The Rutgers Scarlet Knights have now won their first two games of the season with their recent 96-75 victory over the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights on Friday. They’re ranked 24th in the nation and are likely to see a bump if they continue playing this way.
Their victory comes on the heels of their 86-63 win over the Sacred Heart Pioneers on Wednesday. Both games were at home, and their next two are at home — including a game against the Syracuse Orange on Dec. 8.
The Scarlet Knights match up next on Sunday against the Hofstra Pride at 4 pm ET. It’ll be Pride’s first game of the season, so I wouldn’t expect much from them. It’ll be another momentum-builder for Rutgers in preparation for the Syracuse matchup.
Harper Jr., Mathis Leading the Way
The two impact players to start the season are clearly Ron Harper Jr. and Montez Mathis. They’ve been the most consistent, especially with Geo Baker suffering an injury in the first half of their first game. Harper Jr. and Mathis are both junior guards.
In Rutgers’ first game of the year, Harper Jr. led the way with 18 points, while Mathis chipped in with 15 points. Mathis repeated that performance in their last matchup with another 15 points, but Harper Jr. exploded for 30 points.
After shooting 1-for-8 from three-point range as a team in the first game, the Scarlet Knights made 7-of-19 in their second game. Five of those three-pointers came from Harper Jr., and Mathis added one as well. Free throws continue to be a problem, shooting 50% as a team through two games.
With Baker Out, Who’s Stepping Up?
There’s still no timetable on Baker’s return, but the Scarlet Knights are getting help in a big way from his teammates. More specifically, Rutgers has seen both Cliff Omoruyi and Jacob Young step up in the first two games two of the season.
In their first game, Omoruyi finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds. He was critical to the team’s victory but didn’t have that same type of impact in game two. That’s where Young really stepped up. He had 24 points, seven assists, four rebounds, and four steals.
The Knights’ defense has also been a bright spot for this team. They finished their last performance with 12 steals and nine blocks. That’s after recording 10 steals and four blocks in their first game of the season.
Mathis and Young both have six steals so far, while Myles Johnson has five blocks.
How Far Can This Team Go?
The Scarlet Knights are a team that could surprise some people, but losing Baker will certainly have an impact on their ability to compete against other ranked teams.
They’ll get a test against unranked Syracuse and then Maryland on Dec. 14 before hosting No. 8 Illinois on Dec. 20. They’ll need to win those three games to really turn some heads, but they’ll have plenty of opportunity after that to prove their worth for March Madness.