Rutgers Stuns No. 9 Maryland, Bolsters NCAA Tourney Hopes

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Jacob Young came off the bench and scored 17 points and Rutgers bolstered its NCAA Tournament hopes with a 78-67 victory over No. 9 Maryland on Tuesday night.

Montez Mathis added 15 points and Gio Baker had 11 as the Scarlet Knights (19-11, 10-9 Big Ten) snapped a three-game losing streak. It was their school record 18th home win (18-1) this season.

Jalen Smith had 16 points and 10 rebounds for Maryland (23-7, 13-6), which has dropped three of its last four. Anthony Cowan added 19 points for the Terps, who shot an atrocious 6 of 32 from 3-point range, including 2 of 16 in the first half.

Young helped break the game open early, hitting his first four shots to ignite a 15-4 spurt that allowed the Scarlet Knights to open a 19-8 lead.

Cowan and Smith helped the Terps stay close, eventually going to the locker room down 35-29.

The second half was all Rutgers. It hit 10 of its first 14 shots and led by as many as 21 points. Maryland held the lead for less than a minute in the game and only made it close in garbage time.

The game ended with Rutgers fans on the court celebrating a win that had major tournament implications.

BIG PICTURE

Maryland: Coupled with No. 16 Michigan State's win over No. 20 Penn State, the Terps are tied for first place in the conference with one game to go.

Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights are 4-4 in games against AP Top 25 teams and they can taste their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since the 1990-91 season. That was the last year Rutgers won 10 games in a league, going 14-4 in the Atlantic 10.

UP NEXT

Maryland: Finishes the regular season at home against No. 19 Michigan on Sunday.

Rutgers: Ends the regular season at Purdue on Saturday, and a win would probably seal the deal.