Senior Night vs. Rutgers

Foe: Rutgers Scarlet Knights (10-15) (1-11)

Recent History: The all-time series has been a little lopsided; Nova leads 23-8. However, Rutgers is on a one game winning streak after their 80-68 win at the RAC last season. The Scarlet Knights were led by Anthony Farmer and Mike Coburn who had 23 points each. Villanova was led by Malcolm Grant who also had 23 points. The loss was the first of five in a row, representing the low-point of Villanova's season before they bounced back all the way to the Sweet 16. This year Rutgers is led by freshman Mike Rosario (17 ppg) from St. Anthony. He is the only player on the team averaging double digit scoring, but they have a few players, including Farmer and Coburn, who are capable of stepping up. Rutgers has two of the top shot blockers in the nation: Greg Echenique and Hamady N'Diaye, both averaging 2.5 blocks a game.

Best Win: 75-56 vs. DePaul

Worst Loss:64-63 vs. St. Bonaventure

Famous Alumni: Basketball: Quincy Douby, Eddie Jordan, David Stern, Jim Valvano
Other: Marc Ecko, Bill Bellamy, James Gandolfini, Joe Borowski, David DeJesus, Tom Emanski

Fun Facts:

• Rutgers made the 1976 Final Four.

• Rutgers was one of the first four schools (Yale, Columbia, Princeton) to participate in intercollegiate athletics.

• Last year 786 Rutgers students broke the Guinness World Record for "Largest Gathering of People Dressed as Ninja Turtles".

Complimentary Youtube Video:

Final Verdict: Rutgers is 1-11 in the Big East, which means two things: 1) they are not very good, 2) they are hungry for a win. Villanova should take them seriously for that second part, and also keep in mind that they are a young team capable of getting better as the season progresses. With that said, it is senior night in the Pavilion, and I don't see any way Dante Cunningham, Dwayne Anderson, Shane Clark, and Frank the Tank Tchuisi lose this one.

TV: ESPN2 9:00 PM

Links: VUHoops, IBBW, VBTN, Let's Go Nova, Villanova Viewpoint, Wiki, AP