Reeling Rutgers crushed by Ohio State for 4th loss in 5 games

Hands should start hovering over the panic button at the Rutgers Athletic Center.

The No. 15 Scarlet Knights were demolished for the second consecutive game on Saturday, losing its rematch against Ohio State, 79-68, in convincing fashion. Rutgers looked completely disjointed for most of the afternoon, unable to get score consistently in any fashion, incapable to stop the Buckeyes defensively and outhustled all over the court (-14 on the glass).

The Scarlet Knights cut the defeat to a respectable margin in the final 10 minutes, outscoring Ohio State 25-14 in that stretch, but it was too little, too late.

Other than a five-minute stretch midway through the first half, the Scarlet Knights had no answer for Ohio State. The Buckeyes closed the first half on a 22-4 run to take control of the game and Rutgers never came close to answering, trailing by as much as 22 points and by double-digits for 19 of the final 20 minutes of the contest.

It is the Scarlet Knights’ fourth loss in their last five contests — three of which by double digits — marking a worrisome skid for a team with Big Ten regular season title aspirations.

Rutgers had plenty of motivation entering the contest. It still had a bitter taste in its mouth from its loss to Ohio State in Columbus, and after being destroyed by Michigan State in East Lansing on Tuesday, the Scarlet Knights needed to get themselves back to winning ways.

But once the ball tipped, Rutgers looked as listless as it did against the Spartans.

Rutgers could not score on any level. The Scarlet Knights shot 29% on three-point attempts, went 56% on layups and 50% on 10 free throws, the latter two a continuation of a season-long trend that is costing them games.

Rutgers could not make up for it on the defensive end. The Buckeyes did as they pleased, shooting 41% on threes, 67% on 28 free throws and finishing with an efficient 1.3 points per possession.

The Scarlet Knights’ next scheduled game is Friday against No. 8 Wisconsin at the RAC.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription.

Brian Fonseca may be reached at [email protected].