Rutgers overcomes early air balls to blow out New Haven, secure first win for acting head coach Brandin Knight

After watching his Scarlet Knights launch multiple air balls in the opening minutes of his first regular season game as acting head coach, Brandin Knight winced.Rutgers was also allowing New Haven to knock down 3-pointers and secure offensive rebounds that led to second-chance points.But with just over a minute remaining in the first half, Rutgers sprung to life when point guard Tariq Francis threw an alley-oop pass to backcourt mate Jamichael Davis, who finished it with flair. Next time down, Davis, a 6-foot-2 senior, hit a 3-pointer; the home crowd erupted.“Unbelievable,” Knight said. “Unbelievable. I don’t know what ladder he stepped on.”That flourish put Rutgers up 15 points, and the lead ballooned to 30 points midway through the second half. The sequence proved to be the most important in Rutgers’ 81-54 victory. With head coach Steve Pikiell absent due to his ongoing battle with cancer, Knight secured his first win with a roster that remains in transition and in need for repetitions together.“Just thankful and grateful that everyone showed up,” Knight said. “It felt electric for the first night. My happiness comes in how we do as a team.”Rutgers, which finished last season 14-20, will play NJIT at home on Tuesday.Here are five thoughts about the win:Francis and Davis spurred the win as a frentic force in the backcourt: Francis, a volume shooter, finished with 14 points on 5 of 14 shooting, including 1 of 6 from beyond the arc. Davis (13 points) was a perfect 5 of 5 from the field after coming off the bench. “I saw him open coming out of the corner of my eye,” Francis said of how the alley oop developed. “I knew if I threw, he could get it and he did.”Their chemistry is evident when they bring a kinetic pace to the fastbreak.On defense, the duo complements each other well, too. Both were active in the passing lanes, with Davis forcing a turnover immediately upon entering the game. He also had 3 of the team’s 10 steals as the unit will lean on him for veteran leadership and ballhandling savvy throughout the season.Greetings, Gurdak: In the paint, center Christian Gurdak, who transferred to Piscataway from Virginia Tech, picked up early fouls, but he still managed to contribute 12 points on 4 of 6 shooting in 17 minutes. He hit all four of his free throws, grabbed three offensive boards and stole the ball twice. He settled in defensively to finish the game with three fouls.Each member of the Rutgers interior rotation had a moment. First it was Gurdak with a banker; then it was Mervedi Miteo, a 6-foot-10 freshman from the Congo, powering his way to the basket. All their muscle and more will be needed in Big 10 play if the Scarlet Knights are to be competitive in conference. Darin Smith Jr., a 6-foot-7 guard, showed he can be a source of rebounds when his offense isn’t there. Though he struggled with two air balls early on, he posted 6 boards in his stat line by game’s end. Good energy from Rasheed Jones: The fifth year senior joined Rutgers as a graduate transfer after spending the last two seasons at Coastal Carolina, and he gave his team, as well as the fans, a needed jolt during lulls in the game. First he hit a three; then, when Rutgers missing shots, he broke out for an easy dunk. He added a corner three in the second half and added 14 points while also goading the crowd to get more involved.Defense, defense, defense: It is the side of the ball that Knight has long been known for dating back to his playing days at Pitt, and Rutgers will need to excel on that end to pick up victories as the offense gets figured out. On the first possession, the Scarlet Knights set the tone by forcing a shot clock violation. Knight also mixed up the looks and deployed full-court pressure to speed up New Haven’s decision making. Rutgers created 17 turnovers and capitalized by converting those takeaways into 24 points.But lapses around the arc allowed New Haven to hit five 3-pointers. And rebounding remains a work in progress.Both Teshaun Steele and Zoumana Traore had 15 points for New Haven. MORE BY KEVIN ARMSTRONGHe left for N.J. football powerhouses. Now this star is chasing history back home.Oct. 30, 2026, 8:30 a.m.A new rule sidelined this N.J. soccer star. Now he’s a high school football sensation.Oct. 28, 2026, 8:09 a.m.Walk-on races out to lead as crowd favorite: Some of the largest cheers on the night came when junior walk-on guard Max Fradkin forced a jump ball and absorbed a charge on defense during his two minutes of court time at the end of the game.The 5-foot-11, 170-pounder had a heat check on offense, though. when he heaved a shot from three that went in the books as a miss.He also played in two games as a freshman.Read the original article on NJ.com. Add NJ.com as a Preferred Source by clicking here.