Rutgers men's basketball falls short against Indiana
For the first time since March 2019, the Rutgers men’s basketball team fell to Indiana. The Scarlet Knights (16-8, 8-5) fought hard but ultimately lost by a score of 66-60.
Rutgers played without junior forward Mawot Mag after it was announced yesterday that Mag suffered an ACL injury. The ACL injury means Mag will be out for the remainder of the season.
"It is obviously an ACL, so it is a long journey," said head coach Steve Pikiell on Mag’s injury. "We are figuring out when he is going to have his surgery, but ACL (injuries) take time. We have great doctors, and we have great rehab people, but those are a lot of rehab kind of injuries."
Without Mag, the Knights started the game slowly. The Hoosiers (17-7, 8-5) were able to neutralize Rutgers' defense with their passing and had a 30-16 lead with just less than 8 minutes left in the first half. With Indiana threatening to pull away, junior forward Oskar Palmquist drilled back-to-back three-point shots to cut the Knights' deficit to eight points.
The Hoosiers got their lead back up to 12 points, but an 11-2 Rutgers run to end the half gave Indiana only a 3-point lead at halftime.
The Knights struggled defensively throughout the half but were able to stay in the game due to their strong three-point shooting. The team shot 54.5 percent from beyond the arc in the first half, and Palmquist scored 9 points, shooting 3-3 from three-point range.
In the second half, Rutgers' strong defense returned. The Hoosiers shot only 32 percent from the field in the second half and only made two baskets from open play in the final 11 minutes of the game.
The Knights failed to capitalize on the defensive effort, only shooting 14.3 percent from three in the second half.
The second half was similar to the first as every time Indiana threatened to pull away, Rutgers went on a small scoring run to bring the game back down to two or one possession.
Freshman guard Derek Simpson’s layup cut the Hoosiers' deficit to three points with 3:29 left in the game, but that would be the closest the Knights got. Indiana was able to get its lead back up to two possessions and control the final minute of the game.
Trayce Jackson-Davis was dominant in his first-ever victory against Rutgers. He scored 20 points, brought in 18 rebounds and had six assists in the victory.
Junior center Clifford Omoruyi was the leading scorer for the Knights with 15 points, but he only secured four rebounds.
Both senior guard Paul Mulcahy and fifth-year senior guard Caleb McConnell struggled mightily on the offensive side of the ball. They both combined for 4 total points, and McConnell shot 1-12 from the field.
Rutgers will continue its road trip when the team travels to Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, to take on Illinois. The game will tip off on Saturday at 2 p.m. and will be broadcasted on Fox Sports 1 and 88.7 WRSU-FM.
"We were down 14 in this game. They had the momentum, they had everything. We kept fighting, we fought the whole time," Pikiell said after the game. "It does not get any easier here. We are still on the road again. Three straight trips here on the road, away from (home), it is not easy right now."
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