Rutgers University
UConn
Rutgers Suffers 67-53 Loss at No. 9/10 UConn
Jan 11 | Men's Basketball
HARTFORD, Conn. - Freshman Mike Poole (Rosedale, N.Y.) registered his first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, but it was not enough as Rutgers (10-6, 1-3) suffered a 67-53 BIG EAST setback to No. 9/10 Connecticut (13-2, 2-2) Tuesday evening at the XL Center. The Scarlet Knights were unable to overcome a tough shooting night that saw them make 34.5 percent (20-58) of their field goals and just 17.6 percent (3-17) from behind the arc.
“We understand we are undermanned at times, undersized at times, but that doesn’t mean that you have to stop fighting and stop playing for your teammates,” said Rutgers head coach Mike Rice. “You’re going to get punched in the BIG EAST every once in a while. You have got fight back and we took a standing eight count (tonight).”
RU held its own in the rebounding department against the larger Huskies. Both squads grabbed 37 boards and the Scarlet Knights established a 13-10 advantage on the offensive glass.
Rutgers came out with energy, jumping-out to an early 5-0 lead before taking its largest advantage (12-6) after a Robert Lumpkins (Washington, D.C.) three-pointer. The Huskies responded with a 6-0 run to tie the score and a back-and-forth affair ensued. An Austin Johnson (Elkins Park, Pa.) jumper provided RU a 23-21 edge with 4:54 on the clock before a seven point UConn spurt gave the home squad an advantage it would not relinquish.
The Huskies entered the locker room at the midpoint with a 32-27 lead. Rutgers out-rebounded UConn 21-17 in the opening 20 minutes
Connecticut began the second half with a 12-0 run and never looked back as Rutgers missed its first eight field goal attempts. The Huskies’ advantage grew to 24 points (57-33). With all 11 available players seeing action, the RU reserves continued to work in the late stages and reduced the final deficit to 14 points.
Rutgers returns to the hardwood this Saturday (Jan. 15) afternoon to host No. 22/19 Georgetown at the RAC in a 12 noon tip-off. The game will be televised live nationally on ESPNU.
Postgame Notes
- Mike Poole notched his first career double-double with 11 points and a career-high 10 rebounds.
- The 11 points marked the fourth double-digit scoring effort of his career and the second time he has led RU in scoring. He had scored nine of his points in the second half.
- It marked the second time this season the freshman has led the team in rebounding. His previous best was six boards against Miami (Nov. 21).
- With two assists, Coburn moved into the top 10 on the RU all-time career assists list with 306 helpers. He passed Marquis Webb (305, 2003-07) for 10thall-time and needs five to tie for ninth with Mike Dabney, Craig Carter, Jeff Greer.
- Rutgers moves to 13-34 against Connecticut. The Huskies have won 10-straight meetings and RU moves to 1-17 in BIG EAST regular season play.
- The Scarlet Knights held a 21-17 rebounding advantage in the first half, including 7-4 on the offensive glass.
- Rutgers limited its miscues in the first half, turning the ball over just four times.
- The Scarlet Knights committed just nine turnovers in the game, the least since at Saint Joseph’s on Nov. 26 (nine).
- The RU defense held UConn to without a field goal for the first 3:19, as the Huskies went 0-for-4 with a turnover. Over the first 7:24, the Scarlet Knights forced the Huskies into 3-for-12 (.250) from the floor.
- For the first 20 minutes, Rutgers held Connecticut to .333 (4-of-12) from behind the arc.
- Of the nine players that saw more than two minutes of action, all nine had at least two points and six had five-plus.
- Charlie Rigoglioso matched his career high with two points in a personal-best eight minutes.
- For the first time since 2008-09, just one Scarlet Knight scored in double-figures on two separate occasions (at Georgetown on Feb. 3, 2009 and at Syracuse March 3, 2009).
- Head coach Mike Rice went with the same starting lineup of James Beatty, Mike Coburn, Dane Miller, Jonathan Mitchell and Gilvydas Biruta for the 16th game. The Scarlet Knights have started a freshman in 33-straight contests.
