Rutgers men's basketball falters in loss to Illinois
The Rutgers men’s basketball team was defeated by Illinois 69-60 yesterday afternoon. The No. 24 Scarlet Knights (16-9, 8-6) led for the majority of the game but faltered midway through the second half. As such, Rutgers remains winless at the State Farm Center.
The Fighting Illini (17-7, 8-5) scored the first four points of the game, but the Knights responded by going on a 16-4 run to take an 8-point lead with just less than 13 minutes left in the first half.
Rutgers led for the rest of the first half but did not manage to extend its lead to double-digit points. After an 8-4 scoring run by Illinois to close out the first half, the Knights led 34-30 at halftime.
In the first half, both fifth-year senior guard Caleb McConnell and senior guard Paul Mulcahy took advantage of the Fighting Illini’s drop coverage by hitting their mid-range shots. McConnell scored 12 points shooting 5-10 from the field, and Mulcahy added in an additional 8 points going a perfect 3-3 from the field in the first half.
Rutgers played tight perimeter defense, and Illinois only shot 1-12 from the three-point line in the first half. Despite this, the Fighting Illini were able to keep the score within striking distance thanks to the efforts of Dain Dainja, who scored 11 points and shot an efficient 5-7 from the field in the first half.
The second half started off similarly to the first half, with the Knights maintaining a slight scoring advantage during the first 5 minutes. After McConnell converted on two free throws, the team led 47-41 with more than 15 minutes left to play.
Those free throws were the last points Rutgers would score for nearly 10 minutes. In that stretch, Illinois went on a 19-0 scoring run that gave the team a 13-point lead. With approximately 5 minutes left in the game, junior forward Oskar Palmquist finally scored on a mid-range shot. The 10-minute scoring drought was marred with offensive turnovers and missed open shots as the Knights shot 0-15 from the field.
Rutgers would not be able to fully recover from the double-digit deficit, and the team ultimately lost by 9 points.
In the second half, the Fighting Illini did a better job of not allowing Mulcahy and McConnell uncontested mid-range shots. Subsequently, Mulcahy and McConnell combined for only 6 second-half points, collectively shooting 2-10 from the field.
Illinois also played strong defense on senior guard Cam Spencer, rarely allowing him to get an open shot. Spencer only scored 2 points, only shot the ball five times and only attempted one three-point shot.
For the Fighting Illini, Coleman Hawkins stuffed the stat sheet, as he scored 18 points, corralled eight rebounds and dished out four assists. Hawkins also shot an efficient 7-8 from inside the arc. Hawkins' offensive versatility proved to be difficult for the Knights without junior forward Mawot Mag.
Despite only playing for 24 minutes due to foul trouble, junior center Clifford Omoruyi recorded another double-double, leading the team with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Rutgers will look to get back to its winning ways when it returns home to take on Nebraska. The game will tip off on Tuesday at 8 p.m. and will be broadcasted on the Big Ten Network and 88.7 WRSU-FM.
"Illinois played great the last 9 (minutes), we didn’t," said head coach Steve Pikiell after the game. "Didn’t shoot it the way we liked, didn't execute the last 9 minutes, especially. (Illinois) got us on the boards … not a recipe on the road against a really good team."
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