The Rutgers men’s basketball team’s offense exploded on Saturday in its 99-94 overtime loss at Illinois. The Illini were able to outscore the Scarlet Knights in the extra period, 13-8.
“Great game. Great environment. Great if you weren't coaching the game. They play really hard. I have to give Illinois credit. They were a few points better,” Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell said. “I love the way my team fought. It was a great college basketball game, we just came up a little bit short."
Rutgers reached at least 90 points for the third time this season, marking the first time accomplishing that feat since it did it four times in 2005-06. The Scarlet Knights shot 50.7 percent from the floor, their best percentage in a Big Ten game this year and their 37 made field goals was the most they converted in 2018-19 and most ever since netting 39 in the triple-overtime contest against the Illini in 2016. The 94 points is also the most they scored in a conference game this season.
“I thought the game was up-and down. They're good defensively, but we scored a lot of points. They played a few good segments, we played a few good segments. They play very different than anyone else. So there was a lot more possessions in this game. You really have to take every one and make the most of it,” Pikiell said.
Freshman guard Caleb McConnell had a career day, scoring 25 points and grabbing nine rebounds. It was his third game in double figures and second in the past three contests. It was the first game of his young career “On the Banks” scoring over 20. Fellow freshmen Ron Harper Jr. and Montez mathis added 15 and 17 points respectively as well. It was the sixth time Harper reached double digits with four of them now against conference foes. For Mathis, he now has scored 10-plus points 10 times overall with eight of them against Big Ten foes.
McConnell shot 8-of-10 from the field and 3-of-4 from 3-point land. He also made six of his eight foul shots. While Harper didn’t hit from deep, he did nail six of his eight two-point attempts and went 3-for-3 from the free-throw line. Mathis played a game-high 41 points and went 7-for-16.
Another freshman, Myles Johnson, added eight points on 4-of-4 shooting and the sophomore Baker also netted 15 points.
"I thought we were in attack mode the whole time. We made a lot of tough shots,” Pikiell said. “They did too. This game just came down to a couple of tough ones. They made a couple down the stretch and we didn't. But I thought we did a good job taking care of the ball that forces a lot of turnovers. They were just a few points better."
Mathis, Harper, Johnson, and McConnell accounted for 65 points, which is 69 percent of the 94 points the Scarlet Knights. Add in Baker, who is just a sophomore, and that’s 80 of the 94 points (85 percent).
“We're young too, so for us to score that many points, we did some good things” Pikiell said.
While Rutgers has just two Big Ten road wins over the years (both at Penn State), the young core that is producing now could flip those results very soon. Add in the recruits and sit-out transfers that are on the horizon and the future is bright in Piscataway.
It was also Harper who sent the game into overtime with a tough driving layup late and right after, Mathis got a block to prevent Illinois form winning the game at the buzzer.
“I like our young guys. I wouldn’t trade any of them,” Pikiell said. “They’re getting better. Illinois has good young players too. It bodes well for us and both programs moving forward.”
Follow Chris Nalwasky on Twitter @ChrisWasky.
