Nigel Johnson scored 21 points and made all eight free throws to lead Rutgers to a 66-57 over Ohio State Wednesday night in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.
Rutgers (15-17) now has won back-to-back games after a six-game skid. Now in its third season in the Big Ten, it’s the first time the Scarlet Knights have won consecutive conference games.
Despite shooting 37.1 percent — and 30.4 from 3-point range and going about 3 ½ minutes without a point in the second half — 14th-seeded Rutgers also won its first Big Ten Tournament game after being bounced as the No. 14 seed the past two tries.
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Rutgers outrebounded Ohio State 47-31 to overcome its shooting woes.
Jae’Sean Tate scored 18 points for 11th-seed Ohio State (17-15), which will miss the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season. The Buckeyes did not make a field goal in the final 5:43.
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