PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Rutgers men's basketball plays its second straight game and fourth of the year against a fellow New Jersey school as the Scarlet Knights face Princeton at noon on Saturday. The game is at a neutral site (the Prudential Center in Newark) as part of the Never Forget Tribute Classic, with a broadcast on FS1, with John Fanta and Jim Spanarkel on the call. This will be the seventh edition of the Never Forget Tribute Classic, which benefits a 9/11 charity.
Rutgers is coming off a thrilling win over rival Seton Hall in the Garden State Hardwood Classic, downing the Pirates, 66-63. earned Game MVP honors after scoring 24 points and making the game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer.
Harper is third in the nation in points (23.4) and fifth in field goals made (8.1 per game). He is the only player in the nation with two games of 36+ points this season. He's also the reigning NCAA Player of the Week, Met Basketball Writers Player of the Week and Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week.
also contributed 21 points against SHU, with he and Harper combining for 68% of the team's scoring output. He's second on the team at 17.9 points per game, and gives RU two of the top seven scorers in the Big Ten.
Rutgers will play its fourth neutral site game of the year. Previously, RU went 1-2 in Las Vegas at the Players First Tournament. The Scarlet Knights last played at the Prudential Center last season, earning a road win over Seton Hall.
Rutgers has scored at least 66 points in every game this season, reaching 75 points seven times, and averaging 78.5 points per game this season. Rutgers has never averaged more than 69 points per game under head coach . The last time RU averaged over 70 points per game was 2013-14 (71.1 ppg). In fact, RU has averaged over 70 points per game for a full season just that one time since the start of the 2001-02 season.
joined RU this year as a graduate transfer from Princeton. He averaged 5.4 points and 2.7 rebounds across three seasons (69 games). This season, the Warren, N.J. native has averaged 4.5 points, with a best output of 18 points against Monmouth.
Rutgers and Princeton will meet for the 122nd time all-time. Princeton holds a 76-45 series advantage all-time. Since 2000, RU is 11-4 in the past 15 meetings. Last season, the two schools met in the season opener in a neutral site game in Trenton as part of the Jersey Jam, where Princeton came away with a 68-61 win. The lone player on this season's RU roster to appear in that game was , who had five points and a team-high seven rebounds in his collegiate debut.
Princeton is 8-4 overall and 2-0 in mutual opponents with Rutgers (Merrimack and Monmouth). PU is led by Mitch Henderson, in his 13 season as head coach, and have made two NCAA Tournament appearances since 2016 including a Sweet 16 run in 2023.
The Tigers are 13 nationally, averaging 10.8 three-pointers per game. Xavian Lee averages 15.8 points and 5.6 assists. Dalen Davis is at 11.8 points while Caden Pierce averages 11.3 points and leads the team with 6.7 rebounds per game.
Rutgers will have a nine-day break before its next game, hosting another Ivy League foe in Columbia on December 30 at Jersey Mike's Arena. Big Ten play resumes at the start of the new year, as RU trips to Bloomington to face Indiana on January 2.