Free throws, defense, overcoming adversity key to Rutgers' win over OSU

There's no doubt that the Rutgers men's basketball team's upset 64-61 home victory over No. 16 Ohio State on Wednesday was a big one. Coach Steve Pikiell always talks about the Big Ten being the best league in the country.

The Scarlet Knights endured a pair of long scoring droughts and finished late in the clutch to pull off the win.

"Great environment tonight, great college basketball game. I am just proud of our guys,” Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell said. “Thankful for the people that came out, all the things that make our place great here. The RAC was a tough place to play. We played a great team. I have a ton of respect for Ohio State. They did an unbelievable job, well coached and great players. That is why they are ranked and should be. Our guys found a way. They went through a lot of adversity. Eugene (Omoruyi) went down early, but we found a win to win the game and I could not be more proud of my team."

It was a big bounce back win after the disappointing loss last weekend at home against Maryland.

“I am really proud of it. We had good practices leading up,” Pikiell added. “Montez (Mathis) made some big shots. Geo (Baker) was a great floor general today. Everyone that checked in for us tonight gave us great minutes. Shaq Carter and Shaquille Doorson did an unbelievable job guarding (Kaleb) Wesson. He is a problem, he is really hard to guard. I thought everyone played with great energy. It is not always easy, this is the best league in the country with a ton of ranked teams. We figured it out and persevered through a ton of adversity. This is a journey, there are ups and downs and this was a big up for us."

Prior to the New Year, the Scarlet Knights dropped two early Big Ten Conference games to Michigan State and Wisconsin. Both were winnable. Rutgers has a young team and went through stretches where it couldn’t buy a bucket in each half despite winning by 11 and 10 points respectively. Nonetheless, the players came up in crunch time.

“I think so,” Pikiell said on if his team is learning how to win. “You have to make big plays and we had huge stops down the stretch. They had been practicing that way. We had good practices. They are really coachable. Tonight was a huge obstacle because Eugene is a big part of what we do. Him going down early, he is our leading scorer and he has been great for us. Just figuring out to get through another obstacle. Shaq Carter was able to bounce in and give us a ton of good minutes. To get that win was a big confidence booster for us."

Almost everything went right for Rutgers on the court. The only downside was losing Omoruyi with just under 30 minutes to go in the opening half. It shot 43 percent from the floor against an Ohio State defense that is ranked 26th in the country in field goal percentage defense (39.2). It committed less turnovers than the Buckeyes and is now 6-0 this season when having less than its opponent. It is also 5-0 this year when shooting better than its opponent (42 percent for the Scarlet Knights compared to 40 percent for Ohio State).

Rutgers scored 18 points off of the Buckeyes’ turnovers and used pace and scored 12 points in transition as well.

But the three main reasons why the Scarlet Knights pulled off the win were defense, making foul shots, and 3-point shooting.

While Rutgers didn’t exactly light it up from deep, it shot over 30 percent for the first time in five games. And after some ugly performances, it went 5-for-16 (31 percent). At one point in the first half, Rutgers was 3-of-6.

"I told them it is an easy game if you are open, then shoot the ball,” Pikiell said. “They are all good shooters, but they have put a lot of time into it. That extra time shows on the court."

For what it seems like 20 years now, Rutgers has struggled from the free-throw line. Entering the contest, Rutgers was 334th in the country percentage wise. But against Ohio State, it shot 75 percent (15-of-20). Geo Baker went 3-for-4, Doorson, 1-for-2, Mathis, 1-for-1, Ron Harper Jr, 4-for-5, Carter, 5-for-6, and Myles Johnson made 1-of-2.

“We got to the free throw line a ton tonight. That was a huge key. Just another way to score points,” Pikiell said of his team’s made free throws. “Our guys did a great job in getting to the line and made some huge shots. That percentage is what we need to shot the rest of the season. It helped us a lot tonight."

Lastly, the Scarlet Knights have predominantly been a man-to-man defensive team, but utilized plenty of zone which threw off Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann and the Buckeyes.

"I am just learning my team,” Pikiell said. “We have good length and I thought that might give us an edge tonight. Kaleb Wesson is a problem in the post and we need to play some great post defense."

Ohio State averaged 78 points per game but Rutgers held it to just 61.

“I think we did a good job of forcing them into tough jump shots,” Baker said. “I wouldn’t say they were settling. Those are shots they probably usually make too. They’re a really good team.”