Suddenly, all the shots that had been falling were harmlessly bouncing off the rim. The stingy defense, without its elite rim protector who had fouled out, was being ravaged. Minus its ace penetrator and creator, the offense became stagnant.
Rutgers and its fans will have to wait for a top-10 ranking. For the first time in this impressive start to the season, the 11th-ranked Scarlet Knights tasted defeat, blowing a 16-point second-half lead at No. 23 Ohio State in a disappointing 80-68 setback.
The game turned just past the midway point of the second half. Rutgers was up eight when center Myles Johnson fouled out. Less than a minute later, point guard Jacob Young was lost to a shoulder injury. A technical foul was then assessed on the Rutgers bench after a Geo Baker drive on which he felt drew contact.
“It changes a lot of things,” coach Steve Pikiell said over Zoom of the two key absences.
Baker and Pikiell refused to fault the officials that sent Ohio State to the free-throw line 29 times. They pointed the finger at themselves. Pikiell said he had to coach better. Baker said he had to play better. Rutgers was outrebounded 45-25. It allowed 80 points, its second-highest total of the season. Those areas, both agreed, is where the game was lost.
“I thought we let up a lead, which as a veteran team we shouldn’t be doing,” Baker said when asked specifically about the officiating. “We just got to be better as a team. That’s on us.”
The Scarlet Knights (6-1, 2-1) were already down prized freshman forward Cliff Omoruyi (knee), so losing Johnson and Young only compounded matters. A 16-2 run turned the game into a one-sided Buckeyes victory, part of a 52-point second half. Rutgers had no answer for them in the paint, as E.J. Liddell and Kyle Young combined to score 37 points and grab 18 rebounds. Without a post option and the speedy Young sidelined, the offense became too perimeter-oriented, making it easy to defend. Ron Harper Jr. (team-high 20 points) was held scoreless over the final 10:09 and the Scarlet Knights managed just one made field goal over the last 9:18.
Up until that point, Rutgers had been in control, taking a 10-point lead into halftime. It was still an eight-point advantage when Johnson fouled out on a questionable call with 8:46 left. Less than a minute later, another key Rutgers player was lost, when Young hurt his shoulder on a drive.
“I think it humbled us a little bit,” Baker said. “We obviously wanted to go undefeated, especially going into Christmas. There are some things we need to work on, and now we know that.”
Pikiell didn’t have much clarity on Young, whom he said was in a lot of pain. Omoruyi hasn’t returned to practice yet. There was some good news: The Scarlet Knights have nearly a week off before they return to face Purdue on Tuesday at the RAC.
