In a game that was dominated by #17 Tennessee from the opening tip, Rutgers fell 85-60 to the Volunteers to open up action at the Players Era Festival. It was anything but festive for the Scarlet Knights, who trailed by as many as 36 points before narrowing the margin to 25 by the end.
Tennessee led 56-30 at halftime and coasted to the finish line, led by a career-high 32 points on 6-10 shooting from three-point range by senior guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie. He was joined by freshman forward Nate Ament
on the TNT set postgame, as Ament had 20 points while going 4-6 from downtown. Big man Felix Okpara had 10 points and seven rebounds for the Vols, while J.P. Estrella contributed 10 points off the bench.
It was a rough day shooting the basketball for Rutgers, with the Scarlet Knights’ usual top scorers being held in check. Dylan Grant went 1-4 from the field and contributed 10 points to lead all starters, while Tariq Francis had nine points on 3-6 shooting. Denis Badalau went cold with two points at the free throw line, missing all five of his three-point attempts, while Emmanuel Ogbole had just two points and six rebounds. Jamichael Davis rounded up the starting lineup with five points and three rebounds, with Davis, Grant, and Francis each making one three.
Off the bench, Harun Zrno found his rhythm from downtown, drilling his first three-pointers and finishing with a team-high 14 points on 3-7 shooting from the field and 3-5 from beyond the arc. Darren Buchanan Jr. went 5-9 from the field and finished right behind Zrno with 13 points as he focused on attacking the basket. With the game out of reach in the second half, the freshman lineup got some more run late, but Bryce Dortch, Chris Nwuli, and Gevonte Ware were all held scoreless, while Lino Mark had five points, three coming at the free-throw line.
Rutgers shot just 37% from the field and 32% from three-point range, making 16-24 free throw attempts for a subpar 67% at the charity stripe. Meanwhile, Tennessee shot 51% from the field, 50% from downtown, and 71% on free throws. The Volunteers outrebounded Rutgers 43-28, while both teams committed many turnovers, with Rutgers’ 14 leading Tennessee by one in that department.
The Scarlet Knights will face off against Notre Dame in their second game of the Players Era Tournament, with the Fighting Irish currently sitting at 4-1. Rutgers has a bit of recent history with Notre Dame, as the Scarlet Knights were eliminated by the Irish in a double-overtime loss during the First Four in 2022.
Last year at this tournament, Dylan Harper’s 36 points helped lift Rutgers over Notre Dame in overtime despite a scintillating shooting performance from Matt Alloco, who hit multiple three-pointers to put relentless pressure on the Scarlet Knights. Tip-off for tomorrow’s contest is scheduled for 1 PM Eastern on TNT and will take place right back at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
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