PISCATAWAY – Rutgers (17-7, 8-5) earned its largest comeback victory in 24 years, battling back from 18 down, to defeat Northwestern (6-17, 1-11) 77-73 in overtime Sunday night at a sold-out RAC. Geo Baker scored a season high 25 points, as the Scarlet Knights improved their nation's-best home record to 16-0.

"They're really a dangerous team as you can see, and I thought our defense was pretty good," said Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell. "They made a ton of 3-pointers, but we stayed the course and figured out a way to win. It was a great environment. The RAC was awesome again."

Twenty-three of Baker's points were compiled in the second half and in overtime. He scored the home squad's final five points of regulation before depositing RU's last four points of the extra stanza. He shot 10-of-17, while also grabbing six rebounds and dishing-out five assists with zero turnovers.

"Geo did an awesome job," said Pikiell. "During the timeouts, he was like 'Coach, I got it. I got it.' It's a nice feeling. He had it going, and we needed every one of them."

Akwasi Yeboah and Ron Harper Jr. contributed 13 and 10 points, respectively, to supplement Baker's output. After struggling from the field in the initial 20 minutes, the Scarlet Knights shot 59.1 percent in the second half and 50 percent in overtime to conclude the evening 26-of-57 (45.6%).

"We figured out a way to get a gritty win," added Pikiell. "I think it says a lot when you're down 18 to anybody and you're able to claw your way back."

Helped by Myles Johnson's game-high 10 boards, RU out-rebounded the visitors 49-30. The Scarlet Knights limited the Wildcats to 37 percent shooting in the second half and just 28.6 percent in overtime to limit the visitors to a 28-of-66 (42.4%) mark overall.

Northwestern made seven of its initial 10 shots to build a 10-point, 17-7, lead. Behind its 50 percent (16-of-32) first half shooting, the Wildcats led by as much as 18 points, before entering the locker room at the midpoint with a 38-27 advantage.

Trailing by 14 with under eight minutes remaining, a Baker jumper started a 13-1 run to reduce the deficit to a single point, before a 3-pointer by the junior captain tied the score and sent the game into extra time after a defensive stand.

Rutgers took its first lead of the game on a Harper Jr. free throw to begin the overtime. Seven points by Baker proved the difference, as the Scarlet Knights earned their 12^th double-digit comeback victory under Pikiell.

"I liked our huddles," said Pikiell. "I liked our prep this week. I thought we had good practices. They just stayed the course."
 
Rutgers returns to action Wednesday evening in a 7 p.m. tip-off at Ohio State. The game will be televised on BTN with Kevin Kugler and Shon Morris on the call.



POSTGAME NOTES

• The last time Rutgers overcame a deficit of 18 points or more to win was when Damon Santiago hit an off-balance 3-pointer at the buzzer as RU overcame a 20-point second-half deficit to win, 71-70, at Pittsburgh on Feb. 21, 1996. Rutgers overcame 17-point deficits to win at DePaul (Feb. 16, 2010) and at Seton Hall (March 9, 2008).
• Rutgers has now overcome double-digit deficits to earn victories under Steve Pikiell 12 times, including eight occasions against Big Ten foes. Prior to tonight, the largest deficit RU had overcome under Pikiell was 16 points in a 76-69 win over Indiana in the 2018 Big Ten Tournament at MSG.
• Rutgers improves its nation's-best home record to 16-0.
• The victory provides RU its eighth Big Ten win, RU's most in conference play since an 8-8 Big East record in 2001-02.
• Tonight's sellout was the sixth straight at the RAC and one of a record 10 overall this season.
• Rutgers has out-rebounded its opponent in 18 of 24 games this season,
• Geo Baker scored a season-high 25 points, his eighth career game with 20 or more points and third this season. He registered double figures for the 10^th time this season and 52^nd time in his career.
• Geo Baker posted 25 points, six rebounds, five assists and zero turnovers. He was the first Rutgers player since at least 1993 to record at least 25 points, five rebounds and five assists without committing a turnover. 
• Akwasi Yeboah reached double-figures for the 14th time this season and 84^th time in his career.
• Ron Harper Jr. scored in double digits for the 14^th time this season and 24^th time in his career.
• Myles Johnson grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds, his 10^th game this season and 14^th of his career with double digit boards.
• Rutgers improves to 2-4 at home in the series with Northwestern.
• Rutgers' 49 rebounds were its third most ever in a Big Ten game. 
• Rutgers' 34 free throw attempts were its most ever attempted in a Big Ten game. 

Feature: Anatomy of a Comeback
  POSTGAME QUOTES 

Rutgers Head Coach Steve Pikiell

Opening Statement: "We just stuck to the game plan and stayed the course. Guys did an awesome job. Figuring out a way to win a basketball game. I got to give Northwestern a lot (of credit). Been watching all their tapes. They're really a dangerous team as you can see, and I thought our defense was pretty good. They made a ton of 3-pointers, but we stayed the course and figured out a way to win. It was a great environment. The RAC was awesome again. We appreciate having the longest (home) winning streak in the country here at The RAC. The guys deserve a day off but they're not gonna get one. (We're) at Ohio State next. Very appreciative and everyone chipped in. I went with that group at the end, they kinda grinded it for us. Real proud. Real proud to out-rebound that team and figure out a way to win."

On 18-point comeback: "We've been in that place a few times. I liked our huddles. I liked our prep this week. I thought we had good practices. They just stayed the course. Ron (Harper, Jr.) was a real leader in the huddles. Obviously, Geo (Baker) was very confident at the end. We figured out a way to get a gritty win. I think it says a lot when you're down 18 to anybody and you're able to claw your way back. We didn't play our greatest game. I thought we had some good looks, too. We didn't capitalize on them. That made it a little more difficult. Real proud of this team. We've accomplished something that no (Rutgers) team has. Won eight games in this league. Winning season. Some things that these guys came here to do. I'm real proud that they took on the challenge. Helped this program and raise this program. They did a really good job to finish this off. I keep telling them every game is harder than the next when you're at these places. Obviously this game was really difficult and the next one is going to be even harder. It's a grind in the beast league in the country. This is by far the best year in this league since I've been in it from top to bottom. You saw that tonight. Really good and talented Northwestern team."

On progress of team: "I think you saw the two youngest team in the conference today. That team's gonna be real good. I think we have 10 out of 11 of our scholarships are first or second-year guys. I think they have like 9 or 10 first or second-year guys, too. It's confidence. It's the time they put in last year. It's how much they improved over the course of the summer.  The additions -- adding a couple of pieces with Jacob Young and Akwasi (Yeboah). Paul (Mulcahy) has helped us too with our depth and we needed that today. You gotta figure out ways to win and I like when we don't play great and we figure out a way to win and tonight was one of those days. We just hung in there. Good sign for us."

On defensive adjustments in second half: "At halftime, I liked our ball-pressure but they only had one turnover at the halftime. I thought we would be able to generate more. They started the new lineup with a couple of ball handlers in it with (Boo) Buie and Pat Spencer. They made that adjustment to us. We guarded them on the full-court but then in the half-court we kinda backed off and we were in position to rebound better and position for help defense on the weak side. We weren't hugging our perimeter players when they didn't have the basketball. Guys did a really good job and then we rebounded. I thought we could put a number up rebounding-wise and we did. And we needed all those rebounds."

On Geo Baker's performance: "It was huge. He's a good player. I have a ton of confidence in him. People get caught up all the time -- shots don't go in sometimes. I never worry (about that), I worry about his defense. We watch film all week on playing better defense, he did do that. Everyone else worries about shots going in. I never do with him, Ron, or Caleb (McConnell). When you're thinking about shots, you're not making shots. That's the problem with shooting. The more they read their phones, the more that's all anyone talks about. Play defense, play hard, don't worry about it. Stay the course. Geo did an awesome job. During the timeouts, he was like 'Coach, I got it. I got it.' It's a nice feeling. He had it going and we needed every one of them.

On Jacob Young returning: "He had a one game suspension and I'm glad to have him back."

On not attempting two possession for one in the last minute of regulation: "That's not what we do. We want to get a good shot every time. When guys are looking at the clock, they're not trying to get a good shot. I trust our defense. Sometimes when you do those kinds of things, it doesn't help. You get two bad shots, that's what you get sometimes. We want one good shot and (then) worry about stopping them at the other end."

On team's journey: "I'm proud of these guys. They took on the challenge. Got a lot of newcomers. Geo took on the challenge. We didn't have a new practice facility. We didn't have (a ton) of tradition. We didn't have sell-outs. And those guys took on the challenge of trying to raise the program in the best league in the country. In this year particularly, the best year in the best league in the country from 1-14. I think it says a lot about them coming here. A lot of kids won't take that challenge. You can go to other schools that already have a ton of success. They believed in the university -- it's a great place. They believed in themselves, which I'm real proud of. They believed in themselves and their ability to help make this program better. I'm just very thankful that they took on the challenge and I'm very thankful now that people are coming and supporting this basketball team. These are great kids. We have a team GPA of 3.0. I know no one ever talks about that. They are full-time students. They work their tail off academically at an elite institution like this. They have that on their plate too. I think it's important that they're succeeding both in the classroom and on the court. I want to thank them more than anything for taking up that challenge."

Northwestern Head Coach Chris Collins

Opening Statement: "That was obviously a really high level Big Ten game tonight. I'd like to congratulate Rutgers. They have one heck of a team; they're having a great season. I'm a big fan of Steve (Pikiell) and what he's done with this program. His kids really made a lot of good play down the stretch when they needed them. You have to give a lot of credit to Geo (Baker) coming off of the injury, it has taken him a little bit of time to get his rhythm back, but when the game is on the line he seems to always come up with big shot and big plays. I was really proud of our guys, we came into a very difficult environment and got off to a great start. We obviously made shots, executed, got a lead and even as we were trying to withstand our runs, I thought we did some good things with a lot of young kids out there going through it for the first time. This is a really tough loss for us. We've had about four or five of these over our last seven or eight games and it can go one of two ways, it either makes you tougher and you keep fighting or you back down and I know there's no lack of fight in our group. We'll get back after it and get ready for the next one."

On what he believes turned the game in Rutgers favor: "Well, I thought Geo (Baker) and his energy. He hasn't played to his level since the injury and they know how talented he is, so when he started hitting some shots, you could sense the energy with their team, not only with him. I thought his play really uplifted everyone. I thought they did a better job defensively in the second half. I thought in the first half we were executing pretty well; we were getting to our cuts. I thought we were getting into a really good rhythm and I thought in the second half they turned up their pressure a little bit, got us off our spots and made it a little more difficult for us on the offensive end."
 
On his message heading into overtime: "Just that there was five minutes left. We weren't really turning the ball over; we were getting some shots. Sometimes late in the game you just have to step up and make a shot or make a play and that's what (Geo) Baker was doing. I thought we had some pretty good possessions during that time. We were trying to get the ball to operating areas, not just settle for cracking long jump shot, but trying to drive the ball. You have to credit their defense also, it's not just what we weren't doing. They're a good defensive team, they're a physical team. They really turned it up a notch in that last eight minutes on the defensive end which made it harder for us."

On what Steve Pikiell has done with Rutgers over the last four years: "The first thing is that he didn't take shortcuts. He came in here; he has his philosophy of how he wants to play and the kind of players he wants to recruit. They've done a great job in evaluation. You look out there and there are a lot of guys who maybe by the star rankings and all of that, but they found guys that fit how they want to play and they've developed them. They've done a great job with that and now they're getting a lot of confidence. I sensed it with us when we did our build to get to the tournament. The difference from hoping you're going to win versus believing you're going to win and you see that in their kids' eyes, especially at home. This has been such a good home court for them, they've built this up. I've been a big fan of Steve (Pikiell), I've always been. He's a terrific coach and his kids play really hard. He's done a great job building this program."

On his team moving forward after going toe-to-toe with Rutgers: "I love where we're headed. Anyone who has covered Rutgers knows that there were a lot of similar defeats like this when they were very young and they were going through it. Sometimes when you're trying to build and you're playing a lot of young kids you have to go through this part of it which isn't fun. Sometimes it's necessary to get where you have to go because you find out where you have to dig down to. I like our young talent. I think we have a lot of young players that can be winning players in this conference. I like this group, and I just want them to stay the course. This is a difficult part and being in a year like this one where the Big Ten is as good as ever. Every night you go out playing, you're playing NCAA tournament quality opponents. We have to stay the course; we have to keep fighting. We have to keep getting better. I keep telling the guys, 'keep getting to the door step, and eventually we're going to break that thing down, and when we do hopefully that will lead to some really good things.'"

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