GAME NOTES: A pair of teams from the Garden State go head-to-head on Tuesday night, as the Rutgers Scarlet Knights host the Saint Peter's Peacocks as part of the Barclays Classic at the RAC.

The first four games of the season have yielded nothing but losses for the Peacocks. They have spent the bulk of those contests on the road, losing at Brown, Hartford and La Salle, but their lone home game also ended in defeat, as they dropped a 61-59 decision to Niagara. They will host Tennessee State next.

Rutgers has had a bit more success in the early going, with two wins in three games. The Scarlet Knights posted both wins in their last two games against Fairleigh Dickinson (61-44) and St. Francis-Brooklyn (76-73), helping the recovery from a 70-53 home loss against George Washington in the season opener. Up next, they will head to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn to take on Vanderbilt.

There has been very little parity between these in-state foes over the years, with Rutgers holding an 11-3 edge in the series, which includes wins in three straight and nine of the last 10 meetings overall.

The Peacocks' most recent disappointment came against La Salle by a score of 59-50. Not a single player scored in double figures for the losing side, as the Peacocks shot at a meager 31.9 percent clip, including a 3-of-11 showing from 3-point range. Despite the efforts of Marvin Dominique (nine points, nine rebounds), they were outscored 22-12 in the paint, while suffering a 44-35 deficit on the boards.

Finding ways to get the ball in the basket has been a constant struggle for the Peacocks, who are scoring only 54.3 points per game on 57.7 percent shooting. The lack of offensive potency is unfortunate, considering they are only yielding 60.3 points per game on 39 percent shooting. Dominique (14.2 ppg, 11 rpg, 2.2 bpg) is normally good for much more than flirting with a double-double, as he leads the team in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots. The team lost a major scoring threat in Desi Washington, who remains out with a hand injury. Without him, the Peacocks are forced to rely on Chazz Patterson (7.5 ppg) and Tyler Gaskins (7 ppg) as the best supplementary scorers.

It was the Myles Mack show at the RAC last time Rutgers took the floor. Mack finished with a game-high 25 points, to go with six rebounds and an astounding eight steals to lead the Scarlet Knights to the three-point victory over St. Francis-Brooklyn. Rutgers was outrebounded in the contest (41-30) but it did outscore the Terriers, 20-10, off turnovers.

Rutgers can commiserate with Saint Peter's when it comes to wasting strong defensive efforts. The Scarlet Knights are only netting 63.3 points per game on 39.9 percent shooting, which is only slightly better than they have let up (62.3 ppg, .389 FG percentage). Mack (16 ppg, 5 rpg, 3.7 apg, 3.3 spg) is easily the best scorer on the team, but he has meant much more than that, as he stuffs the stat sheet most nights. Kadeem Jack played for the first time this season against St. Francis and scored 13 points to go with five rebounds and three assists.

With Jack back in the fold, Rutgers has a nice inside-outside duo to rely on, with Mack the second part of the combo. Dominique is a skilled big man, but he doesn't have enough support to help lead an upset.