Rutgers Dominated by No.1 Purdue 81-65 to Open Big Ten Play

Rutgers men’s basketball fell in its first Big Ten game of the season to No.1 Purdue, 81-65. The Scarlet Knights had no answer for the Boilermakers’ machine-like efficiency, as Purdue would earn their eighth victory of the year to stay undefeated.

Rutgers would draw first blood off a Tariq Francis three-pointer, but would find themselves down by two with 15 minutes left to go in the first half. Purdue would slowly pull away from there, extending their lead to seven over the next five minutes. Despite Rutgers going on an 8-0 run, Purdue would extend their lead to 8, partly thanks to solid free-throw shooting. Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell was forced to call a timeout after the Boilermakers increased their lead to 11 with 3:38 left to play in the half. That would not be enough to turn it around in the first half, as Purdue would go into the break up 40-27. The Boilermakers would end the first half on a 20-8 run overall.

The train would continue to run away after the half, as Purdue would extend their lead to 20 with just over 17 minutes left to play. Rutgers would attempt to go on a few scoring runs, but the Boilermakers kept their boot on the Knights’ neck for the rest of the game. Even with Purdue rotating their starters out with plenty of time left on the clock, Rutgers could not gather any consistency to pose a serious threat.

The Knights had no answer for Purdue in the paint or from beyond the arc, as their taller lineup, better shooters, and superior passing outclassed Rutgers. The Knights had no answer for guard Braden Smith and forward Trey Kaufmann-Renn in particular, as Smith would finish the day with 16 points and 8 assists, while Kaufmann-Renn recorded 19 points and 13 rebounds.

One thing to note in this game, Rutgers used a starting lineup of Jamicheal Davis, Darren Buchanan Jr., Emmanuel Ogbole, Dylan Grant, and Tariq Francis. Buchanan saw a lot of playing time in the second half against UNLV and seems to be taking over for Denis Badalau in the starting lineup. He had eight points in this game. Dylan Grant led the Knights in scoring this game with 13 points.

Rutgers will be back in action on Saturday as it heads out to take on No.3 Michigan in Ann Arbor. Tip-off is set for 4 pm with live coverage being provided by the Big Ten Network.