Piscataway, New Jersey – The Scarlet Knights made an appearance in front of a local crowd on Wednesday night.
RU won 90-55 (30) and had the most assists ever in a Big Ten matchup. The winning margin was also his highest ever for RU in his Big Ten conference game.
Rutgers featured a balanced scoring offense with six players in double digits.
In the first half, Rutgers jumped out to an 18-7 lead and started shooting 7 of 10 as Minnesota opened 2 of 13 from the floor. The Gophers cut the lead to 22-20 he oscar palmquist After a 12-2 run off the bench in the first half, the home side had a 10-point lead at half-time.
Palmquist finished with a career-high 13 points (4-for-7) from the field and made 3 of his 4 3-point shots. Palmquist brought his family from Sweden to town for his second visit to a Rutgers game to watch him play.
senior guard cam spencer Leading by 17 points, they made 5 of 6 attempts from the field. Spencer knocked down all three of his three-pointers.five years wings Caleb McConnell Scored 13 points with 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Junior center Cliffford Omouri scored his 13 points from the field (6 for 8) and in the opening minutes of the game he scored 7 points.junior forward Andrew Hyatt When mawot mug Score 10 points each.senior point guard Paul Mulcahy He had 9 assists, his 400th career assist for an in-game RU.
Rutgers started the second half with a 7-2 run to extend their lead to 15 points and a 14-6 run to extend their lead to 20 points. The Scarlet Knights started the second half at 10/13 from the field and got away with the contest.
with victory
A 90-55 victory over Minnesota represented:
– 9 wins and 3 losses in last 12 matches
– 7th Big Ten victory, 2nd most league wins of any team
– 6 wins in their last 8 games against the Gophers, including 4 straight wins at home
– 13-2 at home this season, 27-5 in the last two seasons at Jersey Mike’s Arena.
team notes
- Rutgers’ 35-point victory was the largest margin of victory in a Big Ten game since joining the league and the largest margin of victory in a conference game in over 20 years.
- Rutgers’ 30 assists were the most in a Big Ten game to date. The team had previously set a record of 23 assists in their final game in Iowa.
- Rutgers shot 59.7%, the second highest in a Big Ten game.
- The Rutgers held Minnesota below average scoring (62.2 ppg entering the game). RU has underperformed his 20 of his 22 opponents so far in scoring average going into the game. The Rutgers held all of their home opponents below average.
- Rutgers became the first team in show history to score 80 or more points in back-to-back Big Ten games.
- Rutgers had six players in double figures all season for the first time.
- Rutgers’ 90 points was a season high and the fifth most in a Big Ten game.
individual
- oscar palmquist We saw his first action in a Big Ten Conference game this season, scoring a career-high 13 points. He entered the game with just 6 points on the season.
- Paul Mulcahy Recorded 9 assists, going to 6th Scarlet Knight reaches 400 assists
- Cliff Omolui tied Gene Armstead and Kadeem Jack Armstead for 12th block in RU (and reached 100 career blocks).
- Aiden Terry The three-pointer was the first of his career.
post-match quote
rutgers head coach Steve Pikiel
Opening Statement:
“First, I just (want to) pray Antoine Wolfolk and his family. Today was his grandmother’s funeral, so I’m thinking of him now. he’s a great teammate. Thanks to the audience. Thank you for being here. The crowd, as usual, was great. It was a dangerous game. This is a program that I have a lot of respect for. Ben (Johnson) is doing a good job. He’s plagued with injury bugs, but he’s got a talented player who plays hard every game. . We really passed the ball and shared the ball. It all started with Paul[Mulcahy]I think 400 assists. He achieved his 400th today. I am very proud of him and what he brings to our team. Then I always tell them – Oscar (Palmquist) comes off the bench and says we don’t know when we’ll be ready. Wolff was down today, but he stepped in, got a chance and was ready. He did a really great job and we were connected on both ends of the floor. That sort of thing was shown, but you know, we got Michigan. Madison Square Garden requires Rutgers Nation. As you know, (we) have a few days here to prepare and get to work on the next game. ”
On tonight’s team’s 30 assists and all-season success:
“You know, it really starts with the pole. But all these guys, Cam[Spencer]I mean, they can all pass basketball. They embrace their teammates’ success. Today, the Oscars Hot and got the ball Cliff (Omoruyi) One stretch in the second half we gave him a basketball. It’s because you really share basketball. “They were interested in winning and never said, ‘I need more.’ We have great leadership, Caleb (McConnell), Paul, Cliff and Oscar are great leaders too, so we’ve got a good group.”
upon oscar palmquist performance:
“Yeah, I mean, he’s a good guy. I know he has the ability to do that. Sometimes it’s hard and he’s not playing the minute I know he wants. Sometimes he plugs in every day at practice and he’s a great teammate he’s like, ‘He does everything you want. He got his chance tonight – and Sometimes when the opportunity comes they are not ready. He was ready for it..”
On Palmquist’s ability to spark and the possibility of seeing more of him:
“When you play like that, you’ve obviously taken some chances. And again, I trust all my subordinates. Look, Jalen Miller Come in and you did a great job tonight. Dean Lieber We’ve had good results in the last few games. He got his chance and did a good job. But yeah, (I’m) very happy with the Oscar. he works hard he does everything right. (He’s) a great student, a great teammate, everything you want in a player.”
upon Aiden Terry Three pointer:
“Aiden’s birthday is today, so it’s a great birthday present for Aiden. He cleaned it up. Again, Aiden does a lot of things we don’t see in our program.” And he’s a worker, part of our scout team, and he has a lot to do. I have to do my part just like a man. Happy for Aiden, he has his own birthday – his birthday present.”
upon Antoine Wolfhorkes Family time:
“Yeah, as long as he has to be with his family, there’s no need to set a timeline. These are young kids, they’ve been through a lot and his grandma was really close with him. He He’s a great mom and a great family, so I’ll be with him until I need him.”
Cam efficiency from 3pm tonight
“It’s been really good. He’s going to have a game without the ball. He got six assists tonight, passed the ball and stole a big base. I’m not worried about the things that everyone worries about. I’m doing all the other things. Sometimes the ball goes in, sometimes it doesn’t, sometimes it goes in, but I keep shooting.”
On Rutgers’ ceiling this season:
“I’m not a big ceiling guy. Michigan State is (next). (You) can’t see league ceilings like this. Where this takes us this year.”
About board crashes
“I had to do it because it kept them alive. To their credit. They went and got them. We did a great job on the blockout.” No, they had 12 (offensive rebounds) out of the game, which is way too much. That’s one of their fundamentals and they’re recovering so they have to make some adjustments.
On the rematch with Michigan
“When you connect with love and play team basketball, it always pays off. As good a coach as he is, he’s talented players. Clearly[they]played much better than before. If there is, it usually leads to good results, but we have to do it.”
About playing at Madison Square Garden
“The Rutgers National will be there and that’s the most important thing. We have a lot of alumni in the area. I’m playing for an equally good team, a good program, and I’m very excited about the opportunity.”
“I know they watch Madison Square Garden on TV. We’ll fill the place red hot and that’s what we need more than anything…”
oscar palmquist About playing at Madison Square Garden:
“I’m really excited. I’m from Sweden, so I’ve always dreamed of playing in an arena like this, so I’m just excited.
