PISCATAWAY – Steve Pikiell’s reaction to the halftime buzzer is almost always the same. With rare exceptions, the Rutgers basketball coach claps and shouts encouragement to his players as they leave the court.
Wednesday was an exception.
After a sluggish first half against Merrimack, you could practically see the steam leaving Pikiell’s head as he stormed off – no clapping, no calling to his guys.
Whatever he said at halftime, Ace Bailey heard it.
The freshman phenom delivered a dominant effort in his second game in scarlet, tallying 23 points and 10 rebounds as Rutgers got past Merrimack 74-63 before about 7,000 restless fans at Jersey Mike’s Arena. His second half was a tour de force: 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting and seven boards.
Bailey again showcased a wide-ranging offensive toolkit, hitting turnaround jumpers, 3-pointers, put-backs and his free throws. But his rebounding tally will be Pikiell’s favorite contribution as Rutgers (4-0) looks to shore up on the boards before the competition toughens. For the first time all season, including the exhibition against St. John’s, Rutgers beat a team on the offensive glass (15-8 vs. Merrimack, outscoring the Warriors 18-6 in second-chance points).
FIVE TAKEAWAYS
1-Pikiell’s quick hook
Pikiell values defense above all else, and his team was putrid on that end through 20 minutes. Though the Scarlet Knights led 37-30 at the break, they yielded 18 points in the paint and Merrimack missed a bunch of wide-open looks.
Pikiell had little patience for defensive errors, yanking sophomore guard Jamichael Davis and freshman center Lathan Sommerville for long spells on the pine when they got beaten more than once.
That’s the right move, because Rutgers is about to face some high-powered offenses. There’s plenty of work for him to do in the film room on that end.
And he even employed zone for stretches, no doubt holding his nose while he did it. Pikiell dislikes playing zone but he’ll do it if the man-to-man is bad enough.
2. Improvement for Ogbole
After a real struggle in Rutgers’ first three games, starting center Manny Ogbole made some key contributions Wednesday. Notably, he helped settle Rutgers’ interior defense after Sommerville’s struggled on that end. He’s limited offensively and his ceiling seems low, but Ogbole will be needed to hold the fort inside against the trees in the Big Ten.
His finished with six points and seven rebounds and his plus/minus of plus-15 was the highest on the team.
3. Jersey Joe Gallo returns
This was a homecoming for Merrimack skipper Joe Gallo. Born in New Brunswick and raised in Milltown, he played high school ball at Bishop Ahr (now St. Thomas Aquinas) and Princeton Day. At one time, he was a Rutgers hoops season-ticket holder.
You could argue Gallo has done one of the better coaching jobs in the country over the past five years: Merrimack transitioned to Division 1 in 2020 and has won at least a share of the Northeast Conference title three times since then.
His teams are well-prepared, tough and connected, and this squad is no exception. The Warriors opened with a win over perennially strong Vermont led Princeton by 14 points before falling to the Tigers Sunday.
4. Reunion for Derkack
That Jordan Derkack – who is clearly a high-major player – was recruited only by low-majors coming out of Colonia High School says a lot about just how poorly the scouting industrial complex evaluates prospects.
But credit Merrimack for giving him a platform for his development. Last season’s Northeast Conference Player of the Year left the Warriors on good terms and greeted them with a typical glue-guy effort Wednesday – seven points, six rebounds and five assists. Not all up-transfers adapt well to becoming a role player after experiencing high usage at their previous stop. Derkack has, and that’s a credit to him and to Gallo and company for preparing him.
5. Next up: a revealing road stretch
After eight seasons of staying home for Thanksgiving under Pikiell, Rutgers is hitting the road during Feast Week – hard. First is an unconventional Sunday visit to Kennesaw State (1 p.m., CBS Sports Network), a favor to Georgia native Bailey.
Then comes the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas with matchups against a solid-looking Notre Dame Tuesday and eighth-ranked Alabama (and former Rutgers postman Cliff Omoruyi) Wednesday. After closing out the festival Saturday against an opponent to be determined, the Scarlet Knights visit Ohio State for the Big Ten opener Dec. 7.
They finally return to Piscataway Dec. 10 for Penn State after 20 days on the road – the longest-such stretch of Pikiell’s tenure.
By then, we’ll know what this team is made of.
Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.
