From the NU forum

[RUich]

"Rutgers is the best "bad" team in the country. If there was a most improved award over the course of a season, they would own it."

A lot of respect for RU (How's that for a change???) from most of the posters.

 

[RutgersRaRa]

The confluence of three events happened to make us more respected, all of which are interconnected: Jordan, who didn't coach, was fired; Pikiell, who does coach, was hired; and the players didn't transfer.

 

[MV9000]

Really really good to see people recognizing the strides this program has taken. Pike can flat out coach. The players are buying and working harder than anyone to stay competitive without the talent across the roster.

Truly amazing the last Jordan year performance to the first Pike year.

Lets beat NW!

 

[ColonelRutgers]

We blew the game against them just two weeks ago and they were lucky to escape with a win so they should respect us.

 

[srru86]

Chicago Tribune
Rutgers tops Ohio State, earns Big Ten tourney date with Northwestern
"Pikiell pointed in appreciation to a small but vocal group of Rutgers fans and was mobbed by the school band as he made his way off the court."
Thanks BK118 and crew.

 

[AreYouNUTS]

75% from the line or bust

 

[MV9000]

Imagine if we hit Ft's all year.... i think our record would hum a different tune. Nigel also was HUGE last night.

 

[RUInFlorida]

Imagine if we hit Ft's all year.... i think our record would hum a different tune. Nigel also was HUGE last night.

He's been our most consistent player all year, especially from the free throw line and three point land. Really happy that he played so well on the big stage, too.

The BTN announcers said "Nobody in this tournament wants to play Rutgers." Imagine someone predicting that at this time last year, they would have been laughed off the site! Proud of Coach Pikiell and this team.

 

[RU82]

The whole 'nobody wants to play Rutgers' thing perplexes me a bit. I mean, would anyone rather play Michigan St. or Purdue than us?

 

[knights1212]

Hopefully the third time is the charm. We should have won the last time we played Northwestern.

 

[bac2therac]

The whole 'nobody wants to play Rutgers' thing perplexes me a bit. I mean, would anyone rather play Michigan St. or Purdue than us?

this is true....I think no one wants to play Rutgers because of hard they play, means that if you get up by 10-12 points they will not give up, some teams like Indiana and Nebraska might fold in those situation...heartless gutless teams....RU may not be very good in terms of ranking in league but they are a bitch to play because you have to play the full 40 minutes, once you start letting up that is when Pike and company go to work. But yes given the choice most teams would rather play Rutgers than Michigan State 100% of the time

 

[RutgersRaRa]

this is true....I think no one wants to play Rutgers because of hard they play, means that if you get up by 10-12 points they will not give up, some teams like Indiana and Nebraska might fold in those situation...heartless gutless teams....RU may not be very good in terms of ranking in league but they are a bitch to play because you have to play the full 40 minutes, once you start letting up that is when Pike and company go to work. But yes given the choice most teams would rather play Rutgers than Michigan State 100% of the time

As pissed as I was when we went down 10 last night, I said to myself, "Well, we're in our comfort zone again." Maybe we are starting to get comfortable playing with a lead, because we've had one in virtually every game we've played this year. That's how you win games--not just coming from behind, but maintaining and growing leads.

 

[AreYouNUTS]

The whole 'nobody wants to play Rutgers' thing perplexes me a bit. I mean, would anyone rather play Michigan St. or Purdue than us?

I think that's more of a 1st/2nd round thing when said.

 

[RUInFlorida]

I think that's more of a 1st/2nd round thing when said.

That's actually not what the announcer said, but no point in arguing about it. The moral of the story is that we're getting respect despite a lousy record on paper. That's a huge credit to Coach Pikiell and the nightly hustle of these kids.

 

[TheB1GTerp]

He's been our most consistent player all year, especially from the free throw line and three point land. Really happy that he played so well on the big stage, too.

The BTN announcers said "Nobody in this tournament wants to play Rutgers." Imagine someone predicting that at this time last year, they would have been laughed off the site! Proud of Coach Pikiell and this team.

I would like to play Rutgers. Third straight game you should be out of gas. We've beat Northwestern pretty handily too, I just hope that you wear each other out lol.

 

[RUChoppin]

The whole 'nobody wants to play Rutgers' thing perplexes me a bit. I mean, would anyone rather play Michigan St. or Purdue than us?

I don't think it's a matter of "rather would play someone other than Rutgers". Last year coming into the tournament, I'd say every team did *want* Rutgers for their first game... easy win, can rest the starters a lot, tune up for a deeper run in the conference tourney. Now? No one is saying they *want* this game anymore... not saying they would rather play Purdue, but we're no longer the doormat "gimme" game.

Agree with Terp, though, that once the third day comes, I'd imagine most teams would want us coming off of two consecutive games rather than a higher seed coming off a prior day game.

 

[MOBFreehold]

The whole 'nobody wants to play Rutgers' thing perplexes me a bit. I mean, would anyone rather play Michigan St. or Purdue than us?

I think it is a nice way to say nobody wants to lose to Rutgers (which at this point could happen). This league is very balanced this year and Rutgers improvement just shows that even more

 

[RUBigFrank]

what it means is that no one wants to be known as losing to the last place team prior perception.

That is why every team in conference season that we played brought their A game. I don't recall a game that the opposing team came in as a "let down".

 

[AreYouNUTS]

what it means is that no one wants to be known as losing to the last place team prior perception.

".

Disagree. You didn't hear anyone saying that the last 2 years. Big difference.

 

[RUBigFrank]

meaning we qare a tougher game this season than the prior two years - read what it means.

 

[AreYouNUTS]

Think what you want.

 

[Rufaninga]

The whole 'nobody wants to play Rutgers' thing perplexes me a bit. I mean, would anyone rather play Michigan St. or Purdue than us?

When you play a team focused on scoring they can have an off night shooting and be out of it.

Since we focus on defense and fighting for rebounds we will have a punchers chance even though our shots are not falling. You can change up a D and take other teams out of scoring rhythm and their comfort zone.

We are a tough out now, where we used to be an easy Win.

 

[BoroKnight]

The whole 'nobody wants to play Rutgers' thing perplexes me a bit. I mean, would anyone rather play Michigan St. or Purdue than us?

The "nobody wants to play X" quotes almost always refer to a losing team capable of playing well, or a losing team that is often in competitive games. It doesn't apply to truly good teams with winning records.

 

[MikeR0102]

Just win baby!

 

[CranfordKnight]

LOL, board is fighting over the meaning of an overused cliche.

 

[RUInFlorida]

Think what you want.

I will. Thanks.