Rutgers Men’s Basketball Captain Mike Williams Out Indefinitely With Ankle Injury

Bad news for the Rutgers men’s basketball team, as it was first reported by Gannett’s Jerry Carino prior to Sunday’s game against Ohio State that the senior captain Mike Williams will be out indefinitely with an ankle injury. Sources confirmed to our own Brian Fonseca that Williams is out for an undetermined time. Rutgers lost to Ohio State, who sit atop the Big Ten standings at 6-0, 68-46 on Sunday night.

The guard is averaging 9.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.0 steal and 0.9 assists per game. Williams is one of the better free throw shooters on a team that is not, as he averages 74.5% on 47 attempts, which is second only to Geo Baker on the roster. What can’t be measured is the leadership and heart that Williams provides on the court for Rutgers.

Williams has been hitting his stride in the past five games, averaging 9.6 points on 44% shooting from the field, while becoming more of a force on the boards, grabbing 5.4 rebounds per game during this stretch. He had a team high 8 rebounds in the loss against #4 Michigan State on Wednesday.

This is certainly a huge loss and his return is undetermined, as ankle injuries are difficult to assess. Head coach Steve Pikiell addressed the injury after Sunday night’s game against the Buckeyes and you can read his comments here.