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BY MATT SUGAM
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
PISCATAWAY – In the first and final tune up for the season, Rutgers did what they were supposed to do.
Playing an under-sized Division III Rutgers-Newark team on Sunday, the Scarlet Knights cruised to an 80-66 victory over the Scarlet Raiders.
Rutgers would start a trio of freshman guards in Myles Mack, Jerome Seagers and Eli Carter. Three guard sets will likely be a fixture with this team and the group showed they can carry the load. Carter had a team high 18 points while Mack chipped in with 13 along with four assists and four steals.
What bothers second year head coach Mike Rice most is the teams up and down play.
“At some points in time I’m excited and think we’re ready for the Big East and sometimes I think we’d have trouble winning in a New Jersey Division III league,” Rice said. “It’s a lack of consistency I think you’ll find with a young team, but there are some things to work with.”
While it was a solid performance by the young squad, Rice doesn’t feel like his team is ready for the season opener against Dartmouth on Friday.
“What team with seven freshmen and no seniors are ever ready for their first game?” Rice said. “But I think they're improving. We're becoming more consistent and they're at least playing hard. They’re listening.”
Dane Miller did not play in the game as Rice benched him for skipping a class in the spring.
"You can run them in the morning, you can make them run with bricks up football stadium stairs, you can do a lot of punishment,” Rice said. “One thing they really miss is games.”
Sophomore guard Austin Carroll and freshman forward Derrick Randall were suffering from a “stomach bug,” which explains why they only played 14 and 18 minutes respectively.
For more Rutgers basketball coverage follow Matt Sugam on Twitter @MattSugam and on Facebook
