Men’s Basketball Tops Another Ranked Opponent in Wisconsin
RUTGERS 73 – WISCONSIN 65
The red hot Scarlet Knights earned a third straight victory against a ranked Big Ten opponent on Saturday with a 73-65 win over Wisconsin on the road in Madison. The victory, only the third victory on the road this season, marked four victories over ranked Big Ten opponents for the first time in program history.
https://twitter.com/BarstoolRU/status/1492605762715144201?s=20&t=_8KswXqVAyS9H_onm1MJ3w
“The win was the highest-ever ranked road win since RU joined the Big Ten and the second-ever ranked road win in Big Ten play. It was the highest-ranked road win since Jan. 26, 2008 (at No. 13 Pittsburgh) the third-ever ranked road win in the past 20 years,” Rutgers Athletics.
Meanwhile Rutgers has seen its RPI shoot up during the three game winning streak. According to CBS Sports they are ranked 93rd, and have shot up 27 points. That ranking might change even more after the weekend is over.
“This is as great of a place to come and place basketball in the Big Ten,” Head Coach Steve Pikiell said yesterday. “We haven’t had much success here. I’m just real proud of the guys.”
Rutgers had four players in double figures. Leading the way was Ron Harper Jr., who dished out 21 points on 6-of-13 shooting, including going 3-of-6 from downtown and 6-of-7 from the free throw line.
Paul Mulcahy had 18 points, Geo Baker added 16 points and Clifford Omoruyi had 10 points in the victory. In short, it was another night where the Scarlet Knights got a major contribution from just about everyone on the floor.
Rutgers finished the game shooting 51 percent from the field and 58 percent from beyond three.
Defensively, Rutgers flustered the Badgers, holding Wisconsin to only 47 percent shooting from the field, and a paltry 21 percent from beyond the arch (4-of-19).
The game itself was a back-and-forth affair. Wisconsin led 60-59 with 4:49 to go before Rutgers mounted a huge offensive run, much like they did against Ohio State last week.
The momentum turned when Geo Baker stole the ball from Wisconsin’s Johnny Davis, and dished it out to last week’s Big 10 Player of the Week in Mulcahy, who nailed a three-pointer to give Rutgers a 62-60 lead.
Later Mulcahy’s defense paid huge dividends when he stole a pass leading to a slam dunk by Omoruyi to give Rutgers a six-point lead with 1:33 to go, all but cementing Rutgers incredible victory.
.@__RHJR and @RutgersMBB knows how to upset 😤.
— Rutgers On BTN (@RutgersOnBTN) February 12, 2022
B1G RUTGERS WIN ‼️ pic.twitter.com/kDlA31HHK9
Rutgers will try to keep the momentum going when they host 13th ranked Illinois on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
Rutgers has Purdue, Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Penn State still on the schedule before the Big Ten tournament. Every game matters, especially when it comes to impressing the NCAA Tournament select committee.
Catch all the action on Fox Sports New Jersey, 93.5 FM, 1450 AM.
