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Rutgers freshman Dane Miller

© Tom Ciszek/NJSportsPhoto

Wednesday's loss at the hands of Villanova has to make you wonder about the direction in which Fred Hill's program is headed and not because of the result. The Wildcats aren't going to lose many this season, but to go down in the fashion that the Scarlet Knights did was embarrassing. In regards to who played hard throughout, who else can you point out besides Hamady Ndiaye and Dane Miller? Jonathan Mitchell? Before getting into the importance of Rutgers moving forward it's important to revisit Wednesday's happenings in order to determine the ultimate destination. 

Iona head coach Kevin Willard

© ICGaels.com

The MAAC slate offers up a split schedule before the weekend, with two games tonight and three more on Friday. Siena hosts a shorthanded Loyola squad and Fairfield visits Marist in tonight's games, but one of the better matchups could be the one that's being televised by ESPNU on Friday night. Iona, winners of four straight and nine of their last eleven, take on Manhattan at Draddy Gymnasium with tip time set for 9 PM.

Northeast Conference

It's "Rematch Week" in the NEC with games being returns of last weeks' matchups. The game of interest tonight is Saint Francis (PA) visiting Monmouth, who will be without the services of leading scorer Travis Taylor. Taylor, who shared Choice Hotels Player of the Week honors with Quinnipiac's James Feldeine, is suspended for the next seven games for a violation of team rules. The good news (if there is any when you lose your leading scorer) is that the Hawks play their first two without Travis at home, where they're 3-0 in NEC games this season.

Saint Peter's guard Wesley Jenkins

© Saint Peter's Athletics

League favorite Siena established further separation between itself and the rest of the Metro Atlantic with their win at Fairfield on Saturday, opening a gap of two games between themselves and the Stags. But for the solid play of teams such as Fairfield, Iona and Saint Peter's, the bigger story may be the struggles endured by preseason contenders Niagara and Rider. What's up with these two?