Basketball Opponent Pregame Glimpse: Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 20-11 (11-9 in Big Ten)
Last Result: Rutgers Scarlet Knights 71, Purdue Boilermakers 68 in OT
The Scarlet Knights picked up their second road win of the season and 20th win of the year to essentially secure an NCAA Tournament berth for the first time since 1991. Rutgers was eventually able to prevail in a closely contested contest in which neither team led by more than six points at any point in the game. Rutgers star guard Geo Baker only had six points through the first 34 minutes of the game; however, when the contest came down to the wire Baker like he usually does came alive. Baker had 11 points in the final six minutes of regulation and also made a long contested jump shot with 11 seconds left in overtime to put Rutgers up 71-68.
Rutgers went into the half in West Lafayette up 36-33. Early in the second half, Purdue went on a 6-0 run to tie the game at 39 and from then on neither team led by more than four points the rest of the contest. The Scarlet Knights were up four with 1:16 remaining in regulation when Purdue’s Sasha Stefanovic, who had a game-high 22 points, hit a three to pull the Boilermakers within one. After Rutgers guard Jacob Young missed two free throws on the Scarlet Knights next possession, Eric Hunter Jr., the left handed Purdue guard, made a layup to put the Boilermakers up 60-59 with 30 seconds remaining. Geo Baker responded with a go ahead jump shot with 14 seconds left in regulation to put Rutgers back up one. On Purdue’s final possession of regulation Eric Hunter Jr. was fouled, he made the first free throw but missed the second one which sent the game into overtime. Rutgers speedy guard Jacob Young scored the Scarlet Knights first five points in the overtime period, which included an and one dunk on Purdue’s big man 7-3 Matt Haarms, to lead Rutgers to a 66-63 lead with two minutes left in the game. Sasha Stefanovic then hit his fifth three pointer of the game with 1:38 remaining to tie the game at 66. The ensuing possession Rutgers Ron Harper Jr. hit a three pointer of his own to put Rutgers back up three with 1:10 remaining. After a few made free throws from Eric Hunter Jr. and a clutch jump shot by Geo Baker, the Boilermakers had one last chance to tie, as they were down by three points. However, they were unable to even get a shot off, as Rutgers held on to win.
The Scarlet Knights had four players reach double-digits against Purdue. Geo Baker led the team with 19 points while Ron Harper Jr. also accounted for 15 points in the contest. Akwasi Yeboah, the graduate transfer from Stony Brook, had 11 points while Jacob Young scored 10 in the game. Six Scarlet Knight players had at least five rebounds in the contest. Six Rutgers players also scored at least six points in the game, which is the norm for the Scarlet Knights, as seven different Rutgers players average over 6.5 points per contest. Rutgers, which ranks 2nd worst in the conference in both threes made per game at 5.5 and field goal percentage from long range at 31%, shot the ball extremely well from deep against Purdue. The Scarlet Knights went 9-for-18 from long range led by Ron Harper Jr. and Geo Baker who each went 3-for-4 from deep in the game. The Scarlet Knights did struggle to take care of the ball, though, as they had eight different players record at least one turnover in the game, as they finished the contest with 16 giveaways. Rutgers, who is the 2nd worst free throw shooting team in the conference at 64.4% from the charity stripe, wasn’t great at the line against the Boilermakers, as they went 8-for-14 from the foul line.
The Scarlet Knights defense, which ranks 24th best in the country in points allowed per game at 63.1, played pretty well against the Boilermakers, holding them to just 68 points in the game. Other than Sasha Stefanovic, who shot 5-for-13 from beyond the arc, Purdue struggled to make anything from three point range, as Stefanovic’s teammates shot just 2-for-16 from long range. The Scarlet Knights also held Purdue to just 33.8% shooting from the field, as the Boilermakers only had two players reach double digits in points in the contest.
In a physical contest that had major tournament implications for both squads, Rutgers was able to pull out the victory. With the win Rutgers clinched their first 20 win season since 2004 and can now head into their third game against the Wolverines, feeling like their NCAA Tournament hopes are safe.
Rutgers Last Matchup Against Michigan:
February 19, 2020: Michigan Wolverines 60, Rutgers Scarlet Knights 52
The short-handed Wolverines, who were without Isaiah Livers due to an injured right ankle, came into the RAC and became the first and only road team to win in Piscataway this season.
Zavier Simpson, who finished with 16 points five assists and six rebounds, led the Wolverines in the first half with 12 points to keep Michigan within three points at the half. The Scarlet Knights then started the 2nd half on a 6-0 run and the game felt like it may be getting out of hand for Michigan when the Wolverines responded with a 15-4 run, which was capped off by a David DeJulius corner three to give Michigan a 45-41 lead with 9:14 remaining. After the Wolverines second half run, Michigan never allowed Rutgers to come within two points for the rest of the contest.
Without Livers in the game, it was reasonable to believe that Brandon Jones Jr., Eli Brooks and Franz Wagner would have to hit some threes for Michigan to win in a tough road environment. However, those three combined to go 0-for-11 from long range, through the first 33 minutes of the contest. Juwan Howard even gave Eli Brooks a hug, presumably saying to his guard just keep letting it fly, it will fall, while he took the struggling Brooks out of the game with 15:24 left in the contest. Brooks and Wagner both kept firing with confidence despite struggling and both ended up hitting crucial three pointers to extend the Michigan lead. Wagner made his lone three of the game off an assists from Zavier Simpson with 6:16 left to play to extend the Wolverines lead to 50-44, while Brooks knocked down a step in off the dribble three, while the shot clock was running down and Zavier Simpson was on the bench with four fouls that extend the Michigan lead to nine with 3:25 left in the game. Both Brooks and Wagner finished 1-for-6 from three point range; however, both of their three point makes were at critical points in the contest, helping Michigan survive at the RAC. Even Colin Castleton, who hadn’t played more than nine minutes since December 29, 2019, against UMass Lowell, showed some toughness, as he stepped in and gave the Wolverines 10 big minutes in the second half while adding five points and four rebounds, as Brandon Jones Jr. was forced to sit due to foul trouble. David DeJulius also played a big role off the Wolverines bench accounting for 10 second half points.
Both the Wolverines and Scarlet Knights struggled from three point range in the game, as Michigan shot 6-for-23 from deep while Rutgers shot just 3-for-18 from beyond the arc. The Scarlet Knights did not shoot well from inside the arc either, as they finished the game shooting 34.9% from the field. Geo Baker led Rutgers in scoring, as he had 16 points on 7-for-16 shooting while Ron Harper Jr. accounted for 13 points on 4-for-9 shooting. Akwasi Yeboah was the only other Rutger player with double-digits in points in this contest, as he scored 10 points and accounted for five rebounds. The Scarlet Knights, who accounted for 26 offensive rebounds and outscored the Wolverines 25-0 in second chance points in the teams’ first meeting of the season in MSG, got 14 offensive rebounds in this contest. Rutgers is one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the Big Ten, as they average 11.8 offensive boards per game, which ranks 3rd highest in the Big Ten.
Ultimately, Michigan was able to come up with a gritty low scoring win at the RAC, as Michigan’s senior guard Zavier Simpson was able to keep the team calm and come up with big plays while the Rutgers crowd was ecstatic.
Players to Watch:
Geo Baker, Junior, Guard
The 6-4 guard is Rutgers’ best player and always has the ball in his hands during crunch time. He is known to many Scarlet Knights fans, as Geo Baker the big shot maker because he always seems to come up with a big bucket down the stretch. Baker has scored the ball even better recently, as he has finished seven out of the Scarlet Knights last eight games with at least 11 points. One of the many examples of Baker’s late game heroics was the game against Nebraska. Despite scoring zero points through the first 37 minutes of the contest when the game was on the line the ball still found Rutgers most experienced guard. Baker took four of the last five Rutgers shots in that game, which included a three pointer to take the lead 72-69 with 2:45 left in the game and the game winning step back three to put the Knights up 75-72 with just one second remaining on a clear out iso play. Even though Baker is averaging fewer points per game at 10.9 this season than he did last season for Rutgers, mainly due to the improved talent around him, Baker is still the Scarlet Knights best player and will have to make some big plays down the stretch for Rutgers to beat Michigan in basketball for the first time in their program’s history.
Ron Harper Jr., Sophomore, Guard
The Rutgers heavier set guard at 6-6 245 pounds leads the team in points per game at 12.1. Harper Jr. has the ability to have a big scoring day against the Wolverines, as he has had five games in which he has scored more than 20 points. The Rutgers guard is one of the Scarlet Knights best three point shooters, as he shoots 34.9% from beyond the arc. Harper Jr. also shoots a solid 45.2% from the field. In the two games against the Wolverines this season, Harper Jr. has combined to go 5-for-19 while scoring 16 points. If Rutgers is going to beat the Wolverines in the Big Ten Tournament, Harper Jr. is going to have to play well for the Scarlet Knights in their third chance to beat Michigan this season.
