Box Score MADISON, Wis. – The Rutgers men's basketball team was handed a loss in Madison on Thursday night as Wisconsin rode a strong second half to victory.

The Badgers outscored the Scarlet Knights 43-34 in the second half to secure the 78-66 victory. RU struggled taking care of the basketball and finished the night with 18 costly turnovers.

Wisconsin was led by the game's leading-scorer A.J. Storr who scored 19 points and was 8-for-15 from the field. Freshman center Stephen Crowl paced the Badgers with 17 points and 11 rebounds in the paint. Guard John Blackwell scored 16 points and made all eight of his free throws. Guard Kamari McGee rounded out the double-digit scoring for Wisconsin with 11 points.

For Rutgers, junior guard Jeremiah Williams led the way with his seventh double-digit game of the season with 15 points. Freshman guard Gavin Griffiths pitched in with 14 points off the bench. Sophomore guard Derek Simpson added nine points four rebounds and two assists. Freshman guard Jamichael Davis scored ten points.  

The visitors had the upper hand early on, making 8-of-15 shots to open the game and using a 9-0 run to open up a 22-13 lead. The Badgers countered with their own run, including a trio of triples to take the lead to 30-26. At halftime, the score was within one possession at 34-32 Badgers.

Rutgers made their first five shots of the second stanza, but UW kept pace. A 7-0 RU run sparked by a Gavin Griffiths three-pointer put RU ahead 47-40, a 15-6 run that was countered by Wisconsin retaking the lead at 51-49.

A 19-2 run pushed Wisconsin to their largest lead to 57-49. The Badgers were able to close out the game from there.

Postgame Notes

• Jeremiah Williams led the team with 16 points, having scored in double-figures in eight of the 10 games he's been active for.
• Cliff Omoruyi had his 22^nd multi-block game of the season and 19^th game with at least three rejections.
• Gavin Griffiths scored 14 points, his second-highest point total of the season and most since scoring 25 in the second game of the season against Boston University on November 10.
  • He had at least seven points for the third time in the past five games after just doing so twice in the previous 14 games.
• Jamichael Davis had six rebounds, matching his most in a Big Ten game this season. It was his first time leading the team in rebounding this season.

Up Next

Rutgers returns home for the final game of the regular season this Sunday. The Scarlet Knights will welcome Ohio State in on Senior Day, a 2 p.m. tipoff.

Postgame Quotes

Head Coach Steve Pikiell
 
On the loss:
 
"We turned the ball over too many times. Obviously Wisconsin is not that kind of team, so we didn't take care of the ball the way we needed to. I thought we had some good looks tonight. They got to the free throw line more than us and I knew that would be a big part of this basketball game. They are good at home but I thought we had spurts, guys came in and gave us good minutes and fought for us. Oskar Palmquist was scratched with back spasms and we count on him to give us leadership, he would've been a really good matchup for us. We were down a couple of soldiers and fought through it, but it wasn't enough."
 
On Blackwell and McGee's scoring production:
 
"Yeah I was surprised with McGee considering that he averages one point a game. He gave them great minutes and Blackwell got points at the line nine times. That's what you need in this league, guys stepping up and coming off the bench."
 
On any positive outlooks:
 
"With Mawot (Mag) being out, we had to move Gavin around a bit. Gavin has been aggressive and a lot better at practice, I'm really proud of him. It's not easy coming into this league as a rookie and he's learning the physicality of the game and he has been playing with really good confidence. I'm looking for him to continue that. With senior night coming out, we need the crowd to be there. We have great seniors and they have given us great minutes. Aundre Hyatt, Cliff Omoruyi, and Noah Fernandes even though he's only been here a short time, and Austin Williams, they have come in here and have been great for our team. Oskar Palmquist has been one of my favorite guys and he's one of the greatest teammates I've been around. He steps up for us, and obviously Aiden Terry has been great for us. I want everyone to show up and appreciate these guys."