Rutgers stays hot while extending misery for No. 11 Wisconsin

Field Level Media|published: Sat 10th February, 14:14 2024

Feb 10, 2024; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; Wisconsin Badgers guard AJ Storr (2) drives for a shot against Rutgers Scarlet Knights guard Noah Fernandes (2) and forward Mawot Mag (3) during the first half at Jersey Mike's Arena. credits: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Noah Fernandes had 17 points on 6-for-6 shooting, including a season-high five 3-pointers, to guide Rutgers' 78-56 upset of No. 11 Wisconsin on Saturday in Piscataway, N.J.

Fernandes came off the bench to have his best game of the season, while Jeremiah Williams racked up a game-high 18 points, five rebounds and seven assists for the Scarlet Knights (13-10, 5-7 Big Ten) in their third straight victory.

Clifford Omoruyi had 13 points, 13 rebounds and a career-high-tying eight blocked shots, while Mawot Mag and Aundre Hyatt chipped in 12 and 11 points for Rutgers, respectively.

Connor Essegian scored 15 points and AJ Storr had 14 as the Badgers (16-8, 8-5) lost their fourth in a row.

Wisconsin lost 11 of its 12 turnovers in the first half as the Scarlet Knights built a small cushion. Rutgers held Wisconsin to 19-of-58 shooting (32.8 percent), made 10 of its 17 tries from 3-point range (58.8 percent) and led by double figures for the final 18:06.

Omoruyi slammed home an alley-oop dunk 10 seconds into the game, sending Rutgers on a 9-0 run. Wisconsin committed four turnovers before scoring its first points on Storr's layup.

The Badgers drew within 11-9 but got no closer than two points the rest of the half. Rutgers held nine different nine-point leads throughout the half, powered by Omoruyi's 11 points and Fernandes' two 3-pointers.

Storr scored 13 points in the half for Wisconsin, but Rutgers led 37-28 when Omoruyi's layup beat the buzzer.

Mag's layup and Williams' three-point play early in the second half increased the lead to 13, while Wisconsin could not make a field goal for nearly six minutes. Soon Fernandes knocked down two more triples 62 seconds apart for Rutgers.

Essegian scored five straight points to cap a 7-0 Wisconsin spurt, getting the deficit to 54-44 with 9:33 left. But Fernandes buried a deep trey for his fifth of the game to land the final blow. Hyatt and Mag drilled back-to-back 3-pointers with less than four minutes to play for Rutgers' first lead of 20 or more at 74-53.

—Field Level Media

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