Rutgers Gets First Conference Win In Final Regular Season Game

For much of this season, the Rutgers men’s basketball team has been trying to learn one thing – what it takes to earn a win in the Big Ten Conference.

The upper echelon of teams in the Big Ten know how to win any type of game, whether it goes down to the wire or they are up by 20 points. But for a team like the Scarlet Knights, who were decimated by injuries early on in the season, winning has not come easy. In fact, the Knights carried a 32-game losing streak in the Big Ten, and had not won a conference game in 418 days.

But for the first time this season in Big Ten play, Rutgers was victorious.

The Scarlet Knights defeated the Minnesota Golden Gophers by a score of 75-52 in its last game of the season.

The win gives Rutgers a final record of 7-22 on the season, a 1-17 record in Big Ten Conference play, and the narrow avoidance of a number of dubious records.

The win guaranteed that the Knights would not join Boston College as the only teams in a Power 5 conference to go winless in conference, along with avoiding becoming the third team ever in the Big Ten to go winless in conference play.

The Knights were finally on the right end of a blowout game today at the Rutgers Athletic Center, as this game was trending one way by the end of the first half.

At the end of the first 20 minutes of the contest, Rutgers was leading Minnesota by a score of 40-15.
The Knights’ backcourt trio of freshman point guard Corey Sanders, sophomore guard Bishop Daniels, and senior guard Bishop Daniels powered the Knights to victory.

While many believed Sanders would lead the Knights in scoring today, it was Williams who led the way for Rutgers. He dropping a career-high 29 points while going 6 out of 8 from three-point range.
Daniels and Sanders stuffed the stat sheet for the Knights against the Golden Gophers. Daniels had 12 points, five rebounds, and seven assists, while Sanders posted 12 points, seven rebounds, six assists, and six steals in the contest.

With five minutes left in the game, the Knights were up 69-40, and head coach Eddie Jordan was able to unload his bench and give his seniors a proper send off.

Rutgers heads into the Big Ten Conference Tournament as the 14 seed, with little expectation to advance past the first round.

In a season that was filled with injuries, suspensions, and blowout losses, the seat underneath Jordan has gotten hotter with each passing day. It is unknown whether Jordan will retain his job for a fourth season, and he currently holds a 29-67 record as the head coach for the Scarlet Knights.

But for now, the Knights can enjoy a victory in its last game of the season, and head into the Big Ten Tournament with a positive mind set.