Rutgers basketball puts up fight, but can't pull off upset vs. Purdue | 5 takeaways

PISCATAWAY — There was no upset this time around.

Rutgers flirted with one. It gave second-ranked Purdue a tough fight.

But in the end the Scarlet Knights couldn’t take down the Boilermakers, as Purdue clung to a single-digit lead late and ultimately hung on for a 68-60 victory Sunday at Jersey Mike’s Arena.

It was the first time Rutgers hosted Purdue since Dec. 9, 2021, when Ron Harper Jr. hit a buzzer-beating half-court shot to send the Scarlet Knights to an upset win over the then-top-ranked Boilermakers.

The Scarlet Knights fell to 10-9 overall and 2-6 in the Big Ten with Sunday's loss.

Rutgers shot 37.5% from the field and was just 4-of-16 from beyond the arc. It was much better in the second half, when it shot 50% to keep the score close.

"You've got to make shots in a game like this," coach Steve Pikiell said. "Especially early on."

Still, Pikiell’s team didn’t make things easy for Purdue, which shot 48.9% from the field.

"They’re tough. They’ve been great for the Big Ten," Boilermakers coach Matt Painter said. "They’re physical; they’re hard-nosed. It’s just a tough challenge. You know what you’re going to get. You’ve got to tighten your chinstrap."

Rutgers went into the break trailing 33-20 — the Scarlet Knights were just 9-of-34 from the field and 0-of-8 from the perimeter before halftime.

A jumper by Aundre Hyatt brought Rutgers to within five points with seven minutes to go in the first half, but Purdue went on a 12-4 run to close out the half.

Pikiell attributed turnovers to the Scarlet Knights' falling into a double-digit hole.

"We had some careless turnovers, which gave them easy points," Pikiell said. "I liked some of the looks we got, but we turned the ball over I think it was seven times in the first half."

The second half was just as much of a fight.

A layup from Cliff Omoruyi sliced Rutgers’ deficit to single digits just over five minutes into the second half. The Scarlet Knights kept clawing, and a triple from Noah Fernandes at the 8:12 mark cut the Boilermakers’ lead to two, eliciting a roar from the crowd.

But Rutgers couldn’t get enough stops to overtake Purdue, which maintained a single-digit lead until the end.

Hyatt led the Scarlet Knights with 15 points, while Omoruyi had 13 points and six rebounds.

FIVE TAKEAWAYS

1. Zach Edey’s performance

The best player in the country, Zach Edey finished with 26 points on 9-of-12 shooting to go along with 12 rebounds.

"It's a tough team to prepare for; it's a tough team to play," Pikiell said. "Not many people have a 7-5 guy that catches everything, makes free throws and does what he does."

Purdue coach Matt Painter subbed Edey in and out throughout the first half — keeping him in for offensive possessions and sitting him for defensive possessions — to try to keep Edey from picking up a second foul.

But all game long, Edey and Omoruyi had a tough, physical battle in the low post as two of the top big men in the Big Ten.

Edey took 13 foul shots, which is as many as Rutgers took as a team.

2. Not enough offense for Rutgers

The Scarlet Knights needed to shoot far better than they did to give themselves a better chance at an upset.

Rutgers missed 15 of its first 19 shots — costly since Purdue also got off to a slow start offensively.

It was a solid showing in just about every other area by the Scarlet Knights. They played hard on defense and outrebounded Purdue 36-32, including 15-6 on the offensive glass.

They just didn’t have enough offense.

3. Electric atmosphere

With Rutgers exploring ways to renovate Jersey Mike’s Arena, there’s been plenty of concern that any alterations will affect the environment during games.

Sunday provided a perfect reason why.

The capacity crowd, including a packed student section, created a fantastic atmosphere from the opening tip, and it remained deafening throughout the game — the loudest Jersey Mike’s Arena has been in a while.

"Jersey Mike's Arena was rocking," said Hyatt, who had 15 points. "There were a lot of people before tipoff. It was packed. It gave us a lot of energy."

4. Former Rutgers greats honored

Rutgers held a nice ceremony at halftime to honor Eddie Jordan, Mike Dabney and Hollis Copeland, three members of the 1976 Final Four team. The jersey numbers for all three have been retired and are now hanging in the rafters of Jersey Mike’s Arena.

The group is the first of the “Knights of Honor,” a new tradition Rutgers has started to honor former great Scarlet Knights.

Jordan, Pikiell’s predecessor, received a nice ovation from the crowd.

"To see their numbers up there is really impressive," Pikiell said. "I'm really appreciative we were able to honor them the right way. They're great guys."

5. Up next

Rutgers will host Penn State at Jersey Mike’s Arena on Wednesday (8:30 p.m., Big Ten Network). The Nittany Lions are 9-11 (3-6 Big Ten) after suffering back-to-back losses to Ohio State and Minnesota.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Rutgers basketball: 5 takeaways from loss to Purdue