The Rutgers men's basketball team lost an important game on the road against Michigan, 71-62, on Wednesday night at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, MI.
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The defeat drops Rutgers record to 16-11 overall and 10-7 in Big Ten play. Rutgers has now fell in two straight games after winning four in a row against ranked teams.
"Tough road game. Michigan played well," Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell said. "I thought we were a step slow on both ends of the floor. I'm worried about the stretch with our guys. I thought it kind of showed a little bit here today. But give them credit. I mean, I thought Hunter Dickinson started the game off well for them. We were worried about Caleb Houstan who shoots 45% from three at home and 28% on the road. Kind of got us with a few threes. They just seemed a step quicker than us all over the place today. Dealing with foul trouble too doesn't help, but we had to play better against a good Michigan team on the road and we didn't."
Caleb Houston scored a game-high 21 points for Michigan. He caught fire from deep making 5-of-7 3-pointers. Hunter Dickinson also added 16 points, DeVante Jones netted 14 points, and Eli Brooks reached figures as well with 11. Dickinson also had 11 rebounds for a double-double.
For Rutgers, Ron Harper Jr. led the way with 19 points while Cliff Omoruyi tallied 17. Caleb McConnell had nine points as well. Geo Baker (six), Paul Mulcahy (five), Aundre Hyatt (four), and Mawot Mag (two) chipped in.
Michigan led 32-30 at halftime and it was no more than a three-point game with 12:03 after a Harper Jr. layup plus the free throw. But the Wolverines surged ahead with an 11-0 run to go up by 14 points at 59-45. Rutgers would never recover. It got it as close as nine points with 1:13 left. Michigan shot 50% from the floor in the second half and made five 3-pointers. The Scarlet Knights went cold after the Harper-and-1 and didn't score for nearly four minutes of game time.
"Stops were what was missing. They got on a run there," Pikiell said. "They got into the lane. We talked a lot about that. They got a little bit of run and we had turnovers too and some opportunities to make some layups and make some shots and we didn't convert. That kind of snowballs when you're on the road. Can't have you can't have stretches like that and you know, we never could seem to get three, four stops in a row either which would have helped us you know, a great deal so. Both ends of the floor kind of hurt us tonight. I gotta make sure that we get back and we get some rest and we get back to our energy and our quickness that we need to play on."
Michigan limited Mulcahy to six points after he was averaging 17 over the last seven contests. Mulcahy, the Big Ten's assist leader, had just two on the night with no rebounds, four turnovers, and four fouls.
"Paul's been great. I'm not worried about Paul," Pikiell said. "There were some missed calls. It was foul trouble, really, never got into the flow. Every time he kind of checked in the game he seemed to get called for a foul. He's really good and he'll bounce back."
Omoruyi was effective on the offensive end for Rutgers, he was held to just three rebounds. Michigan outrebounded Rutgers, 36-31. Rutgers had seven second chance points and seven offensive rebounds (same as Michigan in both categories,), and only two blocks. Rutgers did tally 36 points in the paint, though, and notch eight steals, three by Mag, two each by Baker and Omoruyi, and one by Dean Reiber.
"We only had seven offensive rebounds. They're really good at rebounding the basketball. They did a good job in a lot of areas," Pikiell said. "I thought they made it tough for us. ...We got to play better. We got to rebound better and they outrebounded. That was a key for us."
The Wolverines were playing without head coach Juwan Howard and two players due to an incident after this past Sunday's loss to Wisconsin. Phil Martelli, who was the head coach at Saint Joseph's in Philadelphia for a long time, stepped in.
The last time Rutgers played Michigan at home last month, the Wolverines were without a number of players due to illness as well.
"Yeah, they played the bench this time, but (Brandon) John's (Jr.) has been a problem for us. He had 20 the last time he played against us. They probably didn't play as much zone they have been playing but they ran the same sets," Pikiell said. "Obviously he's a good coach but they have good players too. Not too much different, couple wrinkles here and there."
Like Rutgers, Michigan is trying to force its way into the NCAA Tournament and playing without its head coach only added fuel to the fire.
"I think for certain," Pikiell said on if he felt the Wolverines were playing with their backs against the wall. "They have really good players too. Now, especially at home they've been very good at home too. I think all those things definitely factor in and they looked like a more well rested teams and I too."
This was the first game Rutgers played in that didn't involve a ranked team since Feb. 1. It also had a pair of games in a row that were away. It's been an physical and mental grind for the Scarlet Knights.
Next up is a rematch with No. 13 Wisconsin. The Badgers will be coming for revenge after Rutgers beat them in Madison recently.
"I think all those things factor in. It's as tough a stretch as any Rutgers team has had to go through," Pikiell said. "Back-to-back games on the road, classes, and all the things they got to do. Looking forward to getting them back and get them off their feet and got to get ready for a Wisconsin team that is playing as well as anyone.
"We have to play better on Saturday. We don't have a lot of time."
Follow Chris Nalwasky on Twitter @ChrisNalwasky.
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