Geo Baker has played in twice as many Big Ten games than anyone else on Rutgers basketball’s roster.

Now the Scarlet Knights must navigate a stretch of conference play without their point guard and undisputed leader.

The junior is out indefinitely with a left thumb injury, the school announced prior to Friday’s tip at Nebraska. Baker’s left, non-shooting hand is in a cast and he is expected to miss at least three weeks, probably about a month with a broken bone in his thumb, Gannett New Jersey has learned.

“Our focus is upon Geo receiving the best care and treatment to make a healthy return this season,” head coach Steve Pikiell said in a statement. “His absence will be another challenge for our program, and we have every confidence our team will rise to meet it.”

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It’s unclear when the injury occurred. Baker was seen holding ice on his left hand during Monday’s romp of Division II Caldwell. He shot an uncharacteristic 1-of-7 from the field in 18 minutes of action. But Pikiell said in his pregame radio show Friday that it happened during practice earlier this week.

Overall this season Baker averages 11.5 points, second on the team behind Ron Harper Jr.’s 11.8, plus team highs of 4.0 assists, 1.7 steals and 30.4 minutes. He is shooting a team-best 84 percent from the free-throw line and owns an assist-to-turnover ratio of just under 2-to-1.

The good news is Rutgers (10-3 overall, 1-1 Big Ten) possesses plenty of backcourt depth. Some combination of junior Jacob Young, sophomore Caleb McConnell and freshman Paul Mulcahy will attempt to fill the void: Young in terms of scoring punch and aggressiveness, McConnell in terms of defense and Mulcahy in terms of passing and ball-handling.

All three have been contributing off the bench to this point. It's an intriguing opportunity for Young, a Texas transfer who was auditioned for the starting point guard job in the preseason. The idea was to free Baker into a more comfortable role off the ball, but Young never seized the job. His shooting and ball-handling have been inconsistent, but he's got the raw material to break down defenses and be a pest on the other end.

No one player can fill Baker’s intangibles — his experience, savvy and floor generalship. He’s also been Pikiell’s go-to guy for big shots late in close games. That task likely will fall to Harper.

One thing is certain: The two-year captain will be advising and exhorting his teammates from the bench.

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Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. He is an Associated Press Top 25 voter. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.