Lifeless loss: Rutgers men's basketball falls to Maryland at home
The Rutgers men's basketball team suffered a 63-46 loss to Maryland on Sunday afternoon. The Scarlet Knights (14-13, 6-10) have now dropped their fourth game at Jersey Mike's Arena on Livingston campus this season.
Here are three takeaways from the lifeless loss.
Ugly offense
Rutgers scored just 46 points against the Terrapins (15-13, 7-10), tying its worst scoring performance of the season. The Knights shot just 37 percent from the field, 18.2 percent from three-point range and 54.5 percent from layups.
Rutgers struggled to pass the ball and find open shots against Maryland's zone defense. The Knights committed 13 turnovers, and when they were not committing turnovers, they were forced into uncomfortable shots.
Only senior forward Aundre Hyatt scored more than 7 points overall, and from the 7:21 mark of the first half to the 15:43 mark in the second half, Rutgers went on an approximate 12-minute scoring drought. During that dry spell, the Terrapins went on a 22-6 scoring run that effectively put the game out of reach for the Knights.
"We weren't connected offensively. I feel like there were times where we could have made an extra pass or something, but the ball stuck a little bit," Hyatt said after the game. "The last time we played them, I don't think they played a zone, so that was a surprise. But they did a really good of containing the wings and forcing tough twos."
Rutgers did go on a quick 8-0 scoring run to cut its deficit to 10 points from the 11:55 mark to the 10:31 mark in the second half, but that would be the closest it ever got, as Maryland quickly reestablished its 17-point lead with more made baskets.
Struggles from the charity stripe
The Knights shot just 58.8 percent from the free throw line in the game. Rutgers did improve from the charity stripe in the second half, as it shot 41.7 percent from the free throw line in the first half.
The Knights' inability to make free throws allowed the Terrapins to grow their lead in the back end of the first half.
"I really thought (in) the first half, our inability to make a free throw — we missed three one-and-ones just to kind of hang around and stay a little closer — really hurt us," said head coach Steve Pikiell. "I got to get us to play better, and that's obviously on me."
Rutgers gets outclassed on the glass
Rutgers had a hard time grabbing rebounds and defending inside the paint. Maryland grabbed eight more offensive rebounds and 13 more total rebounds than the Knights. Despite this disparity, the Terrapins only scored 6 second-chance points.
Jordan Geronimo grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds, with six of those being on the offensive end. Freshman guard Gavin Griffiths was Rutgers' best player on the glass, corralling in a team-high five rebounds. Griffiths also had one of his best defensive games in a Knights uniform, as he also had two blocks.
Senior center Clifford Omoruyi only played 17 minutes, and senior forward Mawot Mag only played 18 minutes, as Pikiell opted to play a smaller lineup with redshirt senior forward Oskar Palmquist at center for much of the second half. With Omoruyi on the bench, Julian Reese established himself in the paint, scoring a game-high 20 points and grabbing six rebounds.
Rutgers' struggles on the glass prevented it from mounting a comeback in the second half.
The Knights will stay home and attempt to get the season sweep over Michigan on Thursday. The game will tip off at 8:30 p.m. and be broadcast on Fox Sports 1 and 88.7 WRSU-FM.
"Obviously, Maryland was better than us in every area," Pikiell said. "We didn't have any energy in the first half."
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