PISCATAWAY – There was no Ron Harper Jr. prayer answered, no Cam Spencer dagger as Rutgers basketball met top-ranked Purdue this time.

The iconic moments in this series, which helped put Steve Pikiell’s program on the national map, were distant memories for at least one program in Tuesday’s Big Ten opener as the Boilermakers rolled to an 81-65 victory before 7,500 fans at Jersey Mike’s Arena.

No. 1 Purdue (8-0) is the same as it ever was, featuring some of the very players who absorbed those gut-punch losses to the Scarlet Knights. But Rutgers (5-4) is in a total rebuild, as evidenced by Pikiell loading the lineup with freshmen throughout much of the second half.

This entire Rutgers season is going to have to be viewed through the prism of player development, and that seemed like Pikiel

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