Five takeaways as Rutgers basketball beats Indiana for 1st Big Ten win of the season

PISCATAWAY – Needing to stop a two-game losing streak and searching for its first Big Ten victory of the season, Rutgers basketball had just the opponent it needed Tuesday night.

The Indiana Hoosiers, a team the Scarlet Knights have owned in recent seasons.

And that continued this time, too.

Rutgers rode an excellent defensive performance to a 66-57 victory over the Hoosiers at Jersey Mike’s Arena, picking up its first conference win and a Quad 3 victory while improving to 9-6 on the season.

The Scarlet Knights have now won nine of the last 11 meetings they’ve had against Indiana, which hasn’t won in Piscataway since Feb. 5, 2018.

Mawot Mag led Rutgers with 13 points on 4-of-12 shooting with eight rebounds.

"I’m happy for our guys," Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell said. "Indiana’s a really good team, he’s a really good coach, they’re talented. We were connected today. We’re getting healthy, I think that’s a big part."

This was not a great offensive showing by either team.

Rutgers shot 32.3 percent from the field and went just 5-of-22 from the perimeter.

Indiana shot 39.7 percent and went 7-of-26 from deep.

Rutgers carried a 30-27 lead into halftime after Derek Simpson banked in a three-pointer just before the buzzer, only the second triple the Scarlet Knights made in the first half in 11 attempts.

It was a defensive battle from the early going. Indiana went six minutes without a basket, but Rutgers couldn’t capitalize, making just three field goals of its own during that stretch. Once again, the Scarlet Knights had some good looks but they just couldn’t make them – including six missed layups – a persistent problem so far this season.

But the Scarlet Knights continued to play stout defense in the second half and managed to pull away from Indiana, which had another six-minute long scoring drought, and went on a 14-2 run to build a double-digit lead.

"The past couple games, we were coming out with slow starts," said Aundre Hyatt, who had 12 points and six rebounds. "We made a good emphasis today of, if we're not scoring then limiting the other team from scoring. We did a really good job of that, kept the game close and then we went on a run in the second half."

Indiana managed to slice its deficit to six with two minutes left before Derek Simpson hit a pair of free throws to push it back to eight.

Rutgers held on from there.

"This team has fought through some stuff," Pikiell said. "Active as heck today. Defense was outstanding. They soaked in the game plan quickly."

FIVE TAKEAWAYS

1. Starting five shuffle

Pikiell deployed a new starting five, inserting Austin Williams into the lineup in place of Noah Fernandes.

Williams has played well on both ends of the court for the Scarlet Knights (he had 14 points in Rutgers’ previous game against Iowa) and the FIU transfer earned the chance to start.

He finished with 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting with six rebounds and two steals in 23 minutes against Indiana.

"He played great, he's been practicing well," Pikiell said. "He's earned the position. ...He's gotten healthier. You see what he could do rebounding-wise and finishing around the basket. But steals and defensively, his Big Ten numbers are really good."

Williams made a second-chance basket off a miss by Cliff Omoruyi to give Rutgers a nine-point lead with just more than eight minutes to go in the second half, then made another tough layup to make it an 11-point game.

Williams received a nice ovation from the crowd when he checked out of the game with about six minutes left.

2. Nice game from Jamichael Davis

The freshman continues to provide a spark off the bench.

Davis on Wednesday finished with 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting to go along with six rebounds and one steal in 21 minutes.

The guard drained a three-pointer just more than six minutes into the second half to give Rutgers a six-point lead.

Pikiell has been impressed with Davis' play on both ends of the court.

"He's a great energy guy, he can guard people too," Pikiell said. "He fights through screens. He gives us great energy, can get downhill. I know he turned the ball over a little bit tonight (four turnovers), but he's done a really good job taking care of the basketball and getting us in good offense. Appreciate his improvement, he watches film, he works at it."

3. Turning it over

Rutgers did a stellar job of forcing 18 Indiana turnovers, which led to 18 points for the Scarlet Knights.

For reference, the Hoosiers finished with 23 made baskets.

4. Rutgers wins the rebounding battle

The Scarlet Knights crashed the boards hard all game, finishing with 51 rebounds to Indiana's 40.

Rutgers had 19 offensive offensive rebounds and 12 second-chance points.

"That was very big," Mag said. "After being 0-3 in the Big Ten, I feel like it was great. We had a short turnaround, only a couple days to prepare for Indiana. ...I feel like we were connected and everybody had each other's back. It was great. I feel like that helped us a lot."

The Hoosiers have length but they still haven't been a great rebounding team this season (ranked 11th in the Big Ten entering the day), and Rutgers exploited that −a positive considering the Scarlet Knights have struggled in that area.

"With the turnovers and their offensive rebounds, I’m surprised we were even that close," Indiana coach Mike Woodson said. "

5. Up next

Rutgers will head to East Lansing, Michigan to play Michigan State on Sunday (noon, Big Ten Network) at Breslin Center. The Spartans, coming off a 14-point loss at Northwestern, play at Illinois on Thursday before hosting the Scarlet Knights.

This is a tough stretch for Rutgers, which will then play home against Nebraska before going on the road to play Illinois and then hosting Purdue.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Rutgers basketball beats Indiana: 5 takeaways