The tradition of Rutgers basketball beating a highly ranked Purdue team had become as synonymous with New Jersey as vacationing down the shore and eating gabagool.
But that tradition, along with the Scarlet Knights’ slim NCAA tournament hopes, ended Sunday with a 68-60 defeat to the #2 Boilermakers in front of an expected raucous sell-out at Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway. The win brings Purdue to 19-2 and 8-2 in the Big Ten, while dropping Rutgers basketball to 10-9 and 2-6 in the conference.
The Scarlet Knights overcame a dismal first half shooting performance to shoot 50% from the floor in the second and bring the game to within one possession on several occasions. But they were unable to overcome the size and strength of Zach Edey, who put up a game high 26 points on 9-of-12 shooting with 12 rebounds while scoring his 2,000th point as a Boilermaker.
While the reigning National Player of the Year had nearly done it all in his regular season career, the win was his first inside the arena formerly known as the “RAC,” as the Scarlet Knights had taken five of the previous seven meetings between the teams, beating the Boilermakers in four consecutive seasons. That streak is now in jeopardy, along with Rutgers’ streak of three straight postseason appearances.
Takeaway #1: A tale of two halves
The first half from the Scarlet Knights was one seen far too often for the Rutgers faithful, as their last-ranked scoring offense in the Big Ten reared its head again. Rutgers shot 26.5% from the floor and 0-for-8 from three, finishing with just 20 points. Purdue, meanwhile, shot 50% from the floor, though a turnover and rebounding deficit limited their halftime lead to 13.
But the script flipped in the second, as it was Rutgers’ turn to shoot 50% from the floor along with 4-8 from three. The Boilermakers, meanwhile, struggled as the crowd got back into the game, going just 2-of-11 from three in the half.
On two occasions, Rutgers brought the Purdue lead to two points, but both times brought out immediate responses from Edey and Braden Smith, who added 19 points on 7-10 shooting.
While in the past Rutgers’ second half surges at home had been enough to get them over the hump, the 13-point halftime deficit was too much to overcome.
“You’ve got to make shots in a game like this, especially early on,” said Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell after the game. “We had some careless turnovers which gave them easy points. I liked some of the looks we got, but we turned the ball over seven times in the first half. When you turn the ball over, you can’t change up defenses, you can’t do any of the things that you really want to do because you’re just retreating. But I really felt that our turnovers in the first half, I didn’t feel like it was them. I thought it was us.”
Takeaway #2: Critical mistakes and physical play
The biggest shift in the game came as a result of Rutgers mistakes, with the first being a crucial foul on Austin Williams fouling Purdue’s Fletcher Loyer on a three-point attempt trailing by three points with 3:27 remaining in the second half. The foul, which was Williams’ fifth, allowed Loyer to drill all three shots from the line and pull the Boilermakers away for good.
Even with the shift, Rutgers basketball forced seven turnovers in the second half to three for Purdue, but it was the physical play of Zach Edey, which led to the center attempting as many free throws as Rutgers did as a team with 13, that was the constant story of the game.
“It’s a tough team to prepare for,” said Pikiell. “It’s a tough team to play. There aren’t a lot of teams with a seven-foot-five guy that catches everything and makes free throws. He does what he does.”
Edey’s inside presence along with his defense, which led to four blocks and a multitude of altered shots, carried Purdue despite no other player scoring in double figures aside from Edey and Smith.
Takeaway #3: Scarlet Knights’ tourney hopes dashed
Rutgers basketball has competed for an NCAA tournament bid in each of the last four seasons, but the already small window of opportunity is essentially shut after Sunday’s defeat.
The Scarlet Knights came into the game with a NET above 100 and only five Quad 1 opportunities remaining. The defeat leaves only four such opportunities, with only one coming at home against Wisconsin. With fewer chances available in a weaker Big Ten and Rutgers now falling to 10-9 in a year that has seen them go just 1-7 away from home, it appears their fight is now to find a berth into the newly watered-down NIT.
The Boilermakers, meanwhile, continue their path towards the overall #1 seed and a shot at redemption after back-to-back losses against New Jersey mid-majors with seeds of 15 or above.
Next game for Purdue: vs. Northwestern (Wed., Jan. 31 – 6:30 p.m.)
Next game for Rutgers: vs. Penn State (Wed., Jan. 31 – 8:30 p.m.)