How Rutgers basketball handled bad breaks, outside noise to halt losing streak

The morning after his Rutgers basketball team halted a three-game losing streak with a one-point, shorthanded triumph at Wisconsin, Steve Pikiell’s voice is hoarse.

Pikiell is not known for high-volume ranting and raving, and he didn’t go there last week, even as much of the Scarlet Knights’ fan base devolved into hysteria. But the strain of a long season has unmistakably hit his vocal cords.

“If you can’t get through a…