On Feb. 4, 1916, two small New Jersey universities separated by lower than 30 miles met for the primary time ever on the hardwood. Held in Piscataway, NJ, Rutgers College defeated Seton Hall College, 40-20—kicking off what has since turn out to be the most heated and historic sports rivalry within the state, in addition to one of the most intense in all of school basketball.
SHU males’s basketball will welcome in-state rival Rutgers University (RU) to the Prudential Center on Dec. 13 for the 76th all-time assembly between the 2 universities and the collection’ ninth straight sellout.
It can also be the eleventh installment of the Garden State Hardwood Classic (GSHC), which was created in 2014 to protect the crew’s rivalry after RU departed from the BIG EAST the 12 months prior. The winner not solely earns bragging rights till their subsequent assembly, however can also be introduced with a trophy of the sport’s namesake, constructed from recycled Asbury Park boardwalk planks salvaged after Hurricane Sandy. The Pirates lead 42-33 within the all-time collection and 6-4 for the reason that creation of the trophy.
Both groups entered final season’s edition of the sport amid historic seasons—albeit for very completely different causes.
In that sport, the Pirates arrived at Jersey Mike’s Arena with 5 of the seven complete wins they’d earn all season. Although nobody knew it on the time, a rivalry win over RU would have been a silver lining for what would later turn out to be the worst season in program history.
Former Pirate Dylan Addae-Wusu in final 12 months’s sport in opposition to Rutgers at Jersey Mike’s Arena | Photo by way of Seton Hall Athletics | The Setonian
The Scarlet Knights, then again, had been within the early phases of their “most anticipated season” ever. Led by Jersey native Dylan Harper—the highest-ranked recruit in this system’s historical past—and five-star ahead Ace Bailey, who had been each lottery picks within the 2025 NBA Draft (the second and fifth choose, respectively), RU introduced its strongest crew in years to the annual rivalry sport.
And but, the sport was nonetheless shut to the very finish. Tied 63-63 within the closing seconds, the Pirates in the end fell to the Scarlet Knights, 66-63, thanks to a game-winning buzzer-beater by Harper—who obtained the Joe Calabrese MVP Award after the sport for his late-game heroics and 24-point efficiency.
Entering this 12 months’s edition of the sport, nevertheless, issues are a lot completely different. With their 77-61 win over Central Connecticut State (CCSU) on Dec. 4, SHU has already surpassed final season’s win complete, doing so in 16 fewer video games. Follow that with their street win over Kansas State University (KSU) on Saturday, and the Pirates now boast their finest document (9-1) via ten video games for the reason that 2021-22 season.
Their win over KSU was additionally one of two wins the crew has in opposition to Power 4 Conference opponents this season, with the other coming in opposition to then-No. 23 North Carolina State University on Nov. 25 within the Maui Invitational—their largest win of the season up to now.
The Pirates are additionally one of the highest defensive groups within the nation, rating fourth nationally in blocks per sport (6.6), eleventh in scoring protection (61.9), and twelfth in steals per sport (10.7), amongst different classes. Against KSU, they held the nation’s main scorer, PJ Haggerty, to simply 11 factors (14 beneath his common) on 3-of-12 (25%) taking pictures.
After receiving six votes final week, SHU obtained 31 votes within the latest Associated Press (AP) Top 25 Men’s College Basketball Poll launched on Dec. 8—placing them simply outdoors the highest 25 as successfully the Thirty first-best crew within the nation. A win over RU on Saturday may earn the Pirates their first nationwide rating for the reason that 2021-22 season.
Meanwhile, the Scarlet Knights’ season up to now has been lackluster. After beginning the season 4-0, they’ve since gone 1-5—a skid that started with a tricky 67-54 house loss to the identical CCSU crew the Pirates defeated only a week later. To their credit score, additionally they misplaced to three nationally ranked opponents throughout that stretch, together with the then-No. 17, now-No. 13 University of Tennessee Volunteers, the No. 1 Purdue University Boilermakers, and the No. 3 University of Michigan Wolverines—with the latter two coming inside the identical week.
A win over SHU on Saturday would transfer RU to 6-5, forestall their second three-game shedding streak of the season and spoil their rival’s sturdy begin to the season.
Ahead of the matchup, Matthew Mangam, the pinnacle sports editor of RU’s student-run newspaper, The Daily Targum, provided some extra perception on the Scarlet Knights—and the way their season has gone worse than anticipated.
“Going into the season, we pretty much all knew it would be a tough year for us,” Mangam mentioned. “The expectations were low, but it’s kind of like, ‘Wow, this is bad.’”
Former Pirate Kadary Richmond within the final Garden State Hardwood Classic held at Prudential Center in 2023 | Photo by way of Seton Hall Athletics | The Setonian
Mangam talked about the crew’s many struggles this season, together with their incapacity to rating, mediocre protection and poor shot choice.
“I think the signs of this team’s weakness are finally showing,” he mentioned. “They can’t score…. the defense is not good, their 3-point defense is bad—I hate to say it, but it’s like every side of the floor has a problem.”
As for how the remaining of the season performs out, Mangam believes the crew will win some video games of convention play, however that the season will “positively be related to SHU’s final 12 months.”
Although he anticipated SHU to be higher than final 12 months, Mangam additionally expressed how impressed he’s by the progress the crew has already made this season.
“I thought they were gonna be better, but I’m like, ‘Wow, it’s gelling that fast?’” he mentioned. “They have so many transfers that are doing well, they can rebound, they can block shots, they can get steals.”
He had the most reward for SHU’s protection, saying {that a} nationally-ranked defensive crew is “what Rutgers aspires to be.”
“They defend with high energy, get in your face type of guys, and it shows that you can win games off of your defense,” Mangam mentioned about SHU. “They’ve played some good teams, and have shown that they can hang with [them].”
Given SHU’s sturdy protection, Mangam believes RU can have to “take higher pictures, shoot extra 3-pointers, and win the rebounding if they need to win this sport.
“Which is gonna be hard for them,” he added.
While he needs that they had extra to cheer for this season, Mangam mentioned that RU college students all the time present out for the GSHC, and that this 12 months on the Prudential Center might be no completely different.
“It’s always an intense game, it means a lot to the players, and the fans always show up,” Mangam mentioned. “If it’s a close game, they’ll be loud, they’ll be into it.”
And but, regardless of the place the packages stand record-wise, the sport is sort of all the time an in depth one. 23 of the final 30 conferences have been determined by six or fewer factors, together with final 12 months’s sport which was determined by a single possession.
As talked about, a win on Saturday would imply two very various things for every program—a possible nationwide rating for SHU, and a return to the win column for RU. But extra importantly, a win would decide whether or not the GSHC trophy will belong to South Orange or New Brunswick—and whether or not Jersey might be painted Pirate Blue or Scarlet Red till the rivals meet once more.
Zachary Mawby is the pinnacle editor of The Setonian’s Sports part. He could be reached at [email protected].