By Danielle Daniels

3 10 2024

RUTGERS GAME NOTES

https://scarletknights.com/documents/2024/3/8/2023_24_MBB_GameNotes_OhioStateHome.pdf

OHIO STATE GAME NOTES

https://ohiostatebuckeyes.com/sports/2023/11/25/mens-basketball-media-center

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers men’s basketball will host Ohio State this Sunday, a 2 p.m. game to wrap up the regular season. The game will be broadcast on BTN, with Jason Horowitz and LaPhonso Ellis on the call.

The game will be the program’s annual Senior Day, with Rutgers recognizing its seniors in a pregame ceremony. The Scarlet Knights will have eight student-athletes walking in the ceremony: Cliff Omoruyi, Aundre Hyatt, Mawot Mag, Oskar Palmquist, Noah Fernandes, Austin Williams, Aiden Terry and Zach Hayn.

Rutgers looks to finish the regular season with a winning record overall. RU is 15-15 overall and 7-12 in Big Ten Conference play. The team is on a five loss in six game skid following its four-game February winning streak.

Rutgers wrapped up a two-game road swing to Nebraska and Wisconsin this past week with a 78-66 loss to the Badgers on Thursday night. Jeremiah Williams paced the team with 16 points at the Kohl Center, and has scored in double-figures in eight of the 10 games he’s been active for. Gavin Griffiths also put home 14 points, his second highest point total of the season and most since November 10. Griffiths has at least seven points three times in the past five games after doing so just twice in the previous 14 games.

The Scarlet Knights are No. 4 in the nation in defensive efficiency (91.9). The team is also in the top-25 in blocks, field goal percentage defense and turnover margin.

Clifford Omoruyi enters the game with 90 blocks and 3.0 per game, second in the country, behind only Eastern Kentucky’s Isaiah Cozart (116). Omoruyi is third in the nation and first in conference play in block percentage. Omoruyi has 19 games with at least three blocks this season.

Clifford Omoruyi enters the game with 1,239 points. He is just six points behind Bucky Hatchett for 22^nd all-time at RU. He is at 503 field goals, nine behind Ricky Shields for 17^th all-time at RU.

Omoruyi has 90 blocks on the season. He is three blocks from reaching sixth on RU’s single-season list and four from reaching fourth. Last season, Trayce Jackson-Davis led the Big Ten with 92 blocks. With three more rejections this season, Omoruyi will have the most blocks of any Big Ten player since Jaren Jackson’s 106 in 2018.

Ohio State enters the game at 18-12 overall and 8-11 in Big Ten play. The Buckeyes are 4-1 in their last five games under interim head coach Jake Diebler. That started with a 73-69 home win over projected No. 1 seed Purdue on February 18, and then OSU is on a three-game winning streak currently with victories over Michigan State, Nebraska and Michigan.

OSU is led by Bruce Thornton at 16.2 points per game. He is also first in the Big Ten and sixth nationally in assist to turnover ratio. He is followed closely by Jamison Battle (14.6 ppg) and Roddy Gayle Jr. (13.8 ppg). Felix Okpara has 66 blocks and is second in the conference to Omoruyi and 17^th nationally. Battle is seventh in the nation in three-point percentage (43.6%).

Rutgers and Ohio State will match up for the 18th time in history, with the past 17 of those coming since 2015, RU’s first year in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes lead the series 12-5, with both teams winning two games apiece in the last four matchups since 2022. Earlier this season, the Scarlet Knights restarted Big Ten play on January 3 at Value City Arena, falling 76-72 to the Buckeyes. In that game, Derek Simpson led RU with 23 points while Noah Fernandes put in 17 points.

The game against Ohio State marks the end to the regular season. The Big Ten Tournament will take place next week in Minneapolis at the Target Center. The tournament opens on Wednesday night with games streaming on Peacock. Matchups will be finalized following the conclusion of the regular season.

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