LAS VEGAS – Rutgers men’s basketball continues its road trip with a three-game tournament in Las Vegas. This week, RU will face Notre Dame, Alabama, and a third opponent at the Players Era Festival at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

The Scarlet Knights open play Tuesday night against Notre Dame, a 10:30 PM Eastern Time tipoff on TBS. Game two is the next night, against Alabama at 10pm Eastern Time Wednesday on TBS.

 

Rutgers enters the tournament with an overall 4-1 score. The Scarlet Knights were undone Sunday afternoon in the road kick start at Kennesaw State during a home game in Georgia for Ace Bailey And Jamichael Davis. The Scarlet Knights defeated KSU 51-35 in the second half of a comeback bid, but fell one possession short. Dylan Harper led the way with 21 points along with nine assists and two steals, just the third Big Ten freshman since 2004 to reach that statistical mark in a game.

RU’s top three scorers are freshmen. Dylan Harper leads the team with 19.8 points per game on 54.3 percent shooting. He is closely followed by Ace Bailey (19.0 ppm). Lathan Sommerville joins the trio in double figures with 10.0 ppg. RU’s top five scorers, inclusive Zach Martini and P.J. Hayes are all shooting 48 percent or better from the field. Harper is currently the second-leading scorer among freshmen in the country, just behind Texas’ Tre Johnson (21.2 ppg). Ace Bailey does not meet the NCAA minimums to qualify and must play in the team’s next three games to qualify. If he qualified, he would rank third nationally, just behind Harper.

Rutgers last played in Las Vegas in the 2015-16 season under then-head coach Eddie Jordan to play in a Thanksgiving Week event, the Men Who Speak Up Main Event. The Scarlet Knights went 0-2 in the event, falling to Creighton (85-75) and Clemson (76-58) in games at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

This will be the first non-conference tournament away from home that Rutgers has competed in under head coach Steve Pikiellwhich previously hosted regular MTE events around Thanksgiving.

 

Notre Dame will be RU’s first opponent on Tuesday night and will enter the game against RU with an identical 4-1 record under second-year head coach Micah Shrewsberry. The Fighting Irish just dropped an 84-77 decision to Elon after wins over Stonehill, Buffalo, Georgetown and North Dakota.

Shrewsberry previously served as Penn State’s head coach in 2021-2022 and 2022-2023, during which time he was 1-3 against Rutgers. ND ranks 51st in the nation in field goal percentage (51.9%) and 27^e in free throw percentage (78.8%). Sophomore Markus Burton leads the team with 21.4 points per game, 19^e national.

Rutgers and Notre Dame were former BIG EAST conference members and played annually from 1995 to 2013. The Irish lead the series 21-13. The only meeting since the conferences split in 2013 came in 2022, when the two teams met in the NCAA Tournament and played in Dayton in the First Four, an 89-87 victory at Notre Dame in double overtime.

Alabama, ranked ninth in both polls, enters the tournament 4-1, with wins over UNC Asheville, Arkansas State, McNeese and Illinois with a loss to then-No. 13 Purdue. Alabama opens tournament play against Houston on Tuesday.

The Crimson Tide has the No. 14 scoring offense in the country at 89.6 points per game. Mark Sears, a Second Team All-American last season, leads Alabama with 17.3 points per game. Former Scarlet Knight Clifford Omoruyi averaging 9.8 points and a team-best 7.8 rebounds and 10 blocks. The Scarlet Knights and Crimson Tide have met only once before: an 80-69 victory for Alabama on December 27, 1969 at a neutral site.

The Match Match on Championship Day will be determined based on the results of the first two matches. RU will play a team from the other side of the bracket, either Oregon, No. 21/19 Creighton, San Diego State or No. 20/20 Texas A&M.

RU and Creighton have met only once before, during the 2015 game in Las Vegas.

Rutgers and Oregon, who will face each other for the first time as conference members this year, have previously met twice: a win over RU in 1982 and a win at Oregon in 1985.

Rutgers has never faced San Diego State or Texas A&M.

By beating Notre Dame, Rutgers would:

• Improve to 5-1 for the third straight season
• Get the first win over Notre Dame since 2012 and just the third in twelve meetings since 2005
• Earn first win over an ACC team since beating Clemson on November 30, 2021 (0-3 in last three games against ACC teams: Miami, Wake Forest and Notre Dame).