NEW YORK, N.Y. – Junior guard Corey Sanders scored 23 points to help Rutgers (14-18) to a 65-54 victory over Minnesota (15-17) Wednesday evening in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament presented by Sofi at Madison Square Garden. The Scarlet Knights out-rebounded the Gophers by a 49-28 margin to earn a conference tournament victory for the second straight season under head coach Steve Pikiell.
"We've had a lot of obstacles," said Pikiell. "We've had sickness. Injuries. These guys have fought through everything. I'm real proud today. We really followed the game plan."
Eight players played double digit minutes for RU, which trailed for only 1:45 of the contest's 40 minutes. Senior Mike Williams joined Sanders in double figures with 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting.
"We were tough," said Pikiell. "We out-rebounded them. That was the key to the game…These guys made huge plays. Mike makes that big out-of-bounds play where he gets an and-one. Corey made big shots all night. Everybody kind of chipped in."
The Scarlet Knights limited the Gophers to 34.6 percent (18-of-52) shooting, including a 15.8 percent (3-of-19) mark from behind the arc, and benefitted from a 17-2 advantage in second chance points courtesy of 15 offensive rebounds. Senior Deshawn Freeman grabbed a game-high 11 boards.
Rutgers got off to the early lead, scoring the game's first four points. The defense locked down the Golden Gophers, who missed their initial eight field goal attempts, as RU worked a 10-7 advantage.
The Scarlet Knights dominated the boards early, and used a 7-0 run to extend their lead to 17-13. Sanders excelled in the first half, making 6-of-11 from the field, and RU entered the locker room at intermission with a 34-27 lead.
After the break, Shaquille Doorson provided an early spark with four quick points, including a slam dunk, to enable a 38-30 lead. Geo Baker then swished a three-pointer to put RU ahead 42-34.
The Gophers remained within striking distance, however, and reduced their deficit to just two points (49-47) with 6:45 remaining. A Sanders three-pointer stopped the Minnesota run and swung the momentum back to the Scarlet Knights, who made nine of 10 free throws in the final minute to seal the victory.
Rutgers returns to the hardwood to face No. 6-seeded Indiana (16-14) Thursday evening at the World's Most Famous Arena. The contest will tip-off at approximately 9 p.m. on BTN.
"They play tremendously hard," said Pikiell. "They have matchup problems for us. We have a day. We have a lot of time to prepare. Our guys will sleep tonight. And then we'll get ready for a good Indiana team tomorrow."
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Postgame Notes
- RU's +21 rebounding margin is its greatest ever against a Big Ten opponent. In Rutgers' two Big Ten Tournament victories, it has a +18.5 (Ohio State +16, Minnesota +21) average on the boards.
- After defeating Ohio State in Washington (D.C.) last season in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament, Rutgers has won conference tournament games in consecutive years for the first time since winning Big East Tournament games in 2004-05 (Notre Dame, 3/9/05, a 72-65 win) and 2005-06 (Seton Hall, 3/8/06, a 61-48 win).
- Corey Sanders scored in double-digits for the 24th time this season and 68th time in his career
- It was Sanders seventh game this season and 18th contest of his career with at least 20 points.
- Mike Williams reached double-figure scoring for the ninth time this season and 50th time in his career.
- Deshawn Freeman led the team in rebounding for the 18th time this season and 40th time in his career, reaching double-digit boards (11) for the 9th time this season and 20th in his career.
- Rutgers defeated Minnesota for the second time in nine meetings.
