

New Jersey saw enough of that.

Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti has to make a splashy hire for people to regain interest in the men's basketball team.

That's the only way this program can be turned around. In the Big East, a middling team needs to hire a big name just to keep up with the other programs when it comes to winning and recruiting players.

Hill is not that person. He does not strike anyone as a guy that commands respect when it comes to leading and coaching.

He is nothing more than an assistant coach at best. Rutgers had the right idea of hiring him to be Gary Waters' assistant coach several years ago, but we all knew Hill took the job when he realized Waters was going to be fired soon after.

It wasn't a good idea at the time for Hill to be a head coach at the state university. Not when he never served as a coach that was doing scouting or creating game plans.

Hill's lack of coaching experience shows up when it comes to late in the second half of a tight game or when Rutgers attempts to defend.

Rutgers can't be in this situation again whether it's Hill or a rookie coach.

What they need is a coach who knows what he's doing.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights @ Seton Hall Pirates

7PM ET, Feb. 23, 2010

Prudential Center

Newark, NJ

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights (14-13, 4-10 Big East) squad shot a season-low 35 percent (21-of-60) from the field Saturday night while being blown out of the building by the UConn Huskies.

They look to leave that humiliating loss behind as they travel up the Turnpike to battle the Seton Hall Pirates (15-10, 6-8 Big East) tonight at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ.

The Scarlet Knights were able to keep the game close early, but come second half, UConn ran away with it. Getting up by as many as 20 points, the Huskies outperformed Rutgers in every category possible. The beating Rutgers endured was their worst loss at home this season since Villanova destroyed them last month by 26.

Hamady Ndiaye led Rutgers with 13 points, seven rebounds, and three blocks. Coming off the bench for being late to a Saturday morning shootaround, Mike Rosario was still able to kick in 14 points before fouling out. Dane Miller contributed 11 points and eight rebounds for the Scarlet Knights.

Seton Hall, injured and depleted, gave it their all, but it wasn’t enough as they were defeated by the No. 8 West Virginia Mountaineers Saturday afternoon, 75-63, in Morgantown, WV.

The Pirates were without starting PG Eugene Harvey for the second straight game, as he has been out with a bruised wrist.

This injury may cause him to miss tonight’s game as well.

Jeremy Hazell, who went for a career-high 41-point outburst two months ago against the Mountaineers, was held to only nine points. This was the fourth time this season Hazell has been held to single-digit points.

Jeff Robinson led the Pirates with 16 points, while the Big East's leading rebounder, Herb Pope, added nine points and 10 rebounds.

Hazell suffered a deep cut on his shooting hand last Wednesday against St. John's. This may be to blame for his lackluster performance against West Virginia.

Since ’01-’02, Seton Hall leads the series against Rutgers, 11-6.

Statistical leaders

Scoring: Mike Rosario (Rutgers): 16.1 PTS/GM; Jeremy Hazell (Seton Hall): 21.4 PTS/GM

Rebounds: Hamady Ndiaye (Rutgers): 7.0 REB/GM; Herb Pope (Seton Hall): 11 REB/GM

Assists: Mike Coburn/James Beatty (Rutgers): 3.4 AST/GM; Eugene Harvey (Seton Hall): 4.7 AST/GM

Steals: James Beatty (Rutgers): 1.4 STL/GM; Jeremy Hazell (Seton Hall): 1.8 STL/GM

Blocks: Hamady Ndiaye (Rutgers): 4.7 BLK/GM; Herb Pope (Seton Hall): 1.8 BLK/GM

You can also find this article on: moxieTODAY.com

UConn Huskies @ Rutgers Scarlet Knights

4:00PM ET, February 20, 2010

Louis Brown Athletic Center

Piscataway, N.J.

The University of Connecticut (16-11, 6-8 Big East) extended its winning streak against Rutgers (14-13, 4-10 Big East) to nine straight after smashing the Scarlet Knights last night at the sold out Louis Brown Athletic Center, 76-58.

Rutgers was able to keep it close the entire first half, thanks in large part to its defensive presence. The Scarlet Knights threw four different defensive schemes at the Huskies in the first 10 minutes of play, giving UConn problems.

A five-minute Rutgers scoring drought, along with a 9-2 UConn run gave the Huskies an eight-point lead. The Scarlet Knights would inch closer though, ending the half behind only three points, 31-28.

The second half was a different story.

A 15-3 Huskies run to start off the second half killed any chance of a victory for the Scarlet Knights, as UConn would eventually get the lead up to 20 points.

Coming off the bench, Mike Rosario led Rutgers with 14 points. Hamady Ndiaye contributed 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 blocks, while Dane Miller kicked in 11 points and 8 rebounds.

Jerome Dyson was the high scorer of the game scoring 20 points for his 12th 20-point game on the season. Kemba Walker added 16 points and Stanley Robinson’s 11 points extended his double figure scoring streak to 33 consecutive games.

As a team, Rutgers shot 35 percent (21-60) from the field and 28.6 percent (6-21) from three. UConn shot 48.2 percent (27-56) from the field and 46.2 percent (6-13) from the three point line.

You can also find this article at: moxieTODAY.com

UConn Huskies @ Rutgers Scarlet Knights

4 p.m. ET, Feb. 20, 2010

Louis Brown Athletic Center

Piscataway, N.J.

The Rutgers Men’s Basketball team last defeated the University of Connecticut on Jan. 30, 2002.

Since then, they are 0-for-8 in attempts against UConn and will try to eliminate the Huskies' quest for an NCAA bid tomorrow at the RAC.

Rutgers is coming off a comeback victory against DePaul for their first victory on the road in 17 games.

Down by 11 at halftime and as many as 17 in the first 20 minutes, the Scarlet Knights made up for their lackluster first-half performance by dropping 44 points on the Blue Demons in the second half.

At the 5:43 mark in the second half, a Mike Rosario three-pointer gave the Scarlet Knights their first lead of the night.

Two and a half minutes later, another Rosario three-pointer would give Rutgers the lead for good; as they would go on to overpower DePaul, 68-64.

Hamady Ndiaye was the leading scorer for the Scarlet Knights kicking in 15 points, along with 13 rebounds for his fifth double-double on the season. Dane Miller contributed 14 points and 8 rebounds, while Mike Coburn added 10 points off the bench.

Playing on the Wildcats' home-court in Philadelphia, the Huskies managed to pull off the upset win over the No. 3 Villanova Wildcats Monday night, 84-75.

Kemba Walker dropped a career-high 29 points (14-of-16 from the charity stripe). Stanley Robinson helped out with 10 points and 7 rebounds, while Jerome Dyson contributed 15 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds en route to a Huskies victory.

The Scarlet Knights have been able to pull away these past couple victories without the threat of their leading scorer, Rosario.

In the past two games, Rosario is shooting a combined 6-of-28 from the field and 5-of-18 from behind the three-point line. He was held to 10 points against Georgetown and only 11 points against DePaul, both below his team-leading average of 16.2 points per game.

Hamady Ndiaye of the Scarlet Knights leads the Big East in blocked shots with 121, while Gavin Edwards of the Huskies is in a far-distant second with only 61.

On the other hand, UConn as a team leads the Big East with 8.3 blocks per game, while Rutgers is second with 7.1 blocks per game.

With only five games left, plus the Big East tournament, Hamady Ndiaye is on pace to break Roy Hinson’s single-season record for blocked shots.

During the ’82-’83 season, Hinson recorded 144 blocked shots. Ndiaye has 121 at the moment, and only needs 24 more to run away into the record books.

Rutgers haven’t won three in a row in the Big East since the 2003-2004 season when they went on a four-game winning streak defeating St. John's, Villanova, Notre Dame, and Miami, Fla.

The Huskies are a dreadful 1-for-6 on the season in road games. If UConn falls to the Scarlet Knights, they can say goodbye, NCAA tournament and hello, NIT.

You can also find this article and many more of my columns at: moxieTODAY.com

Rutgers Scarlet Knights @ DePaul Blue Demons

9:00PM ET, February 16, 2010

Allstate Arena

Rosemont, IL

Less than 48 hours after the Scarlet Knights (13-12, 3-9 Big East) shocked the then No. 8 Georgetown Hoyas, they are back at it. Rutgers suits up to battle the DePaul Blue Demons (8-16, 1-11 Big East) in Rosemont, Illinois tonight.

Dane Miller’s put back on a Mike Rosario missed jumper with less than 20 seconds left would ultimately be all Rutgers needed to upset the Hoyas Sunday night.

Jonathan Mitchell’s career-high 24 points (9-12, 4-6 from three) earned him Honor Roll accolades in the Big East for his amazing performance. Miller took home Big East Rookie of the Week honors for the second week in a row after his second career double-double against Georgetown. The usual leader for Rutgers, Mike Rosario, was off the entire night as the Hoyas held him to 10 points on a horrendous 3 of 16 shooting (2 of 10 from three).

The last place DePaul Blue Demons are on a six game losing streak and coming off a hard fought loss in Newark, NJ to the Seton Hall Pirates. They look to rebound against the Scarlet Knights tonight, for their first victory in almost a month.

Will Walker led the Blue Demons against the Pirates with 19 points on 7-of-24 shooting. Mac Koshwal helped out with 11 points and 10 rebounds for his 6th double-double on the season and Tony Freeland offered some support off the bench with 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting and eight rebounds.

Will Walker and Mike Rosario are respectively, 12th and 13th in the Big East in scoring.

Rutgers searches for its first Big East road victory since March 9, 2008 and tonight is their best chance to snap that drought.

You can also find this article on: moxieTODAY.com