Just another game, but different in so many ways as Rutgers shocks Seton Hall

Greg Schiano’s halftime speech as Rutgers upset Seton Hall was only part of how Saturday’s win for Scarlet Knights was unlike any other this season. (Photo by Jaden Daly/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — The schedule, and the calendar, will desígnate December 14, 2019 as just another game, just another day.

But what took place on this day, before an intimate-yet-boisterous group of 8,329 patrons — many festooned in some kind of red, some others dressed in blue — just might end up being the day it all came together, the day it all changed for the better.

A charged-up crowd inside the RAC threatened to blow the roof off the old barn and into the stratosphere, deep into the New Jersey afternoon, after Ron Harper, Jr.’s thunderous dunk just 49 seconds into the proceedings Saturday. It grew even louder when the home team — a much-maligned program over the years, far too often the laughingstock of local college sports for all the wrong reasons — registered the first 14 points on the scoreboard, evoking a sense of delirium among a community desperate for a reversal of fortune. Louder still it grew in the midst of a 26-5 opening salvo that, in effect, slammed the door on any comeback by the visiting team, the one responsible for the majority of New Jersey basketball success in the present century.

Then came halftime. And Greg Schiano, the prodigal son who three weeks ago returned to the site of his greatest accomplishments, whipped up the crowd as if he were Jordan Belfort attempting to sell a penny stock to a skeptical client, or maybe even a pepperoni pizza to Lisa Simpson, with a speech urging the faithful gathered to hear his impromptu sermon to heed his call to arms.

Yes, this one was different. But there was another 20 minutes of basketball to be played, and for the visitors, without the services of their best player, concussed with less than four minutes to play before the intermission. Nothing changed.

And for the bulk of those in the stands, the status quo was mercifully, fortunately — finally — one of celebration.

Rutgers 68, Seton Hall 48. The largest margin of victory for the Scarlet Knights over the Pirates since 1998, and the biggest win over a ranked team in program history. But did the principles involved get a sense that maybe, just maybe, Rutgers wasn’t going to assume its position as cannon fodder for the tabloids, just another punchline?

“That whole first stretch when we got up big on them, I thought that was the loudest I’d ever heard the building before,” Geo Baker declared as he picked up a piece of his second triumph over Seton Hall in three years. “It was a really fun atmosphere. This was the type of stuff that we’ve all dreamed about growing up, and it was just fun for it to happen. You walk in for shootaround and you see all the shirts laid out, and you just know it’s something different.”

“I can’t lie, maybe just a little bit,” said Caleb McConnell when asked if he saw anything unlike the recent spate of encounters between Rutgers and Seton Hall. “I did think even though we got off to a fast start, the whole team just stayed composed, kept putting pressure on them and kept playing defense, and I think that was the biggest emphasis.”

Head coach Steve Pikiell hinted that the significance of today’s win was not lost on him, stating that the power of unity can be a special force when everyone comes together to make it so. And much like Wednesday night against Wisconsin, a hurdle that center Myles Johnson aptly termed a “need-it game,” not only did the Scarlet Knights need a strong effort, they needed a testimonial to prove that the same old Rutgers is a thing of the past.

“I definitely think we’re coming together,” Harper said. “With this team, the sky’s the limit. This wasn’t our Super Bowl, this wasn’t our NCAA championship, this was the Seton Hall game. We’ve still got a lot of season left ahead of us, so we’re going to try to just finish strong.”

“We just had a four-game gauntlet,” Pikiell reflected. “It’s all part of the journey, you have to go through some ups and downs to get better. Luckily, these guys stay the course, they get better. If they continue to do that, it’ll be a really fun journey.”

The pain is part of the path. And even though this was just another stop on the way to what could be a promising destination, the payoff could prove to be even more fun.