3 possessions from 14-5 AND 3 possessions from 8-11....3 possessions away from great season and 3 from disaster

[Greene Rice FIG]

Wednesday November 10th
Down 63-61 Geo Baker makes a jumper at 0:45 knotting the game and sending RU in OT vs. Lehigh
RU win 73-70

Saturday November 27th
Down 83-82 Noah Fernandez makes a 3 with 0:00 on clock
RU loses 83-85

Monday November 22nd
Down 51-50 Kyle Jenkins makes a 3 with 0:02 on clock
RU loses 51-53

Thursday December 9
Down 68-67 Ron Harper makes a 3 with 0:00 on clock
RU wins 70-68

Wednesday January 19th
Down 48-46 Keegan Murray misses a 3 with 0:00 on clock
RU wins 48-46

Saturday January 22nd
Down 65-66 Geo Baker misses a 3 with 0:09 on clock
RU loses 65-68

3 possessions from 14-5
3 possessions from 8-11

 

[goru7]

Wednesday November 10th
Down 63-61 Geo Baker makes a jumper at 0:45 knotting the game and sending RU in OT vs. Lehigh
RU win 73-70

Saturday November 27th
Down 83-82 Noah Fernandez makes a 3 with 0:00 on clock
RU loses 83-85

Monday November 22nd
Down 51-50 Kyle Jenkins makes a 3 with 0:02 on clock
RU loses 51-53

Thursday December 9
Down 68-67 Ron Harper makes a 3 with 0:00 on clock
RU wins 70-68

Wednesday January 19th
Down 48-46 Keegan Murray misses a 3 with 0:00 on clock
RU wins 48-46

Saturday January 22nd
Down 65-66 Geo Baker misses a 3 with 0:09 on clock
RU loses 65-68

3 possessions from 14-5
3 possessions from 8-11

2 of the 3 wins we scored at least 70 and the game we won scoring 48 we played arguably the best second half defense ever under Pike and missed a ton of easy shots , I think the number was we were 7-22 on layups or close range , which would have made the win much more comfortable and closer to 70 points total.

 

[RU-ROCS]

Wednesday November 10th
Down 63-61 Geo Baker makes a jumper at 0:45 knotting the game and sending RU in OT vs. Lehigh
RU win 73-70

Saturday November 27th
Down 83-82 Noah Fernandez makes a 3 with 0:00 on clock
RU loses 83-85

Monday November 22nd
Down 51-50 Kyle Jenkins makes a 3 with 0:02 on clock
RU loses 51-53

Thursday December 9
Down 68-67 Ron Harper makes a 3 with 0:00 on clock
RU wins 70-68

Wednesday January 19th
Down 48-46 Keegan Murray misses a 3 with 0:00 on clock
RU wins 48-46

Saturday January 22nd
Down 65-66 Geo Baker misses a 3 with 0:09 on clock
RU loses 65-68

3 possessions from 14-5
3 possessions from 8-11

Having Geo out for some of those brutal last second losses didn't help. But Pike has to take the rap for not getting the team ready to beat Lafayette at home and hold a huge lead at UMass on the road. Those are the losses that likely sealed RU's fate. Close losses against top tier teams are not unexpected. Close losses against terrible teams are.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

But Pike has to take the rap........

If the 3 possessions go our way would anybody have a single bad word about this team? No.

 

[LeapinLou]

As I said on the Grease Truck yesterday, we are a top 25 team defensively, and a mid-major team offensively. When other teams are hot, it doesn't matter what level they are at, we will not keep up. Conversely, when our defense is firing on all cylinders, we can beat anyone.

It makes for an entertaining season, but not NCAA worthy.

 

[goru7]

If the 3 possessions go our way would anybody have a single bad word about this team? No.

Yes because there are always ways to improve your team , either offensively , defensively or on the glass. We have our flaws like every team and they would be discussed for sure.

 

[bac2therac]

If the 3 possessions go our way would anybody have a single bad word about this team? No.

this team is what it is.....11-8...its exactly a representation of who we are

We are not a NCAA team, we are not complete crap. We are a team that can win some games against better competition and look like a top 20 team and then other nights look like a complete train wreck

 

[biazza38]

You guys are reaching here
3 possession this, 3 possessions that. Blah blah blah. Don’t lose to Lafayette, DePaul, and Umass. Don’t take Lehigh down to the wire. Don’t come out flat against PSU.
Don’t come out flat against the Minnesota JV team.
Don’t come out flat against Maryland twice. We somehow split.
You can talk about Purdue or Iowa all you want, but THAT’s a lot to overcome. We’re not three possession away from whatever we are.
The point is, bad basketball eventually catches up to you.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

this team is what it is.....11-8...its exactly a representation of who we are

We are not a NCAA team, we are not complete crap. We are a team that can win some games against better competition and look like a top 20 team and then other nights look like a complete train wreck

I agree, but we are 3 possessions from 14-5. We are 3 possessions from 8-11. My eyeballs tell me exactly what computers say....14-16 (8-12). However I know it is very likely that the record will be shaped by 3 or 4 more possessions that will give us a 1 (win) or a 0 (loss).

We as fans view the team so much differently depending if the lens is a 0 or 1. I am waiting for fans to look through the 1 lens and say we got outcoached, didn't play with intensity and had no heart. Opposite when viewing through the 0 lens. At the end of the day it could be the same team.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

You guys are reaching here
3 possession this, 3 possessions that. Blah blah blah. Don’t lose to Lafayette, DePaul, and Umass. Don’t take Lehigh down to the wire. Don’t come out flat against PSU.
Don’t come out flat against the Minnesota JV team.
Don’t come out flat against Maryland twice. We somehow split.
You can talk about Purdue or Iowa all you want, but THAT’s a lot to overcome. We’re not three possession away from whatever we are.
The point is, bad basketball eventually catches up to you.

WRONG. SO WRONG.

Fernandez misses, Geo makes and Lafayette misses we are 14-5. It is that simple. It isn't debateable

Ron misses, Murray makes and Geo misses we are 8-11. It is that simple it isn't debateable.

We just happened to go 3-3 on those possessions and are 11-8.

 

[PiscatawayMike]

You guys are reaching here
3 possession this, 3 possessions that. Blah blah blah. Don’t lose to Lafayette, DePaul, and Umass. Don’t take Lehigh down to the wire. Don’t come out flat against PSU.
Don’t come out flat against the Minnesota JV team.
Don’t come out flat against Maryland twice. We somehow split.
You can talk about Purdue or Iowa all you want, but THAT’s a lot to overcome. We’re not three possession away from whatever we are.
The point is, bad basketball eventually catches up to you.

That's the thing, though. We're not a bad basketball team. We are an inconsistent one, which is harder to come to grips with than being bad. If we were simply an awful team, there's really nothing to get too worked up about. The thing is we have enough talent and experience to be an NCAA qualifier, but it doesn't show up on the court every game.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

this team is what it is.....11-8...its exactly a representation of who we are

We are not a NCAA team, we are not complete crap. We are a team that can win some games against better competition and look like a top 20 team and then other nights look like a complete train wreck

Would we be a NCAA team at 14-5?

For the record I think we are closer to total crap then a NCAA team.

 

[biazza38]

That's the thing, though. We're not a bad basketball team. We are an inconsistent one, which is harder to come to grips with than being bad. If we were simply an awful team, there's really nothing to get too worked up about. The thing is we have enough talent and experience to be an NCAA qualifier, but it doesn't show up on the court every game.

Bad teams are inconsistent.
That’s what makes them bad.
A bad team can have a lot of talent. But if you start games the way we do and lose the type of games we do. Then you’re a bad team. Emphasis on the word team. Sure you’ll outperform from time to time, but overall we’re a bad to average team. We have so really good individual talent.
But the holes are glaring.

 

[bac2therac]

Geo played 26 minutes in the Lafayette game shooting 1-7 fg, 1-6 from 3, for 3 points...he came out about the 8 minute mark and RU trailed 44-41. I keep hearing this repeated that if he did not get hurt we would have won the game.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Yes because there are always ways to improve your team , either offensively , defensively or on the glass. We have our flaws like every team and they would be discussed for sure.

We'd be talking about concerns about our back up 5 OR what would we do if Ron got hurt. If someone brought up the fact that we could easily be 8-11 that person would be called a fool and not a real fan.

 

[biazza38]

WRONG. SO WRONG.

Fernandez misses, Geo makes and Lafayette misses we are 14-5. It is that simple. It isn't debateable

Ron misses, Murray makes and Geo misses we are 8-11. It is that simple it isn't debateable.

We just happened to go 3-3 on those possessions and are 11-8.

WE LOST THOUGH!!!!
We lost to a team that we should beat by 20.
We lost to Umass.
Did you even read my post? At the end of the day, bad basketball catches up to you. If not now, then probably during the back half of the B1G schedule. We’re not 14-5 and we have no business being 14-5

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

That's the thing, though. We're not a bad basketball team. We are an inconsistent one, which is harder to come to grips with than being bad. If we were simply an awful team, there's really nothing to get too worked up about. The thing is we have enough talent and experience to be an NCAA qualifier, but it doesn't show up on the court every game.

We have shown we can get to a 1 possession game with any team 1 thru 324.

 

[bac2therac]

Would we be a NCAA team at 14-5?

For the record I think we are closer to total crap then a NCAA team.

no we would 14-5 and yes a ncaa team

are you totally discounting that teams revert back to their mean. You are focusing in on close games. That the games were close speaks out our weaknesses and in some cases our strengths. There is no business being life and death with Lafayette, Umass, and Lehigh and there is no business beating #1 Purdue.

Northwestern has played a lot of close games and are 2-7 in league...losing team lose because thats what they are. RU is an okay but nothing special team at its mean, I wouldnt have said that before the last 2 games but Ive seen enough of a sample size for me at this point

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

WE LOST THOUGH!!!!
We lost to a team that we should beat by 20.
We lost to Umass.
Did you even read my post? At the end of the day, bad basketball catches up to you. If not now, then probably during the back half of the B1G schedule. We’re not 14-5 and we have no business being 14-5

If bad basketball always caught up with you we would be 8-11

 

[bac2therac]

We have shown we can get to a 1 possession game with any team 1 thru 324.

thats not a good thing since we have 2 one possession games against the worst of the worst and the chasm between 350 and Rutgers is far greater than that between Rutgers and Purdue

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

no we would 14-5 and yes a ncaa team

are you totally discounting that teams revert back to their mean. You are focusing in on close games. That the games were close speaks out our weaknesses and in some cases our strengths. There is no business being life and death with Lafayette, Umass, and Lehigh and there is no business beating #1 Purdue.

Northwestern has played a lot of close games and are 2-7 in league...losing team lose because thats what they are. RU is an okay but nothing special team at its mean, I wouldnt have said that before the last 2 games but Ive seen enough of a sample size for me at this point

not always does a team revert to the mean. The difference between being a NCAA team and watching the NIT on TV can be 3 possessions. You know this.

 

[bac2therac]

If bad basketball always caught up with you we would be 8-11

and that is why we are 11-8 and not 14-5, our level of play catches up to us

 

[bac2therac]

not always does a team revert to the mean. The difference between being a NCAA team and watching the NIT on TV can be 3 possessions. You know this.

there are enough games played during the season to show what kind of team you are.

We could have played Maryland another 20 minutes and we wouldnt get closer....we were never going to beat Minnesota.....we were going to beat Purdue no matter what, some games just happen like that...ditto for Umass, you knew we would lose on a 3. The dye is often cast for these games in the first half

 

[PiscatawayMike]

Bad teams are inconsistent.
That’s what makes them bad.
A bad team can have a lot of talent. But if you start games the way we do and lose the type of games we do. Then you’re a bad team. Emphasis on the word team. Sure you’ll outperform from time to time, but overall we’re a bad to average team. We have so really good individual talent.
But the holes are glaring.

Any way you slice it, right now, at this moment, we are not a bad team, We are 11-8 overall and 5-4 in conference. Those are winning records. Bad teams don't have winning records.

A little more than a month from now we will be able to state decisively whether we are a bad, average, or good team.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Everything that people are saying is true, but it doesn't change the fact that 6 possessions have shaped the season. evrything that has occurred in the other 1240 possessions is fair game, but the outcome in those 6 possessions is what move the needle.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

there are enough games played during the season to show what kind of team you are.

We could have played Maryland another 20 minutes and we wouldnt get closer....we were never going to beat Minnesota.....we were going to beat Purdue no matter what, some games just happen like that...ditto for Umass, you knew we would lose on a 3. The dye is often cast for these games in the first half

TRUE OR FALSE...if Ron misses, Keegan makes and Geo misses are we not 8-11?

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

If Jacob doesn't make the steal it is possible Geo is remmebered for going behind his back for a stupid TO in the epic choke. Does anyone talk about Rutgers choking vs. Minnesota. Does anyone rememeber?

 

[bac2therac]

but that didnt happen, almost always these things even out, basketball gods giveth and taketh away

 

[bac2therac]

If Jacob doesn't make the steal it is possible Geo is remmebered for going behind his back for a stupid TO in the epic choke. Does anyone talk about Rutgers choking vs. Minnesota. Does anyone rememeber?

oh I will talk about them choking because it bit them in the ass in the Houston game, seen this movie too many times. It was a terrible game IMO

 

[biazza38]

Any way you slice it, right now, at this moment, we are not a bad team, We are 11-8 overall and 5-4 in conference. Those are winning records. Bad teams don't have winning records.

A little more than a month from now we will be able to state decisively whether we are a bad, average, or good team.

Whatever makes you sleep easier at night.

 

[fluoxetine]

You guys are reaching here
3 possession this, 3 possessions that. Blah blah blah. Don’t lose to Lafayette, DePaul, and Umass. Don’t take Lehigh down to the wire. Don’t come out flat against PSU.
Don’t come out flat against the Minnesota JV team.
Don’t come out flat against Maryland twice. We somehow split.
You can talk about Purdue or Iowa all you want, but THAT’s a lot to overcome. We’re not three possession away from whatever we are.
The point is, bad basketball eventually catches up to you.

What's the reach? He provided both sides of the coin. We are about at expectation. But there are universes where we are 14-5 or 8-11, sure. If we were 14-5 it would mean we were super lucky (though people would say we have tons of heart for pulling out close games). If we were 8-11 it would mean we were super unlucky (though people would say we are mentally weak blah blah).

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

but that didnt happen, almost always these things even out, basketball gods giveth and taketh away

How did we do in the sweet 16? 1 dunk away

 

[rubaseball78]

Doesn't matter if it one possession or a dozen possessions. We are what our record says we are, NIT team.

 

[bac2therac]

How did we do in the sweet 16? 1 dunk away

I missed our first round NIT game, one turnover away

 

[rucoe89]

Yes, but no reason so many of those games should have come down to that situation if your talent level was higher than your opposition.

 

[RUBOB72]

Wednesday November 10th
Down 63-61 Geo Baker makes a jumper at 0:45 knotting the game and sending RU in OT vs. Lehigh
RU win 73-70

Saturday November 27th
Down 83-82 Noah Fernandez makes a 3 with 0:00 on clock
RU loses 83-85

Monday November 22nd
Down 51-50 Kyle Jenkins makes a 3 with 0:02 on clock
RU loses 51-53

Thursday December 9
Down 68-67 Ron Harper makes a 3 with 0:00 on clock
RU wins 70-68

Wednesday January 19th
Down 48-46 Keegan Murray misses a 3 with 0:00 on clock
RU wins 48-46

Saturday January 22nd
Down 65-66 Geo Baker misses a 3 with 0:09 on clock
RU loses 65-68

3 possessions from 14-5
3 possessions from 8-11

Thanks Greene: I ‘m sure your summation makes all Rutgers fans feel all warm and fuzzy with what could have been. Come on man you ‘re better than that. We are only a mediocre team as of this date. The intensity levels are not all Pikiell ‘s fault much belongs with assistants and the players themselves.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Thanks Greene: I ‘m sure your summation makes all Rutgers fans feel all warm and fuzzy with what could have been. Come on man you ‘re better than that. We are only a mediocre team as of this date. The intensity levels are not all Pikiell ‘s fault much belongs with assistants and the players themselves.

Not at all. The problems with this team are obvious to see. This has nothing to do with showing how good we are or aren't. It is to show how razor thin a good or bad season can be.

Not to do with this thread....I disagree with your assessment. We don't have an intensity problem. We have an offensive skill problem.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

I guarantee if we were 14-5 and I posted if we had 6 bad possessions we would be 8-11 99% of people would say (with the same team!) but we know how to win close games. No one would say we are lucky or play bad basketball.

 

[Plum Street]

Season is a disaster not making the tournament . This team should achieve that . But some nice moments and the purdue moment, which will live on forever.
20 years from now the Harper highlight will be shown at jersey mikes arena (or wherever we are playing then ) . Many watching it won’t remember if that was the tournament year or not

 

[bac2therac]

I guarantee if we were 14-5 and I posted if we had 6 bad possessions we would be 8-11 99% of people would say (with the same team!) but we know how to win close games. No one would say we are lucky or play bad basketball.

that didnt happen, would it happen