2024 Garden State Hardwood Classic Preview

by Nathan Thompson December 14, 2024

It will be the 75th edition of the Garden State Hardwood Classic, between historic cross-state rivals Rutgers and Seton Hall. The Pirates lead the all-time series over the Scarlet Knights, 42-32. The former conference mates have since gone away from playing two times a year, after Rutgers left the Big East for the Big Ten in 2014. Since then, the two teams have gone back and forth in their annual meetings, with plenty of storylines and special moments filled throughout each one. This year’s game, however, will certainly be different than in years past. With the new era of college athletics, specifically the transfer portal and NIL deals, most teams have to completely replace their roster every single offseason. This is the case for both of these teams, with Rutgers adding nine new players, and Seton Hall adding eight. This means that the newcomers have almost no awareness of how important and historic this rivalry is, since they have never experienced it before. Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see who comes out on top, with one team fighting for the sake of their season, and the other looking to just take care of business in what should be a “special season”.

Team Overviews:

Rutgers:

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights have many people aboard the hype train this year, with freshman phenoms Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey putting up new highlight reels every game in Rutgers’ uniforms. Harper leads the team with a staggering 23.4 points per game. Ace Bailey, while scoring a little less than Harper, leads the team in with 7.1 rebounds per game. Sharpshooting transfers PJ Hayes, Zach Martini, and Tyson Acuff have improved the three-point shooting tremendously compared to last year. Jordan Derkack has stuck to his role of being a facilitator and an all-time “glue guy”, alongside returnee Jeremiah Williams.

Seton Hall:

The Seton Hall Pirates are clawing for their season to be saved, from what could end up being a disastrous season for Shaheen Holloway’s group in his 3rd season at the helm. Following the key departures of backcourt players Kadary Richmond and Al-Amir Dawes, Seton Hall’s top priority was to replace their scoring numbers. But, they were not able to, thanks to a lack of NIL funding. Old Dominion transfer Chaunce Jenkins leads the Hall with 11.8 points per game. Other key returnees include Isaiah Coleman and Dylan Addae-Wusu. With losses to Fordham, Monmouth, and Hofstra, the Pirates must win this game if they want to have any chance of going dancing in 2025.

Keys for Rutgers:

Guard the Three: Despite being statistically bad at almost everything else, Seton Hall can shoot the ball at an elite level from beyond the arc. While it has been a struggle to do so, Rutgers must make sure every three point attempt is contested as much as possible without fouling.

Do Not Get Out-Rebounded: It has been a struggle for Rutgers when trying to clean the glass off misses this season, as they’ve gotten out-rebounded against some of the worst teams in the entire country. Luckily for Rutgers, Seton Hall might be the worst statistically in this category, and coming off a bounce back rebounding performance against Penn State, it shouldn’t be a struggle this time around.

Show No Mercy: One thing is clear in this matchup, and that is that Rutgers is clearly the more talented team. They have the better players, more hype, and have proven so on the court. But, Seton Hall will be playing for their season. Do not let them control your identity, and never take your foot off the pedal. The crowd will be rumbustious, and Rutgers must feed off the energy.

Keys for Seton Hall:

Play Spoiler: Hope that the Rutgers team is not focused or mentally prepared enough for the game, and is caught off-guard. It is possible that Rutgers was truly worn-out from this past week’s stressful win over Penn State, and could be overlooking the Pirates.

Bring the Intensity: Seton Hall must play with intensity and determination. The crowd will not be friendly towards you, so you have to create your own. All it takes is hitting back-to-back shots and it will quiet the rowdy Piscataway crowd. One hot-streak can change everything.

Stop Dylan Harper: Something that Texas A&M and Ohio State were able to do was to successfully double-team Dylan Harper, and force him to pass the ball away or take shots away from the basket, instead of allowing him to drive to the basket and potentially draw a foul. If Seton Hall can find the right guys to defend the future NBA star, they may be able to take advantage against the “supporting cast” of Rutgers, which have proven to be a liability on defense.