RON HARPER

The Cougars play No. By the time the first half ended, and the Scarlet Knights had forged a 30-27 lead, Rutgers and Houston each had two regulars mired in foul trouble. AdChaney took a seat with his fourth with 15:45 left and the Scarlet Knights went on the attack. And by the time there was 10 minutes to go, the Scarlet Knights had meticulously built a 50-40 lead. UP NEXTThe Cougars play the Orange next weekend for a spot in the Elite Eight.

Iowa guard Jordan Bohannon (3) shoots against Rutgers during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Piscataway, N.J., Saturday, Jan. 2, 2021. 10 Iowa, but otherwise, 14th-ranked Rutgers managed to stifle the Big Ten's top offense. Garza scored 15 of his 25 points in the second half and Iowa took advantage of Rutgers' abysmal free-throw shooting for a 77-75 victory Saturday. Rutgers (7-2, 3-2 Big Ten) has struggled at the foul line this season, hitting just 62%. “Wins and losses happen, but what we took away from today is we got to hit foul shots,” Rutgers guard Ron Harper Jr. said.

Ron Harper Jr. scored 19 of his 27 points in the second half, and the 19th-ranked Scarlet Knights cruised past Maryland 74-60 on Monday night. The Scarlet Knights hadn't won a Big Ten opener since joining the league in 2014, and were 16-73 in conference play before going 11-9 last season. The Scarlet Knights broke open a tight game with a 10-0 run that made it 50-38 with 11:49 left. “Harper took over the game on the offensive end and Johnson was phenomenal on the defensive end," Turgeon said. BIG PICTURERutgers: That was a solid start in conference play for the Scarlet Knights.