By Connor Wilson (@Conman_815)
NEW YORK — It’s no secret that the RAC, or as it is now formally known, Jersey Mike’s Arena, holds one of the best home crowd environments in the country.
Rutgers has picked up numerous Top 25 upset wins in Piscataway over the past handful of years, including a win over No. 1 Purdue a couple years back. The fans show out for the Scarlet Knights, even if the product on the court has been subpar at times.
Having two of the top three recruits in the Class of 2024 in Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper, there’s a strong argument to be made that there’s never been as much buzz around the program than in 2024-25 for Steve Pikiell and Rutgers. Nationally ranked in the preseason polls, it has certainly been a roller coaster of a year for the Scarlet Knights, who came into the weekend 10-9 on the season.
“Everyone wants to predict everything before it starts,” Pikiell said. “You have to earn wins in one of the best leagues in the country. There’s still plenty of time left to go on a run here. I think we’re really close.”
If the Scarlet Knights are as close as Pikiell indicates, Saturday marked the biggest home test to date for the struggling Rutgers squad to prove it would turn a corner, hosting eighth-ranked Michigan State. There’s one catch, though.
This game wasn’t in Piscataway, but rather Manhattan, at Madison Square Garden. The Scarlet Knights are no strangers to playing games at The Garden, this marking their seventh appearance in The Mecca of college basketball since Pikiell took over in 2016, and fourth in the regular season.
If you had any doubts that Rutgers Nation wouldn’t make the 40-mile journey to The World’s Most Famous Arena, there was no reason to worry. A sea of nearly 17,500 fans, many of whom clad in scarlet, made the trip to cheer on a Scarlet Knights squad desperate for a signature Big Ten win after starting the new year 2-4.
“It was my first time playing in The Garden,” Bailey said. “I’m thankful for the 17,000 Rutgers fans. It was dope. It was fun.”
“That was a hell of a crowd out there for a college basketball game,” Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo said. “Everybody deserves a little credit for that and the people that put it on. Sometimes, we play here instead of the RAC, and the RAC is harder to play in, but when I looked out, I thought I would see a little more green. That thing was red from a lot of areas.”
The time the Rutgers played at The Garden, the Scarlet Knights defeated the Spartans in 2023, emerging victorious even as Mawot Mag suffered a torn ACL. Luck wasn’t on their side this time around, as they lost to Michigan State, 81-74, on an afternoon where Bailey shot just 4-for-17 from the field and Harper was limited to just 13 minutes due to a sprained ankle he suffered on Monday against Penn State.
“Dylan Harper did everything possible to get back and try and play in this game,” Pikiell said. “He wanted to go. Proud of him for giving it a try. He’s been tough for us.”
Even in defeat, a loss that sent Rutgers to 10-10 on the year in a season with very high expectations, the fans still showed out and were loud from the opening tip. Right off the bat, you’d think it was an NCAA Tournament game from the energy at The Mecca. Bailey drilled a transition trey less than three minutes into the contest to give the Scarlet Knights an early five-point cushion. Based on the crowd reaction, you’d think he hit a game-winning shot in the Final Four if you were unaware of anything else. That wasn’t even the loudest it got in the first half.
Jordan Derkack, who had a game-high 26 points off the bench, knocked down a trailing three from the top of the key to push it back to a one-possession game after the Spartans led by 10. Directly after, Harper picked up a steal on an errant pass and took it down for a tough finish inside to make it a one-point game at 66-65, ensuing a timeout from Izzo, and eruption from the Rutgers faithful.
“I’m a Jersey kid, so playing at MSG today was really cool for me,” Derkack said. “Our fans traveled today and it was loud. They gave us some energy today, especially at the end of the game.”
Once the Spartans ballooned their lead up to as high as 13 in the second half, the fans started to lose energy, with some even trickling out early. A late push, however, anchored by some clutch makes from distance from Derkack and Bailey, never allowed Michigan State to go into true victory formation, trimming it to as close as six after forcing a couple of turnovers. During that run, the crowd got back into it.
“They were giving us energy towards the end,” Bailey said. “When we were trapping and everything, (we were) just feeding off the energy they were giving us. That was a blessing.”
The crowd who remained to the end got back into it, but once it became clear the game was out of reach for good in the closing seconds, the Spartan fans who made the trip became loud and clear.
Not every program has the ability to fill Madison Square Garden the way Rutgers did Saturday. Obviously, not many have the opportunity to host a true home game there, with St. John’s being the only other school who fits that bill, but the crowd showed this is something that has the potential to happen on a more regular basis in the coming years.
“Scheduling is as hard as anything, and getting this venue, this is a busy place,” Pikiell said. “We love to play here and it’s great for us, just the crowd from the last time we played here to this time. Our fans love it and our players love it.”
With having to navigate around the Knicks, Rangers, St. John’s, and whatever number of concerts or shows that go on at The Garden during the winter months, Pikiell’s not wrong that it won’t be easy to get inside the building. But seeing the turnout on Saturday, it should be a priority for the program going forward.
“Hopefully we can continue playing here, maybe for a couple more games if that’s possible,” Pikiell said.
One thing’s for sure. That near-17,500 crowd wasn’t a fluke. Rutgers may be roughly 40 miles away, but even if it’s just one game every couple of years, Madison Square Garden is like a second home.
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