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Rutgers Men's Basketball to Host Syracuse in Big Ten – ACC Challenge
Game to take place on Tuesday, December 8
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers will host Syracuse on Tuesday, December 8 in the 22nd annual Big Ten / ACC Challenge. The matchup will pit a pair of former BIG EAST conference rivals in the first meeting between the two since 2013.
The contest will mark the 49th lifetime meeting between the Scarlet Knights and the Orange. The Scarlet Knights will be looking for their first victory over Syracuse since Jan. 29, 2003, when Jerome Coleman paced RU with 31 points and Herve Lamizana banked in a 3-pointer with 16.6 seconds left to give Rutgers a 68-65 win over No. 24 Syracuse, who went on to win the national championship. The series dates back to a first matchup in 1920, and saw the two play annually when both schools were members of the BIG EAST between the 1995 and 2013.
The Scarlet Knights are 2-4 lifetime in the Challenge. This is the first home game for RU in the Big Ten / ACC Challenge since 2017 when RU hosted Florida State. Under head coach Steve Pikiell, the Scarlet Knights have been the road team in three of the past four matchups. Last season, Myles Johnson (14 points and 14 rebounds) and Ron Harper Jr. (14 points and 10 rebounds) each had double-doubles in a 71-60 defeat at Pittsburgh. RU has claimed victories in the Challenge in road games at Miami (2018) and Clemson (2014).
Syracuse posted an 18-14 record last season, with a 10-10 mark in ACC play. The Orange are 3-4 all-time in the event.
Rutgers enters a highly anticipated 2020-21 season with momentum building following a highly successful campaign last season. Posting its first
winning season in 14 years, Rutgers secured the most home regular season wins in the nation (18), while also setting a program record for home victories. The Scarlet Knights tied for fifth in the Big Ten Conference, the nation's top-rated league per Ken Pomeroy, after being selected 12th in the preseason media poll. As a result, RU earned its first opening round bye in a conference tournament in 25 years, since the 1995 Atlantic 10 Championship, and was poised to secure its first NCAA Tournament berth since 1991.
The Scarlet Knights are appearing in multiple early Top 25 lists for the upcoming season, as high as No. 13 nationally. Rutgers is seeking to be ranked in the preseason for the fourth time in history and first time since prior to the 1978-79 season.
All 14 games will air on ESPN’s networks and be available via the ESPN app. Game times and networks will be announced at a later date.
The matchup marks the first announced game of the Scarlet Knights’ 2020-2021 season, with more information to come on the full schedule.