Central Conn. St. @ Rutgers preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 6, 2016 ) Central Conn. St. 37, Rutgers 79

Rutgers looks to keep trending in the right direction when it hosts Central Connecticut State on Sunday in the opener of the Showcase On The Banks tournament for both teams. The Scarlet Knights have won nine consecutive non-conference home games under second-year coach Steve Pikiell, including a convincing 94-39 victory over CCNY in their season opener, and hope to continue that success by downing Central Connecticut for the third time is as many years.

"To start off the year 1-0 was our goal going in," Pikiell told reporters. "We got good efforts from a lot of guys and we'll move quickly on to the next one." Rutgers has won its last two meetings with the Blue Devils by an average of 29 points and dominated the last matchup, a 79-37 victory on Dec. 6. The Scarlet Knights have won five straight games against Northeastern Conference opponents and aim to start the new campaign with back-to-back wins for the second consecutive season. Central Connecticut dropped an 81-79 overtime decision to Hartford and hopes to bounce back from the disappointing result by ending its seven-game non-conference losing streak.

TV: 2:30 p.m. ET, BTN Plus

ABOUT CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE (0-1): Junior guard Tyler Kohl led four players in double figures with 21 points and eight rebounds in his debut for the Blue Devils after transferring for Mineral Area College. Austin Nehls drained five 3-pointers en route to 18 points while Mustafa Jones and Joe Hugley each added 10 points against Hartford. Kohl, Nehls and Hugley combined to hit 10 3-pointers as the Blue Devils went 11-for-21 from beyond the arc but were undone by a 57.7 percent performance from the free-throw line.

ABOUT RUTGERS (1-0): Sophomore forward Issa Thiam scored 19 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to notch the first double-double of his collegiate career in the win against CCNY. Deshawn Freeman went a perfect 7-for-7 from the floor to finish with 16 points while Corey Sanders added 12 points to go along with seven rebounds against the Beavers. Freshman guard Geo Baker had a stellar debut, recording 10 points and four assists as the Scarlet Knights shot 61.3 percent and outscored CCNY in the paint 68-8.

TIP-INS

1. Rutgers has won 11 of its last 13 non-conference games.

2. The Scarlet Knights' 60 rebounds against CCNY was their most since 1992.

3. Nehls has scored in double figures in eight of his last 10 games dating back to last season.

PREDICTION: Rutgers 86, Central Connecticut State 64