Dec. 30, 2015

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PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Rutgers (6-8, 0-1) out-scored Indiana (11-3, 1-0) in the paint and established a 16-point advantage in points-off-turnovers, but was unable to pull the upset in a 79-72 loss to the Hoosiers Wednesday afternoon at the RAC. Senior guard Omari Grier scored 20 points to lead three Scarlet Knights in double figures in a hard-fought Big Ten opener for both schools.

Grier shot 8-of-14 and 3-of-6 from behind the arc to reach the 20-point plateau for a second consecutive game. Freshman guard Corey Sanders had 17 points and five assists, while senior center Greg Lewis produced 13 points and nine rebounds.

The Scarlet Knights were boosted by a 10-of-11 (90 percent) performance at the charity stripe.

Playing with a limited lineup due to three frontcourt injuries, RU matched the Hoosiers, 18-18, on the boards in the opening half. The visitors used their size advantage after the break, however, to grab 14 more rebounds than the Scarlet Knights. IU also established a 37-16 buffer in bench points.

The visitors jumped-out to a 9-3 lead, but Rutgers was buoyed by Grier's shooting to close the gap and tie the game at 14-14. The Hoosiers responded by scoring 16 of the game's next 20 points to take a 30-18 advantage. The Scarlet Knights battled back and posted 20 of the contest's next 24 points.

The teams entered the locker room at the midpoint tied at 34-34.

Rutgers took its only lead of the game at the 15:59 mark of the second half on a Sanders' three-pointer that capped a 6-0 run. The Hoosiers answered, using a trio of three pointers in the midst of an 11-0 burst.

Indiana built its advantage to 12 points on two occasions after the eight-minute media timeout. A determined Rutgers squad would not relent, and twice reduced its deficit to six points in the final three minutes.

A pair of offensive rebounds by the Hoosiers off of missed free throws in the final minutes squelched the hope of a late comeback by the Scarlet Knights.

Rutgers returns to the hardwood Saturday afternoon in a 2 p.m. Eastern tip-off at Wisconsin. The game will be televised live on BTN.

Post-Game Notes

Omari Grier led the team in scoring for the second straight game, reaching the 20-point plateau for the second time this season. He was 3-of-6 from three-point distance, and has made nine threes in the past two games.

Grier has scored 42 points in his last two games after scoring 41 in his previous 11 games combined.

Grier's four rebounds marked a new season-high.

Grier was playing in his 100th career game.

Corey Sanders had 17 points, five assists and two steals. It was the 10th time this season he reached double-figure scoring, and fifth time with at least five dimes.

Greg Lewis had a season-high 13 points. He reached double figures for the seventh time in his career (third time this season).

Lewis had nine rebounds. He has averaged 9.8 rebounds over the past four games.

Bishop Daniels had five steals, tying his career-high.

Rutgers was 10-of-11 at the free throw line (90.9%), its best mark this season. It was RU's best performance at the charity stripe since a 63-55 win versus Manhattan on December 14, 2014, when the Scarlet Knights shot 92 percent (23-of-25).

Indiana now leads the all-time series 4-0, with three wins in the past two seasons.

Post-Game Quotes

Rutgers Head Coach Eddie Jordan

Opening Statement: "First, give credit to Indiana, they were undermanned too. They did a good job. Yogi (Ferrell) is one of the best players in the country. It's competitive. Our team did well. We fought. We didn't convert some layups which was sort of disappointing. I told my team that no one has blocked your shot yet at the rim. If you convert your layups, that's probably 12, 14 points. Besides that, I thought our halfcourt defense was really, really good. We created turnovers. That's really big for me that we guard in the halfcourt. Transition defense was spotty. We let them get away early with some threes, some layups. We just didn't have enough.

What to take away from the game: "You want your kids to believe in the system you put in, believe in each other. That's number one . When you fight and you don't win, you still have to have faith before duty as we say. Keep believing in the system, in your teammates and what we are teaching you and if you get great effort, you'll have chances to win."

On grabbing the lead: "They got some offensive rebounds and put-backs, I think it was in that little skirmish. They made some three's, we turned it over and we didn't make shots. That's usually what happens. Our effort was good. As long as our effort was good. Were there missed assignments, I don't think so. I have to watch the tape. I don't think there weren't too many missed assignments. Some times when a team goes on a run, you aren't executing assignments defensively. I thought we did for the most part. I though at halftime we were eating them on the boards. Probably six-seven minutes into the second half, they had a 10-rebound advantage. Probably was offensive rebound, put-backs, some three's and we turned it over and didn't makes shots. That's what usually happens when a team goes on a run."

On the game being a moral victory: "Your players have to believe when you lose, they still have to believe in the system. You don't want your players saying 'this doesn't work, this isn't good for us.' It's important they understand that you were in the game because of your effort and because of what we've been teaching you and your halfcourt defense. That and discipline and organization on offense. That's the things we preach every day. Effort was certainly there. Our halfcourt defense created 23 turnovers."

On the play of Indiana's Max Bielfeldt: "(Thomas) Bryant got in foul trouble and was he was out and (Bielfeldt) got some minutes. He got a couple of balls to go in early and that builds your confidence. He got some deep post ups, some eight-foot jump shots off the baseline, some offensive rebounds and put-backs. He's just a solid, sturdy player."

On the play of Omari Grier: "We're happy with his growth. From day one we said 'be aggressive' and I guess it took two months for him to realize you can be aggressive and good things can happen. You have to think that their defense keyed on him a bit and closed out on his shot at the three. He was driving, trying to create. They had bigger people on him, they converged. You have to give their defense credit, they keyed on him. We just didn't have a third scorer. Corey (Sanders) scored, Omari (Grier) scored, Greg (Lewis) had 13 points. Greg is not a core scorer for us. He got his just doing some dirty work .We need a legitimate third scorer to go along with Corey and Omari."

On the play of Greg Lewis: "We've sung the praises of Greg (Lewis) every single game, every year. What he gives us, is not on the stat sheet. He's done some great work done there. He keeps us anchored defensively, he talks, he call commands, he gets the guys where they are supposed to be defensively. He just helps everyone else. Every film session, I tell our team 'look at what Greg's done, he's helping you Corey (Sanders), he's helping you Mike (Williams), helping you D.J. (Foreman).' We've got to help him too. He's been a solid anchor for us."

On the atmosphere in the RAC: "It was great. I loved it. I love the R-U chant when we were coming back. When our fans heard Indiana cheers, they came back even louder. I love that. That's great stuff. We have to build on that. It gives our guys a lot of energy."

On the play in the paint: "Since we are small, we are driving the ball. We are trying to emphasize to o ur guys to drive it, get out on the drive, make fast break layups. How many layups did we miss? Maybe 10 layups? That's 20 points. That gives them some juice at the other end. That's a whole lot and none of them were blocked, we just missed them."

Indiana Head Coach Tom Crean

Opening Statement: "We had to win the game and then be able to look at it and say 'now we have to go fix these things'. They put us in that situation and it's a good thing. It's much better when you find a way to win the game, which our guys did.

"Rutgers is improving. I hope they believe it, because I see it on film. They're a different team than what they were a year ago. There's no question about it. They have a lot of fire power. If [Greg] Lewis plays like that, they're going to be good. [Jonathan] Laurent is starting to, like some of our freshmen, he's starting to get it. I think they're extremely well-coached. You (have to) be with the pedigree that [Eddie Jordan] has and what he has done. You can see it in their team and we didn't take them lightly.

"We played like a team that's been off nine days. We played like a team that was playing without a key guy, with James. You take out a starter, and one of the elite guards in the country and with what he does scoring is one thing, but you take out the impact that he has on the other team's defense, they always account for him. We turned it over way too much and too many of them were unforced, so we have to get that rectified. But the bottom line is that we found a way to win the game. We had 37 bench points, 51 deflections, we out-rebounded them. They were shooting 28 free throws [a game] and we held them to 11. So those statistics you need to have in a tough basketball game, we we're able to get that.

"We got better today. We found a way to win the game today. There is a lot of things we need to get better at for tomorrow and the next day, but when you come on the road and win in the Big Ten, you're going to take it."

On the play of Max Bielfeldt: "I was very impressed when you consider the fact that Thomas [Bryant] got into foul trouble in the first five minutes. Rob [Johnson] couldn't score and Nick had three. We got a lot of contributions. That's what a team needs to have. It's like in baseball. The best managers, they find ways to get guys innings. They find ways to get those position players in the game for not just pinch hits, but for two to three innings in right or left field. That's where Ryan [Burton] steps in, O.G. [Anunoby] plays much better. Max isn't one of those guys. He's like a starter for us. The good news is that Max has had some success in the past. He had 22 and 18 in two games last year when he was at Michigan. That helped us, because he had some confidence. To me, he did an excellent job and stayed after it. He had a triple-double for us because he had 11 deflections. The rebounding, the deflections the leadership, all of those things are more exciting than points."

On the scoring run after Rutgers took the lead in the second half: "Defense. When we got the lead in the first half, we had six-straight stops. It was defense, it was good movement and it was good decisions. I'm sure our turnovers were a little lower in that run. We did not play a great game, and I'm sure Eddie feels the same way. But we found a way to win beside of that and got better inside of that, which is what you want to be able to look at moving forward. So, when we get stops and defensive boards, which we need to improve on, it's as big of a bulls-eye for things we need to improve on then anything moving forward in the Big Ten, then we have a chance to be better."

On what Thomas Bryant has to do to stay in the game: "We'll watch the tape and I'm sure he'll get better, because he's been in through the games. It's one game and the sky isn't falling. He's still moving. I loved his energy and we'll watch the film and move forward and grow from it. He's coming off of a tremendous game so we'll see what we need to do to improve."

On missing James Blackmon Jr.:

"With James, it's not just the shots he makes and the percentage that he has. He makes the game easier for everyone else because you can never not account for James. Like with Yogi, you (have to) account for him if you're the other team, so that creates openings. There was less space today, and we're going to have to figure that out. It got better in the second half because we moved better and guys made shots and some guys that usually make shots didn't make shots, but that's the beauty of having a group of guys getting confident shooting three's."

On Blackmon's injury: "It was in the drill. He did not have contact and he just went down wrong."

On the play of Corey Sanders:

"I think he's getting better and better. I think he's going to be a great player if he continues to work and lead his teammates. Seeing him in person and watching all of his shots on film, to me, he has some things that are high level. That step-back move going right, changing direction, cross-over, burst, strength, it's all there. He's going to be a great defender.

"I think they're going to have a really good team. I think we'll look back on this game and know that we were happy and fortunate to get it. I think he's building it. I don't know Eddie that well. I have a lot of respect for him but he's building. If you get Laurent and Sanders, two freshmen, the experience they're receiving, that's really important."