February 24, 2026; Piscataway, NJ, USA; Rutgers Scarlet Knights guard Darren Buchanan Jr. (5) grabs a rebound against Washington Huskies center Lathan Somerville (24) in the second half at Jersey Mike’s Arena. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images Tariq Francis had 19 points as Rutgers earned a wild and divisive Big Ten victory over Maryland (69-65) on Sunday in College Park, Maryland.
Darren Buchanan Jr. scored eight of his 14 points in the final eight minutes against the Scarlet Knights (12-17, 5-13), who blew a 20-point lead but rallied late to complete a regular-season sweep of the Terrapins.
Jamichael Davis had 12 points and three steals as Rutgers earned its third win in its last five games, keeping hopes alive of Rutgers avoiding a first-round match in the Big Ten Tournament.
The Scarlet Knights rediscovered their offense, scoring 22 points in the final eight minutes after missing nine of 10 shots over the first 10 minutes of the second half.
In the final 27 seconds, Rutgers made nine straight free throws, including four by Francis and three by Davis, to close out the victory.
The Scarlet Knights are tied with Northwestern for 14th in the 18-team league. The bottom four players from the regular season will play in the tournament opener on March 10 in Chicago.
Solomon Washington and Andre Mills each scored 15 points and Elijah Saunders added 11 points and 14 rebounds to lead Maryland (11-18, 4-14).
Mills and Washington added 10 and seven rebounds, respectively, to help the Terrapins build a 50-26 advantage on the boards.
In the first few minutes, Lino Mark hit a 3-pointer and Maryland missed its first five shots to give Rutgers a 5-0 lead.
Midway through the first half, Kaden Powers hit a triple to spark a 19-4 Scarlet Knights run. That included two steals that Davis turned into breakaway baskets.
Francis added eight points, including the last two from the free throw line, to give Rutgers its largest lead of the game at 36-16.
Francis closed the first half with a buzzer-beating conversion 3 to put the Scarlet Knights ahead 39-20 at the break.
Rutgers dominated the period despite being at a 27-10 disadvantage on the boards. Maryland had 10 offensive rebounds but only three second-chance points.
What made a bigger difference in the first half was the turnover margin of 14-1 in favor of the Scarlet Knights.
The Terrapins emerged from the locker room looking like a different team after Saunders and Mills hit 3-pointers to take a 20-2 lead.
Washington went wild with a three-point play as Maryland took its first lead, 48-47, with 11:26 left before Rutgers regained its composure.
–Field level media
