Coming into this season, only one team had beaten Rutgers at the RAC, with this being the last game at the RAC this season, that number remains the same after a 78-67 win by Rutgers on Tuesday night. The Scarlet Knights finished off the season 18-1 at the RAC, while the students capped off the season by rushing the court. With this win, Rutgers now is 19-11 on the season and they pushed one step closer to making their first NCAA Tournament since 1991.
This game went the way most expected, Rutgers got out to a double-digit lead in the first-half which is the way every Maryland game seems to go. With a 6-point lead at the break, Rutgers went on a 16-6 run to open the second half to start to pull away in the second half. Maryland made a couple of runs late but there was no chance that Rutgers would allow the Terrapins to get back in the game. Jacob Young stepped and scored 17 points off the bench to help lift Rutgers to a win, while Montez Mathis had 15 points. Anthony Cowan and Jalen Smith combined for 35 points to lead the Terrapins, while the rest of the Terrapins were held in check.
The message after the game was more about this incredible season as whole when it came to the Rutgers side, for Rutgers “Hard work, trust each other, and believing in each other every day, the team believed in each other every day,” Montez Mathis said postgame. “We keep getting better every day and follow coaches [Steve Pikiell] gameplan.”
For the Scarlet Knights, they will close out the regular-season at Purdue on Saturday, a win in that game would likely officially put them into the NCAA Tournament. For Michigan, they will play Sunday against Michigan on Senior Day. A win in that game would give them at least a share of the Big Ten regular-season.
Bracketology Effect: Maryland moves down to the three-line following this loss against Rutgers. Rutgers remains in the “Last Four In” but would likely move out of the “Last Four In” category with a win on Saturday.
Betting Effect: Rutgers -1, Over 130.5