Face it, at best we’re a bubble team again

[goru7]

Lol okay. So I ask you two questions.

1) what seeds do you consider bubble teams?
2) what seed do you think RU gets this year.

A bubble team is a team at a late 10, or a 11 seed. We were projected as an 8-9 before the Purdue win and a 7 seed after. That is not a bubble team on Selection Sunday. Learn the term. Right now, where the national media has us, and after 3 easy wins, we are a 5, 6, or at worst a 7th seed. So you can disagree with my assessment just like I can disagree with yours but your topic is trash. Fake news.

 

[RUtrumpet92]

I don’t think that’s what he said but he can speak for himself. We were unique in that our resume was fine. We just needed that road win. Our NET or whatever the NCAA model that used had us clearly in with a couple of weeks to go. Purdue was just the lock. Even if we lost in Mackey we were likely in a certainly in with a first round W in Indy. We would have been a 7 or 8 seed and that is not a bubble team, period.

I think if we lost to Purdue and lost our first B1G tournament game, every single RU fan would've been nervous that we would be in the NIT. Yes, I think we would've been a bubble team. With the Purdue win, it checked the last remaining argument against giving us a bid: our lack of road wins. Adding a high quality road win moved us off the bubble.

This year, I expect more road wins and more home losses because of our team maturing and a decreased home court advantage without the RAC at full capacity.

Road schedule:
at Maryland - excellent chance for a win IMO as long as Geo is healthy
at Ohio State - they are trying to figure out how to integrate lots of new pieces too. There's a chance here.
at Michigan State - we've matched up well recently, better to get them early than late as Izzo always gets them playing better as the year goes on.
at Penn State - very winnable this year
at Indiana - winnable IMO, I understand they have a five star freshman but defense will travel and no home court crowd.
at Northwestern - very winnable
at Iowa - again, I think we match up well with them because of our defense and their usual lack of defense. Should be a great game.
at Michigan - this has been a bad matchup for us lately, not as confident in our chances but we will have a shot.
at Nebraska - very winnable
at Minnesota - very winnable, slow down Carr (hello Mathis and Young, do your thing guys) and make someone else beat us.

I think we get at least three road wins minimum, with a chance of five road wins or better if the stars align.

 

[billgumpper]

Point you made was that RU played against "Zero" competition. If you've followed along, even last year as a tourney team games against these type of opponents were tenuous. We have never fully dominated what you classify as tune-up slate. Last year we beat Bryant by only 2, Drexel by 5, and lost to the Bonnies. In this day and age, good mid-major programs have firepower, very good players and are dangerous - just ask Virginia and Kentucky this year already.

I watched the games and the 3 opponents were outclassed. There were times in all 3 games where we played real sloppy and the offense went stagnant, yet we still won big. It will not happen against good teams It needs to be cleaned up. You can also throw in bad FF shooting as well.

 

[Scangg]

I watched the games and the 3 opponents were outclassed. There were times in all 3 games where we played real sloppy and the offense went stagnant, yet we still won big. It will not happen against good teams It needs to be cleaned up. You can also throw in bad FF shooting as well.

There were times where we looked sloppy and the offense went stagnant in pretty much every single game last season too. Its going to happen this season. Get used to it.

 

[RUInsanity]

I watched the games and the 3 opponents were outclassed. There were times in all 3 games where we played real sloppy and the offense went stagnant, yet we still won big. It will not happen against good teams It needs to be cleaned up. You can also throw in bad FF shooting as well.

This is why I asked if you have followed the team over the years (and more to the point the team with Pike as HC). His RU roster construction has never been one with smooth playmakers, rather he generally has brought in athletes who are willing to work extremely hard on D but tend to be less polished / scrapper types on O. This is likely by design in building a bottom feeding BIG program into a tourney type team based on a defensive/rebounding/athletic foundation. On the current roster, Caleb is probably the smoothest offensive talent and he is sidelined. Baker is the team leader on O and he is out as well. Perhaps you are not considering these factors in a relatively sloppy / stagnant offense. The good news is that the recruits he is starting to bring in (Miller & Jones) appear to also have plus offensive skillsets. Also, should Palmquist or Reiber develop and find consistent minutes, they have the potential to spread the floor with range and enable better spacing for the bigs or rim attackers.

As for free throws - head scratcher, I mentioned previously that it may be a negative effect of high defensive focus/effort - but that's just a guess.

 

[Scangg]

Does anyone know if Reiber has 3 point range?

 

[Scarlet Shack]

Reiber has 3 pt range....

 

[Scarlet Shack]

I don’t get the.negativity

AT ALL

Last time I checked ...we are 3-0
With and average margin of victory of 22 points

against two teams that have a pretty chance to dance

last time I checked...a 15-20
Point win over a 15 or 16 seed is a damn good win

And we have two of them
WITHOUT Geo

some perspective, please !

 

[FastMJ]

It’s a bad take by the OP. It’s fine to have your doubts and concerns, but really ludicrous to declare a ceiling after 3 games even though it is true that being a bubble team isn’t necessarily a negative. The potential range of outcomes for this team for this season is huge in both directions.

 

[AreYouNUTS]

By the way not every team that ends up being a top five or six seed looks great in the first three games of any season, for the most part, let alone a season like this with no fans in the arena. A little context help sometimes.

 

[Groz]

Why do people even answer this clown that is the OP? He constantly spouts off ridiculous claims all the time. He has been saying for 2 years that coach Pikiell can't take us anywhere and we run no offense. As we slowly move up in the polls and gain the overall respect across the whole country. I guess all of the announcers at the Big Ten Network and on ESPN know nothing..........
Plus all of the writers and coaches that vote for us in the polls.....

We do have a lot of talent and when we play really good defense, we are real good and there is NO reason why we can't keep getting better.

Best of Luck,
Groz

 

[Scarlet Blind]

This didn't age well even for a couple weeks.

 

[patk89]

This didn't age well even for a couple weeks.

But the first loss, even to a top 10 team, will bring them out again in droves. So little perspective.

 

[urbanecane]

Last year was an eye opening experience for me as far as early reactions. Jacob young went from a borderline D2 player to a stud in like 10 games. Compare the team that played Bryant and Pittsburgh to the one that beat Purdue and Maryland last season.

Broadly speaking, I like what I see so far. Only glaring weakness is free throw shooting. Sure losing yeboah stinks, but I think cliff has changed the outlook of this program. It felt like we had to wrap Myles in bubble wrap the last 2 years due to the drop off behind him. Not any more.

 

[read option]

1) How can anyone already be a bubble team 4 games (now 5 games) into the season?
2) How can a 4/5-0 team who’s ranked in the Top 20/25 be a bubble team?

Silly thread.

 

[RutgersDom]

You might end up being right, but it is WAY too early. I kind of agree about tempering expectations, but can we at least let the start of the Big Ten season come and see what kind of defense we play? Granted, we don't have the luxury of playing 10 early patsies, like other years.

You were crying the same refrain last year about not running an offense and how Pike can only take us so far. We have many good athletes and players that are capable of playing really good D and we will get many easy transition baskets off of that D. Can we give Coach the benefit of the doubt?

We have only seen a few minutes of Palmquist. How can anyone make any prediction on how he will play overall? Because he missed a couple of easy shots? Cliff is very raw, but has a tremendous wingspan and will only get better as time goes by.

Of course if Caleb does not come back this year it will hurt, but who actually knows if he will really be out all this year with the new "extra" year in place? I don't think the coaches or even Caleb knows what the future holds. The fact that he is practicing, is a good sign.

Yes, we will miss Yeboah, but that is what happens when seniors graduate. LOL. You move on and integrate the new players and play with what you have. The schedule is absolutely a monster every game. Yes, we will absolutely miss our crowds, BUT our road record always sucked, so how do you know that without crowds on the road, we won't be much better than usual?

Yes, today we have many questions. Let's keep the faith that our coaches will do their jobs(as they have the last few years) and we get Geo back and become a real solid team as the people that voted us into the top 25 think we can be.

Give it time. We are so starved to make the NCAA tournament that our fans seem to go possession by possession each game, making positive and then negative comments, every play as if we are bi-polar.

Best of Luck,
Groz

Good luck with the bi-polar part...We beat Il Sunday and the OP will have us in the Final 4! Heck he is even starting to say positive things about Art and he had him finished after his freshman year...I like to call the OP Nostradamus...

 

[Kbee3]

One of the talking heads on BTN said tonight that Rutgers could win the league.
Nice to hear.

 

[RUDead]

Good luck with the bi-polar part...We beat Il Sunday and the OP will have us in the Final 4! Heck he is even starting to say positive things about Art and he had him finished after his freshman year...I like to call the OP Nostradamus...

More like Nostra-dumbass

 

[Plum Street]

The schedule is too tough . I would really feel good if we can go 3-3 in the next 6 . Go 4-2 and you’re really looking up

 

[RUPete]

The schedule is too tough . I would really feel good if we can go 3-3 in the next 6 . Go 4-2 and you’re really looking up

Absolutely brutal. Purdue would be your one "breather" in the bunch but that is really no breather at all.

 

[AreYouNUTS]

More like Nostra-dumbass

[roll][roll][roll][roll][roll]

 

[Plum Street]

[roll][roll][roll][roll][roll]

Well he did hit geno smith with a snowball and was ejected from then high point solutions stadium in 2011.

 

[AreYouNUTS]

Well he did hit geno smith with a snowball and was ejected from then high point solutions stadium in 2011.

He also screamed in our ears for 2 entire halves at a basketball game last year. My father's 82-year old ears with a brand new hearing aid in one of them. Dad actually had to LOWER the volume on his hearing aid. SMDH

 

[Groz]

He also screamed in our ears for 2 entire halves at a basketball game last year. My father's 82-year old ears with a brand new hearing aid in one of them. Dad actually had to LOWER the volume on his hearing aid. SMDH

Yes. I was near him also that game. Acted like a total jerkoff that whole game. Maybe a couple of people here like him, but in my opinion we can do totally without him. Just a loudmouth moron.

It's one thing to be a passionate fan, but he thinks he influences the actual game by acting like a screaming idiot. LOL

Best of Luck,
Groz

 

[Plum Street]

He also screamed in our ears for 2 entire halves at a basketball game last year. My father's 82-year old ears with a brand new hearing aid in one of them. Dad actually had to LOWER the volume on his hearing aid. SMDH

Lol . I thought he was tossed from the rac one game . But I asked and he said he has never been tossed from RAC , only football stadium.
But on another note, the people around you at games can really make or break the experience .

 

[Plum Street]

Yes. I was near him also that game. Acted like a total jerkoff that whole game. Maybe a couple of people here like him, but in my opinion we can do totally without him. Just a loudmouth moron.

It's one thing to be a passionate fan, but he thinks he influences the actual game by acting like a screaming idiot. LOL

Best of Luck,
Groz

I think you can influence the game . But there is a line and you should be respectful to those around you .

 

[anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy]

Were getting a little ahead of ourselves. We havent really played any low major or teams on/outside the bubble yet.

- First 3 games were bad teams.
- Syracuse is a bubble team and that was a very nice win
- Maryland aint good haha they were down by like 30 to clemson before they took their foot off the gas.

Will we make the tourney? Yes. At the moment though I still see us as a bubble team in the sense of a 7-10 seed. I hope to be wrong

I notice the regularly losers here like @2003alyssa and @AreYouNUTS chiming as which is to be expected. Nuts complaining about yelling at a basketball game LOL. Tell pops to stay on the couch next time

 

[Groz]

Lol . I thought he was tossed from the rac one game . But I asked and he said he has never been tossed from RAC , only football stadium.
But on another note, the people around you at games can really make or break the experience .

I am always in section 114 behind the bench, but my good friend asked to swap my tickets to that Purdue game and sit on the other side for that game. I was a few seats down from Nuts' dad who I have known forever. He always stops at our tailgate in football. His dad is a great guy.

There is NO reason why he, I, or anyone near us, had to endure this supposed "Rutgers Fan" antics the whole game. We are season ticket holders who Enjoy going to the games and want to enjoy it. Yes, there is a time and place to yell and scream, but not the whole game, acting like an idiot.

Best of Luck,
Groz

 

[Groz]

Were getting a little ahead of ourselves. We havent really played any low major or teams on/outside the bubble yet.

- First 3 games were bad teams.
- Syracuse is a bubble team and that was a very nice win
- Maryland aint good haha they were down by like 30 to clemson before they took their foot off the gas.

Will we make the tourney? Yes. At the moment though I still see us as a bubble team in the sense of a 7-10 seed. I hope to be wrong

I notice the regularly losers here like @2003alyssa and @AreYouNUTS chiming as which is to be expected. Nuts complaining about yelling at a basketball game LOL. Tell pops to stay on the couch next time

I will tell Nuts to tell his dad to come to every game like he has for so many years. You should stay home and yell at your tv.

Best of Luck,
Groz

 

[knights1212]

We all are fans but I think KYK is wrong calling us a bubble team. We are earning more and more respect as each game ends. Hopefully we can keep our momentum.

 

[anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy]

I am always in section 114 behind the bench, but my good friend asked to swap my tickets to that Purdue game and sit on the other side for that game. I was a few seats down from Nuts' dad who I have known forever. He always stops at our tailgate in football. His dad is a great guy.

There is NO reason why he, I, or anyone near us, had to endure this supposed "Rutgers Fan" antics the whole game. We are season ticket holders who Enjoy going to the games and want to enjoy it. Yes, there is a time and place to yell and scream, but not the whole game, acting like an idiot.

Best of Luck,
Groz

I was in the rafters for the purdue game lol. Clown shit

 

[AreYouNUTS]

Were getting a little ahead of ourselves. We havent really played any low major or teams on/outside the bubble yet.

- First 3 games were bad teams.
- Syracuse is a bubble team and that was a very nice win
- Maryland aint good haha they were down by like 30 to clemson before they took their foot off the gas.

Will we make the tourney? Yes. At the moment though I still see us as a bubble team in the sense of a 7-10 seed. I hope to be wrong

I notice the regularly losers here like @2003alyssa and @AreYouNUTS chiming as which is to be expected. Nuts complaining about yelling at a basketball game LOL. Tell pops to stay on the couch next time

“loser”?? That’s comical coming from you. The entire section hated you. You weren’t yelling you were being a complete immature asshole. Nobody wanted you there and nobody ever wants you in that section again.

Talking about my father, really? Telling him to sit home when he’s been a season ticket holder with front row seats in Basketball since you were in diapers? Really mature of you. He’s 10x the fan and supporter that you will ever be.

 

[patk89]

Lol . I thought he was tossed from the rac one game . But I asked and he said he has never been tossed from RAC , only football stadium.
But on another note, the people around you at games can really make or break the experience .

Agreed, nothing worse than the piss and moan guys who are experts after the play is over. Brutal

 

[anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy]

“loser”?? That’s comical coming from you. The entire section hated you. You weren’t yelling you were being a complete immature asshole. Nobody wanted you there and nobody ever wants you in that section again.

Talking about my father, really? Telling him to sit home when he’s been a season ticket holder with front row seats in Basketball since you were in diapers? Go **** yourself dude.

Eh, loser is probably being nice. Fun fact for the board. Was at mcswiggins in hoboken for the RU Illinois game with 9 friends. And my friend next to me asked “whos the guy sitting alone wearing the rutgers shirt who keeps walking by and looking at us?”. I had no idea, looked over and guess who it is @AreYouNUTS .

I also sat upstairs for the purdue game pal. Mind your own

 

[AreYouNUTS]

Were getting a little ahead of ourselves. We havent really played any low major or teams on/outside the bubble yet.

- First 3 games were bad teams.
- Syracuse is a bubble team and that was a very nice win
- Maryland aint good haha they were down by like 30 to clemson before they took their foot off the gas.

Will we make the tourney? Yes. At the moment though I still see us as a bubble team in the sense of a 7-10 seed. I hope to be wrong

I notice the regularly losers here like @2003alyssa and @AreYouNUTS chiming as which is to be expected. Nuts complaining about yelling at a basketball game LOL. Tell pops to stay on the couch next time

And calling a female poster a “loser”? Dude, grow the **** up and have some class will ya’. Not cool at all. I would like to think you’re a little better than that. Maybe.

 

[anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy]

And calling a female poster a “loser”? Dude, grow the **** up and have some class will ya’. Not cool at all. I would like to think you’re a little better than that. Maybe.

@2003alyssa is a biological male fyi.

 

[Plum Street]

Agreed, nothing worse than the piss and moan guys who are experts after the play is over. Brutal

Yep

 

[Groz]

I was in the rafters for the purdue game lol. Clown shit

Hopefully next time you are on the roof. We don't need fans like you. I will guarantee the next time you scalp a ticket and sit in 102 or 103, you will be kicked out if you act the same way again.

Sorry, it was the Illinois game.

Groz

 

[anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy]

Hopefully next time you are on the roof. We don't need fans like you. I will guarantee the next time you scalp a ticket and sit in 102 or 103, you will be kicked out if you act the same way again.

Sorry, it was the Illinois game.

Groz

Great game. Got in the illinois players heads. Had Griffin staring at me. I basically won us the game from my seat with my voice in my humble opinion.

 

[AreYouNUTS]

@2003alyssa is a biological male fyi.

Well if that’s true you got me there.

Listen I have nothing personal against you, you know that, but you don’t need to be calling people “losers” and telling others to stay home when they have been season-ticket holders since the early 70’s. Was just pointing out that you were insanely damn annoying that game and everyone knew it. I get the passion, I really do, To the point where I pissed my dad off getting into an argument with a Michigan fan when we were at MSG last year, so don’t get me wrong.