WASHINGTON _ Rutgers finished last in the Big Ten at 3-15, yet the Scarlet Knights are one of the most improved teams in the nation.
They proved it again Wednesday night on the first day of the Big Ten tournament at the Verizon Center with a 66-57 victory against Ohio State.
No. 14-seeded Rutgers (15-17) will face sixth-seeded Northwestern on Thursday.
The Scarlet Knights' first Big Ten tournament win (they were 0-2 before Wednesday) is a sign of better things to come under first-year coach Steve Pikiell.
Rutgers, which defeated Illinois in its regular-season finale, strung together wins against Big Ten opponents for the first time since joining the conference three seasons ago.
They did it despite a poor shooting night by leading scorer Corey Sanders, who was just 2 of 10 from the field, turned the ball over five times and missed three of four free throws. No. 2 scorer Deshawn Freeman fouled out in the second half.
Junior guard Nigel Johnson led the way with 21 points, and Ohio State (17-15) went 5 of 21 from the field in the second half.
Rutgers built a seven-point lead with less than a minute left and didn't look back.
