Everything the Rutgers Scarlet Knights did wrong this season came to roost against their instate rivals, the Seton Hall Pirates.
After jumping out to a 6-2 lead, the Scarlet Knights went quiet. Seton Hall pressed and sped up Rutgers, forcing them to make mistakes, turn the ball over, and overall rattle the offense. Rutgers settled for bricking jumpers and missing a ton of lay-ups.
Meanwhile, the Pirates did everything right. Uber-freshmen Isaiah Whitehead scored 25 points and the rest of the team was unconscious from anywhere on the court, making shots with a hand in their face and from all over the court. There was nothing Rutgers could do and they were down 22 at halftime.
Rutgers did show a bit of life after the break, as Mike Williams opened with a floater and then Myles Mack made 2 three point shots. But the 8-0 run was short lived as Seton Hall answered with a run of their own. Kadeem Jack and Junior Etou could never get it going and that was that.
In garbage time, Williams and Shaquille Doorson showed some flash and hustle, but there wasn't much to talk about beyond that. Pressing teams kill Rutgers and without any depth, they're just going to have to suffer through it.
Rutgers returns to action Tuesday night at the RAC.