PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 25 Rutgers men's basketball (12-7, 8-7) defeated Northwestern (6-12, 3-11) by a final score of 64-50 on Saturday evening at The RAC.
Myles Johnson (12 points, 14 rebounds) and
Ron Harper Jr. (14 points, 11 rebounds) each had a double-double and the Scarlet Knights held the Wildcats to a season-low in points.
Jacob Young scored 15 points to lead all scorers. The Scarlet Knights shot 14-of-16 (87.5 percent) at the free throw line and out-rebounded the Wildcats 43-31. RU held the Wildcats to 32.7 percent shooting, tied for their worst shooting performance of the season.
"We were locked in," head coach
Steve Pikiell said. "It was a really good basketball game. Our defense was really, really good and they're a good offensive team. I loved the fact that we out rebounded them and we got contributions from everybody. Our bench gave us great energy and everyone chipped in here, which was important. Every game in this league is a war and this one was no different."
Northwestern got off to an early 14-4 lead. However, Rutgers used a 14-2 run, sparked by six early points from
Ron Harper Jr., to vault back into the lead. The Scarlet Knights also finished the frame strong, with a 10-0 run to end the opening half. At the break, the Scarlet Knights held a 37-27 lead.
In the second half, Northwestern used an 11-0 run to get back within three at 41-38. However, they were unable to retake the lead, as RU held them off to seal the game down the stretch.
Following Northwestern's early lead, it was all Scarlet Knights. As the defense clamped down, RU outscored them 60-36 over the final 34 minutes. Rutgers allowed no more than 27 points in either half.
Next up for the Scarlet Knights is a trip to No. 3 Michigan. Tip-off on Thursday is at 9 p.m. on FS1, with Brandon Gaudin and Nick Bahe on the call. According to ESPN's BPI, the Scarlet Knights have the fourth hardest remaining strength of schedule.
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The win represented Rutgers eighth conference win, the second most conference wins for RU since joining the Big Ten. Rutgers has only reached eight conference wins once over the past 18 seasons (last season).
- It gave the Scarlet Knights five wins in their last six meetings with Northwestern.
- It was the Scarlet Knights fifth win over Northwestern, which ties for the most wins over any Big Ten team (also five vs. Minnesota).
- Rutgers held Northwestern to 50 points. It was their season-low, and the third lowest points allowed in by RU in a conference game during the Big Ten era. Both of the lowest outputs by a Big Ten team with Steve Pikiell as the head coach have come this season (37 vs. Michigan State, 50 vs. Northwestern).
- It is the first time Rutgers has held two conference opponents to 50 points or less in the same season since 2005-06 in the BIG EAST (holding USF to 44 points and Seton Hall to 48 points).
- Rutgers is 14-0 overall under head coach Steve Pikiell when holding the opposition to 50 points or less.
- Myles Johnson had his sixth double-double this season (13th of his career). It was his third double-double in the past five games.
- He reached double-figures for the eighth time this season.
- Ron Harper Jr. had a double-double, his third this season and fifth in his career.
- It marked the second time this year RU had two players with a double-double (Ron Harper Jr. and Clifford Omoruyi vs. Sacred Heart).
- The last time two RU players had a double-double in a Big Ten game was Jan. 4, 2020 at Nebraska (Myles Johnson,18 points, 14 rebounds and Ron Harper Jr., 11 points, 10 rebounds)
- Harper Jr. scored in double-figures for the 14th time this season.
- Jacob Young reached double-figures for the 15th time this season.
- He previously had a game-high of 18 points when these teams met in Evanston on January 31, scoring a game-high in each game vs. Northwestern.
- Geo Baker moved past Corey Sanders and Jeff Greer for 10th all-time at Rutgers in thefts.
- Myles Johnson tied Steve Perry for 8th all-time at Rutgers in blocks.
Gallery: (2-13-2021) Men's Basketball Defeats Northwestern
Rutgers Head Coach Steve Pikiell
Opening Statement: "I do want to send my condolences to Ty Berry, one of the players from Northwestern father passed away. Really sad and let him know that we're thinking about him and our prayers are with him and his family. I also love Coach Collins; he does an unbelievable job and well coached and now they have to deal with that amongst Covid and all the other things so much respect to Northwestern. I thought it was a really good basketball game today. I thought Northwestern played really well. I thought our defense was really, really good. I think that was their season low in points and they are a good offensive team. I love the fact that we out rebounded them, we got contributions from everybody. I loved our bench; they gave us great energy and love the fact that everyone chipped in here. I was important, every game in this league is a war and that was no different. Just glad, they earned the day off tomorrow, well-earned day off and we kind of grinded the game and I always love when we win when we have to grind it."
On Team Defense: "The jumped on us quickly there, I thought we really settled down and made stuff difficult. I thought we got to the free throw line more than they did. I thought that was a huge key for us and I love the way we can mix our defenses. I love how we are connected on that end of the floor. They have some really good offensive players. They have 6'10, 6'11 guys that can really shoot the ball, they have a good post player in Ryan Young causes problems and Chase (Audige) really good and Boo (Buie), their two guards are really athletic, so they have a lot of weapons on their team, but I thought we were locked in with only two days to prepare. I thought we were locked in and to hold them to a season low is a really good sign for us moving forward. I love the fact that we were connected in the rebounding area, Caleb (McConnell) got us 7 and Myles (Johnson) and when Ron (Harper Jr) rebounds and gets to the free throw line, good things happen for us and he did both of those things today."
On Ron Harper Jr: "Ron is having a great year. He really is and he's shooting almost 50% from the field. He raised his points per game, his rebounds from last year, and his defense is getting better and better and to defend all the different guys he had to defend and did it without fouling. Ron also has been a great assist guy for us too. I honestly don't talk to him a lot about the ball going in or not because I think that's like the least of things that he can do for us, he does assists, he can rebound, he blocks shots, he guards people, so I think he's having a really good season. I know everyone will look at if the ball goes in or not, but that's a small percentage of what he brings to our team. Today, you saw the rebounds and you saw the free throws and he was making some shots, but he's been doing a lot of good things for us during the streak here and just real pleased.
On Paul Mulcahy: "Paul, he's been playing with a finger that was dislocated, he's got a broken nose. He's tough as can be and he was ready to go today so he does a lot of things for us, a lot things that you don't read in the box score and he's one of the toughest guys I've ever coached. So, I was thankful he said, 'I'm playing', but that's just a credit to him and his toughness and to play through pain and he gets banged up in every single game so he deserves a day off tomorrow when playing for the first time with that mask on, I thought he did a really, really good job. We'll get a custom mask for him so that'll help him out a little bit more too but he's tough and thankful he was ready today to go."
On Caleb McConnell: "Caleb does a lot of things for us and he's really become an anchor for our defense. He guards a lot of different people and he capable of making shots. He's a really good foul shooter too and I think you saw down the stretch he teed the ball up and like when he plays with that kind of confidence. He also keeps a lot of balls alive for us, he does a lot of different things that too you don't see on the box score sometimes. He's getting better, he's feeling more and more comfortable and I love the fact that we can move him around. I think Jacob Young defensively is a really good defender and obviously Myles Johnson to go along with our other guys too, but they have to guard a lot of different people and they have to guard some real dangerous players. So, Caleb's been doing a good job and he's also rebounding for us. Last game he got 7, in this game he got 7 and that's a huge part of us being able to out rebound teams."
Northwestern Head Coach Chris Collins
On conference play: "We've got to bank on the fact we beat some really good teams. We beat teams in this league. We believe we are a good team. We are just coming up a little short and like I said you've got to play with that little sense of anger and confidence when that time comes. We've got to make those plays and I have got to continue to help those guys."
On missed chances: "The free throws were big. That's what you want to do. The old adage is try to get a lay up or try to get yourself to the free throw line. We had an opportunity to get eight points at the free throw line and we got one."
On Chase Audige: "He's gotten more comfortable which gives us a different dynamic, for him to be a true combo guard… His improvement has been fun to watch. He puts a lot on himself because he wants to be great, he wants to be a key guy… I'm really pleased with his development and you've got to love his energy."
On Anthony Gaines' night: "They (Rutgers) were leaving him open on the rotation and he made a couple big 3s and he had a couple big post ups...He is always going to play hard defensively and give you the intangibles on the glass and hustle plays and all of those things. Him being able to be a double figure scorer for us and get us 6 rebounds was a big reason we got off to a great start."
