GAME NOTES: Rutgers and Seton Hall renew their longtime rivalry on Saturday afternoon, as the Scarlet Knights visit the undefeated Pirates in the Garden State Hardwood Classic.

In a series that dates back to 1916, the Pirates have won 36 of the 65 meetings, including a 77-71 victory last season to snap a three-game skid to the Scarlet Knights.

Rutgers, in its first season in its new conference, upended Clemson, 69-64, in its first ACC/Big Ten Challenge event this past Monday night. Junior Etou shot 7-of-12 from the field and scored a career-high 20 points, Kadeem Jack netted 15 points, and Myles Mack tallied 12 points and eight assists for the victors.

The Knights only committed three turnovers and finished the game on a 21-9 run, which included a 7-of-8 effort from the final line over the final 32 seconds to seal the outcome

The decision was a welcome sight for Rutgers, which scored just 26 points in its previous outing -- a loss to nationally-ranked Virginia. In its other six games, Rutgers is averaging a respectable 62.8 ppg, but there is certainly room for improvement.

Mack leads the team in scoring at 14.0 ppg, Jack is second at 13.2 ppg, and Etou chips in 10.0 ppg to go with a team-high 7.7 rpg, which currently ranks fifth in the Big Ten.

Scoring has not been all that difficult hard for the Pirates, especially lately. In Tuesday's 78-55 drubbing of Mount Saint Mary's, Seton Hall was true on 64.7 percent of its total shots. Freshman Khadeen Carrington shot a perfect 8-of-8 from the floor off the bench to net 16 points. Three starters, Angel Delgado (13 points), Isaiah Whitehead (12) and Sterling Gibbs (11) also finished in double figures.

The Pirates had 26 fastbreak points and outscored Mount Saint Mary's in the paint by a whopping 52-22 margin.

With the benefit of having not played a true road game yet, Seton Hall has compiled some impressive numbers, most notably averaging 72.7 ppg on 46.3 percent shooting from the floor and 41.2 percent from 3-point range.

Gibbs has shown he can hit from anywhere on the court en route to putting up a team-best 18.3 ppg. The junior guard has made 58.3 percent of his launches from the perimeter and 91.4 percent from the foul line.

Whitehead and Brandon Mobley combine to average 20.3 ppg, and Delgado is pulling down nearly 10 rebounds (9.7) per game to go with 8.3 points per outing.

A custom-made trophy was designed for this game going forward, and regardless of how lopsided the teams may appear on paper, this rivalry usually always comes down to the wire.

Still, it's tough not to think the Pirates will extend their unbeaten streak with relative ease.