Rutgers dominates Minnesota 90-55: Rapid Reaction Video & Recap

Rutgers men’s basketball bounced back in a big way on Wednesday night with a 90-55 rout of Minnesota at the RAC. The 35 point margin of victory was the most for Rutgers in a Big Ten game since joining the league in 2014-2015. It was also the largest margin of victory in a conference game in 20+ years. It was a dominant performance on both ends of the floor as the Scarlet Knights moved into a second place tie with Illinois at 7-4 in Big Ten play.

RU came out with energy and took command right away in taking a 18-7 lead in the first few minutes of the game. However, Cliff Omoruyi and Aundre Hyatt quickly got two fouls apiece and headed to the bench. It resulted in a 13-4 run by the Gophers that cut the Rutgers lead to 22-20 with 6:04 left in the first half.

However, in a surprise move Steve Pikiell subbed in seldom used reserve Oskar Palmquist. He soon connected on a three-pointer and it jump started a 12-4 to close out the first half. Rutgers went to the locker room with a 34-24 lead despite Omoruyi only playing 8 minutes.

The second half was a tremendous offensive performance as Rutgers scored 56 points on 65.7% shooting from the floor including 7 of 10 from three. RU had six different players score in double digits led by Cam Spencer’s team high 17 points. He broke out of his slump in shooting 5 of 6 from the floor and 3 of 3 from behind the arc. He added 6 assists and 3 rebounds.

Minnesota was held to 36% shooting including just 5 of 25 for 20% from behind the arc. The only issue was the Gophers grabbing 12 offensive rebounds which resulted in nine second chance points. However, the didn’t have any second chance points after halftime.

Rutgers dished out 30 assists in the game on 37 field goals, which is the most ever for the program in a Big Ten game. It broke the old record of 23 assists that RU just established Sunday at Iowa. It’s been a remarkable two game stretch in sharing the basketball and resulting in big offense. The Scarlet Knights shot 59.7% from the floor including 10 of 20 for 50% from three. They also held a 46-26 advantage with points in the paint and a 32-4 edge with points off the bench. They also held a 22-10 advantage in points off of turnovers and 22-12 in fast break points.

In addition to Spencer, Palmquist had the best performance of his career. After his big make in the first half, he finished with 13 points on 5 of 8 shooting that included making 3 of 4 from behind arc. He added 2 rebounds and 2 assists. It was great to see a program guy get an opportunity and step up in a big way.

Omoruyi finished with 13 points and 7 rebounds while Caleb McConnell had 13 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Hyatt had 10 points and 5 rebounds, while Mawot Mag also had 10 points with 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.

Here is my rapid reaction video that details the win, the importance of Palmquist in this game, Saturday’s matchup with Michigan State and more.

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