Rutgers starting point guard Geo Baker missed Friday night's 79-62 win over Nebraska on Friday night in Lincoln and is out indefinitely with a left thumb injury he suffered in practice.
Coach Steve Pikiell made the announcement before the game, which marked the Scarlet Knight's fifth straight win. He said he found out "at the last minute" that Baker would not be able to play.
"I feel bad for Geo," Pikiell said of Baker, a junior who is the Scarlet Knight's No. 2 scorer and a veteran presence on a young team. "He's worked tremendously hard and is having a great season. These are the obstacles you have to have go through on the journey of a season.''
Caleb McConnell took Baker's place at the point. He made all eight of his shots from the field and scored a season-high 20 points.
"Losing one of our leaders due to an injury, I just knew I had to step up big coming into this game," McConnell said. "I try to control my team taking on his role. Just controlling the pace of the game and controlling my team and making sure our team gets a good shot."
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.