Rutgers Season Ends in Opening Round of Conference Tournament

A disappointing season ended in disappointing fashion for Rutgers on Wednesday night as Maryland came away with a 65-51 victory in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament.

As has become commonplace, Rutgers struggled offensively, hitting on only 31 percent of its shots (19-of-61) against Maryland. Only Gavin Griffith (16 points) and Aundre Hyatt (13 points) were able to score in double-figures.

Maryland was able to shut down some of Rutgers's biggest stars, with senior Clifford Omoruyi held to only two points in 25 minutes. Jeremiah Williams hit on 3-of-11 shots with seven points, while Derek Simpson hit on only two of his 12 shots. Simpson finished with four points. Senior Oskar Palmquist finished the night with zero points for the second straight outing.

The game got away from Rutgers from the get-go with Maryland jumping out to an 11-0 lead in the opening four minutes of the contest.

Griffith hit a three-pointer to get Rutgers on the board with 16:32 to play in the first half, but Maryland responded with a three of its own when Jamie Kaiser Jr. connected from downtown.

Rutgers would never be led, trailing by as much as 16 points in the first half.

The focus shifts to the 2024-25 season. With the NIL entering its second season; how will it affect Rutgers moving forward? This past season, Rutgers saw Cam Spencer and Paul Mulcahy leave via the transfer portal.  Rutgers also has four seniors who could move on, two of them are Clifford Omoruyi and Aundre Hyatt.

On the flip side Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper will officially join the roster next fall.

Oh, and with four PAC-12 teams (Washington, USC, UCLA, and Oregon) joining the mix, it will be fascinating to see how the schedule shakes out.