Let me repeat that. Rutgers was up 15.
They were up double digits with under ten minutes to play and seemed to be dominating the game. They had Isaiah Sykes in foul trouble the entire tilt, and were having their way with UCF. Myles Mack was dominating the game, even though he'd made some questionable point guard decisions.
And then Jordan decided to give Mack a blow with about nine and a half minutes left, and inserted D'Von Campbell (instead of Jerome Seagears who played reasonably well in the first half). UCF went on a quick 8-0 run in about 90 seconds.
And then it was a dogfight.
UCF went from man to man defense into zone, and Rutgers couldn't get their feet under them. The Knights tried to keep Rutgers in it by missing free throws. Meanwhile, Eddie Jordan sat on his remaining timeouts, refusing to use them unitl the final possessions. And Rutgers' players rode the refs, in turn not getting any calls down the stretch.
Rutgers played very well for thirty minutes and 30 seconds.
And then it all fell apart. Some of this is on the players. Some of this is on Eddie Jordan.
But this just about ensures Rutgers will play day 1 of the AAC Tournament.
Only 3 games to go. And maybe only one of them is winnable. Saturday against USF