Ron Harper Jr. scored 21 points and Paul Mulcahy added 18 to lead Rutgers to a 73-65 upset of No. 14 Wisconsin in a Big Ten matchup at Madison, Wis., on Saturday afternoon, giving the Scarlet Knights three straight wins over ranked opponents for the first time in program history
Geo Baker added 16 points and Clifford Omoruyi had 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds for the Scarlet Knights, who shot 51 percent from the field and were 7 of 12 beyond the arc. Caleb McConnell tied a career high with six steals.
Rutgers gained control with a late 11-point run. Omoruyi’s dunk put the Scarlet Knights up 66-60 with 1:33 left. Harper hit two free throws and Mulcahy converted a turnover into a fast-break layup to make it 70-60 with 34 seconds left
Rutgers (15-9, 9-5 Big) scored the final 10 points to rally past No. 16 Ohio State, 66-64, on Wednesday, and defeated then-No. 13 Michigan State 84-63 last Saturday.
Tyler Wahl had 23 points and Steven Crowl 12 for Wisconsin (19-5, 10-4), which was just 4 of 19 from 3-point range and 9 of 17 from the free-throw line. Leading scorer Johnny Davis, averaging 20.8, was held to 11 points and collected eight rebounds for the Badgers, who shot 47.3 percent overall.
Wahl’s half-hook from the lane put Wisconsin up 50-47, but Rutgers countered with a six-point run, going up 53-50 on Dean Reiber’s putback with just under 12 minutes left.
Rutgers led 38-35 at the half despite going without a field goal over the final 3:48, scoring its final five from the line.
The Scarlet Knights hit 9 of their first 15 shots, including 5 of 7 from beyond the arc, for an early 25-17 lead.
Wisconsin, which led wire-to-wire in a 70-62 win at No 17 Michigan State on Tuesday, did not get its first lead until Brad Davison’s two free throws put the Badgers up 35-34.
The Badgers, who entered shooting 74.9 percent from the free-throw line, made just 7 of 15 in the first half. Wahl had 16 first-half points on 6-of-8 shooting.
–Field Level Media
