UNBEATEN PANTHERS STREAK ENDS TONIGHT!
by Bob Acton of
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One school who is flying under the radar in terms of garneringrespect from the sportswriters of America is Rutgers Universityand I would suggest to the betting man, that he begins to paysome attention to the Scarlet Knights.
Their football team led by former University of Miami assistantGreg Schiano had a fantastic year finishing 7-4 and gave ArizonaState all they could handle in the Insight Bowl before losing45-40.
The women’s basketball team is ranked 9th in the nation at 12-2and could be a sleeper in the tournament this year and the men’sprogram is 12-4 and tonight hosts undefeated 14-0 Pittsburgh atthe “Rack” in New Jersey.
They were barely beaten on the road at Illinois and both lossesat home came against Villanova and probably the nation’s mostunderrated team Charlotte. The linemakers have established Pittsburghas a -2 ½ point favorite and that in itself tells me that Rutgersis the play.
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The Panthers are coming off a huge win at Louisvilleand have beaten Wisconsin and won at South Carolina, so this smallspread and the fact that they have beaten the Knights seven ina row, has me riding the dog!
Pitt is scoring 75.3 ppg this season on 46 percentshooting from the field and the club is limiting its opponentsto 59.2 ppg on 38.9 percent overall efficiency. Rebounding hasbeen an obvious area of strength for the club, as it is pullingdown 9.2 rpg more than its foes. Carl Krauser leads the Pantherswith 17.0 ppg on 42.2 percent shooting from behind the arc. Krauseris also tops with 62 assists and 26 steals and he typically hasthe ball in his hands late in close games. The only other double-digitscorer for the Panthers is Aaron Gray, an underrated frontcourtperformer who adds 13.1 ppg and 10.5 rpg to the mix. Gray sealedthe victory over Louisville with a pair of late free throws, provingthat he can handle big-time pressure. The center finished thatgame with 10 points and 12 boards, while Levance Fields pacedPitt with 13 points off the bench. As for Krauser, he was heldto eight points by the Cardinals. The fact that the Panthers wonon the road despite shooting 37.7 percent from the floor is abit surprising.
Rutgers has played 16 games, and only once hasa player other than Quincy Douby led the team in scoring. Doubyis not a household name by any means, but he is one of the nation'smost gifted scorers and gives the Scarlet Knights a chance towin every night regardless of the competition. He is averaging23.3 ppg and has scored at least 20 points in nine consecutiveoutings. Douby has also recorded 40 steals, more than twice asmany as his closest teammate. Unfortunately, no other player forRutgers is averaging double figures in the scoring department.Douby shot just 6-of-20 from the floor against DePaul but stillfinished with 20 points to pace his team. Marquis Webb added 13points for the Scarlet Knights, while J.R. Inman and Anthony Farmerfinished with 11 points. Rutgers connected on just 37.3 percentof its field goal attempts in the tilt, but the club managed tolimit the Blue Demons to just 34.9 percent overall shooting.
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