Time and time again, Rutgers men’s basketball coach Steve Pikiell has said the season is full of obstacles and he plays a lot of guys because you never know what’ll come up from illnesses to injuries.
This past Friday, the Scarlet Knights (11-3, 2-1 Big Ten) announced just before their win over Nebraska in Lincoln that junior guard Geo Baker will be out indefinitely due to a thumb injury. Per Jerry Carino of APP.com, he’ll miss about three or four weeks.
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"Our focus is upon Geo receiving the best care and treatment to make a healthy return this season," Pikiell said in a statement. "His absence will be another challenge for our program, and we have every confidence our team will rise to meet it."
Rutgers met that challenge head on and passed the first test as it got a dominating victory over the Cornhuskers on the road, 79-62.
“That's a dangerous basketball team,” said Pikiell, “and we hadn't played well here in the past. I'm pleased with our 40 minute effort today. To get a road win in this league is really tough to do. I'm pleased with that against a really good basketball team.”
Baker has been the engine that makes Rutgers go at point guard. The 6-foot-4, 185-pound captain had started the previous 13 games. He still leads the team in total minutes played (395), average time on the court (30.4), assists (52), free throw percentage (84.0), steals (23), and is second in scoring (11.5) and blocks (12).
“He’s a veteran guy. He’s been here a long time. He’s our captain. He leads us in just about every category,” Pikiell said. “Not having him changes things, but like I said, I play a lot of guys and they were ready. Caleb (McConnell) started a lot of games already this year. He went right into the lineup. I like our bench. We have great energy with Jacob (Young), Paul (Mulcahy), Shaq Carter, and what have you. I liked our rotation for having to figure it out in a one day span.”
In Baker’s absence, McConnell, who started the first games of the year, was re-inserted into the starting five and had his best game of his career. The 6-foot-7, 190-pounder netted a game-high 20 points and was 8-for-8 from the floor, including a buzzer-beater to end the first half. He also made both of his foul shots and dished out five assists in a team-high 34 minutes.
"Losing one of our leaders due to an injury, I knew I needed to step up tonight,” McConnell said. “I had to control the pace of the game and the team, make sure the team got good shots. We just had to slow the game down, share the ball, and get it inside. We took good shots. Defensively, we packed the paint in and stopped the ball. We keyed in on Cam Mack and stopping him, being sure to play team defense. It's always fun when the ball is moving and we're sharing the game and that leads to a win. It's always good when you win on the road, especially in the best league in the country."
Young also provided a jolt with 16 points as he was able to get to the rim. Mulcahy had just two points and was hit with four fouls, but he recorded three assists. Ron Harper Jr. notched a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds and Myles Johnson was a force in the paint with a whopping 18 points and 14 boards. He and Harper each had two blocks.
Mulcahy, a freshman, only had two points and was hit with four fouls, but he still managed three assists in extended playing time.
Rutgers scored 52 points in the paint, outrebounded Nebraska 48-31, and led by as many as 22.
"I'm honestly proud of all of our guys. We found out at the last minute that Geo wasn't going to play. Caleb stepped up. Paul Mulcahy, Jacob Young, all those guys stepped up,” Pikiell said. “You have to do a little bit more. It's hard to replace a guy like Geo. I feel bad for Geo. He's worked tremendously hard and is having a great season. These are the obstacles that you have to go through on the journey of the season. We play a lot of guys. These guys have played a lot of minutes and they had to play even more today. Obviously, Caleb stepped up, Myles Johnson stepped up, Ron Harper with a double-double. We really had good efforts from everybody."
Whether Baker was on the court or not, getting the ball inside was going to be a priority. The Scarlet Knights were the more physical team.
"That's always a game plan for us. Ron got some baskets in front too. Akwasi (Yeboah) got some baskets in front. We like to really share the game. A lot of guys get a lot of shots up. We wanted to attack and share the game, and that's what we did,” Pikiell said. “We didn’t do a good job offensive rebounding wise, they hurt us all night with that. We've been a really good rebounding team but struggled with that tonight. ...We share the game, that's what we do, and I'm glad those guys produced when they got the ball."
Coming into the game, Rutgers was 0-3 at Pinnacle Bank Arena against Nebraska with an average defeat by 16.0 points. Since joining the Big Ten, the Scarlet Knights are still only 5-43 on the road (3-5 on neutral floors), so this win away from the RAC is a big one.
Rutgers next faces No. 21 Penn State on Tuesday at home, where the Scarlet Knights will put their 10-0 mark on the line.
"I think this whole league, no one had been winning on the road to start out the season. The league is a monster,” Pikiell said. “Great coaches, great teams. Venues that are packed. The most difficult thing to do in college basketball is win on the road. And tonight we started four sophomores. Not exactly an old team. We’re a young team. Good road win today at a real tough place."
Follow Chris Nalwasky on Twitter @ChrisWasky.
