Indiana and Rutgers had a “bubble battle” last night, with the Scarlet Knights getting the road win. Can the Hoosiers recover from this?
The Indiana Hoosiers lost to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, 66-63. The Hoosiers were led by Trayce Jackson-Davis. Davis scored 19 points on 63 percent shooting. The Scarlet Knights were led by Ron Harper Jr. Harper scored 19 points on 58 percent shooting.
It seemed like the Indiana Hoosiers had this game handly early. Rutgers was unable to stop Trayce Jackson Davis. Davis had 15 points in the first half of this game. Most of those points came in the early point of the game. It seemed like Davis could get anything on the block. Indiana was up by 7 at the half.
In the second half, the Scarlet Knights ran a two-three zone to combat Davis. Rutgers took advantage of the fact that the Hoosiers were not a good team shooting-wise. The Hoosiers struggled to score in the second half. Indiana got a lot of good looks in the second half, yet couldn’t make open shots.
During the early part of the second half, Rutgers closed the deficit between them and Indiana. Indiana then took a seven-point lead behind Xavier Johnson. During the midpoint of the second half, Johnson had eight key points. Rutgers came back to make this game tied with 5 minutes left.
This game came down to the wire. Indiana struggled to score points during the late stretch of the game. This game was tied until Geo Baker hit a three to make it a one-point Rutgers lead. After a Xavier Johnson turnover, Clifford Omoruyi got fouled and hit two free throws to make it a three-point Rutgers lead.
After Indiana made it a one-point game with two made free throws and a stop on the defensive. On the next ensuing possession, Jackson-Davis got the ball on the block. He then missed a layup but got the rebounded and tried to put it back up. The ball went around the rim and didn’t go in. Rutgers made two free throws on the other end and Indiana missed a layup.
It seemed like the game was over until Paul Mulcahy earned a tech for responding back after getting intentionally fouled. After free throws by both teams, Indiana was only down by 3. Against all odds, Parker Stewart made a three on an off-ball screen. It seemed like this game was going to overtime until Ron Harper Jr made a three to end the game.
With a win against Penn State, Rutgers should be in the Tournament. As Penn State is not very good this season, the Scarlet Knights should return to the tournament. The Indiana Hoosiers will most likely need a win against Purdue on Saturday to make the Tournament. While they have an outside shot of making the tournament as a first four-team, they will need a win against Purdue to solidify an at large bid in the tournament.