What’s next for Rutgers, Rider after lopsided affair?
The Scarlet Knights scored 26 points off 17 Rider turnovers in Tuesday’s 76-46 blowout that pushed Rutgers to 4-1 and sent Rider's record to 1-4.
Aundre Hyatt shifted over from his defensive position at the top of the key to make a play on the ball. Dwight Murray Jr. was trying to make something happen for Rider, but he dribbled into traffic and Hyatt poked the ball out mid-collision.
Hyatt gathered his balance in stride, and three seconds later Derek Simpson fed the ball back to him on a two-on-one for an alley-oop jam.
It’s a play worth highlighting for several reasons, not the least of them being that Rutgers was only ahead 21-11 at the time, 11:30 into the game. The result was by no means decided yet, especially in light of Rutgers’ previous time out, a 72-66 neutral-court defeat to Temple.
But when Rutgers is at its very best, the effort on defense creates easy offense. The Scarlet Knights scored 26 points off 17 Rider turnovers in Tuesday’s 76-46 blowout that pushed Rutgers to 4-1 and sent Rider’s record to 1-4.
“It’s how you get off the mat,” coach Steve Pikiell said. “These guys practiced like they didn’t like the taste of losing. I certainly didn’t. We got a chance, but we have to just keep getting better in a lot of areas and guys gotta understand their minutes and how important every minute is at the college level. But they’re doing what they need to do.”
There’s more to that single play that’s so telling. For one, Rutgers was still playing without injured guards Caleb McConnell (knee) and Paul Mulcahy (shoulder) Tuesday. You might remember the program went through similar injury woes, losing to UMass last November with Geo Baker sidelined.
This year, Rutgers’ role players are continuing to prove they’re a year wiser and more experienced, bolstered by three capable freshmen. Having that depth goes a long way toward beating the teams you’re “supposed” to beat, even when your starting lineup is at less than full strength.
Six Rutgers players finished with at least seven points Tuesday night, including Mawot Mag (nine, eight rebounds) and Hyatt (seven, five) starting at forward. Simpson, making his second collegiate start at point guard for Mulcahy, had eight and a team-high four assists. And fellow frosh Antwone Woolfolk pushed his way into the conversation with career highs of eight points and nine rebounds.
“I’m really excited about him,” Pikiell said of Woolfolk. “First of all he’s a worker. He’s coachable. He’s got great feet, he can guard anybody, he’s got great hands. I think his best basketball’s ahead of him, too.”
The final thing worth spotlighting from the Hyatt play is how it began – and what it illustrates about Rider.
Nehemiah Benson handed the ball to Murray to start the sequence, and Murray drew triple coverage right away. Jalen Miller (a stout defender) was assigned to Murray, Cliff Omoruyi cramped the lane and Hyatt shifted over when he saw the opportunity to disrupt the dribble.
From Rutgers’ perspective, why not triple-cover Rider’s dynamo? Nobody else was going to trouble you.
The hard truth for Rider is it’s going to be an easy team to beat unless and until other players around Murray get their offense going. The Broncs shot 25% (15 of 60) overall and 10.5% (2 of 19) from three Tuesday. Take Murray out of the equation, and those dropped to 21.3% (10 of 47) and an 0-for-13 mark from long range.
“I didn’t like any of it,” Baggett said, per the Trentonian. “That’s just being frank. I didn’t like anything that we did.”
When Rider scared Providence in the season opener Nov. 8, the Friars had more than Murray to contend with. Allen Powell had 15 points (5-of-9 shooting). Mervin James had 12 (6-of-11). Allen Betrand made three 3-pointers and center Tyrel Bladen scored six off the bench. Excluding Bladen, their shooting percentages have been on the decline ever since they landed in Ireland for the MAAC/ASUN Dublin Challenge. Murray scored 30 in the second game against Central Arkansas – yet it came in a loss.
While the trip to Europe and back was surely draining, I don’t think they can chalk all their struggles up to that. Rider has more than a week to gather itself before its next game, a Nov. 30 home date against former MAAC rival Monmouth. Then it’s already on to conference games.
Similarly, Rutgers has two more tune-ups before its first taste of the Big Ten this year. The Scarlet Knights can afford to keep Mulcahy and McConnell out Saturday against Central Connecticut State if need be. Then they travel to Miami Nov. 30 before the highest-ranked team in the league, Indiana, visits for the conference opener.
“You learn a lot from those games you don’t play as well in,” Pikiell said. “We played a great 20 minutes in the second half of the Temple game but that’s a 40-minute game. I thought today, we had a 40-minute game. They played hard until the end.”
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Thanks for reading, and an early happy Thanksgiving. This newsletter is coming out a day early so we can all take it easy Thursday morning. It also fit naturally with Rider and Rutgers playing on a Tuesday, and after a work conflict kept me from making it out to the game in person, I’m looking forward to being in Piscataway on Saturday afternoon for the first time since the preseason.
Let’s clean the glass and head into the holiday weekend!
No new information on where Mulcahy and McConnell stand in their recovery, with Pikiell repeating that they are “close” to returning, same as before. “Hopefully soon,” Pikiell said. “But when they’re ready to play, they’ll say they’re ready to play and we’ll go from there.”
Former walk-on and fan favorite Aiden Terry scored his first collegiate points at the end of Tuesday’s game.
Yeah, via goaltending. Anticlimactic, in my opinion. The RAC would have melted to the ground if he’d gotten the ball through the hoop. This felt like a delayed reaction from the crowd, understandably. But points are points, and Terry, who was upgraded to scholarship last January, is undoubtedly grateful.
On Monday morning – what was it, mere minutes after I sent that day’s edition of the newsletter? – Rutgers and Michigan State announced they would play their Feb. 4 game at Madison Square Garden for “Big Ten Super Saturday.” Tickets went on sale Tuesday.
Rutgers has risen to ninth in the country in KenPom’s defensive efficiency metric. Seton Hall is No. 27. What’s the final score of the Garden State Hardwood Classic going to be? I’m starting the bidding at 54-50.
Feast Week update: If you’re like me and you love early-season college basketball showdowns like Tuesday’s Creighton-Arkansas thriller, this is a fantastic time of year. If you’re like me and part of your day job is helping schedule college basketball coverage for a news organization, this is an exhausting time of year.
While most New Jersey teams are about to take a few days off for the holidays, we have Princeton and Seton Hall games on Thanksgiving. Princeton has touched down in London (no, CBS Sports analyst guy, not Tosan Evbuomwan’s hometown) for the inaugural London Basketball Classic, where they’ll face Army on Thursday and then either Northeastern or Manhattan on Saturday. Seton Hall went to Disney World for the ESPN Events Invitational, where the Pirates’ three games in four days will kick off Thursday night against Memphis and continue Friday against either Oklahoma or Nebraska.