3/8/2021 basketball Edit

The Monday Morning Step-Back: Rutgers Hoops ends season on a high note

Craig Epstein

Staff Writer

Following Rutgers’ resurgence against Indiana in a game the team had to have, the Scarlet Knights went into the week needing at least one more win to all but lock up a bid to their first NCAA Tournament in 30 years. Seems easy enough right? Well as it turns out, nothing in the Big Ten is ever easy so Rutgers was in store for a rollercoaster of a final week of the regular season.

Despite a successful senior night in which the Scarlet Knights rallied from a 15-point deficit to defeat the Hoosiers 74-63, they were not able to carry that momentum into Lincoln as Nebraska carved Rutgers up and ran them out of the gym in a 72-51 beat down.

“I thought we had our two practices coming into this game, I thought our guys were locked in,” Head Coach Steve Pikiell said after the game. “We didn’t play that way, we have to be a lot better.”

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Although the Cornhuskers went into this contest riding a little bit of a wave after beating Minnesota 78-74, this was a game the Scarlet Knights had no business losing. Before the win over the Golden Gophers, Nebraska had lost five in a row and appeared desperate just to get the season over with. However, whatever strength the Cornhuskers had left seemed to come through against Rutgers as they held Pikiell’s squad to their second lowest point-total of the season.

“A tip of the hat to Nebraska, they’ve been playing well and in a good rhythm,” Pikiell continued. “Lat Mayen starts off the game and makes every three, that gets them off to a good start. They took us out of what we wanted to do.”

What made this loss even more inexplicable was the fact Nebraska’s leading scorer Teddy Allen announced he was leaving the program mere hours before the game had started. So, following this bad performance the Scarlet Knights went into Minnesota feeling like if they wanted to punch their ticket prior to the Big Ten tournament then they were going to have to come out of Williams Arena with a win.

In a game that echoed last year’s regular season finale against Purdue, the Scarlet Knights grinded out a big 77-70 overtime victory on the road to likely secure their spot in the big dance.

“This was a tough Minnesota team and our guys bounced back from the other night and gutted out the game,” Pikiell said. “I'm really proud of them, it was a heck of an effort.”

Despite blowing a 14-point second half lead, Jacob Young took it upon himself to be the guy who would lead his team to the promised land as he finished the day with 23 points and accounted for six of the team’s 14 points in OT. Young also came up with a monumental steal in the closing moments of the game that prevented the Gophers from scoring on an easy breakaway and allowed the Scarlet Knights to at least extend the game into overtime.

“Just special plays down the stretch, he’s a winner and a competitor and we just appreciate him so much,” Geo Baker said of his teammate. “He always plays with so much energy no matter what, he’s just a fighter.”

In a game that could end up having a significant impact on this program for years to come, that play will forever be etched into the fabric of Rutgers basketball as it might have been the difference between the Scarlet Knights hearing their name called on Selection Sunday or not.

“That’s the extra effort we always talk about,” Young said regarding the steal. “I know [fans] waited a long time for this and now we’ve punched that ticket.”

In a season that has featured many ups and downs, Rutgers was able to provide at least one more crucial up. Now, the Scarlet Knights can go into the Big Ten tournament feeling confident they will see their names on a March Madness bracket for the first time since the George H.W. Bush administration.