More photos » Don Wright - AP

Hamady Ndiaye will look to break the all-time Rutgers blocks record on Tuesday night against the Bearcats. (AP Photo/Don Wright)

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The four year journey through college could come to an end as soon as tomorrow for Rutgers senior center Hamady Ndiaye.  What the future will hold for him remains unsure, whether it's the NBA or an opportunity abroad.  But what remains certain is that Ndiaye will be transfixed in the Rutgers record book, and in Rutgers lore for years to come.

Today, Ndiaye was named the Big East Defensive Player of the Year.  "H" is the first player in the history of the Rutgers program to earn that honor, which is bestowed by the coaches of the Big East, a fact that has not been lost on him:

"Believe it or not, I am almost at a loss for words," said Ndiaye. "To be selected as Defensive Player of the Year by the BIG EAST coaches is very humbling. I would like to thank Rutgers, my coaches and my teammates for helping to make it possible."--Scarletknights.com

Ndiaye led the Big East in blocks this season with 140, becoming the first Rutgers player to ever lead the league in that category.  His 4.52 blocks per game ranks third nationally, and he stands just 2 blocks away from the all-time blocks record at Rutgers (Ndiaye sits at 353 blocks, 2 short of Roy Hinson's mark).

When Gregory Echenique went down for the season with an eye injury early in the season, it was Ndiaye he stepped up and became the leader of this Scarlet Knights team.  The man from Senegal brought the intensity every night, and wore his emotions on his sleeve, whether they be jubilation or disappointment.  Almost as impressive as his defensive performance was his emergence as an offensive threat.  Hamady averaged 9.5 points per game in his senior season and ranked second in the league in field goal percentage.

Hamady, a native of Senegal, who traveled to Rutgers from prep school in California has improved tremendously over the past 4 years.  With his size and defensive ability, there is talk of Ndiaye becoming an NBA draft pick or undrafted free agent.

No matter where his basketball career takes him, "H" will always be remembered at Rutgers for giving some heart to a lifeless team.  Congratulations Hamady.

More photos » Mel Evans - AP

Mike Rosario's 19 second half points led Rutgers to a 71-62 victory over Depaul on Saturday. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

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The scene may have been different, but Saturday's game against Depaul played out in the same manner as the first game that these two teams played on February 16th.  A turnover-plagued first half, poor shooting from their best scorers, and a seemingly insurmountable (well insurmountable in terms of the way RU was playing) 11 point halftime deficit were staring Rutgers right in the face.  And Rutgers responded.  Again.

“We were fortune in a way, being down 11 at half, which is exactly what we were down at DePaul. We could go at least go into our memory banks. We knew we had the capability of coming back. Our zone was outstanding. Our press was outstanding.”--Coach Fred Hill Jr

via ScarletKnights.com

Keyed by a huge second half by Mike Rosario (24 points, 19 in the second half), Rutgers ran away from the Blue Demons in the second stanza on their way to a 71-62 victory.  After a terrible first half in which the Knights trailed by as many as 14 points and seemed to be sleep-walking their way to another Big East defeat, the Scarlet Knights responded with a 12-0 run to open the second half and never trailed again on their way to their 5th conference win of the season.  Give head coach Fred Hill Jr. credit for making some good halftime adjustments, in particular his decision to go to the press which confused and confounded the Blue Demons into 9 second half turnovers which led to easy buckets for the Scarlet Knights.

Rosario's huge second half keyed the Rutgers comeback, but it was forward Jonathan Mitchell's 10 point first half that kept Rutgers in the game when it looked like they were going to get blown out of the building.  Mitchell finished the game 7-16 from the floor for 18 points and also added 7 rebounds for the Knights.  Mitchell shot particularly well from 2-point range, but was ineffective again from behind the three point arc (0-7).  Mitchell has been a pleasant surprise for Rutgers this season, but if there is one knock on him it's that he's settling for too many three pointers, instead of using his size and athleticism to get easy looks inside.  Mitchell is an abysmal 4-28 from downtown over his last four games, dropping his overall percentage to 35.3% on the year. 

Dane Miller reached double-figures for the 7th straight game contributing 10 points as well as 4 rebounds in the victory.  Miller has been superb of late, but was not as crisp in this game turning the ball over 5 times.  Miller needs to play within himself and let the guards do their job of pushing the tempo up the floor. 

Though it wasn't pretty, Rutgers got the job done against an underwhelming Depaul team, and has reached the 5 conference win mark for the first time since 2005-2006 season.  With the win, Rutgers leaps over Providence and St. John's into 13th place in the conference.  With only 2 games remaining in the regular season, it seems unlikely that RU will be able to improve their position anymore (they currently sit 2 games behind the logjam at 12th place).  There are many scenarios that could play out over the next week, but it does not look like RU's opponent in the first round of the BET will be decided until the final day of the regular season.  Of the potential first round opponents, I'd love to see RU take on either South Florida or Seton Hall and would like to avoid UConn if possible.

But before we get ahead of ourselves, Rutgers still has games remaining at home against SHU, and on the road against #16 Pittsburgh.  Seton Hall is in the logjam of teams at 7-9 in the conference and desperately needs a win after a heart-breaking loss today to Marquette in OT.  The second round of the Garden State rivalry comes this Thursday at 7:00 PM from the RAC and will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2.

More photos » Keith Srakocic - AP

Rutgers will need to do a better job today defending Depaul big man Mac Koshwal. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

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For the first time in over a month, the Rutgers basketball is on a losing streak.  Tuesday's lackluster performance against Seton Hall marked the second consecutive loss for the Scarlet Knights, and dropped the team to .500 overall on the season.  Rutgers used balance scoring in the second half to make a run at Seton Hall, but the abundance of turnovers and porous defense in the first half was too large of a hole for the Knights to climb out of. 

Rutgers returns home to face Depaul on Saturday afternoon in the Big East Pillow Fight of the Week.  Depaul is currently last in the Big East (8-19, 1-14), while Rutgers sits in 15th place (14-14, 4-11) with less than two weeks left before the start of the Big East tournament.  Today's game gives them an opportunity to improve their seeding come tournament time at MSG, and could serve as a confidence/momentum building game heading into Thursday's rematch with Seton Hall at the RAC.  Today's game will tip at 4:00 and will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU.

Depaul should be a familiar foe for Rutgers since they met less than two weeks ago on February 16th at Depaul.  In that game Rutgers buried themselves in a big first half hole, trailing by 17 at one point, but rallied back to to knock off the Blue Demons 68-64.  In that game, Rutgers main offensive weapons Mike Rosario and Jonathan Mitchell were a combined 4-21 for 15 points, and were bailed out by big games from Hamady Ndiaye (15 pts., 13 rebs) and Dane Miller (14 pts., 8 rebs).  For Rutgers to win today, they'll need a better effort from Rosario and Mitchell, and will also need Mike Coburn and James Beatty to be more careful with the ball as they combined for 9 turnovers in the last meeting.

Rutgers will need to find an answer for Depaul big man Mac Koshwal who is averaging 23.0 points per game over his last three games, and torched the Knights the first time around for 24 points.  Rutgers played good perimeter defense in the last meeting with Depaul, limiting the Blue Demons to 2-10 shooting from behind the arc.  They'll need to pay careful attention to Depaul's leading scorer WIll Walker who has never met a 3-point shot he didn't like, and can score in bunches if he gets hot.

I don't think a win here will save Fred Hill's job, but a loss could certainly help bring about the end of the FHJ era.  This is a game that Rutgers should win, and a home loss against the worst team in the conference (and perhaps worst among all of the power conferences) would not sit well with the fans.  Unfortunately I don't see this being a sell-out (or even half-full) and the Knights won't draw much energy from the fans.  That being said, Depaul is really that bad, and RU should win going away.  I see a big game from Jonathan Mitchell propelling the Knights to conference victory #5.

Rutgers 76 Depaul 60

Don't forget Big East fans, #4 Syracuse and #8 Villanova play in a big one tonight at the Carrier Dome.  The game will go a long way towards determining seeding for the BET and determining the regular season conference champion.  So after you've watched the 2 worst teams in the Big East battle it out in Piscataway, switch over to ESPN at 9 to watch the two best battle it out at Syracuse.

More photos » Bill Kostroun - AP

Jordan Theodore led Seton Hall with 10 first half points. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

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If you were planning on catching the end of a close game don't bother.  I'm going to watch something that will actually entertain me:  Porn The Olympics The Office marathon on TBS (prove me wrong Rutgers, prove me wrong).  Seton Hall scored the first basket of the game, and never trailed in the first half, using multiple runs to take a 44-29 halftime lead over the Scarlet Knights.  I don't know which was worse, the first-half dump that they laid against Depaul this week, or the half that they just "played".

Bad shots, blown lay-ups, turnovers, and porous defense highlighted the half for RU, as the home team embarrassed Rutgers in just about every way possible.  Seton Hall has been able to do whatever they want offensively against the Scarlet Knight's defense, with just a single turnover in the first half (compared with Rutgers 12).  This is a selfish, me-first team (with Mike Rosario the main culprit, in my opinion, he should be benched) with a bunch of chuckers that loves to takes bad shots, and pass up the good looks for awful passes.

This first half just goes to show the difference right now in these two programs.  Seton Hall is on the upswing while Rutgers is remaining stagnant.  Yes, they may end up with more wins than last year, but this is a terrible brand of basketball. 

Though Rutgers and Seton Hall may be only 23 miles apart on paper, the gap between the basketball programs is much larger.

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More photos » Bill Kostroun - AP

The Enemy. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

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Rocking the RAC went well for Rutgers for about 20 minutes.  Then the real UConn team showed up.  Keyed by a huge rebounding advantage in the second half, the Huskies turned a 3 point halftime lead into an 18 point victory Saturday in Piscataway.

Some quick thoughts on the UConn game, before we move into a quick preview of tonight's game against Seton Hall:

• It was evident against UConn that the biggest need for Rutgers is a capable center, especially when Hamady Ndiaye graduates at the end of this year.  UConn muscled up in the second half and physically man-handled the Knights down-low for a 39-32 rebound advantage.  The lack of an inside presence for RU wasn't lost on UConn Coach Jim Calhoun:

After his team had put the finishing touches on an 18-point victory over Rutgers Saturday afternoon, Jim Calhoun sat in front of the assembled media and uttered all the right things and proper compliments. He said how the future is bright for the Scarlet Knights and that they are on the right track.

But then he said the two things that still seem to separate programs like Rutgers from programs like UConn.

"I think they need a center and they need some confidence," the Connecticut coach said.--via NJ.com

• I know Rutgers likes to play an up-tempo style off turnovers, but too many times they throw the bad outlet pass after making a steal or a block.  There were at least 4 or 5 times where they would get a turnover, but give the ball right back on a bad half-court pass that would be picked off by a Huskie defender playing centerfield.
• This next point falls on both Fred Hill and the Rutgers' guards.  How many times do they want to dribble to the paint and attempt a dump-off pass to Hamady Ndiaye in traffic before they realize that this doesn't work.  For as much defensive intensity as 'H' brings, the guy has stone hands on short passes or bounce passes.  There were at least 3 or 4 times where the ball bounced directly off his hands and into the hands of UConn.  If something's not working, DON'T GO BACK TO IT!  I think that's the definition of stupidity.
• You gotta make your free throws.  10-20?  Gross.
• What's with Jonathan Mitchell hoisting so many three pointers?  He's 3 for 16 from behind the arc in the last 2 games, for a total of 10 points.  Mitchell has too much talent to settle for 3-point jumpers, esecially when they're not going down.
• On an unbasketball related note, thank you RU for the $7 ticket prices.  The money that I didn't spend got used on delicious pitchers of beer, and $25 dollars worth of Quiz Show on the Trivia Game at Olde Queens.  Kudos.

With the UConn game behind us, the Scarlet Knights will take the short ride up the Turnpike to take on hated rival Seton Hall at the Prudential Center.  The Pirates swept the season series from Rutgers last year, the first time that has happened since 2004.  The Pirates come into the game at 15-10 (6-8) on the season, and currently are on the outside looking in when it comes to the NCAA Tournament.  ESPN's Bubble Watch has Seton Hall in the "Work Left To Do" category as of Sunday's games:

Seton Hall [15-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 13] The Pirates missed a chance to really impress the NCAA selection committee, losing at West Virginia 75-63 on Saturday. Seton Hall has one of the least attractive profiles of the Big East bubble teams, so it has very little room for error down the stretch. The Pirates have lost four of their past seven games, but nine of their 10 losses have come against RPI top-50 foes. Seton Hall is 3-6 in road games, 3-9 against RPI top-50 opponents and 6-10 against the top 100. The good news for the Pirates: Three of their last five regular-season games come against teams in the bottom four of the Big East standings. They play Rutgers twice (home on Tuesday and road on March 4), play at Marquette on Sunday and close the regular season at Providence on March 6.

The fact that his team has work left to do has not alluded Seton Hall's Bobby Gonzalez who is looking forward to the stretch run:

"I’m worried about the here and now," the Seton Hall head coach said Monday afternoon. "We’re not talking about next season. We’re saying right here, right now, let’s try to do it now.

"It’s not too late for us. We don’t have a lot of room for error, but it’s out there."

 

While Seton Hall tries to make a tournament run, Rutgers is left to play for pride and the possibility of saving their coaches job.  At 14-13 overall (4-10 in the conference), Rutgers will need to split it's last four games to finish above .500 on the season, a small sign of progress for this team.

Rutgers would love nothing more than to knock-off Seton Hall tonight on their own court, and essentially eliminate them from NCAA consideration.  Veterans like Hamady Ndiaye, Mike Coburn and Mike Rosario are aware of the intensity of the RU-SHU rivalry, and will look to explain the fact that this is NOT just another game to the younger guys like Patrick Jackson, Austin Johnson, and Big East Rookie of the Week (for the 3rd consecutive time) Dane Miller.

To win, the key is stopping Jeremy Hazell.  Hazell has shredded Rutgers in the past, but is dealing with a hand injury which could enable Rutgers to slow him down.  SHU has a veteran ball handler in Eugene Harvey, and will need to take calculated chances at forcing turnovers, and not allowing easy run-outs or transition hoops for Seton Hall.  Rutgers (specifically Ndiaye) has the size advantage down low, and if he can post-up and use some of his patented slams to quiet the crowd, we could have a close game like many of the past RU-SHU games.

The last 10 games in the series have been split 5-5.  There have been 3 games that have gone to overtime of those 10.  There have only been 2 games in that timeframe that have been decided by double-digits.  On a dark, rainy night in Newark, I think these two rivals will provide some fireworks.  Hill and Gonzalez have a distaste for each other, and a loss here could seal their fates (Gonzalez to the NIT, Hill to the unemployment line).  I'd like to think Mike Rosario takes the game into his hands early, and one-ups Jeremy Hazell in a classic anything-you-can-do-I-can-do-better match-up.

Final Prediction:  Rutgers 67 Seton Hall 64

More photos » Michael Perez - AP

Jim Calhoun and Kemba Walker are currently on the outside of the NCAA Tournament picture. (AP Photo/Michael Perez)

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It will be a full house on Saturday afternoon at the Louis Brown Athletic Center as Rutgers looks to continue their winning ways against Jim Calhoun's Connecticut Huskies (15-11, 5-8).  This Big East showdown is a battle for 12th place (that's right folks, 12th!) in the conference pecking order.  Rutgers will look to make it 4 straight wins, and 5 out of 6 in Big East play (not done since 2001-2002).

The Huskies come into this game off one of their best efforts of the season, a 84-75 victory over #3 Villanova, in Philly.  That game came on the heels of an "embarrassing" (Jim Calhoun's words, not mine) 60-48 loss to Cincinnati, one of the worst games that UConn played in years.  The Huskies are squarely on the outside of the NCAA bubble, and the victory over 'Nova qualifies as their only stand-out win on their resume (I can't count that win against #1 at the time, but now reeling Texas as something that jumps off the page).  If UConn is to make any kind of push at the NCAA tournament, they'll need to win today in enemy territory.

Rutgers comes into this game after fighting back from a 17 point road deficit for a 68-64 victory on Tuesday over Depaul.  For Rutgers to end an 8 game losing streak against UConn (last win came in 2002 when the Huskies were ranked #17)  they'll need to work from the outside-in.  UConn leads the nation in blocks per game, and hold a +3 rebound margin over their opponents.  There won't be many putbacks or tips, meaning that the Scarlet Knight spot up shooters (Rosario, Mitchell, Beatty) will need to be knocking down shots.  The key on the defensive end is to stop Kemba Walker, who is the maestro of the UConn attack.  He can beat you with the slash/drive or the chucked 3, and if he gets confidence early he's tough to stop.  Walker's backcourt mate, Jerome Dyson, is a better natural scorer, but he's struggled from the field of late as he looks to find his outside shot.  On the inside, Rutgers center Hamady Ndiaye will need to avoid early foul trouble against Stanley Robinson and Gavin Edwards.  If Ndiaye has to head to the bench early, it could be a long afternoon for the Scarlet Knights.

Let's take a quick look at the stats that could shape this game:

This game presents the Scarlet Knights with a major opportunity to leap forward in the Big East.  This is not the invincible UConn team of the past.  This is a vulnerable, and desperate team that has struggled mightily on the road, and has shown inconsistency on the offensive end.  Fred Hill thinks that next year will finally be the year for Rutgers to head back to the NCAA tournament, but for him to be around to see that through, this is a game he probably needs to win.  If Rutgers can get some shots to go early, and get someone (anyone, I don't care who) to have a hot-hand to ignite the sold-out crowd, this could have the feel of one of those home games from the early 2000's that made the RAC one of the hardest places to play in the Big East. 

My gut feeling is that RU gets it done today.  Mike Rosario will rebound from poor performance's against Georgetown and Depaul to score 25 points, and Dane Miller will have a double-double to further bolster his case for Big East Rookie of the Year.

Rutgers 71 UConn 66

So Rutgers fans, make sure to take those $2 hot dogs out of your mouths long enough to make some noise.  It's time to make the RAC rock again. 

More photos » Tim Larsen - AP

Dane Miller has put himself in the running for Big East Rookie of the Year. (AP Photo/Tim Larsen)

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It wasn't pretty.

As a matter of fact, for most of the game it was downright ugly.  But these days, that's just the nature of the Big East:   You take a win any way you can get it.

Rutgers traveled to Depaul last night and turned the ball over 18 times, watched their two best scorers go 4-21 from the field, and led for only 5:26, and STILL managed to come out with a 68-64 victory at Allstate Arena.  Down by as many as 17 points in the first half, Rutgers (14-12, 4-9) used a late run to cut the halftime deficit to 11, and then methodically chipped away at the Blue Demons.  Mike Rosario's (3-12 FG's) 3 pointer with 3:26 left in the game broke a 60-60 tie, and the Scarlet Knights would never trail again in ending a 17 game Big East road losing streak which stretched back to March 3, 2008 when they defeated Seton Hall.  A road win in the Big East (no matter who it may come against) is something to be cherished, and Fred Hill Jr. agrees:

"I’m really proud of our guys," said Rutgers head coach Fred Hill. "That’s the next step for our program, to be able to go on the road (and win). The road is tough. I told the guys right after we beat Georgetown, we just beat the No. 7 team in the country and it’s going to be tougher out at DePaul than it was here at home. I sincerely meant that."--Via Scarletknights.com

I expected Rutgers to struggle early against the Blue Demons after the emotional victory on Sunday against Georgetown.  But even my wildest expectations could not have imagined what the Scarlet Knights would crap out and call basketball for the first 20 minutes of this game.  Granny-style behind the back-over-the-head passes, outrageous circle-style drives, and no defense were all part of the Scarlet Knight arsenal in the first half.  It was like Rutgers was holding auditions to join next year's Harlem Globetrotters.

But then things started to turn around.  Rutgers used its size and strength to out muscle the Blue Demons (they held a 43-25 rebounding advantage) and get easy looks at the basket.  With Rosario and Jonathan Mitchell (1-9 FG) struggling, the spirited comeback was led by Hamady Ndiaye who was a perfect 6-6 from the floor (15 points, 13 rebounds) and Big East Rookie of the Year Candidate Dane Miller who added 14 points and 8 rebounds for Rutgers.  The combination of Mike Coburn and James Beatty combined for a much needed 19 points, but the 2 also accounted for 9 turnovers which added to Rutgers early struggles.

RU has now won 5 of 6 overall (including 3 straight), and 4 of 5 in conference play.  In the last two games they've ended long slides on the road, and against Top 25 teams.  Is anything possible at this point for the Knights?

Let's not get crazy.  A good team would have put Rutgers away last night in the first half.  That was a terrible effort, probably the worst half I had seen from the team all year.  But they did win.  And momentum and confidence is now on their side.   

The true test to see if this team has fully turned it around comes this weekend.  UConn has been underwhelming to say the least, and the energy around this program is quickly snow-balling.  I could easily see a sold-out RAC crowd willing this team to victory (sidenote:  The game better be sold out with $7 tickets and $2 hot dogs.  How can you not be excited for that?!). 

In the last 3 weeks Rutgers has gotten back on the road to respectability, the next big speed bump for Fred Hill and crew comes Saturday in the form of the Huskies.

More photos » Mel Evans - AP

Can Fred Hill Jr. save his Job?(AP Photo/Mel Evans)

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It's easy to get wrapped up in the emotion of yesterday's 71-68 victory over #8 Georgetown, especially after this team had struggled for such a long stretch in the middle of the season.  Rutgers has now won 4 of their last 5 games, and 3 out of 4 in the Big East (the first time they've done that since the end of the Gary Waters era).  Unheralded stars like Dane Miller and Jonathan Mitchell have emerged to take the heat off of a struggling Mike Rosario, and yet again, Rutgers looks like they may have something that they can build off.

But should Head Coach Fred Hill Jr. be the one to continue the construction?  After yesterday's victory, Hill's 4 year record at Rutgers stands at 45-72 (38.4% win percentage), and an embarrassing 11-53 (17.2% win percentage) in Big East games.  Let's concede that when Fred Hill took over this team, the cupboard was pretty bare.  Hill did not have much to work with in the way of talent, and even less to work with in the way of incoming recruits. 

There have been many stories in the last 24 hours regarding the Georgetown victory as a potential job-saving win for Hill.  And of course, with 6 games left in the Big East season (plus the Big East tournament) Athletic Director Tim Pernetti is not tipping his hand either way:

Pernetti said he wouldn't make a decision on Hill's future based on one game, but this victory certainly can't hurt.

"I'm going to visit it," he said. "Much like I do with football, field hockey and everything else, I'm going to look at everything at the end of the year because regardless of where you end up you always want to try to look back on what you did and figure out ways to get better so that's what we're going to do."

-via SNY.com

I can't deny that this team is playing well.  Rutgers has looked very good over their last five games, and the pieces are there (if Rosario returns) for a potential run at the NCAA tournament next season.  They have young talent in guys like Dane Miller, Austin Johnson, and Patrick Jackson that they can build off for the future.  But what has Hill done to deserve the chance to get one more season?  Is this team that bad that we should be rejoicing over 3 Big East wins?

The victory over Georgetown was huge.  It puts a good feeling around this program heading into the last 6 games.  But why now?  This team clearly has had the talent all along, and all of a sudden they're playing hard and finding ways to win games.  The mark of a good coach is the ability to quell losing and disappointment.  This is college basketball, and teams are going to lose to both inferior and superior opponents.  But the good coaches know how to squash a losing streak.  That's why teams like Villanova (Jay Wright), Syracuse (Jim Boeheim), and West Virginia (Bob Huggins) are so successful.  Even though they may lose one or two games, the coaches never let the team hang their heads after a loss, or get too high after a win.  Rarely, if ever will you see a team like Nova, Cuse, or WVU lose 4 or 5 games in a row.

I just don't understand why, after 9 straight losses, has this team all of a sudden turned it on?  At points during that losing streak, Hill lost this team, with players openly admitting that the team had quit.  So, why are we to believe all of a sudden that come another loss this team won't quit again, that one loss won't spiral into 4 or 8?

We shouldn't be.  Rutgers can win the last 6 games of the season, and gain some buzz, but that still shouldn't matter.  This team went over a calendar month without a victory though they possess the talent to beat Georgetown and Notre Dame.  This is a team good enough to contend for postseason play, not one that should be content with 3 or 4 conference victories.

Sorry Fred, though Rutgers can build off this, you shouldn't be able to.