1/20/2021 basketball Edit

Wednesday afternoon Rutgers Basketball Notebook

Chris Nalwasky • TheKnightReport

Beat Writer

The Rutgers men's basketball team is set to re-take the hardwood on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. on the road at Penn State. Rutgers is bringing a four-game losing streak into the contest and the Scarlet Knights are looking to pick up a much-needed victory to get back into the win column and hopefully springboard their season in a positive way to start the second half.

With that said, check out a few notes below.

True freshman Jaden Jones has ended his quarantine and the early enrollee has begun practicing with the team as well as had his first day of classes on Tuesday. The plan for right is still for him to not play this winter.

"I'm excited," head coach Steve Pikiell said. "He has practiced a couple times. His first day of classes is today. He lifted for the first time the other day. He's a great kid from a great family, but we have 21 out of bounds plays that he needs to learn in the next five minutes. Like any freshman, he's sore. He's gonna be a really good player. He's trying to figure out our drills. He's trying to figure out our offense kind of in the middle of the season. It's kind of a hard time to just jump in and know what you're kind of doing. He's in the back of the line learning everything. He's gonna be a very good player for us. Excited about having him here, and stealing some time with him in the weight room and on the court and all those kinds of things."

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Freshman center Cliff Omoruyi played for the first time in five games against Wisconsin and afterwards, he was a little sore per Pikiell, but his stamina is improving and he should be a huge help in the paint going forward for Rutgers.

"He was sore, but he's getting better and better," Pikiell said. "He's a big part of this thing moving forward here. Our rebound numbers have changed drastically. His size, even when he doesn't get the rebound he's engaging other guys so they can't get the rebounds. He had almost 20 days where he didn't do a lot. You got to get back into that game shape and gain that physicality and stuff and he's moving in that direction. Real pleased and excited about having him back full time."

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Before the Wisconsin game, Rutgers had six days off and that paid off as the Scarlet Knights got back Omoruyi. Heading into the PSU contest, Rutgers again has six days off and getting even healthier was a priority.

"It was the first game the other day where everyone was healthy. [Trainer] Rich [Campbell] has been busy as could be. He doubled up on his treatments on Cliff and all the guys, so we've been able to give him some days off. We watched much more film," Pikiell said. "Their days get a little crazy now with school added to their plate. We've put in some new stuff. I think it will pay off down the other end. Gonna be well prepared for this game. We were really well prepared for Wisconsin even though we came up a little bit short in that game. I thought our game plan was spot on. We're doing more of the same with them now. We just got to juggle a little bit more schoolwork in there, so we'll have to juggle our practice schedule a little bit."

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Rutgers has struggled offensively during its skid, but Pikiell isn't worried and believes his guys will shoot their way out of the funk. Rutgers played much better defense and rebounded like a top notch program and that's what the Scarlet Knights will continue to bank on.

"You go through stretches. I mean, we made every shot against Purdue. That's what happens sometimes, the ups and downs. You grind through with your defense," Pikiell said. "We practice. Our guys in the gym a ton. Our percentages are way up from last year. We talk a lot about shot selection. We talked a lot this week about getting to the free-throw line and getting some easy ones. When you're not making shots you got to figure out another way to generate some points. Our free throw percentage hasn't helped us either, but we can narrow the field here a little bit if we get to the line and make them. We've missed a ton of one-and-ones too so we don't even get the back end of that. I'm confident. We get good looks. I'm confident Ron (Harper Jr.), Caleb (McConnell), or Geo (Baker) will make (3-pointers and shots). Montez (Mathis) has been making them. If we can get to the foul line more I think that'll help our offense."

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Since coming back from his ankle injury, Harper Jr. hasn't been as efficient and the scoring machine he was earlier in the year. He had four points against the Badgers. Nonetheless, Harper Jr. came back with a vengeance and Pikiell said he had his best practice a couple of days ago shortly after.

"Ron by far had his best practice on Sunday of the season," the coach said. "I know everyone's looking at his numbers for the last couple of games, but his numbers are off the charts for the season. You're going to have stretches where the ball doesn't go in the way you want it to. He needs to get to the foul line more. I think that's important. He's the number one guy on the scouting report now, too. He's got to understand that. Again, he had his best practice the other day and excited about how he responded."

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After 12 games, Rutgers is 7-5 overall and 3-5 in Big Ten play. It has 12 games remaining as the halfway point is here. Coming into the season, Rutgers had high goals. It still has a chance to obtain them, but it starts now with a good opportunity in front of them the next few games against teams in the lower half of the conference.

"We got 12 left, and we're playing the best league in the country," Pikiell said. "Sometimes you're winning streaks and sometimes you're losing streaks and obviously we're on a losing streak. You learn a lot about your team. We went through it last year at this time. Nobody remembers we had stretches like this. We'll regain it. That's what I do. I took this job a long time ago with obstacles. And I love when people doubt and all that is great. We're gonna keep grinding. We're gonna defend better and rebound better, and our guys gonna play better. We have a lot of season still left. We could do some really good things. I'm excited about that."

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Rutgers went 2-10 away from the RAC in 2019-20. So far this season it is 1-2. The next two games are at PSU and at Indiana and it has a big chance to improve on its mark.

"Last year we won two road games. Now we have a chance to do some stuff on the road, but every team in this league is good. You got to play well every night no matter who you're playing," Pikiell said. "I think our guys are confident. I really do, and I think we're ready to take on the challenge of the second half of the season. We're 7-5 in the first half. I know everyone wants to be undefeated. The lessons we've learned we'll take into the second half. I take a lot of pride in that. Our teams have always gotten better and we will continue to get better. Some teams have peaked, but we can get better as long as we stay COVID free. That's a big part. Guys are healthy and we went through a lot of obstacles. We'll see if we can end the season the right way."