Rutgers basketball trip to Kennesaw State backfires with brutal loss

Posted by Admin November 24, 2024 Basketball

Rutgers basketball coach Steve Pikiell did freshman phenom Ace Bailey a favor by scheduling a homecoming game for him.

It blew up in the Scarlet Knights’ face.

Kennesaw State (5-1), which came in with no notable wins and a loss to Cal-Baptist, took full advantage of having a Big Ten team in its 3,800-seat arena and handed Rutgers a shocking 79-77 defeat Sunday.

Bailey, who attended high school in Georgia along with Rutgers guard Jamichael Davis, finished with 17 points on 6-of-17 shooting and threw the ball away on the final possession. Fellow freshman Dylan Harper added 21 points and nine assists, but the Scarlet Knights could not climb all the way back after falling behind by 21 early in the second half.

“I talked to a couple of coaches who said I’m crazy for doing this kind of thing, but I promised the kids we’d get them back home, J-Mike and Ace,” Pikiell said in his postgame press conference. “I was glad that we were able to do it. I obviously didn’t want this result.”

Rutgers (4-1), which came in ranked 24^th in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, now heads into three games at the loaded Players Era Invitational in Las Vegas with major question marks. The Scarlet Knights open against Notre Dame Tuesday (10:30 p.m., TBS), with powerhouse Alabama on tap for Wednesday.

3 THOUGHTS

1. On scheduling this game

It was a risky move to play at a mid-major (Kennesaw is in Conference USA), especially leading into three high-profile Feast Week showdowns. Pikiell created a trap game here, but there’s a reason he did this: There are trade-offs Rutgers has to make to get a five-star player when your NIL war chest doesn’t compare with the blue bloods circling in those waters.

That said, Pikiell has to better prepare these guys for the moment. That’s on him.

And he has to own the result of the decision to schedule this game. That’s how it works.

2. Why all the 3-pointers?

Over the summer, Jim Calhoun advised Pikiell to “take the ropes off” his offense and give his blue-chippers freedom. What you saw in the first half was that principal taken too far: Bailey was trying to put on a show instead of doing what Rutgers needed to win.

The primary halftime adjustment – getting Harper in the lane and attacking the rim – was overdue, an effective. But when you’re down 44-26 at the break, everything has to go right. After scoring just 10 points in the paint in the first half, the Scarlet Knights notched 24 in the second half. That should have been the mode from the get-go. All told, they shot 8-of-25 from beyond the arc (32 percent). No way that was the game plan.

Regardless of what Kennesaw throws at them defensively, Rutgers’ stars should be to enforce their will by attacking the rim when the shots aren’t falling. That’s what difference-makers do in this sport, and that’s a hard lesson of this game, especially for Bailey.

3. Flags on rebounding and defense

Rebounding totals are going to be skewed somewhat by shooting percentages, Rutgers going minus-19 on the glass against Kennesaw and getting beat 22-15 in second-chance points raises this red flag even higher than it already was. This has been a recurring issue through the soft part of the schedule. In this game the problem started with the 6-foot-10 Bailey, who grabbed just one total rebound and was simply too far from the bucket on the offensive end.

Defensively, we knew a freshmen-driven team would take time to catch on. It’s a long season and they’ll improve, but the immediate possibility of getting run off the floor in Vegas is there if things don’t tighten up. It’s worth wondering whether Pikiell should employ more full-court pressure and trapping, which seemed to help the defense get going against Kennesaw. Don’t be surprised if guard Jeremiah Williams is back in the starting lineup after his four-steal second half.

3 QUOTES

From Steve Pikiell’s postgame radio interview with Jerry Recco and Austin Johnson.

General thoughts: “We weren’t ready from the jump. I warned these guys at every turn…I like the second-half team, that team could win a lot of games, showed a little heart…But you can’t spot a team (18 points) like that. And rebounding’s been a problem. We’ve got to rebound the ball better. Our first test on the road and we didn’t do a good job of it, and it’s on me.”

On the shot selection: “First half we didn’t play Rutgers basketball. When a team shoots a lot of threes, it’s always long rebounds that end up getting you (on the other end). I’ve got to make sure I get their attention with those things. We’ve got to learn the hard way.”

On the second half and Jeremiah Williams’ defense leading the comeback: “We went with tough guys in the second half and they helped us get back into it. We’ve got to get better and we’ve go to learn from it. It’s a long season, a long journey. If you go on the road this is what life is like. If you’re not packing your rebounding and our toughness in the first half and you play a 20-minute game, you’re not going to come out very happy most of the time.”

Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.