KNIGHT OF THE LIVING DREAD
Rutgers suffers crushing loss to end dream year
Myles Johnson consoles Ron Harper Jr. (right) after Harper’s 3-pointer in the closing seconds bounced off the rim and Rutgers suffered a heartbreaking 63-60 loss to Houston in the NCAA second round.
It was all there for Rutgers. A Sweet 16 matchup with Syracuse. A second straight narrow NCAA Tournament victory. Another week in Indianapolis.
It led by nine with 5:21 left, and Houston star point guard DeJon Jarreau was hobbled. The Final Four no longer felt like a fantasy.
And in what felt like a flash, it was over. The season. A first regional semifinal berth in 42 years. A March run. All of it.
Second-seeded Houston scored the game’s last seven points and went on a 14-2 run over the final 4:33, erased a 10point second-half deficit and advanced with a gut-punch of a 63-60 victory over 10th-seeded Rutgers at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
“I thought we played our hearts out. This team made history,” Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell said after the heartbreaking Midwest Region second-round game. “They got through a two-year journey, COVID, never missing a day, never having a pause, all the obstacles they had to fight through. They now become the standard for what we want to be at Rutgers.”
In the quiet and disconsolate locker room, Pikiell had to break even worse news: Beloved Rutgers radio voice and one-time assistant coach Joe Boylan had passed away prior to the game after suffering a stroke on Wednesday. He was 82.
“It only added to the emotion in the locker room,” senior guard Geo Baker said. “Just a really tough day overall.”
After reaching the school’s first NCAA Tournament in 30 years, and winning the first game there in 38 years, the Scarlet Knights (16-12) were a 7.5-point underdog to the AAC regularseason and tournament champion. But for large stretches they were the better team. They led, 58-49, with 4:55 left after a Myles Johnson layup.
From there, everything that could go wrong did.
Rutgers scored just two points the rest of the way, on a Baker layup. Baker and Jacob Young committed turnovers in the final half-minute. And Houston’s elite offensive rebounding finally took over, the Cougars (26-3) notching eight second-chance points in the final 6:55.
The killer was Tramon Mark’s offensive rebound, basket and foul with 24.1 seconds to go that gave Houston the lead. At the moment, the whistle blew and the ball dropped through the net, multiple Rutgers players put their heads in their hands.
“The margin of winning and losing in this tournament is a box-out here, a free throw box-out,” Pikiell said. “It comes down to some little things. They did those and we didn’t.”
On the ensuing possession, Baker lost the ball going to his left as he looked to attack beyond the 3-point line. Marcus Sasser hit two free throws and Ron Harper Jr.’s 3-pointer at the horn was off, ending the Scarlet Knights’ season.
Baker beat himself up over his late turnover, questioning whether he will be remembered as a winner despite leading this program to new heights.
“It’s a move I’ve made like a million times,” Baker said. “That’s probably the first time
I ever lost it in that position.”
The immediate future for this team is uncertain. The entire team can return if it wants, since the NCAA is offering everyone an extra year of eligibility. Baker said he was unsure of his plans. Pikiell hoped everyone would return.
No matter what happens, though, this is a loss that will be hard to shake, considering how close Rutgers was to advancing.
“I don’t know,” Baker said, “if I’m ever really going to forget today or get over it.”