NEWARK, N.J. — Rutgers and Seton Hall are going to renew their men’s basketball rivalry with a game at the Prudential Center on Dec. 12. The schools announced the game Tuesday.
Last year’s annual Garden State Hardwood Classic was not played because the schools had trouble making a deal for the game because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rutgers defeated then-No. 22-ranked Seton Hall 68-48 in front of a sellout crowd at the Rutgers Athletic Center in 2019 in the most recent meeting. The game will mark the 72nd matchup in a series that dates to 1916.
Rutgers, of the Big Ten Conference, is coming off of its first NCAA tournament appearance since 1991. The Scarlet Knights defeated No. 7 seed Clemson for the team’s first NCAA tournament victory since 1983. Coach Steve Pikiell’s team has posted back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 1990-91 and 1991-92 and won double-digit conference games in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1989-90 and 1990-91.
Seton Hall (Big East) went 14-13 last season and had a string of four straight NCAA tournament appearances snapped. The Pirates lead the series 40-31.