Rutgers men's basketball suffers worst home defeat since 2018
The Rutgers men's basketball team fell to Illinois by a score of 76-58. It was the Scarlet Knights' (5-2, 0-1) biggest home defeat since Nov. 16, 2018, against St. John's.
In front of a packed Jersey Mike's Arena on Livingston campus, Rutgers got off to another slow start, as the Fighting Illini (6-1, 1-0) jumped out to a 14-2 lead approximately 5 minutes into the game. The Knights would not score their first field goal until redshirt senior forward Oskar Palmquist got an open dunk at the 13:31 mark.
In the first 10 minutes of the game, Illinois was able to use its impressive passing to stretch Rutgers' defense and generate open shots. The Knights came out stagnant on offense, struggling in the half-court against the Fighting Illini's elite defense.
With approximately 8 minutes left in the half, Illinois got on the fast break, and Terrence Shannon Jr. found Dain Dainja for the easy dunk to give the Fighting Illini a 30-15 lead, their second-largest lead of the game to that point. After the dunk, head coach Steve Pikiell called a timeout to try to stop Illinois' momentum.
Pikiell's plan worked as Rutgers came out of the timeout looking rejuvenated on both ends of the floor. The Knights started forcing turnovers on defense, and graduate student guard Austin Williams led the charge on offense.
"Coach Pikiell was calling some plays for me. He was getting me some plays with the ball in the right spot," Williams said on his first-half success. "Those guys were forcing me sometimes to the baseline, and I was just taking the gaps."
With approximately 5 minutes left in the half and Rutgers down 34-22, senior forward Aundre Hyatt, freshman guard Jamichael Davis and fifth-year guard Noah Fernandes hit back-to-back-to-back three-point shots to cut the Fighting Illini's lead to just 3 points. Williams assisted the first two three-pointers, and on Fernandes' side-step three-pointer, the crowd erupted into a massive roar that hit 113.8 decibels.
Both teams would trade baskets in the final 3 minutes of the half, and Illinois went into the locker room with a 41-36 lead, but the Knights had momentum on their side.
Williams was the star of the first half for Rutgers, as he led the team with 9 points, four rebounds and three assists. The Knights were able to get back in the game thanks to shooting approximately 50 percent from beyond the arc in the half.
Despite Rutgers' strong end to the first half, it once again came out flat to start the second half. The Fighting Illini went on an 8-3 run to open up the half and had a 49-39 lead at the 14:30 mark. Illinois started to expand on its lead from there, and with 9:12 left in the game, Shannon Jr. made a three-point shot to give the Fighting Illini a 20-point lead and silence the crowd.
Illinois was able to see the rest of the game out, as the Knights were never able to make another comeback attempt. A made layup from Coleman Hawkins with 11 seconds left was the exclamation point on an 18-point Fighting Illini win.
Shannon Jr. was terrific for Illinois, scoring 23 points while shooting an efficient 8-13 from the field and grabbing 10 rebounds. The Fighting Illini dominated the glass, grabbing 28 more rebounds than Rutgers. Illinois had more offensive rebounds than the Knights had defensive rebounds. Rutgers also shot an abysmal 9-23 on layups, which also hindered it from making any comeback attempt.
Beyond the box score
Pikiell is still figuring out his best lineup, as there were many different lineup variations on Saturday.
Freshman guard Gavin Griffiths struggled defensively, which may be the reason why he only played 19 minutes.
Hyatt and senior center Clifford Omoruyi's offensive struggles continued. Both were unable to find open looks and, subsequently, had questionable shot selection. Omoruyi was dominant on the defensive end, though, as he had a career-high eight blocks.
The Knights will attempt to bounce back when they travel down to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to take on Wake Forest this Wednesday. The game will tip off at 6 p.m. and be broadcast on the ACC Network and 88.7 WRSU-FM.
"They were the more physical team today, and we just got to attack film, see what we can do better at and just practice more aggressively," Hyatt said after the loss.
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