Takeaways from No. 25 Rutgers men's basketball's loss in exhibition game against St. John's
Basketball is back on the Banks as the Rutgers men's basketball team was defeated by St. John's 91-85 Thursday night in an exhibition matchup at Jersey Mike's Arena on Livingston campus. While it won't affect either team's season record, there were still plenty of notable things to take away from the game.
Explosive but sloppy
While things weren't perfect for the Scarlet Knights, they looked like they were shot out of a cannon at many points. No. 25 Rutgers would often go on prolonged scoring droughts last season that would suck the air out of Jersey Mike's Arena in a heartbeat — this time around, the Knights forced a drought and went on an energized 22-0 run in the first half.
In the second half, things were back and forth until freshman forward Ace Bailey caught fire and helped open up a 12-point lead with 12:40 to play. This type of explosiveness and ability to turn the tides in the snap of a finger has been unforeseen in recent years for Rutgers.
The Red Storm ultimately got back in it, though, and sloppy play plagued the Knights as Rutgers racked up 13 turnovers, a few being on very crucial moments.
Captain foul trouble
Redshirt senior guard Jeremiah Williams and graduate student forward and center Zach Martini played 4 minutes and 1 minute, respectively, in the first half due to foul trouble. But with the Knights captains sidelined for the majority of the half, the rest of the team stepped up and sparked the huge run.
Freshman center Lathan Sommerville was thrust into action and held his own, finishing with 2 points in 7 minutes, all in the first half. The foul trouble also warranted some big early minutes out of fifth-year guard and forward PJ Hayes IV, who was an immediate spark.
Williams and Martini wound up playing more minutes in the second half, but guys stepping up in their first-half absence is encouraging to see moving forward for Rutgers.
Derkack and Hayes
Junior guard Jordan Derkack was the glue that held the team together for much of the way, while Hayes brought immense energy off the bench that could have had Sister Jean fired up and out of her seat.
"PJ's been really, really good for us," head coach Steve Pikiell said. "Gives us good energy, he's in great shape. He's gonna have a good year ... he's got a great energy about him."
Derkack came off the bench and was 0 for 6 from the field before a timely bucket with 1:14 to play — yet Pikiell elected to close the game with him in the lineup. Why? Because his defense and maturity helped keep the team poised.
"(Derkack's) tough, he's a multiposition guy," Pikiell said. "He's gonna be a really, really good player."
The five-star freshmen were as advertised
Bailey caught fire and had the ultimate green light to shoot the ball. Freshman guard Dylan Harper looked experienced beyond his years, and as a spectator, you would not know he was a freshman. The duo finished with 45 points combined.
Ogbole's shaky performance
Junior center Emmanuel Ogbole was caught out of position pretty often Thursday night and commonly gave up offensive rebounds. Ogbole is rather inexperienced, so it is nothing to panic over for the Knights, but his play is something to monitor as he is the only true big man on the roster aside from the freshman Sommerville. Ogbole finished with 4 points and four rebounds in 21 minutes.
Costly turnovers down the stretch
Trailing by 1 point, Harper made a freshman mistake and turned the ball over, leading to 2 points for St. John's. The next possession, Derkack did the same and the Red Storm took a 4-point lead to seal the deal.
Rutgers will take the court for the regular season on November 6 against Wagner.
"It's a scrimmage," Pikiell said. "The good part is we're 0-0."
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