Tariq Francis and Lino Mark combined for 34 points as Rutgers beat Penn State 74-62 on Senior Day, finishing 13-18 and entering the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 14 seed.
Rutgers closed out its home schedule Sunday with a 74-62 win over Penn State at Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, giving a packed crowd of nearly 8,000 fans a finish worth celebrating after a season that tested the program’s patience early and often.
The win completed a season sweep of the Nittany Lions and gave the Scarlet Knights three wins in their last four games heading into the Big Ten Tournament. Rutgers finished 13-18 overall and 6-14 in conference play, landing 14th in the standings — three spots ahead of where they were projected in the preseason.
Francis and Mark carry the offense on Senior Day
Tariq Francis led all scorers with 18 points, knocking down three 3-pointers and finishing with two assists and two steals. The junior guard has developed into the team’s most complete player and remains the top retention priority for the coaching staff heading into the offseason.
Francis also produced one of the afternoon’s defining moments when a loose ball rolled toward the sideline and he dove headfirst to corral it, flipping the ball ahead to Darren Buchanan Jr. for an uncontested dunk. The hustle play brought the crowd to its feet and set the tone for the second half.
Lino Mark added 16 points on 7-of-14 shooting and showed the kind of skill and composure that has the program excited about what his next several seasons could look like. Buchanan grabbed 13 rebounds to go with eight points. Jamichael Davis contributed 11 points off the bench.
Penn State got 16 points apiece from Ivan Juric and Freddie Dilione V but shot just 3 of 22 from 3-point range and 13 of 22 from the free-throw line. The Nittany Lions, who finished 12-19 and last in the Big Ten at 3-17, appeared to be playing out the string.
A 16-0 run put the game away early
Rutgers seized control in the first half with a 16-0 run that pushed the lead to 37-14 and set a tone the Nittany Lions never recovered from. The Scarlet Knights led 43-21 at halftime, with Francis scoring 10 first-half points and Mark adding nine.
Back-to-back 3-pointers from Mark and Francis extended the lead to 26 points early in the second half. Emmanuel Ogbole’s dunk with 9:36 remaining made it 58-38 and closed the door entirely.
Freshman forward Chris Nwuli showed flashes of what the coaching staff believes is coming. He finished a conventional 3-point play in traffic in the second half, drilled a pull-up jumper from 17 feet, and earlier in the first half ran coast to coast off a defensive rebound for a dunk. He is not yet a finished product, but Sunday offered evidence that he is getting closer.
Rutgers heads to Chicago as the No. 14 seed
The Scarlet Knights enter the Big Ten Tournament in Chicago as the 14th seed and will face 11th-seeded Minnesota in the second round Wednesday at the United Center. The matchup is a difficult one. Rutgers lost 80-61 at Minnesota last month as the Golden Gophers shot 60% from the field and nearly 58% from 3-point range.
The winner faces sixth-seeded UCLA in the next round, a program that handed Rutgers a 98-66 loss in February.
The path is steep, but the Scarlet Knights are playing their best basketball of the season at the right time. Three consecutive strong performances after a stretch when wins felt impossible is not nothing. Sunday’s crowd, full and loud despite a season that long ago ruled out the NCAA Tournament, was a reminder of how much the program has grown under coach Steve Pikiell.