2/1/2021 basketball Edit

Three Thoughts on Rutgers Basketball's big win over Northwestern

Craig Epstein

Staff Writer

It did not come easy but Rutgers was able to hold on and defeat Northwestern 64-56 to win their third game in a row and capture their third conference road victory of the season. With the win, the Scarlet Knights improve to an overall record of 10-6 and 6-6 in the Big Ten.

Here are three thoughts after the game:

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Jekyll & Hyde

In what has been a rollercoaster ride of a season thus far, this was a game that displayed both of Rutgers’ faces. Jumping out to a 20-point advantage in the first half, it seemed as though it was going to be smooth sailing for the Scarlet Knights. However, after an 18-3 run from the Wildcats to close the half, Rutgers found themselves sporting just a 34-29 lead going into the tunnel.

“Our guys grinded out a Big Ten win on the road, I’m proud of them,” Head Coach Steve Pikiell said in his postgame press conference. “Our defense keeps improving. We figured out a way to win in an old fashioned Rutgers win with our defense.”

At times it is hard to know which Rutgers squad will show up. There are occasions where this team shows why at one point it was ranked as high as No. 11 in the country and others where they go back to looking like the group who lost five in a row and six of seven. So with looming matchups against Minnesota and Iowa, it will be interesting to see which side of the Scarlet Knights make an appearance.

Rutgers Wins The Dogfight

Despite it coming in more of a nail-biting fashion than many would have preferred, at the end of the day credit to Rutgers for being able to keep Northwestern at arms length even after the aforementioned 18-3 run. Considering the Wildcats came into this matchup losers of seven straight, it is safe to say they were desperate for a win.

“We made some timely shots and everybody contributed,” Pikiell continued. “I really liked our bench, we got a lot of contributions. We held them 0-for-8 from three-point in the second half and that was a big reason we were able to get a win on the road.”

It is better to win ugly than to lose pretty and considering this was a game that saw a combined 38 turnovers with neither team shooting above 23 percent from three, the Scarlet Knights should take this victory and run out of Evanston. In all likelihood, 10 conference wins should be enough to get Rutgers into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1991 so they should take the victories anyway they can get them.

A Benchmark For Success

If there are any other positives to take away from this game other than the fact they won, it is that Rutgers’ bench came up huge along the way. Whether it was Jacob Young leading the charge with 19 points, including the jumper he made with 47 seconds left to essentially ice the game, or Cliff Omoruyi providing some important minutes considering Myles Johnson picked up his fourth foul early in the second half, the bench played a significant role in securing the victory,

“It’s so hard to get road wins in this conference,” Pikiell said. “We got off to another good start tonight. Everyone chipped in, I like how they’re settling in and have been really good. On the defense and rebounding front, we are way further along than where we’ve been.”

While Ron Harper Jr. finished the game with 13 points, he once again struggled to get his shot going from beyond the arc as he missed all four of his three-point attempts. While players like Harper Jr. and Geo Baker are typically the lifeblood of this team offensively, to have the bench come up big is an encouraging sign for the Scarlet Knights going forward.

Rutgers will look to make it four in a row when they come back home to take on Minnesota at the RAC on Thursday at 9 p.m. (ET) on FS1.