The Rutgers men's basketball team earned a hard-fought 66-64 upset victory over No. 16 Ohio State on Wednesday night at Jersey Mike's Arena.
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Geo Baker, with 18.8 seconds left, drove to the rim, was fouled, and made a pair of free throws. After a timeout called by Ohio State, Ron Harper Jr. delivered a block on a driving Malachi Branham with 3.2 seconds left. The Buckeyes grabbed the ball before it went out of bounds and called another timeout. Baker blocked a 3-point try with a second remaining.
The Scarlet Knights held the Buckeyes scoreless over the final 3:48 of game when Ohio State led by eight points.
The win improved Rutgers' record to 14-9 overall and 8-5 in Big Ten play keeping its NCAA Tournament chances alive. Rutgers is now 4-10 in the series all-time with the Buckeyes.
THE GOOD
Transition offense: Most of Rutgers points in the early going came on fast breaks. Among Rutgers' 14 points to start, nine came in transition. That helped Rutgers get out to a solid start, something that has been a sore point as a times. Ron Harper Jr. made a 3-pointer and Geo Baker made a pair, including on that banked off the backboard.
Defense: Rutgers defended well whether in more of a press, man-to-man, or zone. Rutgers hung tough with the Buckeyes and while they shot the ball pretty well, space was tight. The second-chance points aided Ohio State. Rutgers does have to get to 3-pointer shooters quicker though.
Great battle: A good old-fashioned Big Ten war ensued and it was close to the final buzzer. Can't ask for anything more. Both teams traded punches throughout the contest and neither gave an inch.
THE BAD
Reliant on jump shots: As we've seen in the past, Rutgers can shy away from attacking the hoop. Rutgers shot a slew of jump shots including rushed ones. It got lucky with some makes, but it is hard to sustain that.
Rebounding: The Scarlet Knights hit the glass at the beginning, but the Buckeyes slowly started to get the best on the backboards as the first half rolled on. There was a sequence when Ohio State grabbed two tough offensive rebounds with about three minutes to go in the first quarter and got the bucket. Ohio State ended up out-rebounding Rutgers and tallying more second-chance points.
TURNING POINT: Caleb McConnell blocked a layup by a sprinting Malachi Branham with 2:29 left. Geo Baker then hit his signature step-back jumpshot to make it a 64-62 game, As the arena became deafening, Rutgers forced a shot clock violation and Cliff Omoruyi threw down a one-handed slam dunk to tie the game.
**Kyle Young made a layup on an assist from E.J. Liddell with 4:46 to go and two free throws by Zed Key with 3:48 remaining. That put Ohio State up by eight points at 64-56. Rutgers missed five of its previous seven shots and the Buckeyes were able to capitalize. Geo Baker missed a 3-pointer on the other end.**
**= that changed quickly
RHOOPS PLAY OF THE GAME (edited): Caleb McConnell's block with a few minutes to go
RUTGERS PLAYER OF THE GAME: Geo Baker
The senior point guard was efficient with shooting and played solid defense. He finished as the game's high-scorer on the night with 25 points. He also had six assists, three rebounds, and two blocks.
ONE THING: No home whistle
Normally you see visiting teams at home arenas of other Big Ten teams get called for a bunch of fouls. But this time Rutgers was on the wrong end of the whistle from the likes of Bo Boroski, Lamont Simpson, and Lewis Garrison.
UP NEXT: Rutgers hits the road again to take on No. 14 Wisconsin in Madison on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. You can see the game on FS1.
Follow Chris Nalwasky on Twitter @ChrisNalwasky.
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