Rutgers walked out of Madison Square Garden with a 104-99 loss to St. John’s on Sunday, but the Scarlet Knights also left with something to point to after a wild quadruple-overtime exhibition.
Against a St. John’s team expected to make a deep NCAA Tournament push this season and picked second in the Big East coaches poll, Rutgers showed enough in a 46-28 first-half surge and enough individual promise across the roster to suggest real offseason progress. The second half got messy, and the Scarlet Knights eventually faded, but this was not the same group that took the floor a week ago.
That earlier tune-up was a 77-75 loss to Villanova at Jersey Mike’s Arena, and Rutgers again spent much of Sunday looking like a more complete team. The Scarlet Knights were sharper early, especially on defense, where they contested shots, fought for loose balls and kept St. John’s from getting comfortable.
The opening half belonged to Rutgers. It shot 57 percent from the floor and controlled the paint enough to take a 46-28 advantage into halftime.
The early work inside was especially encouraging after St. John’s had an 18-10 edge in the paint at one point, only for Rutgers to finish the half with a 20-18 advantage there.
Christian Gurdak was at the center of that effort. The starting big man finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds against a long, athletic St.
John’s frontcourt, good for second on the team in scoring. Coming off a 19-point outing against Villanova, he again looked comfortable and productive, even if his post game still has some rough edges.
Still, it’s hard to miss the upgrade Rutgers has at the five with Gurdak.
Tariq Francis gave Rutgers a big lift as well. After sitting out last week, he came out firing and made three of his first four shots.
He had 13 points by halftime and finished with 24 points, six rebounds and two assists. He also picked up his third foul at 14:26 of the second half, and his game later swung between strong shooting and stretches where the shot selection got away from him.
Lino Mark added 14 points, six rebounds and four assists and showed the burst that can make him so dangerous. At 9:52 of the first half, he blew past two St.
John’s defenders for a layup with a quick first step that stood out. He also brought consistent pressure defensively and looked more settled than he did a week earlier.
Darin Smith Jr. had a tougher shooting night than the one he had against Villanova, finishing with 11 points on 3-of-13 shooting after going just 1-for-10 through his first 10 attempts. But he did drill a 3-pointer with 57 seconds left in the second half to help ignite Rutgers’ comeback.
Rutgers also got 13 points and nine rebounds from Darren Buchanan, 10 points from Rasheed Jones, three points, one rebound and two assists from Jamichael Davis, and a pair of points from Mervedi Miteo. Kaden Powers finished with one point and one rebound. Gevonte Ware did not record statistics.
Will Sydnor made his Rutgers debut at 14:02 of the first half and played four minutes while working back from injury.
The second half, though, turned sharply in St. John’s favor.
Rutgers scored first after the break, but the Red Storm answered with a 16-0 run over the next 5:40 to cut the lead to 48-44. Miteo stopped the run with a pair of free throws at 13:51, and St.
John’s eventually moved in front 54-52 at 11:13.
Rutgers had built enough early cushion to make the final result sting less than it might have in a simpler game, but the collapse after halftime changed the tone. Still, the larger picture from these two exhibition games is clear: Rutgers looks improved, and Sunday showed that against a team with far more expected firepower.
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