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Post Game Press Conference

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PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Deshawn Freeman had his eighth double-double of the season, scoring 12 points and grabbing 15 rebounds, but Rutgers (11-7, 0-5) dropped a 69-60 decision to Northwestern (14-4, 3-2) Thursday evening at the RAC. Corey Sanders added 18 points for the Scarlet Knights, who led at the break for the second consecutive contest.

"I thought we played really hard," said Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell. "Again, we're struggling with that 40-minute marker. But we played a really good basketball team that I have a ton of respect for. I thought we did a lot of good things and we keep getting better."

The Scarlet Knights limited the Wildcats to 38.1 percent (24-of-63) shooting, but were unable to tweak the twine themselves before the home crowd. RU made just 31.9 percent (22-of-69) of its field goal attempts, while being out-rebounded by a 49-41 margin.

"You have to make some shots," said Pikiell. "I think that's part of it and offensive rebounds really hurt us tonight. I thought they kept a lot of balls alive. You need a couple of breaks, too. You need a couple of shot to go in and a couple of whistles to go our way."

The Scarlet Knights limited NU to 1-of-7 shooting en route to a 7-2 lead. With Freeman battling on the glass, RU maintained the advantage for the entirety of the opening half. The home squad built its lead to nine points (28-19) before Northwestern went on a 6-0 run to close the half.

Trailing 32-27 early in the second stanza, the Wildcats went on an eight point burst to take a lead it would not relinquish. Facing a 61-47 deficit, RU reduced the margin to seven on two occasions in the final minutes, but would get no closer.

Rutgers returns to the hardwood Sunday afternoon at Indiana. The game will tip-off at 12 noon on BTN.

Postgame Notes

Corey Sanders had 18 points, reaching double-digit points for the 11^th time this season and 33^rd time in 45 games.

Deshawn Freeman had his eighth double-double of the season. He tied his career-high with 15 rebounds.

Eugene Omoruyi had a career-high seven points.

Ibrahima Diallo played a season-high 20 minutes and tied his season-high with four rebounds.

For the first time this season, Rutgers had more offensive rebounds (21) than defensive rebounds (20).

The nine turnovers were RU's second lowest giveaway total this season.

Northwestern now leads the all-time series 7-1.

Postgame Quotes

Rutgers Head Coach Steve Pikiell Opening Statement: "I thought we played really hard. Again, we're struggling with that 40-minute marker. But we played a really good basketball team that I have a ton of respect for. I thought we did a lot of good things and we keep getting better. I know our record doesn't say it, but we're plugging away and we're going to get a couple of these."

On what changed from the first half to the second: "You have to make some shots. I think that's part of it and offensive rebounds really hurt us tonight. I thought they kept a lot of balls alive. You need a couple of breaks, too. You need a couple of shot to go in and a couple of whistles to go our way. Those things would have helped us, but again, we played a good team, a very good passing team with a lot of weapons and I thought we had a good game plan. I thought we played extremely hard throughout the game. D [DeShawn Freeman] did a good job of leading us and has done a very good job with that the last two games. I think Corey [Sanders] and the other guys are fighting, which I like."

On his team's defense: "I thought we had a good defensive game plan and I thought we did a good job. With [Scottie] Lindsey, they have three terrific scorers. I thought we dictated with our defense. They're one of the most efficient offensive teams in the country. So I like our defense on [Bryant McIntosh] and I thought we made things very difficult for them and that was our game plan coming in."

On what Northwestern did well: "They're really good offensively, so that's my first thing. If we could hold everyone to 23 points in a half, we would lead the country in defense. But a lot of things change. Shots go in. We got to the foul line, which they didn't a lot in the first half. With Vic Law, they have two wings that are terrific and they got going. Again, we have to make some shots and 40 minutes has been an issue. Tonight, probably 33 really good minutes and we need to get that other seven to finish this thing off."

On trying to get the ball inside: "We drove inside. They blocked 15 shots, so that was an issue, too. We really try to limit our three's to 10. Ten or below has been our number. You know at the end you throw up some too, but you have to make some. We had some pretty good looks and a couple of those have to go in for us, I think. The way they block shots, their size and their length really affected us driving to the basket. We have to do a better job of getting in the paint and kicking to open people and we'll spend a lot of time in the next few weeks with that because teams are blocking our shots. Our size is an issue, too. People think we're big but their two wings are 6' 7". They have really good size and when I play our three small guards, it shows up sometimes in those stat categories."

Northwestern Head Coach Chris Collins

Opening statement: "I'll talk about the game in a second, but before I say anything you'll see what was over our hearts all night long (Jordan Hankins patch). It was our first time out there publicly and our prayers, thoughts and condolences are with Jordan Hankins' family. We have gone through a really rough few days in our Northwestern family, but the thing that has been great in an amazing tragedy is the family atmosphere that we have and how we have rallied together and locked arms, vowed to move on in her honor. I think that's what my team did tonight, really. It wasn't easy."

"I can't tell you enough about the job that Steve (Pikiell) is doing with this team and this program. They are playing incredibly hard and have a great plan. They're tough. This was a really good win for us, we had to earn it. I thought they did a great job of taking us out of almost everything we wanted to do with their defense, athleticism and physicality. We just had to keep playing and muck it out. I felt very fortunate to be only down three at half because I thought we had been outplayed by more than that."

"In the second half, I thought we played pretty well. Vic Law was tremendous every time we needed a play. I thought Vic really stepped up. Dererk Pardon's presence defensively with the shot blocking and rebounding provided an anchor for us down there against all of those big athletes that Rutgers has."

"I am really proud of my team. I don't know because I don't study it, but not sure that any other team has played four of their first five (conference) games on the road. That's what we had to do in as good of a conference as there is in America. So for us to have three of our four road games as wins, I am really proud of this team. It shows a lot about their heart and fight. We really had to dig down and get this one tonight. This was a tough game."

On advice to Steve Pikiell: "Just stay the course. I really like Steve a lot. I am old school, the son of a coach, and I love when I see guys doing it the right way. The first thing he's done to me is establish a culture in how hard they play. Every game that I've watched on film and now see them in person, their effort is there. Sometimes you get impatient because you're used to winning, just like I was used to winning coming into this situation. You have to understand that you are in a conference like this that it is going to be a process and the end result with wins and losses sometimes is the last thing that turns the corner. I just think that he needs to stay the course, he knows what he's doing. This is a proven program builder. He has an outstanding staff: Brandin Knight, Karl Hobbs, Shoes (Greg Vetrone). Rutgers is moving in the right direction. I really like Steve and wish him the best. We were fortunate to win tonight."