Juwan Morgan scored 25 points and made his first 10 shots as host Indiana led most of the way and pulled away in the second half en route to an 89-73 victory over Rutgers Sunday afternoon in Bloomington, Ind.
Indiana (17-14, 8-12 Big Ten) won its fourth straight game after losing 12 of 13 from Jan. 6-Feb. 22. The Hoosiers also secured a bye in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament that starts Wednesday in Chicago.
Morgan did not miss a shot until misfiring on a 3-pointer with 10:35 left in the second half. By then Indiana held a 68-48 lead thanks to Morgan making significant contributions to a pair of runs in each half.
After Rutgers scored the first five points of the game, Morgan scored 12 points -- all on layups -- as Indiana took a 27-11 lead midway through the first half en route to a 46-36 lead at halftime.
Rutgers was hanging around after two free throws by Geo Baker cut it to 54-44 with 15:44 remaining. Morgan highlighted a 12-2 run with a pair of 3-point plays and an uncontested 3-pointer from the right wing that pushed the lead to 66-46 with 12:34 left.
Morgan made 11 of 13 shots, contributed seven rebounds and reached 20 points in consecutive games for the second time this season. He capped his big day with an emphatic dunk that made it 87-66 with 1:40 left and at the next stoppage, Morgan exited to a standing ovation from the crowd.
Romeo Langford added 20 and Devonte Green chipped in a season-high 16 points as Indiana shot 53.4 percent (31-of-58) and topped 50 percent for the second straight game.
Rutgers (14-16, 7-13) finished with its most conference wins in 13 years since getting seven in the Big East but the Scarlet Knights were unable to secure a bye in the conference tournament for the first time since 1995 when they competed as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference.
Eugene Omoruyi led Rutgers with 18 points and Caleb McConnell added 17 but the Scarlet Knights shot 42.6 percent (23-of-54) and were unable to overcome a double-digit deficit for the third straight time against Indiana.
--Field Level Media
Rutgers | Indiana | |
Eugene Omoruyi 18 | Scoring | Juwan Morgan 25 |
Myles Johnson 3 | Assists | Rob Phinisee 4 |
Myles Johnson 8 | Rebounds | Juwan Morgan 7 |
Eugene Omoruyi 8 | Free Throws Made | Romeo Langford 8 |
Ron Harper Jr. 1 | Steals | De'Ron Davis 1 |
Shaquille Doorson 1 | Blocks | Aljami Durham 1 |