Following Rutgers’ wild 70-68 win over Purdue, the Scarlet Knights fell to rival Seton Hall 77-63.
Here are three thoughts after the game…..
CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR
Despite being down by double digits multiple times, Rutgers kept fighting back and making life difficult for Seton Hall. Ultimately though, the Pirates are just too talented of a team to fall behind by as much as 16 and expect to come away with the victory.
“I thought we didn’t get off to a good start and you need to in a game like this,” head coach Steve Pikiell said. “Too many turnovers and second shots really hurt us. We’ve gotta continue to get better and we have to play better than that on the road against a team like Seton Hall.”
Not only did Bryce Aiken finish the game with 22 points coming off the bench, but the Pirates had four other players record double figures in Jared Rhoden (16), Kadary Richmond (12), Myles Cale (10), and Alexis Yetna (10).
OFFENSE WAS NOT GOOD ENOUGH
While Rutgers’ offense looked decent in this game, decent is not good enough to beat a team like Seton Hall. Coming off his 30-point/10 rebound game against Purdue, Ron Harper Jr. cooled off in this matchup to the tune of 10 points on 3-of-12 shooting.
“We never seemed to get that one stop and we just didn’t play well” Pikiell continued. “Our first shot defense was good enough but we just didn’t take care of the basketball, especially in the first half.”
Despite a great performance from Caleb McConnell in which he recorded a 13-point/12 rebound double-double, the Scarlet Knights shot 40 percent from the field as a team and 22 percent from three. While the offense has taken significant steps in its last two games, it is still far from a polished product and needs more production from key players like Paul Mulcahy, Aundre Hyatt, and Ralph Gonzales-Agee.
NO MORE SLIP UPS
Although it is only December, a combo of defeating Purdue and Seton Hall could have gone a long way in helping Rutgers resuscitate its battered resume. While one would look at their upcoming games against Rider, Central Connecticut, and Maine as games the Scarlet Knights should run away with, this is the same team that fell to Lafayette and UMass so nothing is a given going forward.
“At halftime, I told our guys that if we strap it up for 20 it’s gonna get interesting,” Pikiell said. “We got it to six but we just couldn’t get over the hill.”
If Rutgers wants to prove those early season losses were a fluke, they will need to not only beat its next three opponents but do so handily. The Scarlet Knights cannot afford any more slip-ups against teams who do not match them on paper otherwise they will see what is left of their NCAA Tournament hopes put to bed before the heart of Big Ten play even begins.
Rutgers will return to action on Saturday (12/18) when it takes on Rider at Jersey Mike’s Arena at 5 p.m. (ET) on BTN.
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