Misery in Minnesota: Rutgers men's basketball falls short on road against Minnesota, snaps 4-game winning streak
The Rutgers men's basketball team suffered an 81-70 road loss to Minnesota on Sunday night. The loss snapped the Scarlet Knights' (14-11, 6-8) four-game winning streak and now sets up a crucial game against Purdue at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana, on Thursday.
Here are three thoughts from the game.
First-half offensive explosion
Rutgers played one of its best offensive halves in the first half against the Golden Gophers (16-9, 7-7). The Knights shot 53.3 percent from the field and 50 percent beyond the arc in the opening half and were tied with Minnesota 37-37 at halftime.
The Golden Gophers were aggressively blitzing screens, but Rutgers countered by passing the ball around the perimeter and finding the slipping senior center Clifford Omoruyi in the paint for open baskets. Omoruyi finished the first half with 13 points, six rebounds and three blocks.
When Minnesota's defense collapsed on Omoruyi, sophomore guard Derek Simpson was able to make it pay, scoring 8 points while shooting 2-4 from three-point range in the first half.
The Knights' passing prowess was on display, as they recorded 12 assists in the opening 20 minutes.
Despite Rutgers' offensive outburst, the Golden Gophers kept pace, shooting 52 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from three-point range with 11 assists.
The Knights had a 2-point lead in the final minutes of the first half, but a missed Simpson step-back three-pointer led to a Minnesota fast break that forced Simpson to foul Dawson Garcia. Garcia got to the free throw line with just 2 seconds left in the half and made both of his attempts to tie the game at halftime.
Second-half struggles
Rutgers struggled to start the second half, and the Golden Gophers started the half on an 11-2 run that gave them a 48-39 lead with 16:06 left in the contest.
The Knights' offense continued to struggle throughout the second half as Minnesota slowly grew its lead.
Part of the reason for Rutgers' offensive struggles was the Golden Gophers' adjustments on defense. When Minnesota blitzed screens in the second half, it also sent someone to rotate toward Omoruyi to prevent him from getting the ball open in the paint. Due to this, Omoruyi could not replicate his first-half success and ended the game with 19 points and eight rebounds.
Simpson also ended the game with 19 points but was inefficient from beyond the arc in the second half, shooting just 1-5 from three-point range.
The Golden Gophers had a 17-point lead with 3:39 remaining before the Knights began showing some life.
Rutgers began applying full-court pressure that allowed it to go on an 11-0 run and cut its deficit to just 6 points with 2:11 left in the contest, but it was too little too late, as Minnesota was able to break the Knights' pressure and close out the 11-point win at the free throw line.
Rutgers shot just 25 percent from the field and 7.7 percent from beyond the arc in the second half as the Golden Gophers continued to assert their will on the offensive end, shooting 50 percent from the field and 55.6 percent from beyond the arc.
Feel the Payne
A large part of Minnesota's success can be attributed to Pharrel Payne. Payne was dominant inside the paint and finished with a game-high 21 points and 11 rebounds. Payne was also efficient from the field, making 8 out of his 12 shots.
Payne successfully battled down low with Omoruyi and sophomore forward Antwone Woolfolk, giving the Golden Gophers a crucial interior presence as the Knights had no answers for the 6-foot-9 sophomore.
Additional notes
Senior forward Mawot Mag returned after sitting out Rutgers' last game due to left knee soreness. Mag played 17 minutes, scoring 5 points and grabbing two rebounds, but he fouled out of the game at the end of the second half.
Redshirt junior guard Jeremiah Williams was shut down in this one, finishing with just 9 points on 2 of 10 shooting.
The Knights made their first three 3-point attempts but shot just 1-16 from three-point range for the rest of the day.
Rutgers shot well from the free throw line, as it shot 81.8 percent from the charity stripe.
Elijah Hawkins was crucial for Minnesota, playing all 40 minutes, scoring 16 points and dishing out seven assists.
The Knights' defense was ultimately the deciding factor in this one, as their offense scored the ball fairly well, mainly in the first half and in the waning moments of the second.
"We can't give up 81 points on the road," head coach Steve Pikiell said after the loss. "We scored plenty of points to be really competitive, but it is the first time in a while that our defense wasn't where it needed to be."
Rutgers will stay on the road to face the Boilermakers (23-3, 12-3) this Thursday. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. and be broadcast on Fox Sports 1 and 88.7 WRSU-FM.
For more updates on the Rutgers men's basketball team, follow @TargumSports on X.
To view more of Ellis Gordon's work, follow @EllisVGordon on X.
