The fans at Jersey Mike’s Arena had stayed in their seats for far longer than anyone could have expected, but when Steve Pikiell called an unnecessary timeout with 39 seconds left and Rutgers down 16 points to Maryland, they had seen enough.
Enough of this game, for sure, as they headed to the exits. The Scarlet Knights had endured an 11-1/2 minute drought without a field goal that felt more like 11 1/2 years, and despite a defensive effort that made another Big Ten game feel like an MMA card, that was too much to overcome.
But there was also a sense that the fans — everyone, really, at the RAC — had seen enough of this entire season, too. Maybe they show up out of habit for the final two home games and, if Rutgers (14-13, 6-10 in the Big Ten) actually qualifies, for the NIT next month.
Chances are, though, that the next time they’ll truly be interested in watching a basketball game will be in November.
This 63-46 stinker of a loss to a mediocre Maryland team ends whatever slim hopes the Scarlet Knights had of making the NCAA Tournament. Really, though, that pipe dream vanished a long time ago. Once it became clear that this team would struggle to score against everybody — hello, Stonehill — it was obvious that this could be a long winter in Piscataway.
The sudden emergence of guard Jeremiah Williams sparked a four-game winning streak that offered some hope. Even that, however, was a mirage. Good defensive coaches like Maryland’s Kevin Willard were always going to figure out how to draw up a game plan to stop one player, and Williams had never averaged more than 9.5 points a game anyway.
This might be the best stat to sum up this Rutgers team: Rutgers had 10 players score against Maryland and still mustered just 46 points. Pikiell kept looking down his bench for someone — anyone — who could put the ball in the basket, but when the buzzer sounded, the rims could have filed an EEOC complaint for a hostile work environment.
“Is it frustrating? This league is tough,” Pikiell said. “I thought we could claw ourselves back into this basketball game — I mean, we held them to 63 points — but you can put up 46. That’s not where we want to be, obviously, against a team like that.”
It would be easier to shrug this off as a one bad performance if the Scarlet Knights hadn’t had a near identical at the RAC almost exactly one year ago. That was a 45-point effort in a loss to Michigan when they were the 162nd most efficient offense in the nation, according to KenPom. Now, they’ve dropped to 288th.
Sense a trend?
This is Pikiell’s eighth team, and by far, his most unwatchable. Fans know better than to abandon ship given the recruiting class that’s coming to Piscataway, and five-star studs Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey are likely to transform the Scarlet Knights. This failures of this team, though, also will put a ton more pressure on that one.
Harper isn’t worried. He appeared at a promotional event for Fanatics this weekend with Tom Brady — yes, that Tom Brady — and told NJ Advance Media reporter Brian Fonseca that the Rutgers fans who once begged him to come to their school are now begging him to come immediately.
“We need you. We wish you could put on a Rutgers jersey right now!” Harper said when asked what they say to him. “Honestly, I’m excited to get down there. First, obviously, (we) have to win the state championship with Don Bosco. After that, I’m focused on getting me and my teammates ready and prepared for the gauntlet.”
Will Pikiell have surround him with enough pieces to make what likely will be his only season in Piscataway an impactful one? As easy as it is to criticize the Rutgers coach for failing to give this team an offensive identity during his tenure, the number of offensively challenged players he has recruited here might be more remarkable.
The Scarlet Knights don’t have a single player they can count on to make a big basket. Pikiell turned to veteran Oskar Palmquist during one crucial stretch, and he brought much-needed energy with a couple baskets and a drawn charge. He also converted a 3-point play when a shot bounced off the shoulder of his defender and into the basket.
Palmquist energy sparked the Scarlet Knights who, briefly, looked like they might make this a game against Maryland. But that 11 1/2-minute stretch without a basket was followed by another three-minute scoring drought, and that was that.
The fans stayed to the bitter end, even if this team hasn’t given them many reasons to make the old trapezoid come to life the way they know it should. Then, they shuffled out into the cold. Next season can’t get here soon enough.
MORE FROM STEVE POLITI:
N.J. gymnast Livvy Dunne is leading a revolution in college sports
The untold story of how Rutgers crashed the Big Ten
How an ex-Rutgers athlete ended up charged with murder in Tijuana
I was a bird-flipping Little League menace — and it’s time to come clean
The search for Luther Wright, once N.J.’s greatest hoops talent
I played Augusta National and had my own Masters meltdown
Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.
Steve Politi may be reached at spoliti@njadvancemedia.com.