Offensive rebounding plays huge role

In a game defined by scoreless droughts and tight defense, the Rutgers men’s basketball team pulled out the win through hustle and offensive rebounding, facets of the game the Scarlet Knights typically struggle with.
But against South Florida, forwards Gregory Echenique and JR Inman pounded the glass to the tune of five offensive rebounds apiece.
“The difference was rebounding,” said South Florida head coach Stan Heath. “They went after it on the glass. Echenique and Inman fought really hard for rebounding. The last minute and a half those multiple shots and multiple possessions really did us in.”
RU held possession of the ball from an Inman defensive rebound with 1:53 left in regulation until Pettis tipped in a rebound with 13 seconds left. During the long stretch, the Knights had four offensive rebounds, two by Echenique, before Pettis gave RU the final basket of the game.
Echenique and Inman combined for 23 total rebounds on the afternoon, and the Knights had eight more individual offensive rebounds than the Bulls.

In sophomore guard Corey Chandler’s first game since rumors of a transfer surfaced because of reports that Chandler was unhappy with his role on the team, nothing changed.
Chandler started the game on the bench and played a very limited role.
The Newark product entered the second half with 7:57 to go while RU had an 11-point lead, and was taken out of the game when the lead was cut to three just three minutes later. Chandler missed two field goal attempts during that stretch.
Though he was visibly energized during pregame introductions and early in the first half, Chandler played only seven minutes in the first half and drew blanks on the stat line, missing his only field goal attempt before the break.

South Florida’s biggest weapon never got the chance to reload, as sophomore guard Dominique Jones was limited to just 11 points.
Jones entered the game as the Bulls’ best scorer with 18.5 points per game but had one of his worst shooting nights of the year, going 5-of-19 from the floor including zero-of-six from downtown.
His shooting performance was his second-worst of the season, undermined only by a 1-of-10 showing against Louisville.
“Everybody who got a piece of him tonight did a great job, they defended him tough and made him work hard for everything,” Farmer said.
On a similar note, the Knights’ best scorer had what will rank as one of the worst games of his career on the Banks.
Coming off the bench to play just 11 minutes in the contest, freshman guard Mike Rosario was zero-for-five from the floor, including two missed fast break lay-ups in the first half.