Rutgers pulled victory from the jaws of defeat as it came back from 19 points down in the second half to defeat Penn State 59-56 at the Bryce Jordan Center in Happy Valley. The Scarlet Knights also held the Nittany Lions without a field goal in the final 9:16 of the game.
Here are three thoughts after the game….
A HISTORIC COMERBACK...
Not only did this win mark Rutgers’ biggest comeback since 1996 when it overcame a 20-point deficit to defeat Pittsburgh, but it also likely locked up a third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.
“This was a great game and they got to us early but we hung in there,” head coach Steve Pikiell said. “This was the typical Big Ten basketball game and we're lucky to come out with the win here.”
Barring a disaster against Minnesota, it will be hard to keep the Scarlet Knights (18-11, 10-8 Big Ten) out of the tournament considering they now hold six Q1 victories with four coming on the road. Rutgers is also aided by a fairly weak bubble so, while it might be limping to the finish line, a trip to the big dance is once again in sight which would be a big feather in the cap for Pikiell’s squad.
DEREK SIMPSON STEPS UP...
At a point where many were looking for Rutgers’ veteran leaders to step up, it was freshman Derek Simpson who took charge and gave his team the spark it needed. Trailing 31-14 with 2:54 remaining in the first half, Simpson proceeded to score the next seven points for the Scarlet Knights and allow them to go into halftime down by 10.
“I didn't know Derek was a freshman tonight," Caleb McConnell said. "Derek was awesome tonight, we got him going and he found a hot hand. Derek got downhill and just created plays and then he just made it happen as well. That's something that Derek has been doing all season and it was just a matter of time.”
Simpson finished the day tying a career-high 16 points on 6-14 shooting and also pulled down six rebounds. And in possibly the most pivotal moment of the game, the freshman knocked down a 3-point play to give Rutgers a 57-56 lead with 1:24 left.
YOU TAKE THE GOOD, YOU TAKE THE BAD...
The fact of the matter is, although the Scarlet Knights got a star-like performance out of Simpson and pulled off a comeback for the ages, there is still a lot they need to fix to make any sort of noise in March.
“It is always this way in this league, it is the best league in the country as you guys can see from top to bottom the competitiveness and how good everyone is,” Pikiell said. “This is our sixth out of eight games all on the road, it is the toughest stretch I have had as a coach in this league when you are playing that many road games.”
Not only did Paul Mulcahy finish scoreless, but he has fouled out in three of his last five games and has averaged 5.2 ppg since the loss of Mawot Mag on Feb. 4. Cliff Omoruyi also struggled to get much going on the offensive end despite sinking a big basket with 32 seconds remaining to put Rutgers up 59-56. And, Aundre Hyatt will need to find his stroke again considering he has combined for three points on 1-11 shooting in his last two games.
“We have got to stay healthy but we haven't been good at that this year,” Pikiell added. “You just have to fight through the grind of the season, the grind of the great coaches, and the grind of the great players on the other side.”
However, this is the type of win the Scarlet Knights can take pride in and build off of now that they find themselves hovering around the upper class of the Big Ten standings with two regular season games to go.
Rutgers will return to action on Thursday when it travels to Williams Arena to face Minnesota at 7 p.m. (ET) on FS1.
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