By Mike Vorkunov

Rutgers has made a late but significant addition to their 2011 incoming class. Eli Carter, who played at Brewster Academy this past season, committed to the Scarlet Knights on Friday, filling out the group that will come in as freshmen next season. He previously played at St. Anthony High School.

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By Mike Vorkunov

Myles Mack, a point guard at St. Anthony High School and a member of Rutgers’ 2011 recruiting class, was named a 2011 ESPN Rise First Team All-American today. He led the school to an undefeated record in 33 games this past season and the No. 1 spot atop the USA Today Super 25 poll. In leading the Friars to a Tournament of Champions title, he averaged 15.2 points, 3.6 assists and 2.9 steals while shooting 49 percent from the field.

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By Danny Breslauer

PISCATAWAY—It had all the elements of a once-in-a-generation basketball game. Every person of status from the New Jersey hoops scene and beyond was in attendance.

The 8,000-seat Louis Brown Athletic Center on Rutgers University’s campus was sold out seven hours before tipoff. HBO and “60 Minutes” owned the baseline media presence and alums turned college stars took to Twitter to brag about their basketball programs.

And by the way, No. 1 St. Patrick and No. 2 Saint Anthony were in a sectional title game playing the de facto high school national championship, featuring two of the nation’s premier coaches, Kevin Boyle and Hall-of-Famer Bob Hurley.

Not too shabby for a Wednesday night in March.

The second-ranked Friars (29-0) out of Jersey City used a 23-5 fourth-quarter run to come-from-behind and outclass the top-ranked Celtics (26-1) of Elizabeth 62-45. Saint Anthony was led in scoring by Rutgers signee Myles Mack with 19 points. Continue Reading

By Mike Vorkunov

“The Big East Conference acknowledges that two separate officiating errors occurred at the conclusion of the St. John’s vs. Rutgers game. Both missed violations should have caused the game clock to stop and a change of possession to occur prior to the end of the game. Neither error is reviewable or correctable under NCAA playing under NCAA playing rules.”

A cold, lifeless statement from Commissioner John Marinatto was all the empty justice Rutgers received. Mike Rice held the piece of paper in his hand in the narrow corridors of Madison Square Garden, calmly answering questions about fairness, mistakes and referees. The time for uproar and anger had passed. The normally irascible coach showed no ire.

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By Mike Vorkunov

That’s it for day one from Madison Square Garden for the Big East Tournament. It’s the best first day I can remember. Two great endings, one big upset and some pretty good personal performances. Let’s recap it.

Game of the Day: Two choices for this one and the loser gets the category below. Rutgers and Seton Hall had their third matchup of the year Continue Reading

By Mike Vorkunov

NEW YORK — In the heart of chaos, Mike Rice told his players to breathe.

All the momentum Rutgers held in flipping the game on its head in the second half had now evaporated in a moment of sweet shooting. Seton Hall was reinvigorated thanks to a game-tying 3-pointer by Jeremy Hazell. And the coach earned himself a heaping of second-guessing by not fouling while up three in the game’s final seconds.

Still, Rice wanted his players to breathe. Why? Because they were prepared for this.

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By Mike Vorkunov

The Big East Tournament is a five-day long, 16 team battle royale that starts today at Madison Square Garden. It is the unmitigated beast of all college basketball conference tournaments.

Success on the court is the obvious endgame but before players and coaches can have their moment, a lot of planning goes into making sure that what can be a four or five day run in New York a possibility.

It sounds all simple enough: book a hotel, find a place to practice and eat up the Marriott points if you play into Saturday. But each program has found a formula that works for them, while first time coaches may struggle with the logistics of the Big East tournament.

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By Mike Vorkunov

Seton Hall and Rutgers each had a player named to a Big East postseason team.

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