The Sports Network

DATE & TIME: Tuesday, December 11, 7:30 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: The RAC (8,000) -- Piscataway, New Jersey. Television: RVision, SNY, MASN. Home Record: George Washington 1-3, Rutgers 2-1. Away Record: George Washington 2-2, Rutgers 2-1. Neutral Record: George Washington 1-0, Rutgers 1-0. Conference Record: George Washington 0-0, Rutgers 0-0. Series Record: Rutgers leads 22-18.

GAMES NOTES: After yet another tough loss the George Washington Colonials will take to the hardwood on Tuesday night in a non-conference battle with the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at The RAC.

George Washington hosted Kansas State last time out but wound up falling in a 65-62 decision. It was the second straight loss for the Colonials, who were coming off another narrow defeat on the road to Bradley (72-68). George Washington has split its four true road contests this season. The Colonials will be off for 11 days after this game before opening a two-game homestand against VMI.

Rutgers squared off with Iona at Madison Square Garden this past Saturday and came out with an 81-73 victory. The win helped the Scarlet Knights bounce back from an 80-67 loss on the road to Ole Miss that snapped a four-game winning streak. In three home games Rutgers has earned a pair of wins with the only loss coming by four points (56-52) to Saint Peter's in the season opener. Rutgers is beginning a four-game homestand in this contest which continues against UAB on Sunday.

This will be the first meeting between these teams since Rutgers left the Atlantic 10 for the Big East following the 1995 season. Before that these conference rivals met 40 times with Rutgers pulling out wins in 22 of those contests.

In a nip and tuck game that featured seven ties and six lead changes, George Washington was unable to seal the deal against Kansas State. The Colonials led 54-53 with just over five minutes remaining but Kansas State would retake the lead and never relinquish down the stretch. George Washington did cut the lead to just a single point four times during the last five minutes. Dwayne Smith came off the bench to score a team-high 14 points.

Just like its record, George Washington's scoring margin this season has hovered around even. The Colonials are scoring 63.4 points per game and letting up 63.3 points a contest on the other end. Those numbers are despite George Washington shooting significantly better than its opponents by netting 45.0 percent of its field goal attempts, while limiting foes to 40.2 percent. George Washington is also doing good work on the glass with a +4.8 edge in rebounds. Isaiah Armwood (12.9 ppg, 9.1 rpg) has anchored the Colonials from the inside with his efforts in scoring and rebounding. He has had a double- double in the last two games and five overall. Out of the backcourt Lasan Kromah (10.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg) and Patricio Garino (10.4 ppg) are the only other players scoring in double figures.

Rutgers got out to a comfortable 35-23 lead against Iona but let the Gaels creep back in the second half. The Scarlet Knights held the Gaels to 27.6 percent shooting in the first half and despite leading by as many as 22 points in the second half found itself leading by just a point (72-71) with 1:39 remaining. Rutgers was able to hold on by going 2-of-3 from the field and 5- of-6 from the free throw line in down the stretch. Myles Mack had 19 points to lead the way for Rutgers.

Rutgers is scoring 73.4 points per game while shooting 46.9 percent from the field. On the other end Rutgers allows 68.9 points per game on just 40.4 percent shooting. The Scarlet Knights are doing a solid job on the boards as well, bringing in 40.3 rebounds a contest, while holding a +8.2 edge over opponents on the glass. Mack (15.4 ppg) and Eli Carter (16.0 ppg) have formed a solid scoring tandem in the backcourt for Rutgers. Mack has been efficient on offense hitting on 58.2 percent of his field goal attempts. Wally Judge (7.9 ppg, 7.9 rpg) is the top rebounder and by hitting on an even 50.0 percent of his shots provides a steady offensive force on the interior. Dane Millers (8.1 ppg, 6.9 rpg) spreads the floor and shoots at an excellent percentage.

With how well Carter and Mack can score, George Washington will be hard pressed to keep up with the Scarlet Knights. On the interior Judge should be able to handle Armwood and push Rutgers into the win column yet again.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Rutgers 76, George Washington 68