Same old Rutgers is now a compliment after statement win over Syracuse

 

Ron Harper, Jr. led Rutgers with 26 points as Scarlet Knights took control with commanding 17-4 run to close out Syracuse. (Photo by Ben Solomon/Rutgers Athletics)

The work Steve Pikiell and his players have done to transform Rutgers from national punchline to college basketball heavyweight in four-plus years is enough to qualify for a modern miracle, given that from which the program came before Pat Hobbs plucked Pikiell off Long Island and onto the banks of the old Raritan in 2016.

In recent times, when Rutgers has had the opportunity to play to a nationwide audience, it has not disappointed, particularly in last season’s captivating run to what would have been a sure fire postseason berth before March Madness had the right pulled out from under it. Tuesday night afforded more of the same: A contest with Syracuse — not quite a blueblood but certainly a nouveau riche member of basketball’s elite — in what was, on paper, the lone test for the Scarlet Knights before Big Ten Conference play begins Monday night in Maryland. And much like last year, Rutgers passed with flying colors.

After a seesaw battle for most of the night, it looked as though Syracuse was ready to pull away and drive through the long New York night with a rare — by its own volition — non-conference road win when the Orange held a 65-62 lead with 5:38 remaining in regulation. But Rutgers, showing the defensive chops that have become a welcome trademark in and around the Garden State, flipped the script with 11 straight points as part of a game-ending 17-4 run to emerge with an authoritative 79-69 takedown that moved the 21st-ranked Scarlet Knights to 4-0 on the young season.

“The last five-and-a-half minutes, I thought we showed toughness,” Pikiell reflected as Rutgers held Syracuse without a field goal after Quincy Guerrier afforded the Orange its aforementioned 65-62 cushion. “Toughness, rebounding, figuring out a way. Everybody contributes, everybody made big plays for us. We were in foul trouble today, we had to play through a lot of obstacles facing that zone for 40 minutes too, but we showed some really good toughness.”

“We showed them that we’re a resilient team,” Ron Harper, Jr. echoed after posting a team-high 26 points. “We went up by ten, nine, eight against Syracuse, but they kept fighting back, they kept punching us right back in our face. We overcame adversity and I’m real proud of our team for that, but we showed them we’re a bunch of fighters as well.”

Before Pikiell, and even in the infancy of his tenure in Piscataway, a three-word refrain defined the exploits of the Scarlet Knights for better or worse, in a similar vein to the beleaguered and much-ballyhooed gridiron denizens of the same New Jersey air the State University breathes.

Same old Rutgers.

Only this time, that connotation can be utilized in a more positive light when analyzing recent evidence. No Geo Baker? Rutgers has already proven that to be no problem. High-profile opponent in an empty RAC? Check that box off as well after Tuesday’s quicksand-like coda in which Syracuse was lured into the muck and started sinking.

“We talked about how Rutgers hasn’t beaten Syracuse since like, 2003,” Myles Johnson — who, along with Jacob Young, tallied double-doubles in the winning effort — said as the Scarlet Knights ended a drought that extended to when Syracuse would go on to win a national championship behind some guy named Carmelo Anthony — you may have heard of him — in a year where Pikiell was still two years away from leading a program of his own, at that time serving on Karl Hobbs’ staff at George Washington. “It was just like, a statement game. This is who we are, this is what we’re going to do, and this is how we’re going to do it.”

When Rutgers defeated Wisconsin last December, Johnson called the win a “need-it game,” citing the objective and accomplishment of a victory. January’s defeat of Penn State, one in which Rutgers trailed before pulling away to a convincing win like this one over Syracuse, was a triumph of a similar tenor, but Pikiell was quick to point out that more work remains going into Monday's conference opener.

“It was a good win today,” he reaffirmed. “We’re still figuring out our team a little bit too early on. We’ve had to grind out games, this was a 40-minute grind, and I’m pleased with my team that they were able to grind it out.”

“We’re playing 20 hard-fought games against great opponents,” said Harper of what lies ahead. “Even if they’re not ranked, they’ve still got a chip on their shoulder, and rankings don’t mean anything in this conference. Anybody can beat anybody on any given day, so we’ve just got to attack each game with the same approach, do a great job preparing and be ready for whatever comes down the road.”

When it joined the Big Ten, the prevailing opinion was that Rutgers was in over its head. This year, picked fifth in the league’s preseason poll, things have changed in a year where change has come to emphatically declare its presence among even the most mundane. Are the Scarlet Knights fazed by the step up in class? Absolutely not.

“We’re ready,” Young boldly declared.

Same old Rutgers indeed. And for a long time coming, too.