Three takeaways from Rutgers men's basketball's dominant win over Long Island University
The Rutgers men’s basketball team defeated Long Island University 83-61 on Saturday afternoon. The Scarlet Knights (7-3, 0-1) pulled away late in the second half to get the dominant victory.
Here are three takeaways from the 22-point win.
Big Cliff Energy
Before the game against the Sharks (1-9, 0-0), senior center Clifford Omoruyi was honored for scoring 1000 career points for Rutgers.
Then Omoruyi had his best game of the season, as he was decisive on offense and was dominant in the paint on his way to a career-high 25 points. He also shot an efficient 12 for 15 from the floor. On the defensive end, he grabbed eight of his 11 rebounds and had three blocks.
Omoruyi’s offensive performance can be attributed, in part, to his high-quality shot selection. Omoruyi was able to establish a position deep in the low post where he could receive the ball and either dunk it, get a layup or take a short hook shot. Omoruyi was also effective at screening and rolling to the basket, as Long Island University had no answers for alley-oops thrown his way.
“The last two practices I have been aggressive getting in low post positions,” Omoruyi said after the game.
The Knights will need to see the best of Omoruyi come January when conference play ramps up.
Forwards shine bright
Senior forward Aundre Hyatt was kept quiet in the first half, only scoring 4 points and grabbing two rebounds.
In the second half, though, Hyatt made his presence known. He was active on the glass, grabbing 10 rebounds in just the second half alone. Hyatt also scored 8 points in the second half, including a three-pointer that was Rutgers’ first of the game. He would end with 12 points and 12 rebounds for his first double-double of the season.
“There was a time in the first half I got subbed out because I think I gave up a three or something, and then coach B-Knight (associate head coach Brandin Knight) was just saying that I need to be more assertive and more aggressive on both ends,” Hyatt said after the game. "So that was a good wake-up call for me, just to be out there and start banging down low and just creating plays.”
Hyatt’s second-half resurgence helped the Knights hold off the Sharks.
Senior forward Mawot Mag played strong defense and ended the contest with two blocks and one steal, but he made his biggest contribution on offense at the end of the game. Though Rutgers never trailed Long Island University, a second-half surge from the Sharks cut the Knights’ lead to 7 points with 6:41 left in the contest.
On the following possession, Mag made a jumper in the paint and followed that up with a three-pointer to bring Rutgers’ lead back up to 12 points. His 5 consecutive points powered a 19-4 Knights run to end the game.
Mag finished with 10 points, four rebounds and three assists, helping Rutgers grow its lead to over 20 points.
For the Knights to be successful in the future, they will need to rely on the veteran presence of Hyatt and Mag on both ends of the floor.
Charity stripe proving to be less than charitable
Despite the win, Rutgers struggled to shoot free throws, making just 13 of 26 from the charity stripe. The Knights are now shooting 64.2 percent from the free throw line this season, putting at 329th in the nation out of 351 teams.
“I don’t know who is in charge of free throw shooting here,” Pikiell joked after the game.
Freshman guard Gavin Griffiths, freshman guard Jamichael Davis and sophomore forward Antwone Woolfolk are all shooting under 50 percent from the free throw line. If Rutgers wants its team’s overall numbers to improve, everyone is going to have to shoot above 50 percent from the charity stripe.
When facing off against Big Ten competition, the Knights will need to capitalize on free throws, as they will struggle to win games without them.
Rutgers will have its biggest out-of-conference test against Mississippi State this Saturday at noon. The game will be played at the Prudential Center and be broadcast on the Big Ten Network and 88.7 WRSU-FM.
“We did a good job of taking care of the basketball then, we shared it," Pikiell said after the game. “Cliff got a career high tonight…it seems like now that Mawot has come back, Aundre rebounds more. That’s a big thing for us moving forward, but we are on to Mississippi State, it’s going to another really tough test right here before Christmas.”
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