Rutgers Basketball pulled off a monumental victory as it went into Mackey Arena and knocked off No. 1 Purdue 65-64 to capture their fifth win in six meetings against the Boilermakers.
Here are three thoughts after the game….
Cam the Man
Following Fletcher Loyer’s 3-pointer that put Purdue up 64-62 with 30 seconds left, Cam Spencer stepped up and hit possibly the biggest shot of his life as he sunk a go-ahead three with 14 seconds remaining to give the Scarlet Knights (10-4, 2-1 Big Ten) the win.
“He played well the entire game and he's a guy who's in the gym all the time,” head coach Steve Pikiell said. “At the end there he was like ‘I'm making this.’ He's a real confident kid so he's just been a great addition to have, especially because it brings us another veteran guy that's been through some wars and has had some success at the college level.”
One of the biggest questions Rutgers had coming into this season was who would be the one to take the crucial shots down the stretch of close games. Well, if tonight was any indication that answer is Spencer which would be a huge plus for the Scarlet Knights as they currently find themselves in the upper echelon of the Big Ten. Also, in the last two games Spencer has shot 12-19 from the field and 7-11 from three to combine for 31 points.
Masterful play from Paul Mulcahy
Although Spencer will get most of the attention due to his late-game heroics, Rutgers would not have gotten this win if not for Paul Mulcahy as he finished with 16 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and four steals.
“He's been terrific and had a terrific career,” Pikiell continued. “Even down the stretch he wanted the ball. He's a stat stuffer and a winner and showed all those things tonight.”
Whether it was scoring or distributing, Mulcahy made just about every play for Rutgers down the stretch, including assisting on Spencer’s final shot. If Mulcahy can continue this type of play moving forward, it will be just another wrinkle opposing teams have to respect and add a new layer to a Scarlet Knights’ offense that seems to be getting better by the game.
History repeating itself
Although the names have changed and the setting might be different, this victory echoes a lot of last season’s buzzer-beating win over Purdue at Jersey Mike’s Arena thanks to Ron Harper Jr.
“They’ve been through these experiences before and know how hard it is to play at Purdue and a lot of these venues,” Pikiell said. “The guys that are new here, the veteran guys explained to them what it was going to be like and I think it's so important to have those guys. I called the play late in the game today that we ran last year and they all knew it. You cannot do that if you got a bunch of newcomers so I think those kinds of things are really important to your team.”
In both cases, the Boilermakers (13-1, 2-1 Big Ten) came into the game as the top-ranked team in the country but Rutgers never seemed fazed and took the fight to them. However, unlike last season this win came on the road which will be a big boost for the Scarlet Knights’ resume and provide a signature moment they can point to and say “we did that.”
Rutgers will return to action on Thursday when it comes home to take on Maryland at 6:30 p.m. (ET) on BTN.
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