The Scarlet Knights are in danger of missing the postseason completely.
Rutgers entered the night in need of a statement win to bolster an NCAA Tournament resume that is close to being thrown away completely. After a poor offensive showing, the Scarlet Knights are now in danger of missing the Big Ten Tournament as well.
Rutgers now sits outside of the Top 15 in the conference with a record of 1-4 and this means the team would not participate in the tournament.
In a game that would have given Rutgers its first Quad 1 win and a statement to build off of, the Scarlet Knights shot 32.7% from the field and turned the ball over 16 times. Rutgers trailed by as many as 20 points late during a 68-50 loss to Purdue at Jersey Mike's Arena in Piscataway.
The Boilermakers built a double-digit lead in the second half. With just over four minutes left, boos rained down from the home crowd.
Ace Bailey led Rutgers with 17 points on a less-than-efficient 5-for-15 shooting. Dylan Harper, who was listed as questionable once again, scored six pints on 2-for-9 from the field. He played 28 minutes after just 15 minutes on Monday against Wisconsin.
Purdue shot just 4-for-24 from three-point range but was able to get comfortable in the paint. Braden Smith ran the offense to perfection with 16 points and 14 rebounds as the Boilermakers scored 38 of their 68 points in the paint.
It was a wire-to-wore defeat for Rutgers, who is now at .500 on the year and 0-6 in Quad 1 games.
At this point, Rutgers is on pace for one of the most disappointing seasons in recent memory when considering the hype coming in. From the AP Top 25 preseason to .500 through 16 games.
The Scarlet Knights will be back in action on Monday against UCLA looking for a spark in some capacity.