Rutgers Routed by Indiana as Defensive Woes Continue in Big Ten Play
Rutgers came into Bloomington hoping to stop the bleeding. Instead, they ran straight into a storm of threes and left Assembly Hall with their third straight loss - a lopsided 82-59 defeat at the hands of an Indiana team that had dropped four in a row coming in.
This wasn’t just a bad night. It was a full-scale unraveling on both ends of the floor.
The Scarlet Knights had no answers for Indiana’s perimeter assault, surrendering 15 made threes and 45 points from beyond the arc. That’s not a typo - 45 points from deep. The Hoosiers torched Rutgers from start to finish, and the Knights’ defense, usually a strength under head coach Steve Pikiell, never found its footing.
Indiana set the tone right away, opening the game with a three and jumping out to a quick 5-0 lead before Rutgers got on the board with a Darren Buchanan free throw. The Hoosiers wasted no time heating up from distance, building an eight-point cushion just five minutes into the game.
Rutgers did show some early fight, and that charge was led - once again - by Tariq Francis. The sophomore guard came out firing, dropping 11 points in the first ten minutes and keeping the Knights within striking distance. With just over ten minutes left in the half, Indiana led 20-14.
But the Hoosiers weren’t done. Tucker DeVries found his rhythm from deep, and Kaden Powers added a few timely triples of his own.
Francis continued to carry Rutgers, pouring in 21 points before halftime, but the Knights couldn’t keep pace with Indiana’s offensive efficiency. The Hoosiers went into the break up 47-32, and it already felt like the game was slipping away.
Any hopes of a second-half rally were quickly dashed. Dylan Grant opened the half with a three for Rutgers, but Indiana answered with a scoring burst that pushed the lead to 20 just five minutes in. The Knights responded with a 7-0 run, their best stretch of the night, but Nick Dorn silenced that momentum with a dagger from deep.
That was the story of the night - every time Rutgers tried to punch back, Indiana had an answer. The Hoosiers didn’t just shoot the ball well - they shot with confidence and rhythm, connecting on 50% of their field goals and 43% from three.
Three Indiana players finished with 20-plus points. DeVries posted a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds, Dorn and Lamar Wilkerson both chipped in 23 or more, and Sam Alexis added 10 boards of his own. It was a complete team effort from a group that looked nothing like a team that had lost four straight.
Meanwhile, Rutgers struggled to generate anything outside of Francis. The guard finished with 28 points - a career night - but got little help from the rest of the roster. The Knights shot just 36% from the field and 26% from three, and outside of Francis, no one else scored in double digits.
Defensively, the Knights were a step slow all night. Rotations were late, closeouts were soft, and Indiana made them pay. Giving up 15 threes in a conference road game is a recipe for disaster, and Rutgers paid the price.
Now sitting at 2-7 in Big Ten play, the Knights are in desperate need of a turnaround - and the schedule isn’t doing them any favors. Next up: a home date with No.
10 Michigan State at Jersey Mike’s Arena. That one tips off Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. on FS1.
There’s no sugarcoating it - Rutgers is in a rough spot. But if there’s any silver lining, it’s this: Tariq Francis continues to emerge as a legitimate star. The Knights will need every bit of his scoring punch - and a whole lot more from the supporting cast - if they want to climb out of this Big Ten hole.