1/22/2021 basketball Edit

Three Thoughts on Rutgers Hoops latest loss versus Penn State

Craig Epstein

Staff Writer

It is panic mode in Piscataway as Rutgers dropped their fifth in a row and six of their last seven after losing 75-67 to Penn State. With the loss, Rutgers now falls to an overall record of 7-6 and 3-6 in the Big Ten.

Here are three thoughts after the game:

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SAME OLD, SAME OLD

Despite fighting back in the second half to make it a competitive game down the stretch, Rutgers ultimately fell short due to the same problems that have plagued them throughout this losing streak. Whether it is poor offense, missed layups, trouble at the free-throw line, or having problems defensively, the Scarlet Knights have devolved into a team in disarray that do not seem to know how to pull themselves out of this current rut.

“We played really hard for the last 16 minutes, but that’s not enough in a game like this,” Head Coach Steve Pikiell said in his postgame press conference. “Penn State got off to a good start and we didn’t come out with the energy that we needed to on the road. We fought back into it, they clawed back into it and this team didn’t quit but it’s a forty-minute game. We have to play better and we’ll figure this out.”

In addition, while Rutgers was able to win the rebounding battle 50-35 in their last matchup against Wisconsin, they fell right back into bad habits as they got out rebounded 40-27 with 12 of them coming offensively for the Nittany Lions. The fact that a Pikiell-led team is being beaten on the boards the way they are is one of the more shocking twists this season has seen and is a big reason why the Scarlet Knights are in this predicament.

FREE THROWS COME AT A PRICE

While Rutgers’ struggles at the free-throw line have been well documented as they currently sit second-to-last in the entire nation (only Maine is worse), another aspect of their game that needs to improve if they hope to turn this season around is to limit the amount of times the opposing team goes to the charity stripe as well.

“You got to get to the rim and hope the referee calls a foul,” Pikiell said. “We have to stop fouling the other team, that’s a big part of it too because if they only went to the line 11 times, it wouldn’t have been as big an issue. Offensively we need to attack more, we got to the rim more in the second half and were much more aggressive around the basket. We need to continue to do that and one of these days we’ll get those kinds of numbers in our favor.”

While the Scarlet Knights made six of their 11 free-throw attempts, Penn State more than doubled them going 15-24 from the free-throw line. This is a problem that has crushed Rutgers throughout this losing streak as they have been doubled in terms of free-throws made in each of their last five games and if one were to look at the actual numbers they are not pretty.

WHERE DO THEY GO FROM HERE?

Well if this matchup against Penn State was a must-win game then that makes Sunday’s contest with Indiana an ultra must-win. With 11 games to go, Rutgers has now left themselves with little wiggle room if they hope to finish the season with a strong enough resume to make the NCAA Tournament.

“When hard times hit that’s when you see what your team is made of,” Pikiell said. “We’re going to continue, we still have a lot of basketball left to be played and it’s us in that locker room who have to figure it out and get better. I have confidence that they will.”

All of a sudden games that were once viewed as potential “nice” wins have now become must-haves as the Scarlet Knights look to end a 30 year drought. While Rutgers’ future is by no means set in stone, if they hope to be dancing in March then they will have to turn things around fast and it all starts with Indiana on Sunday.

Rutgers will return to action Sunday at noon when they travel to Bloomington to take on Indiana on BTN.