Big East Sports Blog

The Connecticut Huskies used four players in double figures and held Rutgers to just 34 percent shooting from the field to cruise to an 81-65 victory on Tuesday night.  Guard A.J. Price was a one-man show for the Huskies (11-3, 2-1) with 25 points, seven assists and four boards.  Price was perfect from beyond the arc, going 4-of-4 on 3-point attempts.  Jeff Adrien had 20 points and 14 rebounds.  Stanley Robinson added 15 points and Jerome Dyson had 12 points to go along with nine steals. 

For the Red Storm (7-7, 1-2), Justin Burrell led the way with 17 points and Anthony Mason Jr. added 14, including scoring the first seven points of the game for St. John’s.  The Red Storm have lost three of their last four, and dropped two of their first three conference games.

UConn used an early 14-2 run in the first half to build a 10-point lead, 22-12.  Burrell did his best to keep it honest, scoring seven straight points for the Red Storm towards the end of the first half, but the Huskies held a strong lead at halftime, 45-32.

The second half didn’t fare well for St. John’s, as UConn went on a 13-6 run to go up 20, 58-38, essentially putting an end to this one.  UConn beat St. John’s for the seventh consecutive time, and improved their home record in Big East opening games to a perfect 9-0.

Connecticut will face their biggest challenge in conference play when they lock horns with No.7 Georgetown on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.  Rutgers will also return to action Saturday at noon when they host DePaul.

It’s uncertain whether or not junior running back Ray Rice will return to New Brunswick for his senior senior, but if this was his last game as a Scarlet Knight, what a way to go.

Rice shook off tacklers, ran around, over, through, and past Ball State defenders to help propel Rutgers to their second straight bowl victory 52-30 over Ball State in the International Bowl on Saturday.  Rice ran for 280 yards on 35 carries and four scores, while eclipsing the 2,000-yard plateau.

Rutgers (8-5) scored in double digits in every quarter (14 poitns in the 1st, 3rd, and 4th, and 10 in the 2nd).  Rice had two scores in the third quarter, a 1-yard run and a monstrous 90-yard on the first drive of the third quarter.  Rice set a school record rushing for over 100 yards in eight straight games and finished the season with 2, 012 rushing yards.  Quarterback Mike Teel finished the day 16 of 25 for 303 yards and three touchdowns, setting a school record with his 20th touchdown pass of the year in the fourth quarter. Wideout Kenny Britt hauled in six receptions for 125 yards and a touchdown, while Rutgers finished the afternoon with a whopping 595 yards of total offense.

For Ball State, the Cardinals close out the year 7-6.  Quarterback Nate Davis was 25-of-49 for 291 yards and three touchdowns. Wide receiver Dante Love turned in a big day with 13 catches for 169 yards and one touchdown, and Darius Hill had nine catches for 89 yards and two scores.

The Scarlet Knights dominated every aspect of the game and put on an offensive clinic in Canada.  Rice had one of the most memorable rushing performances in a bowl game and Mike Teel set a school record for touchdown passes in a single season.  The outcome of this one was never in doubt.  Rutgers led at halftime 24-9, and turned the offense up a few notches in the second half, blowing the doors off with a 28-point effort. 

Now, the big question comes:  Will Ray Rice be running back to Rutgers or straight to the NFL?

Offensively, it won’t be looked upon as a stellar game for the No.7 Hoyas, but then again the old saying is defense wins championships and the Hoyas can defense with the best of them.  No.7 Georgetown’s defense was in full effect on Saturday as they held Rutgers to 31.1 percent shooting, defeating the Scarlet Knights 58-46.

Georgetown (11-1, 1-0) won their sixth straight over Rutgers and seventh straight victory in Big East opening games.  The reigning Big East champs opened conference play with their first victory, led by freshman Austin Freeman who scored 13 points.  Jonathan Wallace had 11 points, including 3-of-3 from beyond the arc, and Jessie Sapp and DaJuan Summers both added 10 points.

Rutgers (8-7, 0-2) has lost four of their last five games and they’ve dropped eight of their last nine against the Hoyas.  J.R. Inman led the Scarlet Knights with 11 points and was the lone Knight in double figures.  Rutgers welcomed back second leading scorer Corey Chandler back to the lineup after missing the last three games with an injured foot, but struggled in his first game back finishing with six points on 2-of-13 shooting.

Rutgers had their chances in this one, but they missed a plethora of open, uncontested looks, from layups to dunks to free throws.  Despite their win, Georgetown had problems of their own, problems that seem to be carrying over into 2008.  Their free throw shooting continues to be a problem; the Hoyas were only 7-of-13 from the line with center Roy Hibbert missing on four of his six attempts.  Speaking of Hibbert, the big man is not having the type of season many expected for the pre-season Big East Player of the Year.  He struggled against a smaller Rutgers squad, finishing with only six points and four rebounds on 2-of-7 shooting from the field, and 2-of-6 from the free throw line. 

Maybe the most alarming factor is Georgetown’s rebounding.  They were outrebounded 43-26, and a whopping 22-4 disadvantage on the offensive glass.  Georgetown can get away with being outrebounded by Rutgers, but as they get deeper and deeper into Big East play, they simply won’t get by on being the more talented team.  Rebounding is an attitude, a feeling that you’re going to outwork the next guy no matter what it takes. 

The Hoyas need to find that killer instinct when it comes to hitting the glass, and it needs to start with Hibbert.  He cannot continue to be a non-factor and sleep walk through games.

Georgetown only led 27-20 at halftime, but they used a 12-3 suffocating run in the first five minutes of play in the second half to lead 41-25.  Their largest lead in the second was 47-30 with 10 minutes to play and the Scarlet Knights failed to mount a late charge.

Georgetown will face DePaul on Tuesday night at 9 p.m., while Rutgers will travel to Providence on Wednesday night 7:30 p.m.

Kentrell Gransberry and Dominique Jones combined for 44 points, nearly out-scoring Rutgers by themselves, as the duo sparked South Florida to a 68-45 rout of Rutgers on Wednesday night.  Jones led all scorers with 24 points, including a perfect 5-of-5 from three point range.  Gransberry turned in a stellar double-double, scoring 20 points and pulling down 17 rebounds.

It was the Big East opening games for both teams on Wednesday night.  It appeared South Florida was ready and geared up for their opener in conference play, while Rutgers was not.  It was a dreadful night shooting for the Scarlet Knights.  Rutgers shot 38.9 percent as a team from the field, but their 3-point shooting and free throw shooting failed them miserably.  They were 2-of-16 from beyond the arc and 1-of-8 from the foul line.  Both good for 12.5 percent shooting respectively. 

During the final 11 minutes of the ballgame, Rutgers managed to only three field goals.  Anthony Farmer was the only player Rutgers had in double figures with 14 points, while leading scorer J.R. Inman was held to just eight points on 4-of-13 shooting.

South Florida, which has 10 of their last 11 games, used an impressive 16-3 run to put the game out of reach 60-43 with four minutes to play.  The Bulls improve to 10-4 and 1-0 in the conference. 

Rutgers (8-6, 0-1) has lost three of their last four games and they’ll host No.7 Georgetown on Saturday afternoon.  South Florida will also be back in action Saturday at noon when they travel to the Carrier Dome to face Syracuse.

Rutgers held off a late rally from Manhattan to pull out a victory 73-67 on Saturday afternoon.  J.R. Inman notched a double-double for the Scarlet Knights, scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.  Anthony Farmer also had 16 points and Courtney Nelson added 12 off the bench.  With the victory, Rutgers improves to 8-5 on the season.

Inman scored seven consecutive points in 90 seconds for Rutgers, giving the Scarlet Knights a nine point lead 53-44 with 11 and a half minutes left in regulation.  The onslaught continued as Rutgers went on a 13-2 run, ballooning their lead to an even 20 points, 66-46. 

The Jaspers refused to go away and countered with a run of their own.  Manhattan went on a 19-4 run, cutting their deficit to five, 70-65.  But the man of the night for Rutgers sealed the deal, as Inman threw down a break away dunk with just over 30 seconds remaining to help Rutgers pick up the victory. 

Rutgers gets their first taste of Big East action on Wednesday, Jan. 2nd when they travel to Orlando to take on South Florida at 7 p.m.

Harris Mansell scored the go-ahead layup with 38.8 seconds to go, giving Rider a 61-57 win over Rutgers on Friday night.

Mansell netted 15 points and Ryan Thompson scored 19 points and grabbed 9 rebounds to help propel the Broncos to victory.  The win marks the first time Rider has defeated Rutgers in 13 games.  Rider improves to 8-4 on the season and have won three in a row, and four of their last five.

The Broncos were in control down the stretch, holding a 55-45 lead, until the Scarlet Knights came storming back, using a 12-2 run to tie the game at 57 with two minutes remaining.  Mansell put Rider in control for good, putting in a layup with 38.8 seconds left.  Rider would tack on two more free throws to ice the game.

Anthony Farmer led Rutgers in scoring with 18 points and J.R. Inman added 15 and Jaron Griffin had 13.  The Scarlet Knights shot just 36.1 percent from the field.  They hoisted a plethora of three-pointers, taking 21 attempts and only hitting on 5.  Rutgers led at halftime 27-26. 

The Scarlet Knights stand at 7-5, and have dropped two straight games.  They’ll have eight days off and a chance to correct things over the holiday break before they host Manhattan on Saturday Dec. 29th at 2 p.m.