Rutgers men's basketball cannot overcome poor 2nd half, falls on road against Wisconsin
The Rutgers men's basketball team lost 78-66 to Wisconsin on Thursday night. The Scarlet Knights (15-15, 7-12) hung tough in the first half but collapsed in the final 14 minutes of the second half to put their National Invitational Tournament chances on life support.
Here are four takeaways from the game.
A game of runs
Basketball is a game of runs and that held especially true in Rutgers' game against the Badgers (19-11, 11-8).
The Knights started the game hot from three-point range and took a 12-6 lead approximately 7 minutes into the game. Wisconsin would tie the game at 13-13 before Rutgers went on another mini-scoring spurt and got out to a 22-13 lead approximately halfway through the first half.
From there, though, the Badgers took control and a buzzer-beating layup from AJ Storr gave them a 34-32 lead going into halftime.
The Knights started the second half well and got out to a 47-40 lead approximately 5 minutes into the half.
But that would be the last run Rutgers would go on, as Wisconsin responded with a 19-2 scoring run that lasted approximately 6 minutes to give it a double-digit lead with 8 minutes remaining. The Knights were never able to get back in the game, as they ran out of energy.
The Badgers got the final run, thanks in part to sloppy defense from Rutgers. During that approximately 6-minute stretch, the Knights missed multiple defensive rotations and got caught reaching for steals, as their shots failed to go down.
"I thought we had spurts, (the) guys came in and gave us some really good minutes and fought for us," said head coach Steve Pikiell.
Storr and Steven show
With Max Klesmit exiting the game due to injury and Tyler Wahl struggling on his senior day, Storr and Steven Crowl stepped up for Wisconsin.
Storr led the Badgers with 19 points, including an emphatic slam dunk on senior center Clifford Omoruyi. When Wisconsin was stumped on offense, Storr came through multiple times. Storr was also a positive presence on the glass, securing seven rebounds and a block.
Crowl led the Badgers with 11 rebounds with six of those rebounds coming on the offensive end. Crowl was also second on the team in scoring with 17 points. Crowl used his strength to win his matchup with Omoruyi in the paint, holding Omoruyi to just 7 points and five rebounds with only one offensive board.
With Omouryi neutralized, Wisconsin was able to dominate inside and scored 10 more points in the paint.
Turnovers turn the game
Rutgers was hampered by poor ball security and turnovers. The Knights committed 18 turnovers, and the Badgers converted those turnovers into 19 points. Rutgers was sloppy when both passing and handling the ball, which put its offense out of rhythm.
Sophomore guard Derek Simpson and redshirt junior guard Jeremiah Williams were particularly loose with the ball, committing four and five turnovers, respectively. The Knights' turnovers allowed Wisconsin to get back into the game on numerous occasions and eventually allowed the latter to pull away.
"We turned the ball over way too many times," Pikiell said.
Freshmen flash potential
Despite the loss, freshmen guards Jamichael Davis and Gavin Griffiths flashed their immense potential.
Davis struggled at the free throw line but was still third on the team scoring 10 points. Davis was also aggressive on the defensive end, and though that led to four fouls in 29 minutes, he also got three steals. Where Davis really stood out was on the glass. Davis was active at fighting for loose rebounds and boxing out the Badgers' guards, and he led Rutgers with six rebounds while standing at just 6-foot-2.
Griffiths was second on the team with 14 points, and though he took some questionable shots, he was 4-9 from three-point range and looked more comfortable on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. Griffiths' progression is a positive sign for the Knights and Griffiths himself, as he has struggled for most of the season.
"Gavin's been aggressive, he's been better in practice. I'm proud of him," Pikiell said. "It's not easy coming in as a rookie in this league. He's learning the physicality of the game, he's learning a lot of different things. He's playing with really good confidence, and looking for him to continue that, we need him too."
Rutgers will now head back home to close out its regular season against Ohio State on Sunday at Jersey Mike's Arena on Livingston campus. The game will tip off at 2 p.m. and be broadcast on the Big Ten Network and 88.7 WRSU-FM.
The Knights will honor Omoruyi, senior forward Aundre Hyatt, senior forward Mawot Mag, redshirt senior forward Oskar Palmquist, fifth-year guard Noah Fernandes, graduate student guard Austin Williams, senior guard Aiden Terry and graduate student guard Zach Hayn for senior day at the game.
"We got senior night here coming up, and I need our crowd to be there," Pikiell said after the game. "We’ve got great seniors."
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