After a decisive win over Rider on opening night, Rutgers Men’s Basketball will look to keep the momentum going as they take on both Maine and Lehigh at home this week.
The Black Bears (0-2) have had a rough
start to their season, as they lost to George Washington 67-47 on opening night and 71-60 against Stony Brook last Saturday.
The Bears are led by forward TJ Biel, who has 22 points, 14 rebounds, and four blocks this season. The forwards for Maine are its best position group so far this season, as another one of the team’s top performers is Ace Flagg, who has 18 points, 11 rebounds, and four steals so far this season. Fun fact: Ace Flagg is the twin brother of the 2025 first overall pick Cooper Flagg.
The Scarlet Knights should be looking to cruise to an easy victory in this game, as the Bears have shown that they struggle to be competitive at a much lower level. It would serve Rutgers well if it could pull away early, so players further down the depth chart get more time on the court.
The Knights’ matchup against the Mountain Hawks (1-2) on Friday could be used as an early measuring stick to see where this team is at. Lehigh pulled off a win against DIII Valley Forge, but got trounced in their two games playing D1 opponents, as they fell to No.2 Houston 75-57 and West Virginia 69-47.
The Hawks top performer over the first three games is guard Andrew Urosevic. He is averaging 13 points per game in just over 12 minutes per game. Another one of the Hawks top performers is forward Hank Alvey, who is averaging 7.7 points per game, 7.7 rebounds per game, and 2.3 blocks per game.
This is another game where the Knights should be able to walk away with a comfortable victory. This game could be a good gauge to see where Rutgers is at since Lehigh has already played several power programs and lost by a lot each time. Depending on how competitive the game is, we should get a look at how the Knights stack up against other teams from the same level.
Rutgers game against Maine is scheduled for Monday night at 6:30 while their game against Lehigh is scheduled for Friday at 6:30. Both games are at home. The broadcast for the game against Maine will be available on Fox while the game against Lehigh will be available on the Big ten Network.
