I considered not even doing a recap thread, I was so sick to my stomach over what transpired over the last 8 seconds. Yet I quickly got over that and so should you.
Yes apparently Crean has explained on ESPN 2 that Holden was out of bounds and then came in and he cannot be the one to catch that. It sucks balls. It was an egregious error. It was worse than the St Johns Big East game and probably 2nd only to RU women-Tennessee clockgate. Rutgers was screwed but crying over it will not do any good. The time for Pikiell to say something was right after it happened and if he couldnt get the refs respect and attention at that moment then its over with. EDIT...if its non reviewable as said, then there is nothing that Pike could have done. suggest instead of pulling your hair out for 3 days over this and letting it fester inside your mind. You just accept it and move on. Its not going to change. There will be no overturning, no redo. I can guarantee that Pike is not going to dwell on it with Seton Hall coming up on Sunday. Dwelling on it will not be good for this teams psyche. Pick yourself up, dust yourselves off and try again. As fans I am not going to let this consume me the next couple of days because it will make me miserable. There is literally nothing that can change what happened. So moving forward, there was alot of good that RU showed in this game that can be used as positives going forward
RU had a 3 point lead with 7.7 seconds. I have always been very adamant about not wanting to foul on a 3 exactly because of what happened. That we did it and then did it actually at 5.8 seconds and not with 3 makes me more incensed. Bad call by Pike and bad move by Mag, you just cannot foul in the backcourt, there is no way that could have been the plan. Ok so that happens and OSU makes their two and we get the ball to Caleb but there is still a whopping 5 seconds left, that is a lifetime. Then to make matters worse, no one was on the line for the rebound to perhaps take some time off. Cannot fault Caleb, 3 games back and it looks like he was tired at the end. The first foul shot made was shaky and the 2nd ugly as well. Yet he makes the shot and RU likely wins.
The bottom line is Rutgers didnt get it done....whether it was one giant **** up by the refs, one missed rebound, one stop, one basket, one free throw. Rutgers came up short. In the game thread I felt this game was too similar to the Notre Dame game in the NCAA tourney. RU played well but was missing something. Alas it took a botched call to take it away from this time. But RU allowed this game to get closer than it should have. There were some late fouls, missed rebounds and missed shots that could have given RU a bigger cushion.
The disappointing thing with this loss, is that RU played well enough to win vs a solid but not great team on the road. I think OSU is a bit overranked right now but still a likely NCAA team. I thought RU was the better team and OSU is vulnerable at this juncture because of their youth. They had some parts but not a finished product. RU should have been able to break open this game. This was a game that never should have been in the hands of the ref or down to fouling up 3. One never knows if the next road game vs a quality conference opponent the situation RU will be in. You want to grab it and have those birds in the hand for later.
Still there are some really big positives to take. Last week at this time after the loss to Miami, we didnt have Paul back in the lineup, we didnt know if we had enough parts to be a good team, our defense was struggling and I think Rutgers had alot to prove. While clearly not as sharp on both ends tonight as vs Indiana, RU showed in both these games that yes RU can play with anyone and can legit contend for a NCAA bid and a spot in the upper parts of the Big 10. RU spotted OSU an 11 point lead on the road but managed to claw back by ramping up their defensive intensity which carried them for the last 25 minutes of the game. Cliff had so much trouble in the first half but was a completely different player in the 2nd half. Cliff had 16 points on 7-10 shooting. Cam who struggled in his last 2 was suddenly a big spark in the first half and then came on late with a couple of nifty basket and steal. Plays that would have been pointed to as reasons why RU won the game on any other night. Derek got key buckets in key moments. Hyatt was much improved over previous 2 games. We are starting to see team ball played to its potential. Individually you look at them and say eh not all that impressed but together as one spinning wheel is where they impressed. With Paul back this team is getting better and better. Still have moments where they play poorly but those times are shrinking. RU had just 9 turnovers in the first 13 minutes but only 4 the next 27. The defense continues to be its mainstay. It wasnt good early and RU wasnt matching the Buckeye intensity early. That changed and never gave away even to the last play. Thats why I am pissed that Pike even put RU in a situation of not letting your defense play it out with 7.7 left, the worst you can do is tie.
There is not much you can do but move on, move on, move on. Know what kind of team you are, know what kind of team you root for. Do not let a bad and bad is an understatement call ruin your gameplan or your day. The cream rises to the top. Coach Pikiell, the team and the fans know what kind of team we are now. Our faith in them is probably even greater now after what transpired tonight. Pick up the pieces, Seton Hall will not feel sorry for you. Stay focused on what you can do....just remember that ant.
Pick up the pieces, uh, huh
Pick up the pieces, alright
Pick up the pieces, uh, huh
Pick up the pieces, whoo
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