Rutgers basketball: Jamichael Davis enters Mississippi State showdown on a roll

There was no big announcement, no sit-down in the coach’s office, no pull-aside in the hallway. The day before Rutgers basketball’s pivotal game against Seton Hall, Jamichael Davis surmised he would be making his first collegiate start because Steve Pikiell grouped him with the first unit in practice.

“I saw it coming from there,” Davis said.

The freshman guard responded with 11 points, six assists and 32 minutes of disruptive defense, handling a pressure-packed environment like a grizzled veteran as the Scarlet Knights prevailed.

“I’m excited for him and the progress that he’s made,” Pikiell said. “He’s taking such good care of the basketball.”

Davis has recorded 30 assists and just eight turnovers this season for an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.75-to-1. That's off-the-charts good for anyone -- and it leads all of Division 1 among freshman (ranking 15th overall). His ball-handling will be crucial in Saturday’s game against Mississippi State, which sports the ninth-ranked defense in the nation. It’s a key non-conference opportunity for Rutgers (7-3), which can add its first Quad 1 victory – a significant resume-builder – against the Bulldogs (9-2) at the Prudential Center (noon tip, Big Ten Network).

This is a big moment for Davis, one that, of you follow the recruiting industrial complex, was not necessarily in the cards. Rated a three-star prospect with a composite ranking of 244 in the Class of 2023, he listed a scholarship offer from just one other high-major (Auburn).

Rutgers associate head coach Brandin Knight identified Davis as a good fit while recruiting his high school teammate and good friend, five-star wing Ace Bailey. Upon scouting Davis, Pikiell had flashbacks to his recruitment of ace Rutgers defender Mawot Mag – an under-the-radar guy whose best attributes were misunderstood.

“Every time I went in the gym, I saw an elite worker,” Pikiell said. “That’s the first thing that attracted me to Mawot Mag and that’s the first thing that attracted me to J-Mike. His quick hands, his quick feet – he’s a good defender, and people don’t take that side of the ball into account when they rate these guys.”

Pikiell evaluates prospects with a heavy emphasis on intangibles, and he laid that out for Davis.

“I was coachable, so he knew he could put a lot of trust in me,” Davis said. “He liked the dog I had in me.”

It's helped that Rutgers’ older guards have taken Davis under their wing.

“I have a lot of people I can take pointers from, guys who've played college basketball for a lot longer than I have,” Davis said.

“They have a mutual respect, which I think is huge,” Pikiell said of his guards. “Sometimes you get a competition which ends up personal, but they’ve helped each other in a lot of ways.”

Like many of Pikiell’s players before him, Davis laughs when his high school rating comes up.

“I don’t pay attention to those things,” he said. “Just work, and the work will show.”

Why is this game in Newark?

A little background on how this Gotham Classic matchup happened. First, Rutgers needed to upgrade its schedule with this kind of non-conference test. It’s gotten very difficult to get any high-major outside of local rival Seton Hall to willingly visit Jersey Mike’s Arena. This is the best of both worlds: Rutgers gets extra resume credit for playing at a neutral site – and the site will be filled almost exclusively with Scarlet Knights fans.

In addition, the matchup was brokered by the Princeton-based Gazelle Group, which also set up the opener against Princeton. So you can look at this as kind of a package deal – the Gazelle Group got a juicy Jersey matchup in the season opener and Pikiell got a golden resume-building opportunity in his backyard against a team that probably would not have come here without Gazelle’s influence. Having a third-party organizer also allows the game to have an NIL component.

Judging from Ticketmaster's seating chart, roughly 70 percent of the Prudential Center's lower bowl is sold (about 7,000 of the 10,000 seats). The upper bowl is closed for this game.

Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. He is an Associated Press Top 25 voter. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Rutgers basketball: Jamichael Davis rolling into Mississippi State