ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The Scarlet Knights erased a 15-point deficit late in the second half with a 37-12 run in the second half to defeat the Michigan Wolverines 69-59 marking the school's first-ever win at Crisler Arena.
The Scarlet Knights also closed the game on an 18-2 run behind defense and shot-making when it mattered most. Sophomore point guard
Derek Simpson's confidence was infectious in the second half as he scored a team-high 19 points on seven-of-13 from the field. Simpson added six assists and two steals, making game-winning plays all over the court.
His second-half effort was similar to the Scarlet Knights 62-50 victory over Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament last season. RU forced a season-high 19 turnovers.
Rutgers trailed early, 20-9, and Michigan extended that lead to 30-18. RU found momentum, cutting the lead to 35-30 on a dunk by Cliff Omoruyi, but Michigan had the last two baskets for a 39-30 halftime lead.
In the second half, Michigan extended their lead to 15 at 47-32, before RU started its comeback.
Junior guard
Jeremiah Williams had an impressive debut with RU. Williams who found out of his eligibility on Friday night when the team landed in Ann Arbor scored ten points, had six rebounds, and two assists.
Senior forward
Mawot Mag scored a team-high 11 points in the first half and finished with 15 points on the game. Mag added three steals, two rebounds, and two assists. Senior center
Clifford Omoruyi had a team-high 11 rebounds and 15 points in the victory.
Up next RU will remain on the road with a matchup on Tuesday in College Park against the Maryland Terrapins at 6:30 p.m.
Gallery: (2-3-2024) MBB Takes on Michigan
Postgame Notes
- Rutgers earned its first-ever win at Michigan's Crisler Center.
- Head coach Steve Pikiell tied Bob Wenzel for the 3rd most wins of any RU head coach with 128.
- RU earned its third all-time win over Michigan, all coming in the past three seasons.
- Rutgers finished the game on an 18-2 run, overcoming a largest deficit of 15
- Derek Simpson scored 19 points, his third-largest output of the season and second most ever in a Big Ten game.
- Cliff Omoruyi (15 points, 11 rebounds) had his team-leading seventh double-double of the season and 27th in his career.
- Omoruyi (857 career rebounds) moved past Hollis Copeland for sole possession of sixth place all-time at RU. He is just three rebounds from tying Roy Hinson for fifth all-time at RU.
- Omoruyi (1,149 points) moved past Don Parsons and Steve Kaplan to rank 29th all-time at RU.
- Mawot Mag had his third 15+ point game of the season and tied his career-high with three steals.
- Jeremiah Williams and Emmanuel Ogbole made their Rutgers' debuts.
- Williams earned the start and posted 10 points and six rebounds.
- Ogbole scored his first collegiate point on a free throw.
Postgame Quotes
Associate Head Coach Brandin Knight
On second-half adjustments:
"I told them to keep fighting. Yesterday at practice we just kept competing, so everything we did was aimed at getting after each other. When we got down, the resilience that the guys showed was tremendous."
On Derek Simpson's second-half performance:
"Derek is going to get the big pat on the back, but I know Derek would say that we got help from all of our guys, whether it was Cliff freeing us up, or Mawot cutting. There's some things you don't see on the stat sheet, and the guys did a great job at clearing areas to make lanes for Derek so he could get downhill and make the plays that he did. Cliff set great screens and rolled hard, that's how Derek got some easy baskets. Jeremiah as well was huge for us with his intensity, toughness, and downhill mentality getting in the paint. That's what made us get through the tough stretch."
On lessening turnovers in the second half:
"We played with a set rotation and used three guards a little bit more today with J-Mike, Derek, and Jeremiah. All of those guys are ball handlers and we were able to use Noah who gave us a few minutes here and there. It was a collective effort of taking care of the ball. We handled the right plays and the frontline finished those plays. It was big to have four guys in double figures."
On adjusting against Michigan's threes:
"I think TJ Thompson did a great job with his scouting report and
Mike Larkin did a great job getting these guys prepared. The focus was taking their strengths away and there was a big focus on not allowing them to get in transition, containing those guys, and not allowing Dug to get downhill. Everything they set was spot on in terms of game planning and our guy just picked it up and carried it out on the floor."
On late free throws and rebounding:
"That's Rutgers Basketball right there. There was really some great toughness and the ability to step up at the line and make free throws was huge. Cliff made free throws that closed the gap and we had guys late who made free throws to stretch out the score. Those things take pressure off you and I'm so proud of how we fought."
Point guard Derek Simpson
On second-half performance:
"It started yesterday and the day before. The other day we had a mandatory day off for the NCAA and I texted our group chat telling the guys that I hate having a dead locker room. That day I told the guys to get better and watch films. We needed to do something to be productive and then we had a really gritty and tough practice. It all started with our preparation and our coaches gave us a great game plan. We came out here and executed it."
On gaining late momentum:
"It started on defense. I wasn't really looking at the scoreboard but I just kept going. I just want to go play by play, minute by minute, second by second just trying to get stops and buckets. We did that today."
On Jeremiah Williams' debut performance:
"Jeremiah has been practicing the last couple of weeks and we have been waiting for him to get back on the court. He brings a different kind of energy and that dude plays hard."
On Aundre Hyatt's performance:
"Aundre got hit with some adversity during practice the other day, but he really pulled it together and showed how mature he is. He's a good teammate and he doesn't care about anything but the team. He came out here and got open shots, he may not have hit them but he kept pushing and he did his thing. He helped us with some really tough rebounds.:
