After falling to UCLA in the third round of the Big Ten tournament, it was expected that the season would be over for Rutgers men’s basketball. Then, in a surprise twist, the Scarlet Knights were invited to the College Basketball Crown, an eight-team tournament run by Fox Sports, where each team participating dukes it out for a trophy and an NIL cash prize. Rutgers accepted the invitation and is set to take on Creighton tomorrow.
Despite falling to UCLA in their last game of the conference tournament,
the Knights have been playing much better lately, going 3-2 in their last five games. The freshmen on the team have made substantial progress in their development, and it has shown on the court. On top of that, several of the transfers who joined the team last season have made their case for retention this offseason.
Creighton has had a season full of ups and downs. They pulled off a stunning 91-84 victory over No.7 UConn before losing three out of their last five games. They were also swept this season by Providence, who finished tied for second-to-last in conference play. Injuries played a major factor in the team’s performance this season. The Blue Jays will be without forward Jackson McAndrew, forward Josh Townley-Thomas, and guard Austin Swartz, with McAndrew and Townley-Thomas being out for the season and Swartz not listed on the team’s college basketball crown roster.
It should also be noted that Creighton head coach Greg McDermott plans on retiring when the season is over after 16 years with the team.
The Blue Jays are led on offense by guard Josh Dix, who is averaging 13 points per game. Forward Jasen Green leads the team in rebounds with 6.1 per game, while guard Nick Graves leads the team in assists with 4.3 per game.
As a team, Creighton averages 75.1 points per game, 35.2 rebounds per game, and 15.5 assists per game, while shooting 44.8 percent from the floor, 76 percent from the line, and 34.5 percent from three. In comparison, Rutgers averages 70.6 points per game, 72.7 rebounds per game, and 12.6 assists per game while shooting 41.8 percent from the field, 74.1 percent from the line, and 32.8 percent from three.
Rutgers defense will need to be on its game to pull off the win because, even with all the injuries, Creighton still has three players who average 10 or more points per game compared to only one on the Knights. Rutgers has used a full-court press to throw off their opponents late in the game and will likely use something similar here, especially considering that the other side is short-handed.
There were some questions raised when the Knights accepted the invitation to the crown on whether or not this would be good for the program. While we still have yet to know the lasting impacts of that decision, and how it might affect Rutgers’ capabilities in the transfer portal, head coach Steve Pikiell did not seem concerned about that, stating that he still has a phone in Vegas and can do what he needs to do from there.
Rutgers vs Creighton will tip off tomorrow at 10:30 pm inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Live overage for the game will be available on FS1.
