No Frank Kaminsky, no Traevon Jackson, major problems for the Wisconsin Badgers. The result: pandemonium in Piscataway.
Senior guard Myles Mack scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half, Rutgers outscored UW 44-27 over the game’s final 20 minutes and the Scarlet Knights (10-7 overall, 2-2 Big Ten) pulled off the biggest upset in school history with their 67-62 victory over the fourth-ranked Badgers (15-2, 3-1).
Junior forward Kadeem Jack added 20 points as well for Rutgers, who came into the day averaging 48.7 points per game in Big Ten play. The Scarlet Knights had also shot 31.6 percent from the field during their first three games in conference play, but hit 54.3 percent of their shots against the Badgers.
Rutgers was especially unconscious in the second half, going 16-24 from the field as a team.
Junior forward Sam Dekker and sophomore forward Nigel Hayes each scored 15 points to lead the way for Wisconsin, who were without Kaminsky due to a possible concussion.
Despite missing the Wooden Award candidate, the Badgers appeared to well on their way to a ninth consecutive win when they took a 35-23 lead into the locker room at halftime.
However, UW lost Jackson early in the second half to a right leg injury, and the Scarlet Knights caught fire from the floor to stage a comeback.
Rutgers took its first lead of the game with 7:19 remaining on a pair of free throws by Mack and didn’t trail the rest of the way. The Badgers were able to cut the deficit to two on a couple of occasions in the last minute on shots by Hayes and sophomore guard Bronson Koenig, but the Scarlet Knights iced it thanks to a clutch layup by Mack and pair of free throws from Jack.
With the loss, the Badgers joined No. 2 Duke and No. 5 Louisville as top-five teams to go down this weekend, and they now drop into a four-way tie with Maryland, Michigan State and Michigan atop the conference standings.
The defeat was also UW’s first loss on the road since March 9 of last year, when the Badgers were upset by Nebraska.
Wisconsin will return home to Madison to face the Cornhuskers Thursday night at 8 p.m., possibly again without the services of Kaminsky and Jackson.
