Coming off its beatdown of No. 13 Michigan State, Rutgers secured a huge 66-64 victory over No. 16 Ohio State at Jersey Mike’s Arena.
Here are three thoughts after the game….
Geo Baker comes up big
This was the type of game that serves as a reminder of how important Geo Baker is to this team. Finishing with 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting, Baker conducted an offense that shot 54 percent and came up with a key block at the end to capture the win.
“I had it going a little bit, tonight was my night,” Baker said. “My teammates found me and I tried to make plays. Everyone was just making winning plays and I was the guy knocking down shots.”
Baker also scored 10 of the Scarlet Knights’ last 12 points and sank two free-throws to put them up 66-64. He also finished with six assists, including a dish to Cliff Omoruyi who slammed it home to tie the game at 64 with 1:13 left.
Cool Hand Caleb
While several plays helped Rutgers (14-9, 8-5 Big Ten) earn this win, perhaps the biggest came when Caleb McConnell blocked Malaki Branham’s layup to keep it a four-point game with 2:29 remaining. From there, Baker hit a jump shot to cut the lead to two and the rest was history.
“I think he just thought he had a free run to the rim,” McConnell said. “I just wanted to win and that’s what I do, come up with plays.”
McConnell’s play was a big momentum swing as the Scarlet Knights were in the midst of a 10-0 run to close the game and played stout defense to pick up the win over the Buckeyes (14-6, 7-4 Big Ten).
Jersey Mike's Magic
While most teams in the country perform better at home, it is remarkable how much of a role home court plays when it comes to Rutgers. Despite about every starter logging 30+ minutes, the Scarlet Knights had enough in the tank to shut down the Buckeyes’ offense for almost four minutes and did not allow a made field goal in the final 4:45.
“I think all of the plays down the stretch were important, they got the shot clock violation that I think the crowd really helped us with,” head coach Steve Pikiell said. “I told our guys we can do those things, we’ve done it before. We just had to buckle down defensively against a really good team and we figured out a way, we willed it.
This was the type of win that puts Rutgers back into the bubble conversation and, if nothing else, gives the Scarlet Knights faithful meaningful games to watch in February.
Rutgers will look to make it three in a row when it travels to Wisconsin to take on the No. 14 Badgers on Saturday at 2 p.m. (ET) on FS1.
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