Box Score BLOOMINGTON, IND – Rutgers men's basketball battled to the very end at Assembly Hall on Tuesday night.

RU took a 66-60 loss to the Indiana Hoosiers, which marked the first loss in seven matchups.

In the first half, Indiana established a lead of as much as 14 points. Rutgers was spurred by Oskar Palmquist and Aundre Hyatt, as each hit two three-pointers down the stretch of the opening half.

The visitors made six of their last 10 shots in the first stanza, finishing the frame on a 19-6 run to cut the lead to one possession, 38-35 at the half. An 11-2 run over the final 3:50 got RU back within three points at the break.  

Senior guard Cam Spencer hit a three-pointer on the team's second possession of the second half, tying the game at 38-38. Indiana answered with an 11-2 run.  

A layup from freshman Derek Simpson cut the lead to three at 59-56 as Indiana had an eight-minute field goal drought. That made for a 12-5 run, with Simpson scoring seven in that stretch. The visitors would get no closer as IU finished out the win.  

RU will return to play on Saturday at Illinois at 2 p.m.

Postgame Notes

Rutgers held Indiana, who entered the game averaging 77.6 points, to 66 points in the game. It was the 18^th time this season RU held an opponent to 10+ points below their average entering the game.  

Oskar Palmquist 

Entering the month of February, Palmquist had played just 27 minutes over RU's first 21 games, shooting 2-of-8 (1-of-4 from three-point distance) in that span. 

Over the past three games, Palmquist has played 39 minutes, and scored 21 points (8-of-13 and 6-of-9 from three-point).  

Derek Simpson 

Scored seven points, his most points in a game since Jan. 8.  

After posting 14 points against Indiana in December in the true freshman's first ever Big Ten game, he averages 10.5 points per game in the two contests versus Indiana.  

Cam Spencer  

Had three steals. Now has 57 steals on the season, moving into 10^th ­­­on RU's single-season leaderboard.  
   
Post Game Quotes
 
Head Coach Steve Pikiell
 
Opening Statement:

"It was a great environment and a hard-fought game today. They really got out and played quickly. There was too much Trayce Jackson-Davis out there, but our guys fought the whole time. We could have tied it up there with three minutes left with an open three. We needed to get that one down, but we fought and it's a tough life on the road against a really good basketball team. I give Indiana a lot of credit. They were physical from the start and played really good basketball. There was a lot of Trayce Jackson-Davis and Miller Kopp and that's probably a great combination for them moving forward. They did a great job and got us today".
 
On defending Miller Kopp's shooting:
 
"Trayce Jackson-Davis (was the reason). Trayce Jackson-Davis is the problem, so you have to double-team him and then when the ball gets moved out, you know [Kopp] is the recipient of those passes. I think Trayce had six or seven assists. Probably a lot of those were to Miller Kopp, and he's a really good shooter and a really good player, so you have to pick your poison sometimes when you play a post guy like that".
 
On differences in preparations against Indiana:
 
"Jalen Hood-Schifino didn't play last time in the game, so obviously they are more experienced now. They have gone through the season and have gone through the obstacles and they have hardened. They have a really good basketball team and it was a really good environment here today, obviously they are really tough at home".
 
On defending Trayce Jackson-Davis different ways tonight:
 
"He's just good. He's good. You can't just do one thing against him. I don't think that's the route to success against him. He is so fast he played at a high level today. He has just been high-level. You better show him different looks. He's good."
 
On the different approach defensively in the second half compared to the first half:
 
"I just thought we gave up too many points in transition. I tell our guys all the time that we can't defend the foul line. They got us by a high number from the free throw line. That really was the difference. There scores 11 extra points at the line. We have to defend these guys without fouling. That becomes a huge key in this game and it is just another way to score. When the defense was set, I felt pretty good about it. But we have to defend without fouling."  
 
On the team's response without Mawot Mag:
 
"Obviously we only had a couple of days to figure things out without Mawot. He's been a huge part of what we've been trying to do. I feel awful for him. The guys love him too. He certainly would have helped us on the backboards today with our defense, but we have to make adjustments and haven't had a lot of time to work on some of the things without him, so we have to spend a little time here in the next couple of weeks getting life adjusted (without him). I did think Oskar (Palmquist) came in and gave us some great minutes and Derek Simpson did too. That bench is going to be important to us moving forward now that we moved Aundre (Hyatt) into the starting lineup." 
 
On Mawot Mag's recovery journey: 
 
"It's an ACL, so it's a long journey. We're figuring out when he's going to have the surgery, but ACLs take time. We have great doctors and we have great rehab people, but those (take) a lot of rehab." 
 
On Derek Simpson's role:
 
"He can go by people with his speed and quickness and he can defend too. I felt like today he had to go in a little bit and he can bother the basketball. He brings us another defender too now that Mawot's out. He's got to keep getting better because he's an important part of this thing moving forward."
 
On team's reaction to Mawot Mag injury:
 
"It's tough. Anytime you lose a player. These guys are tight. This group is really connected and Mawot's right in the middle of it. He's a great teammate. It's tough. It's tough on Mawot. He's battled hard to get to where he's gotten and to have it end right here in the middle of things, it's not obviously where he wants to be or where any of us want him to be. So it's tough and he's got great friends on the team, so they all feel for him."
 
On if the team can learn from tonight's game without Mawot Mag:
 
"I mean, you have to. We were down 14 in this game. They had the momentum. They had everything. We kept fighting. We fought the whole time. It's a one possession game with three minutes left. I look at these things and I just say the disparity there, you cannot defend the foul line, so you can't put people on there. That's something that we talk about and preach. You've got to defend without fouling. It was a huge advantage for him, but give him the credit. They got there. Trayce Jackson-Davis was a problem. They made some plays. Miller (Kopp) made some big baskets for him too when it was kind of getting close. Give them credit and it's a tough, tough environment. They're playing as well as anybody in the country. We have to battle back and it doesn't get any easier here. We're still on the road again. Three straight trips here on the road away from Jersey Mike's. It's not easy right now."