NEW YORK – A week earlier than the normal scheduled time, the Big Ten Tournament opened on Wednesday. The venue, the ‘World’s Most Famous Arena’, Madison Square Garden, plays host to the event. Without getting into the positives and negatives (and there are more than a few per the critics), here is a rundown of what transpired on the court. For now, the board room is on the back burner.
First round scores:
Iowa 96, Illinois 87
Rutgers 65, Minnesota 54
Iowa led most of the first contest and had a 13-point lead with just under fifteen minutes remaining. The Illini refused to go away. Leron Black (four points) was saddled with foul trouble, but Kipper Nichols, a 6-6 sophomore, picked up the slack for coach Brad Underwood’s group. Despite some foul trouble of his own, Nichols led all scorers with 31 points. Illinois was able to hang tough until the final minutes largely due to the effort of Nichols.
Jordan Bohannon, a deadly outside shooter, led Iowa with 25 points. I was also really impressed with the work of Luka Garza, a 6-11 freshman center. Garza mixed it up in the paint in posting a solid 20-point, eight-rebound effort.
Rutgers struggled offensively, shooting 39 percent from the floor. In the end, it was two staples preached by Steve Pikiell, defense and rebounding, that made the difference. Minnesota shot 35 percent and was out-rebounded by a 49-28 margin. Corey Sanders of Rutgers led all scorers with 23 points.
Jordan Murphy and Nate Mason were priorities as Pikiell constructed a defensive game plan. Mason scored 12, but struggled, shooting 4 of 14 from the floor. Murphy had first half foul issues winding up with a relatively quiet 11 points.
For the second straight year Rutgers won a first round game as a fourteen seed. “Fourteen is just a number,” Sanders said. “We come out and play hard.”
Minnesota coach Richard Pitino lamented his team never getting anything going offensively. He was correct, but could have added a lot of that was due to the defensive effort of Rutgers.
Coming to New York as a 14 seed after a season with numerous bumps in the road, Rutgers could have played out the season. To a man they refused to. Give a world of credit to Pikiell, a bundle of enthusiasm and energy who has done a magnificent job altering the culture in Piscataway. His group has bought in and enjoys playing for him. Perfect combination en route to a rebuild.
Underwood on a season ending in 14-18: “This (game) fits about every category you want. We had three overtime losses. Nebraska throws in a prayer at their place at the buzzer to beat us. We led in most games. Led by 15 at Ohio State. Led by 10 at Michigan. We have got to get tougher, but I liked our growth and development.”
Pikiell on the Garden: “I love Madison Square Garden. There’s no better place. No better venue. I’m glad people can see some unbelievable basketball tomorrow. And everyone will realize how good this league is from one to fourteen. Good basketball teams, tremendous tradition, tremendous coaches.”
Back in December, Rutgers was routed in the Big Ten opener at Minnesota 89-67. “I think we had a different team,” Pitino deadpanned. Injuries, personnel changes, all went into transforming this Golden Gopher entry from a top twenty ranking to a team closing the season at 15-17. “Losing your starting center, losing your starting small forward, losing your first guy off the bench, reality not an excuse,” Pitino explained. “I don’t think any team can sustain that. So I think when expectations were high, we had a full roster. When we lost players, obviously it changed.”
Deshawn Freeman, a 6-7 senior, epitomized the Rutgers grit and intensity. Freeman scored seven points while hauling a game-high 11 rebounds, five (another game high) on the offensive end.
No accident here. Iowa attempted 41 free throws to 12 for Illinois. Looking at three-point shooting, the Hawkeyes attempted 14 while the Illini tried 30. Simply, if you live on a perimeter diet you will find opportunities to draw fouls and get on the line less frequent. For the game, Illinois was 12 of 30 (40 percent) from three and 9 of 12 for 75 percent from the line. Iowa shot 8 of 14 (57 percent) beyond the arc while going 34 for 41 (83 percent) from the charity stripe.
Iowa coach Fran McCaffery on facing Illinois: “It seemed like every time we got a comfortable lead, it was not a comfortable lead. They hit a three, get a steal, get a put back. It was a game right up until the last possession. We made the plays necessary to win. We got to the bonus and double bonus early.”
Nichols on this season: “It’s a lot about details. I think our youth has shown this year. Once we get better collectively, come together as a unit and hone in on that stuff I think the sky is the limit. And with this new coaching staff, they’ve done a tremendous job.”
