Men’s Basketball Back in Action Saturday Against LIU - Rutgers University Athletics (2025)

Ben Solomon

Men's Basketball Dec 13

Scarlet Knights Home for 1 pm game, live stream on B1G+

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – After a week break, the Rutgers' men's basketball team is back in action, hosting LIU on Saturday at 1 p.m. Rutgers returns to Jersey Mike's Arena for the matchup on December 16, its first home game in 14 days.

The Scarlet Knights have four consecutive Saturday games after the win over Seton Hall on December 9. RU hosts LIU (December 16), faces Mississippi State (December 23 at the Prudential Center), then hosts Stonehill on December 30 to close the 2023 calendar year. Between December 10 and January 3 (when RU resumes Big Ten play at Ohio State), the Scarlet Knights have just three games in a 24-day span.

Rutgers is 5-1 at home this season. At Jersey Mike's Arena, the Scarlet Knights are 19-7 at home over the past two seasons, 29-11 at home over the past three seasons and 47-12 at home over the past four seasons.

Rutgers enters the matchup with a 5-0 record in home non-conference games. The Scarlet Knights are 32-2 in the past five seasons at home against non-conference foes and have won 48 of their past 52 home non-conference games. Under head coach Steve Pikiell since 2016-17, Rutgers is 56-6.

The game will be live streamed on B1G+ with Dom Savino and Dominique Patrick on the call. Jerry Recco and Austin Johnson will have the radio call on WCBS 880 AM, while WRSU (Rutgers Student Radio, 88.7 FM) will have a broadcast with Ellis Gordon and Arnav Sarkar on the call.

Rutgers enters at 6-3 overall following a rivalry win in its last game. On Saturday, RU earned its first road win over Seton Hall since 2013 with a 70-63 win in the Prudential Center.

Rutgers made 12 three-pointers, its most in a game since making 12 at Minnesota on January 22, 2022. The last time RU made more than 12 in a game came with 14 vs. Drexel in 2018.

Joe Calabrese Game MVP Cliff Omoruyi had 11 points, 13 rebounds and seven blocks against the Pirates. Omoruyi had his sixth game this season with at least four blocks. In his last six games, he has averaged 5.0 blocks per game. In his last three games he has 18 blocks (6.0 blocks per game). Omoruyi's 162 career blocks at the Division I level are second most of any active player in the Big Ten, behind solely Zach Edey. He is second in the nation in blocks per game at 3.78.

Mawot Magreturned to action for the first time this season after injuring his knee in the win over Michigan State on Feb. 4 of last season. He provided a lift for the squad with eight rebounds and four points in 24 minutes of action. Rutgers is 17-7 with Mawot Mag in the lineup over the past two seasons and 8-10 in the games he has missed with the ACL injury.

Nationally, Rutgers is 10^th in blocks (6.2), 10^th in field goal percentage defense (37.2%), 11^th in scoring defense (60.9), 17^th in fast break points (17.00) and 23^rd in turnover margin (+4.3).

Clifford Omoruyi now has 747 career rebounds, moving past Dane Miller last game for 8^thall-time at RU in rebounds. He has 162 career blocks, which is also tied with Dane Miller, this one for seventh place.

Omoruyi became the 46^th player in Rutgers' history to record 1,000 career points, currently sitting at 1,010 for his career. He is within 16 points of 43^rd (Marquis Webb: 1,026; Rick Dadika: 1,023; Andrew Kolbasovsky: 1,015).

Under second-year head coach Rod Strickland, LIU enters the season at 1-8. Rod was a first-team All-American at DePaul (1985-88) and spent 17 seasons playing in the NBA for nine teams from 1988 to 2005. His son, Tai, is averaging 11.9 points, who joined LIU for his fourth school on a career that started in the Big Ten at Wisconsin. Eric Acker paces the Sharks at 12.7 points per game.

LIU is 41^st in the country in three-point defense, allowing just 48.7 percent. However, LIU is no better than 195^th nationally in any other statistical category and are west than 300^th in 18 stat categories.

Rutgers' first-year assistant coach Marlon Williamson spent four years at LIU-Brooklyn from 2017 to 2021, including a NCAA Tournament appearance in 2018.

RU is 9-1 vs LIU dating back to 1975, with the last matchup in 2003, and currently holding a six-game winning streak in the series. The last meeting was an 80-54 home win for RU under Gary Waters, with six players scoring in double-figures, led by Ricky Shields' 16 points. RU is 6-0 at home against LIU. The 1976 Final Four team defeated LIU twice in five days, including a win in the ECAC Tournament at Madison Square Garden.

LONG ISLAND (9-1)
1/4/75.......... W...... 97-87 H
2/28/76........ W.... 103-87 N
3/4/76.......... W.... 104-76 N
1/17/80......... L 67-68(OT) N
2/16/81........ W...... 90-72 H
2/11/82........ W...... 67-66 H
12/21/85...... W...... 82-67 A
12/21/91...... W.......86-72 H
12/19/92...... W...... 99-87 H
12/20/03...... W.......80-54 H

• Rutgers would improve to 10-1 all-time against LIU with their seventh straight win in the series.
• Rutgers would improve to 6-0 in home non-conference games this season, 14-1 in the last two years, 33-2 in the past five seasons at home, and would have won 49 of their past 53 home non-conference games, improving to 57-6 under head coach Steve Pikiell in non-conference home games.
• Rutgers would improve to 6-1 at home this season. The Scarlet Knights would be 20-7 at home over the past two seasons, 30-11 at home over the past three seasons and 48-12 at home over the past four seasons.