Rutgers men's basketball struggles in home loss to Wisconsin, suffers 2nd straight defeat
Monday night’s game against Wisconsin was a must-win for the Rutgers men’s basketball team. After losing to Indiana 84-74 on the road last Thursday without star freshman guard Dylan Harper, the focus shifted to the team’s upcoming three-game homestand as a chance to begin building an NCAA Tournament résumé.
But the Scarlet Knights (8-7, 1-3) fell 75-63 to the Badgers (12-3, 2-2) in a difficult game offensively. Harper, who was sick last week against the Hoosiers (12-3, 3-1), started but only played 15 minutes and did not look fully healthy, finishing with four rebounds and no points. Freshman forward Ace Bailey had 9 points on 3-of-16 shooting and fouled out of the game late in the second half – it’s safe to say the superstars had rough nights.
The game was always going to be a fight. Wisconsin was coming off a 116-85 thumping of Iowa, the program’s second-most overall points scored. The Badgers broke records in the victory, hitting a Big Ten-best 21 three-pointers, with John Blackwell going 6-of-10 from beyond the arc for a career-best 32 points. Rutgers allowed Blackwell to score 21 points but went 1-4 from three-point range.
Wisconsin started on the front foot, jumping out to a 6-0 lead and keeping the Knights scoreless for the first 3 minutes, ending with a jumper from Bailey, who was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week following a career-best 39 points against Indiana last time out.
The shooting struggles for Rutgers continued, going on several more scoring droughts. The Badgers went on a 13-2 run to lead 27-13 at the 6:59 mark of the first half because Wisconsin capitalized on points in the paint and layups.
Despite the Badgers hitting 11 of their last 12 field goal attempts, the Knights were able to cut the deficit to 9 points at halftime, trailing 43-34. With Bailey not playing the final 9:15 minutes of the first due to foul trouble and Harper not looking like himself, graduate student guard Tyson Acuff stepped up with 11 points in the half. Freshman forward Dylan Grant had 5 points, including a three and junior guard Jordan Derkack also helped out in the scoring category.
Rutgers continued to dig itself out of its grave to begin the second half, with Bailey and Acuff hitting threes. The Knights trailed by three, 60-57, with 6:45 to go but could not take advantage of their second-chance opportunities from crashing the offensive glass. Wisconsin hit its crucial shots down the stretch en route to its fourth straight win.
Acuff was the lone bright spot offensively for Rutgers in the loss. He had 17 points and hit three three-pointers. Grant, who played a season-high 16 minutes, finished with 8 points and a team-high two blocks.
“If that’s what my team needs me to do, if I need to score the basketball in order for us to win games then that’s what I’ll do for my team,” Acuff said. “If they need me to pass the basketball or rebound the basketball, that’s what I’ll do. Whatever it takes to get the win and keep these guys going, keep us confident.”
Grant echoed a similar sentiment, displaying a do-it-all attitude.
“Gotta stay hard confident, play hard in practice and then translate it into the game,” he said. “Just gotta stay ready – whenever my number is called, if it’s not called that’s fine but if it is I just gotta go out there and play the best I can.”
Rutgers is now 0-5 against Quad 1 opponents and needs to string some wins together fast to play postseason basketball. With a poor record in the nonconference slate, the Knights must bounce back in Big Ten play quickly.
Rutgers will remain at home for Thursday night's highly anticipated game against Purdue. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on Fox Sports and 88.7 WRSU-FM.
“It’s a 40-minute league and I gotta get these guys to play 40 minutes,” said head coach Steve Pikiell. “I appreciate the effort of (Grant and Acuff), they’ve been really good in practice and they fought the whole time that they were in the game. But we got to play better.”
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