Rutgers 72, South Florida 68: Kadeem Jack had 14 of his team-high 18 points in the second half as the Scarlet Knights slipped by the Bulls in the opening round of the AAC tournament in Memphis, Tenn.
Myles Mack added 16 points and J.J. Moore had 13 points for seventh-seeded Rutgers (12-20), which will play second-seeded Louisville in Thursday's quarterfinals. Wally Judge added 15 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out with 5:04 left.
Victor Rudd led 10th-seeded South Florida (12-20) with 22 points and seven rebounds. Chris Perry added 12 points off the bench and Josh Heath had eight points and seven assists.
Judge scored the first five points of a 14-3 Rutgers run, capped by Malick Kone's layup for a 56-44 lead with just under 12 minutes remaining. The Bulls answered with their own 14-3 run, getting a pair of dunks from John Egbunu while cutting the lead to one with 6:28 left.
Rutgers went more than six minutes without a field goal during that run but never lost the lead. Jack scored his team's next six points and Moore and Kone each recorded a block in the final minute to prevent the Bulls from cutting the lead to one.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Egbunu pulled down six rebounds to break B.B. Waldon's South Florida record of 197 rebounds by a freshman and finished the season with 198. ... South Florida went 20-of-35 from the free-throw line and 0-of-4 from the 3-point line. ... Rutgers shot 52 percent from the floor in the first half and got three 3-pointers from Mack on the way to a 40-37 halftime lead.
South Florida | Rutgers | |
Victor Rudd 22 | Scoring | Kadeem Jack 18 |
Josh Heath 7 | Assists | Myles Mack 2 |
Victor Rudd 7 | Rebounds | Wally Judge 10 |
Victor Rudd 10 | Free Throws Made | J.J. Moore 9 |
Zach LeDay 3 | Steals | J.J. Moore 2 |
John Egbunu 2 | Blocks | J.J. Moore 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
South Florida | 68 | 46.2 | 0-4 | 20-35 | 13 | 29 | 3 | 10 | 12 |
Rutgers | 72 | 44.9 | 4-13 | 24-30 | 8 | 30 | 4 | 4 | 15 |