Piscataway, NJ- Using a strong defensive effort, Rutgers defeated Notre Dame 65-58 at the RAC on Monday. The possession and efficiency numbers:

As the possession numbers tell, it was as what both Mike Brey of Notre Dame and Rutgers' Mike Rice called a "grind it out game." Rutgers did give up a 51% eFG mark and only forced the Irish into a 19% turnover rate. Not great defensive numbers They did however, get enough stops during the games as well as those important ones down the stretch. Offensively the efficiency number was excellent. Eli Carter led the way with 13 points. There were many other contributors as Jerome Seagears and Austin Johnson with 10 plus Mike Poole added 9. Dane Miller only scored 5 points but did a little of everything else with 8 boards, 4 blocks and 3 steals.

A few added observations:

• 1. Rutgers led by as much as nine late in the first half. During the final twenty minutes there were times they threatened to pull away. Each time Notre Dame responded to make it a two possession game.
• 2. Rutgers never did let ND get a lead or draw even the second half. From a momentum standpoint that was huge.
• 3. Give the Scarlet Knights credit. Following an awful loss in Morgantown on Saturday, they bounced back and responded in a big way.
• 4. Interestingly, Rutgers shot better from three (46.7%) than from two point range (42.5%).
• 5. Covering the games at the RAC, the upper press box is the best. It gives you a great look and panorama of the entire court.
• 6. Give Mike Brey and ND a lot of credit for staying very competitive this season despite losing Tim Abromatis for the season due to an ACL injury.
• 7. Yours truly wrote a number of cheer articles for several sites a few years back and can comment...The Rutgers cheerleaders' all white uniforms are superlatively attractive. Just a great compliment to an excellent squad.