Maryland’s Kevin Willard gives Seton Hall’s Shaheen Holloway vote of confidence

As the home stretch of the regular season approaches, Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell is pleased with where his team stands. The Scarlet Knights (14-7, 6-4) are tied for third place in the Big Ten standings, own the second-most efficient defense in the country, are squarely in the NCAA Tournament picture and are on track to meet all of their preseason goals through the first half of their conference slate.

Traditional signing day has arrived. The early signing period has taken most of the steam out of traditional singing day, which is nowhere near the spectacle that it once was. But there is still some housekeeping to do. Overachievers like Kansas City Chiefs fullback Michael Burton, who will start Super...

Jackson Bleecker made a career-high eight 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 24 points as Seton Hall Prep, No. 13 in the NJ.com Top 20, cruised to a 70-29 victory over West Side at Frank J. Tracey Gymnasium in West Orange. Four of Bleecker’s 3-pointers came in the first quarter...

Kayla McCrea scored 17 points in Allentown’s 47-35 victory over Princeton in Princeton. Caitlin Landgraf had 15 points and Maryana Olhovsky added eight for Allentown (14-3), which used a 21-6 third quarter to pull away and win its fifth in a row. Gabby Bannett scored nine points and Riley...

Zoe Brooks had 21 points, eight steals, seven assists and six rebounds as St. John Vianney, No. 1 in the NJ.com Top 20, rolled to a 94-18 victory over Raritan in Holmdel. Five players finished in double figures for St. John Vianney (21-0), which raced out to a 38-2 first quarter lead. Ashley Sofilkanich scored 14 points, Madison Kocis had 11 and both Bre Delaney and Mikaela Hubbard added 10. Delaney had four steals, Taylor Sofilkanich added nine points, eight rebounds and three blocks, and Janie Bachmann chipped in eight points, five rebounds and five assists.

High school boys basketball action has featured standout performances all over the court for teams across New Jersey, including some awe-inspiring efforts. Each week, NJ Advance Media will select five Players of the Week in every conference, highlighting the best individual efforts in that area.

Iowa just seems to have Rutgers’ number. Perhaps more than any other team in the Big Ten, the Hawkeyes have been a thorn in the Scarlet Knights’ side since they joined the conference. Following Sunday’s 93-82 defeat at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Rutgers has lost three consecutive games, six of its last seven meetings and 10 of their 13 matchups with Iowa since the 2014-15 season.

Stesher Mathelier and Donovan Cottrell scored a game-high 14 points apiece to lead Notre Dame to a victory on the road over Robbinsville, 57-36. Jake Croce and Chris Vlahos added nine points apiece while John Merluse chipped in six for Notre Dame (13-7), which led by 10 at halftime before expanding the lead with a 12-5 third quarter.

Alani Ajigbotosho finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds as North Brunswick ousted Woodbridge 67-55 at the Investor Scholarship Games in Clark. Brandon McCain tallied 14 points and five rebounds while Tommy Koroma had 11 for North Brunswick (18-3), which won its sixth straight game and 14 of its last 15. Jack Garbolino finished with 10 rebounds, four assists and four steals.

Kaiyri Barkley scored a game high 22 points to help lead East Orange to a narrow, 47-42 victory over Newark Central, in East Orange.

Emily Poulas went five of eight from the line in her 13 points as Jefferson won, 53-35, over Morris Knolls in Rockaway. Amanda Nwankwo went six of six from the line in her 12 points for Jefferson (13-5), which set the tone with an 8-4 run in the first quarter.

While celebrating their new school at its grand opening ceremony Monday, Paterson STEAM High School students got words of advice from Super Bowl XLVI champion Victor Cruz. Never quit and always give back, the former New York Giants wide receiver and Paterson native told the students. Cruz joined the occasion...

Roselle Catholic head coach Dave Boff called it “a gut punch for my kids” when recent McDonald’s All-American selection Mackenzie Mgbako was carried off the floor 30 seconds into Sunday’s game with an ankle injury. And if the collective wind wasn’t knocked out of the Lions...

Mike Mikulka scored 21 points to lead East Brunswick to a 64-63 road win over Eastern in Voorhees, Camden County. Matt Mikulka and Cam Vick had 12 points each in the win. Max Portnoy had 19 points and Damien Edwards 16 for Eastern.

Evan Correa scored a game-high 18 points to go along with six rebounds, three assists and four steals to lead Dover to a victory on the road over Morristown-Beard, 64-58. Joshua Quiles tallied 17 points while A.J. Piechota added 10 points, seven boards and three assists for Dover (7-8), which trailed by five after one before swinging the momentum with a 19-9 second quarter.

Katie Gorski posted 18 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals to lead Montville as it defeated Immaculata 63-49 in Montville. Montville (15-3) held a 33-17 lead at the half after a 14-4 run in the second quarter. Grace Kowalski also had 15 points, three rebounds, three steals and...

Wayne Hills came back to narrowly defeat Fair Lawn in overtime 58-56, in Wayne. Early on in the first quarter Wayne Hills (7-9) held a five point lead, but Fair Lawn (13-4) responded with an 18-9 run in the second quarter to take a 26-22 halftime lead. The Patriots played...

Paige Gorczyca had 20 points and seven rebounds as Westfield defeated Chatham, 63-57, in overtime, in Westfield. Sutton Factor scored 15 points to go with eight rebounds for Westfield (13-5), which led by three points after heading into the fourth quarter after a 17-11 run to start the second half. Annie Ryan had 13 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals, while Catie Carayannopoulos added 14 rebounds and five blocks.

Amanda Baylock scored a game-high 27 points to lead Scotch Plains-Fanwood as it defeated Bound Brook 62-52 in Scotch Plains. Alicia Murphy also had 13 points with Sara Lehman adding 10. Scotch Plains-Fanwood (13-6) held a 28-23 lead at the half and extended its lead to 49-37 after a 21-14...

With the top three teams in the state residing well below the state capitol, most of the attention on girls wrestling has been focused in the south. But largely below the radar, several northern teams have been making their moves and establishing themselves as some of the toughest dual meet teams in the state.