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GAME 10 Seton Hall: The Needle and the Very Fine Line

bac2therac

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Jul 30, 2001
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I considered hammering the team and coaching staff real hard as I sat down to write this but as it wore on I think I hit them a bit less violently. Not the end of the world but its eye opening and again it comes back to my fears I spoke about before. Its something we have to live with.

The thread follows the needle,
The thread follows the needle,
In and out the needle goes,

This is Pike's philosophy and we have seen it in all 3 NCAA years prior. A team built almost entirely on defense and hunger with a dash of bigtime shot making. Big wins, big highs when that thread is weaving out in out and like butter not even grazing the needle at all. When things go right that needle become cavernous. The defensive domination leads to great success on offense. However in the three prior years in addition to those big wins, there were inexplicable losses, no shows, anemic offensive games...that will happen sometimes when you try to thread your season through a needle with a philosphy which almost exclusively concentrates on defense over offense. In prior years, there were superstars like Geo and Ron that could overcome alot of the struggles on offense. They lived for these moments. Problem is Steve Pikiell did not replace them. Oh his defense is as good and potentially better than its ever been. I really think that. However when all of your starters and right down to your bench are below average shooters, that needle can look microscopic. I have seen posters say that this years team is better than last year...omg that is hogwash, they are completely focusing on one aspect of the team but dismissing the white elephant in the room. You cannot lose players like Geo and Ron and replace them with what Steve did. The remaining players on the team are all flawed in some ways and we have gone ad nauseum about their weaknesses. These are not players that can create their own shots or have shown the ability to hit shots in crunch time. We overrate our starters. Our defense is sparkling. That is why it rates in the top 10 in many catagories. Our offense is dreadful. Steve Pikiell threaded the needle the past 3 seasons and RU was able to squeak into the NCAAs. He is an incredible coach but he walks a very fine line with his roster and particularly this season which seemingly is lacking the options up and down.

For as good as RU's defense was tonight, it was inadequate and indescribably dreadful on the offensive end. Give major credit to Shaheen Holloway and Seton Hall, they played at a slighter higher intensity level than RU from the get go, overcoming any RAC home court edge and not only that they were tougher than RU on the boards and most importantly when it mattered in crunch time. This is not a good SHU team currently. Tough one but likely not a NCAA team. I do not care much about the rivalry anymore. I do not care we lost to Seton Hall. I care we lost to a middling team on our home court...and RU already lost to a middling team in Temple on the road in a game where we once again were outtoughed but this time we were at full strength. Seton Hall came into the vaunted RAC and served notice what kind of game this would be. Surprisingly Pikiell's team seemed unprepared for the type of relentless pressure that SHU was going to throw at us. To make matters worse when your star center cannot stay on the court in the first half because of foul trouble for the 3rd or 4th game straight then we have a serious problem. Cliff going out allowed SHU to control that first half. Credit Pike for risking alot by putting Cliff back into the game with about 4 minutes and 2 fouls and Cliff responded with 5 points, RU put on a dazzling display of defense forcing shot clock violations and turnovers. The RAC was back jumping and you could feel the tide turning. The run was 14-3 over about 6 minutes. This was suddenly going the way it was supposed to be. Surely it would continue in the 2nd half. right?

After a couple minutes of offensive ineptitude from both teams. RU could back to back beautiful contributions with two sweet moves to the hoop by Mag. RU was up 30-23, the joint was rocking and Holloway sensing his team was in danger of falling out of the game called timeout with 16:52. SHU got a wide open look, got another rebound and another look at 3 and then someone wrested the ball away from I believe Cam on another rebound where they hit a layup to cut it to 30-25 but more importantly it signaled that SHU was not going away. The sequence seemed to invigorate the sputtering Pirates who had been outscored 18-4 over 9 minutes. I believe RU was winning the battle of boards 19-14 previous to that play. The rest of the way SHU would dominate 16-7. It tells you alot about how one series of misses and boards and finally converting on the third chance played a pivotal roll in how the game would play out. RU would hit a 5 minute stretch of with no points and lost the lead at 34-33. RU turned it over 5x in that stretch including 3 by Paul Mulcahy. When your star leader is screwing up, the offense is going to degenerate into a train wreck and it did.

There was a brief moment where the RAC once again came alive. RU a couple of stops and 2 Paul free throws and Caleb hoisting a 3 with the shot clocking running down, suddenly its 38-34 and RU gets another point. I think many agree a big turning point happened on the next possesion. Caleb grabs rebound, dribbles down court, instead of resetting for good shot on a big possession up 4, Caleb inexplicably throws up a 3 immediately. Bad shot, bad decision, bad outcome by a senior leader. RU would only score 5 points the rest of the way. Yes 5 points, 2 fgs in the last 9 minutes, I do not care how phenomenal your defense is, you are not going to win basketball games scoring 5 points in the last 9 minutes and 10 in the last 14. Its complete failure on this entire team and coaching staff.

I said after the game. It does not matter how many shots RU had to win the game,in the final possessions, it was never going to win this game. Those last few possessions were criminal. I was shocked that a Pikiell coached team would run an offense like that wasting 20 seconds at a time on 2 of the 3 final possessions I cannot even explain. The failure runs deep. From Cliff to Paul to Caleb to Aundre to Pikiell. Will someone tell me what in the hell was going on. It looked like I was back in a Fred Hill game vs Jackson State. No team has any justification to look that bad on its fast few possession. Rutgers was not going to win this game. Seton Hall deserved it as crappy as they played. Give them credit for their gameplan and taking the crowd out and being tougher.

You want your team to gut out a win because a win is always better than a loss. Even with a win this team would need to be criticized greatly. I was surprised there was a lack of leadership and hunger down the stretch. The players want to win. Yet I did not see the signs of anyone wanting to take charge and that is a disappointment. Tonight shows how slim that margin is and its truly about how small the needle is. If there are breakdowns in the cogs of the wheel, this team can be really bad on one end of the court.

The season isnt over not by a longshot. Last year told us that. Still where are our Ron and Geo. They are not coming to save this team. This team now with 3 out of conference losses....one to a ncaa team but now 2 to middle of the road teams and yet ooc trying to hang its hat on UMass Lowell. As good as Indiana win was, now there is pressure building for more Indiana type win and they will have to do it on the road. I am less certain than I was a week ago, but thats okay, I was less certain before the Indiana game. This program can win this year and have a special season. Its no god given guarantee and we need to start accepting some major flaws in the makeup. Our bench is extremely limited and the players who have potential are mistake prone youngsters. Rutgers is still one of the best defensive team in the country and that puts us in almost every game in the Big 10. But you only get so many screwups. Now with Temple and SHU losses, Rutgers is starting to put themselves in a very familiar position under Pike's tenure of having to thread that needle once again.

Sometimes I think we've come too far
If we're lost and if not where we are
Half of us is easy, the other half is hard
Even though we do our best, we end up being scarred
By the time there's nothin' left to choose
One man puts the fire out, the other lights the fuse
It's a fine line
A very fine line
Split decision
It's a fine line
Split decision
Oh, it's a fine line
It's a very fine line
Split decision
It's a fine line
A very fine line

 
I considered hammering the team and coaching staff real hard as I sat down to write this but as it wore on I think I hit them a bit less violently. Not the end of the world but its eye opening and again it comes back to my fears I spoke about before. Its something we have to live with.

The thread follows the needle,
The thread follows the needle,
In and out the needle goes,

This is Pike's philosophy and we have seen it in all 3 NCAA years prior. A team built almost entirely on defense and hunger with a dash of bigtime shot making. Big wins, big highs when that thread is weaving out in out and like butter not even grazing the needle at all. When things go right that needle become cavernous. The defensive domination leads to great success on offense. However in the three prior years in addition to those big wins, there were inexplicable losses, no shows, anemic offensive games...that will happen sometimes when you try to thread your season through a needle with a philosphy which almost exclusively concentrates on defense over offense. In prior years, there were superstars like Geo and Ron that could overcome alot of the struggles on offense. They lived for these moments. Problem is Steve Pikiell did not replace them. Oh his defense is as good and potentially better than its ever been. I really think that. However when all of your starters and right down to your bench are below average shooters, that needle can look microscopic. I have seen posters say that this years team is better than last year...omg that is hogwash, they are completely focusing on one aspect of the team but dismissing the white elephant in the room. You cannot lose players like Geo and Ron and replace them with what Steve did. The remaining players on the team are all flawed in some ways and we have gone ad nauseum about their weaknesses. These are not players that can create their own shots or have shown the ability to hit shots in crunch time. We overrate our starters. Our defense is sparkling. That is why it rates in the top 10 in many catagories. Our offense is dreadful. Steve Pikiell threaded the needle the past 3 seasons and RU was able to squeak into the NCAAs. He is an incredible coach but he walks a very fine line with his roster and particularly this season which seemingly is lacking the options up and down.

For as good as RU's defense was tonight, it was inadequate and indescribably dreadful on the offensive end. Give major credit to Shaheen Holloway and Seton Hall, they played at a slighter higher intensity level than RU from the get go, overcoming any RAC home court edge and not only that they were tougher than RU on the boards and most importantly when it mattered in crunch time. This is not a good SHU team currently. Tough one but likely not a NCAA team. I do not care much about the rivalry anymore. I do not care we lost to Seton Hall. I care we lost to a middling team on our home court...and RU already lost to a middling team in Temple on the road in a game where we once again were outtoughed but this time we were at full strength. Seton Hall came into the vaunted RAC and served notice what kind of game this would be. Surprisingly Pikiell's team seemed unprepared for the type of relentless pressure that SHU was going to throw at us. To make matters worse when your star center cannot stay on the court in the first half because of foul trouble for the 3rd or 4th game straight then we have a serious problem. Cliff going out allowed SHU to control that first half. Credit Pike for risking alot by putting Cliff back into the game with about 4 minutes and 2 fouls and Cliff responded with 5 points, RU put on a dazzling display of defense forcing shot clock violations and turnovers. The RAC was back jumping and you could feel the tide turning. The run was 14-3 over about 6 minutes. This was suddenly going the way it was supposed to be. Surely it would continue in the 2nd half. right?

After a couple minutes of offensive ineptitude from both teams. RU could back to back beautiful contributions with two sweet moves to the hoop by Mag. RU was up 30-23, the joint was rocking and Holloway sensing his team was in danger of falling out of the game called timeout with 16:52. SHU got a wide open look, got another rebound and another look at 3 and then someone wrested the ball away from I believe Cam on another rebound where they hit a layup to cut it to 30-25 but more importantly it signaled that SHU was not going away. The sequence seemed to invigorate the sputtering Pirates who had been outscored 18-4 over 9 minutes. I believe RU was winning the battle of boards 19-14 previous to that play. The rest of the way SHU would dominate 16-7. It tells you alot about how one series of misses and boards and finally converting on the third chance played a pivotal roll in how the game would play out. RU would hit a 5 minute stretch of with no points and lost the lead at 34-33. RU turned it over 5x in that stretch including 3 by Paul Mulcahy. When your star leader is screwing up, the offense is going to degenerate into a train wreck and it did.

There was a brief moment where the RAC once again came alive. RU a couple of stops and 2 Paul free throws and Caleb hoisting a 3 with the shot clocking running down, suddenly its 38-34 and RU gets another point. I think many agree a big turning point happened on the next possesion. Caleb grabs rebound, dribbles down court, instead of resetting for good shot on a big possession up 4, Caleb inexplicably throws up a 3 immediately. Bad shot, bad decision, bad outcome by a senior leader. RU would only score 5 points the rest of the way. Yes 5 points, 2 fgs in the last 9 minutes, I do not care how phenomenal your defense is, you are not going to win basketball games scoring 5 points in the last 9 minutes and 10 in the last 14. Its complete failure on this entire team and coaching staff.

I said after the game. It does not matter how many shots RU had to win the game,in the final possessions, it was never going to win this game. Those last few possessions were criminal. I was shocked that a Pikiell coached team would run an offense like that wasting 20 seconds at a time on 2 of the 3 final possessions I cannot even explain. The failure runs deep. From Cliff to Paul to Caleb to Aundre to Pikiell. Will someone tell me what in the hell was going on. It looked like I was back in a Fred Hill game vs Jackson State. No team has any justification to look that bad on its fast few possession. Rutgers was not going to win this game. Seton Hall deserved it as crappy as they played. Give them credit for their gameplan and taking the crowd out and being tougher.

You want your team to gut out a win because a win is always better than a loss. Even with a win this team would need to be criticized greatly. I was surprised there was a lack of leadership and hunger down the stretch. The players want to win. Yet I did not see the signs of anyone wanting to take charge and that is a disappointment. Tonight shows how slim that margin is and its truly about how small the needle is. If there are breakdowns in the cogs of the wheel, this team can be really bad on one end of the court.

The season isnt over not by a longshot. Last year told us that. Still where are our Ron and Geo. They are not coming to save this team. This team now with 3 out of conference losses....one to a ncaa team but now 2 to middle of the road teams and yet ooc trying to hang its hat on UMass Lowell. As good as Indiana win was, now there is pressure building for more Indiana type win and they will have to do it on the road. I am less certain than I was a week ago, but thats okay, I was less certain before the Indiana game. This program can win this year and have a special season. Its no god given guarantee and we need to start accepting some major flaws in the makeup. Our bench is extremely limited and the players who have potential are mistake prone youngsters. Rutgers is still one of the best defensive team in the country and that puts us in almost every game in the Big 10. But you only get so many screwups. Now with Temple and SHU losses, Rutgers is starting to put themselves in a very familiar position under Pike's tenure of having to thread that needle once again.

Sometimes I think we've come too far
If we're lost and if not where we are
Half of us is easy, the other half is hard
Even though we do our best, we end up being scarred
By the time there's nothin' left to choose
One man puts the fire out, the other lights the fuse
It's a fine line
A very fine line
Split decision
It's a fine line
Split decision
Oh, it's a fine line
It's a very fine line
Split decision
It's a fine line
A very fine line

Ok but we have Gavin coming next year, hopefully DH and a friend or two after that. We were one of the worst teams in the country. We r recruiting kids we’re never would have been talking to years ago. Enjoy the climb. We R climbing. Will be bumps.
 
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Ok but we have Gavin coming next year, hopefully DH and a friend or two after that. We were one of the worst teams in the country. We r recruiting kids we’re never would have been talking to years ago. Enjoy the climb. We R climbing. Will be bumps.


I can agree with that, we might not be a NCAA team this season, I am not sure others realize that.
 
Decent review but as poor a shooting night as it was not one mention of 18 turnovers?? Wasn’t that a bigger issue?

Refs matter and it was abundantly clear that RU was not mentally recovered from devastating loss at OSU due to refs.

Not comment of the irony that once again with the game on the line the refs didn’t notice the opposition step on the line? RU gets the ball last chance to tie or win?

No comment that Hyatt appears to be improving.

No comment that RU shot 10/11 from the line and that almost won us the game. Weirdly Caleb again missed crucial foul shot in almost identical situation?

No comment that RU requests all fans to wear Red to the game. AD shows up in all black. Odd. Bad karma
 
Favored by 8 today, L. Up 3 with 7.7 seconds in Columbus. Fouled with 5.8. I believe up 10 in Miami. And Temple. Last year we had to beat back the Lafayette loss. But those are a lot of winnable games squandered. Even if we beat WF (not a given) and two cup cakes we’ll need to go 500 in the B1G to get to 18 wins. I’m not sure that gets it done. I’m also not sure this group can get 10 B1G wins. Defense can help win, but not when the offense is that stagnant. I can’t say how many times I heard the students counting down our own shot clock tonight. We’ve won one NCAA game in 40 years and I fear we’ve seen the best we’re getting the last 2-3 years.
 
Decent review but as poor a shooting night as it was not one mention of 18 turnovers?? Wasn’t that a bigger issue?

Refs matter and it was abundantly clear that RU was not mentally recovered from devastating loss at OSU due to refs.

Not comment of the irony that once again with the game on the line the refs didn’t notice the opposition step on the line? RU gets the ball last chance to tie or win?

No comment that Hyatt appears to be improving.

No comment that RU shot 10/11 from the line and that almost won us the game. Weirdly Caleb again missed crucial foul shot in almost identical situation?

No comment that RU requests all fans to wear Red to the game. AD shows up in all black. Odd. Bad karma


Caleb and Paul turnover machines. For some reasons these guys have been given passes on criticism but these two and Cliff are the reasons we lost.

Its not Cam, Hyatt or lack of bench its because our three mainstays came up empty
 
I considered hammering the team and coaching staff real hard as I sat down to write this but as it wore on I think I hit them a bit less violently. Not the end of the world but its eye opening and again it comes back to my fears I spoke about before. Its something we have to live with.

The thread follows the needle,
The thread follows the needle,
In and out the needle goes,

This is Pike's philosophy and we have seen it in all 3 NCAA years prior. A team built almost entirely on defense and hunger with a dash of bigtime shot making. Big wins, big highs when that thread is weaving out in out and like butter not even grazing the needle at all. When things go right that needle become cavernous. The defensive domination leads to great success on offense. However in the three prior years in addition to those big wins, there were inexplicable losses, no shows, anemic offensive games...that will happen sometimes when you try to thread your season through a needle with a philosphy which almost exclusively concentrates on defense over offense. In prior years, there were superstars like Geo and Ron that could overcome alot of the struggles on offense. They lived for these moments. Problem is Steve Pikiell did not replace them. Oh his defense is as good and potentially better than its ever been. I really think that. However when all of your starters and right down to your bench are below average shooters, that needle can look microscopic. I have seen posters say that this years team is better than last year...omg that is hogwash, they are completely focusing on one aspect of the team but dismissing the white elephant in the room. You cannot lose players like Geo and Ron and replace them with what Steve did. The remaining players on the team are all flawed in some ways and we have gone ad nauseum about their weaknesses. These are not players that can create their own shots or have shown the ability to hit shots in crunch time. We overrate our starters. Our defense is sparkling. That is why it rates in the top 10 in many catagories. Our offense is dreadful. Steve Pikiell threaded the needle the past 3 seasons and RU was able to squeak into the NCAAs. He is an incredible coach but he walks a very fine line with his roster and particularly this season which seemingly is lacking the options up and down.

For as good as RU's defense was tonight, it was inadequate and indescribably dreadful on the offensive end. Give major credit to Shaheen Holloway and Seton Hall, they played at a slighter higher intensity level than RU from the get go, overcoming any RAC home court edge and not only that they were tougher than RU on the boards and most importantly when it mattered in crunch time. This is not a good SHU team currently. Tough one but likely not a NCAA team. I do not care much about the rivalry anymore. I do not care we lost to Seton Hall. I care we lost to a middling team on our home court...and RU already lost to a middling team in Temple on the road in a game where we once again were outtoughed but this time we were at full strength. Seton Hall came into the vaunted RAC and served notice what kind of game this would be. Surprisingly Pikiell's team seemed unprepared for the type of relentless pressure that SHU was going to throw at us. To make matters worse when your star center cannot stay on the court in the first half because of foul trouble for the 3rd or 4th game straight then we have a serious problem. Cliff going out allowed SHU to control that first half. Credit Pike for risking alot by putting Cliff back into the game with about 4 minutes and 2 fouls and Cliff responded with 5 points, RU put on a dazzling display of defense forcing shot clock violations and turnovers. The RAC was back jumping and you could feel the tide turning. The run was 14-3 over about 6 minutes. This was suddenly going the way it was supposed to be. Surely it would continue in the 2nd half. right?

After a couple minutes of offensive ineptitude from both teams. RU could back to back beautiful contributions with two sweet moves to the hoop by Mag. RU was up 30-23, the joint was rocking and Holloway sensing his team was in danger of falling out of the game called timeout with 16:52. SHU got a wide open look, got another rebound and another look at 3 and then someone wrested the ball away from I believe Cam on another rebound where they hit a layup to cut it to 30-25 but more importantly it signaled that SHU was not going away. The sequence seemed to invigorate the sputtering Pirates who had been outscored 18-4 over 9 minutes. I believe RU was winning the battle of boards 19-14 previous to that play. The rest of the way SHU would dominate 16-7. It tells you alot about how one series of misses and boards and finally converting on the third chance played a pivotal roll in how the game would play out. RU would hit a 5 minute stretch of with no points and lost the lead at 34-33. RU turned it over 5x in that stretch including 3 by Paul Mulcahy. When your star leader is screwing up, the offense is going to degenerate into a train wreck and it did.

There was a brief moment where the RAC once again came alive. RU a couple of stops and 2 Paul free throws and Caleb hoisting a 3 with the shot clocking running down, suddenly its 38-34 and RU gets another point. I think many agree a big turning point happened on the next possesion. Caleb grabs rebound, dribbles down court, instead of resetting for good shot on a big possession up 4, Caleb inexplicably throws up a 3 immediately. Bad shot, bad decision, bad outcome by a senior leader. RU would only score 5 points the rest of the way. Yes 5 points, 2 fgs in the last 9 minutes, I do not care how phenomenal your defense is, you are not going to win basketball games scoring 5 points in the last 9 minutes and 10 in the last 14. Its complete failure on this entire team and coaching staff.

I said after the game. It does not matter how many shots RU had to win the game,in the final possessions, it was never going to win this game. Those last few possessions were criminal. I was shocked that a Pikiell coached team would run an offense like that wasting 20 seconds at a time on 2 of the 3 final possessions I cannot even explain. The failure runs deep. From Cliff to Paul to Caleb to Aundre to Pikiell. Will someone tell me what in the hell was going on. It looked like I was back in a Fred Hill game vs Jackson State. No team has any justification to look that bad on its fast few possession. Rutgers was not going to win this game. Seton Hall deserved it as crappy as they played. Give them credit for their gameplan and taking the crowd out and being tougher.

You want your team to gut out a win because a win is always better than a loss. Even with a win this team would need to be criticized greatly. I was surprised there was a lack of leadership and hunger down the stretch. The players want to win. Yet I did not see the signs of anyone wanting to take charge and that is a disappointment. Tonight shows how slim that margin is and its truly about how small the needle is. If there are breakdowns in the cogs of the wheel, this team can be really bad on one end of the court.

The season isnt over not by a longshot. Last year told us that. Still where are our Ron and Geo. They are not coming to save this team. This team now with 3 out of conference losses....one to a ncaa team but now 2 to middle of the road teams and yet ooc trying to hang its hat on UMass Lowell. As good as Indiana win was, now there is pressure building for more Indiana type win and they will have to do it on the road. I am less certain than I was a week ago, but thats okay, I was less certain before the Indiana game. This program can win this year and have a special season. Its no god given guarantee and we need to start accepting some major flaws in the makeup. Our bench is extremely limited and the players who have potential are mistake prone youngsters. Rutgers is still one of the best defensive team in the country and that puts us in almost every game in the Big 10. But you only get so many screwups. Now with Temple and SHU losses, Rutgers is starting to put themselves in a very familiar position under Pike's tenure of having to thread that needle once again.

Sometimes I think we've come too far
If we're lost and if not where we are
Half of us is easy, the other half is hard
Even though we do our best, we end up being scarred
By the time there's nothin' left to choose
One man puts the fire out, the other lights the fuse
It's a fine line
A very fine line
Split decision
It's a fine line
Split decision
Oh, it's a fine line
It's a very fine line
Split decision
It's a fine line
A very fine line

We were very soft mentally tonight and allowed a very mediocre team to basically punk us.
 
Some observations from my end:

- Team lacks ability to close out games.
- Turning point of the game was that idiotic 3 pointer that Caleb took when we were up 38-34. Stupid play
- Only player who played to his capability was Mag.
- Team was out muscled and out toughed and out coached
- We should have had some more of Dean in the game. We couldn't score to save our lives and Dean could hit the 3.
- Cliff again gets embarrased when playing someone his size.
- Caleb was horrid along with Cliff and Cam.
- Hyatt is weak and soft. How many bunnies can one guy consistently keep on missing
- The turnovers were atrocious

Very depressing game !
 
Caleb and Paul turnover machines. For some reasons these guys have been given passes on criticism but these two and Cliff are the reasons we lost.

Its not Cam, Hyatt or lack of bench its because our three mainstays came up empty

The fans quick to jump on Cam but this loss was on Caleb and Paul. Cliff has to play smarter in so many ways. Two dumb quick fouls again, stupid technical foul, bad three, awful turnover…. No points…
Fouls shooting was nice! And pure!

Reiber had some productive minutes.
 
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I'll never leave the RAC upset if we play and execute like we did defensively. The Jordan era made me furious. I started hated going to games.

This is a flawed roster. We won't be this good defensively every night, but if we are I doubt we will lose at home again.

Tonight was the blueprint...Every time I'll take the bet of having to score 46 points in 59 possessions.

My fear with this team, and I said it before the season started, we don't have end game scorers and we could lose a lot of close games.

We are now 0-3. I can see this team being the polar opposite of last year. A NET of 40 but a record of 15-16.
 
Exactly. Our leaders were horrible


the whole Cliff saga needs a seperate thread he is the number one issue right now...multiple times not being able to stay on the court in the first half, wild swings from half to half game to game and this game both halves stunk save for that 1 minute stretch before halftime
 
The fans quick to jump on Cam but this loss was on Caleb and Paul. Cliff has to play smarter I’m so many ways. Two quick fouls, stupid technical, bad three, awful turnover…. No points…

Reiber had some productive minutes subbing


the loss starts and ends with Paul, Caleb, Cliff and Pike
 
Some observations from my end:

- Team lacks ability to close out games.
- Turning point of the game was that idiotic 3 pointer that Caleb took when we were up 38-34. Stupid play
- Only player who played to his capability was Mag.
- Team was out muscled and out toughed and out coached
- We should have had some more of Dean in the game. We couldn't score to save our lives and Dean could hit the 3.
- Cliff again gets embarrased when playing someone his size.
- Caleb was horrid along with Cliff and Cam.
- Hyatt is weak and soft. How many bunnies can one guy consistently keep on missing
- The turnovers were atrocious

Very depressing game !
funny i wanted Woolfolk....
 
the whole Cliff saga needs a seperate thread he is the number one issue right now...multiple times not being able to stay on the court in the first half, wild swings from half to half game to game and this game both halves stunk save for that 1 minute stretch before halftime
He also needs to just stop with the 3 point nonsense. It’s another turnover at this point
 
eI'll never leave the RAC upset if we play and execute like we did defensively. The Jordan era made me furious. I started hated going to games.

This is a flawed roster. We won't be this good defensively every night, but if we are I doubt we will lose at home again.

Tonight was the blueprint...Every time I'll take the bet of having to score 46 points in 59 possessions.

My fear with this team, and I said it before the season started, we don't have end game scorers and we could lose a lot of close games.

We are now 0-3. I can see this team being the polar opposite of last year. A NET of 40 but a record of 15-16.


once we get to the point where it looks like we wont be making a NCAA run, then I will have some peace. Two tough games before christmas
 
the whole Cliff saga needs a seperate thread he is the number one issue right now...multiple times not being able to stay on the court in the first half, wild swings from half to half game to game and this game both halves stunk save for that 1 minute stretch before halftime
Cliff is not acting like a captain getting ffouls being frusterated

For those who want to blast Pike.....him inserting Cliff back for 2 minutes before the last 1st half media to was a game changer (at the time)
 
once we get to the point where it looks like we wont be making a NCAA run, then I will have some peace. Two tough games before christmas
I am close to there actually and I am relentlessly positive but very hard to be positive with such a brutally bad performance and end game situations providing nothing to feel good about
 
once we get to the point where it looks like we wont be making a NCAA run, then I will have some peace. Two tough games before christmas
i am actually more bullish on this team today than i was before the season started....unfortunately we have dug a hole again.

We are a MINUS 3 and don't want to get to MINUS 4. A loss to WF makes a MINUS 5 an almost given.

I look at the 24 real games. We are now 1-4 in those games.
 
Ok but we have Gavin coming next year, hopefully DH and a friend or two after that. We were one of the worst teams in the country. We r recruiting kids we’re never would have been talking to years ago. Enjoy the climb. We R climbing. Will be bumps.
You need more than 1 Gavin every year the leaders in the big get 2 top players each year so while it’s great we got Gavin we struck out on too many others and that’s a problem
 
i am actually more bullish on this team today than i was before the season started....unfortunately we have dug a hole again.

We are a MINUS 3 and don't want to get to MINUS 4. A loss to WF makes a MINUS 5 an almost given.

I look at the 24 real games. We are now 1-4 in those games.


I had us starting 0-3 to start the Big 10 but also 10-1 OOC

the next 3 are must wins, cannot afford one loss before Purdue
 
Some observations from my end:

- Team lacks ability to close out games.
- Turning point of the game was that idiotic 3 pointer that Caleb took when we were up 38-34. Stupid play
- Only player who played to his capability was Mag.
- Team was out muscled and out toughed and out coached
- We should have had some more of Dean in the game. We couldn't score to save our lives and Dean could hit the 3.
- Cliff again gets embarrased when playing someone his size.
- Caleb was horrid along with Cliff and Cam.
- Hyatt is weak and soft. How many bunnies can one guy consistently keep on missing
- The turnovers were atrocious

Very depressing game !
I agree with all of this except your point on Dean. He was exceptionally slow in this game., against a quick team. His reflexes didn’t even allow him to get rebounds right near him, and there was a time in the game when he and Cam were on the court at the same time, where I thought Seton Hall could have built a sizeable lead because they were both getting beat easily on D, but Pike put subs in just in time. He even had to put Cliff back in the game with two fouls in the first half because he correctly saw the game slipping away.
 
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I considered hammering the team and coaching staff real hard as I sat down to write this but as it wore on I think I hit them a bit less violently. Not the end of the world but its eye opening and again it comes back to my fears I spoke about before. Its something we have to live with.

The thread follows the needle,
The thread follows the needle,
In and out the needle goes,

This is Pike's philosophy and we have seen it in all 3 NCAA years prior. A team built almost entirely on defense and hunger with a dash of bigtime shot making. Big wins, big highs when that thread is weaving out in out and like butter not even grazing the needle at all. When things go right that needle become cavernous. The defensive domination leads to great success on offense. However in the three prior years in addition to those big wins, there were inexplicable losses, no shows, anemic offensive games...that will happen sometimes when you try to thread your season through a needle with a philosphy which almost exclusively concentrates on defense over offense. In prior years, there were superstars like Geo and Ron that could overcome alot of the struggles on offense. They lived for these moments. Problem is Steve Pikiell did not replace them. Oh his defense is as good and potentially better than its ever been. I really think that. However when all of your starters and right down to your bench are below average shooters, that needle can look microscopic. I have seen posters say that this years team is better than last year...omg that is hogwash, they are completely focusing on one aspect of the team but dismissing the white elephant in the room. You cannot lose players like Geo and Ron and replace them with what Steve did. The remaining players on the team are all flawed in some ways and we have gone ad nauseum about their weaknesses. These are not players that can create their own shots or have shown the ability to hit shots in crunch time. We overrate our starters. Our defense is sparkling. That is why it rates in the top 10 in many catagories. Our offense is dreadful. Steve Pikiell threaded the needle the past 3 seasons and RU was able to squeak into the NCAAs. He is an incredible coach but he walks a very fine line with his roster and particularly this season which seemingly is lacking the options up and down.

For as good as RU's defense was tonight, it was inadequate and indescribably dreadful on the offensive end. Give major credit to Shaheen Holloway and Seton Hall, they played at a slighter higher intensity level than RU from the get go, overcoming any RAC home court edge and not only that they were tougher than RU on the boards and most importantly when it mattered in crunch time. This is not a good SHU team currently. Tough one but likely not a NCAA team. I do not care much about the rivalry anymore. I do not care we lost to Seton Hall. I care we lost to a middling team on our home court...and RU already lost to a middling team in Temple on the road in a game where we once again were outtoughed but this time we were at full strength. Seton Hall came into the vaunted RAC and served notice what kind of game this would be. Surprisingly Pikiell's team seemed unprepared for the type of relentless pressure that SHU was going to throw at us. To make matters worse when your star center cannot stay on the court in the first half because of foul trouble for the 3rd or 4th game straight then we have a serious problem. Cliff going out allowed SHU to control that first half. Credit Pike for risking alot by putting Cliff back into the game with about 4 minutes and 2 fouls and Cliff responded with 5 points, RU put on a dazzling display of defense forcing shot clock violations and turnovers. The RAC was back jumping and you could feel the tide turning. The run was 14-3 over about 6 minutes. This was suddenly going the way it was supposed to be. Surely it would continue in the 2nd half. right?

After a couple minutes of offensive ineptitude from both teams. RU could back to back beautiful contributions with two sweet moves to the hoop by Mag. RU was up 30-23, the joint was rocking and Holloway sensing his team was in danger of falling out of the game called timeout with 16:52. SHU got a wide open look, got another rebound and another look at 3 and then someone wrested the ball away from I believe Cam on another rebound where they hit a layup to cut it to 30-25 but more importantly it signaled that SHU was not going away. The sequence seemed to invigorate the sputtering Pirates who had been outscored 18-4 over 9 minutes. I believe RU was winning the battle of boards 19-14 previous to that play. The rest of the way SHU would dominate 16-7. It tells you alot about how one series of misses and boards and finally converting on the third chance played a pivotal roll in how the game would play out. RU would hit a 5 minute stretch of with no points and lost the lead at 34-33. RU turned it over 5x in that stretch including 3 by Paul Mulcahy. When your star leader is screwing up, the offense is going to degenerate into a train wreck and it did.

There was a brief moment where the RAC once again came alive. RU a couple of stops and 2 Paul free throws and Caleb hoisting a 3 with the shot clocking running down, suddenly its 38-34 and RU gets another point. I think many agree a big turning point happened on the next possesion. Caleb grabs rebound, dribbles down court, instead of resetting for good shot on a big possession up 4, Caleb inexplicably throws up a 3 immediately. Bad shot, bad decision, bad outcome by a senior leader. RU would only score 5 points the rest of the way. Yes 5 points, 2 fgs in the last 9 minutes, I do not care how phenomenal your defense is, you are not going to win basketball games scoring 5 points in the last 9 minutes and 10 in the last 14. Its complete failure on this entire team and coaching staff.

I said after the game. It does not matter how many shots RU had to win the game,in the final possessions, it was never going to win this game. Those last few possessions were criminal. I was shocked that a Pikiell coached team would run an offense like that wasting 20 seconds at a time on 2 of the 3 final possessions I cannot even explain. The failure runs deep. From Cliff to Paul to Caleb to Aundre to Pikiell. Will someone tell me what in the hell was going on. It looked like I was back in a Fred Hill game vs Jackson State. No team has any justification to look that bad on its fast few possession. Rutgers was not going to win this game. Seton Hall deserved it as crappy as they played. Give them credit for their gameplan and taking the crowd out and being tougher.

You want your team to gut out a win because a win is always better than a loss. Even with a win this team would need to be criticized greatly. I was surprised there was a lack of leadership and hunger down the stretch. The players want to win. Yet I did not see the signs of anyone wanting to take charge and that is a disappointment. Tonight shows how slim that margin is and its truly about how small the needle is. If there are breakdowns in the cogs of the wheel, this team can be really bad on one end of the court.

The season isnt over not by a longshot. Last year told us that. Still where are our Ron and Geo. They are not coming to save this team. This team now with 3 out of conference losses....one to a ncaa team but now 2 to middle of the road teams and yet ooc trying to hang its hat on UMass Lowell. As good as Indiana win was, now there is pressure building for more Indiana type win and they will have to do it on the road. I am less certain than I was a week ago, but thats okay, I was less certain before the Indiana game. This program can win this year and have a special season. Its no god given guarantee and we need to start accepting some major flaws in the makeup. Our bench is extremely limited and the players who have potential are mistake prone youngsters. Rutgers is still one of the best defensive team in the country and that puts us in almost every game in the Big 10. But you only get so many screwups. Now with Temple and SHU losses, Rutgers is starting to put themselves in a very familiar position under Pike's tenure of having to thread that needle once again.

Sometimes I think we've come too far
If we're lost and if not where we are
Half of us is easy, the other half is hard
Even though we do our best, we end up being scarred
By the time there's nothin' left to choose
One man puts the fire out, the other lights the fuse
It's a fine line
A very fine line
Split decision
It's a fine line
Split decision
Oh, it's a fine line
It's a very fine line
Split decision
It's a fine line
A very fine line

I think your recaps are the problem. Possibly costing RU valuable Ws.
the whole Cliff saga needs a seperate thread he is the number one issue right now...multiple times not being able to stay on the court in the first half, wild swings from half to half game to game and this game both halves stunk save for that 1 minute stretch before halftime
You w
I had us starting 0-3 to start the Big 10 but also 10-1 OOC

the next 3 are must wins, cannot afford one loss before Purdue
None of your ultimatums would have any truth but for your soft approach.
 
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16-15 (8-12) thats what this team is. Just really lacks talent
You're going to be wrong again because you seem to forget that defense has value.
- Turning point of the game was that idiotic 3 pointer that Caleb took when we were up 38-34. Stupid play
With the looks we were getting all game not sure taking an open 3 in transition was a bad idea.
i am actually more bullish on this team today than i was before the season started....unfortunately we have dug a hole again.

We are a MINUS 3 and don't want to get to MINUS 4. A loss to WF makes a MINUS 5 an almost given.

I look at the 24 real games. We are now 1-4 in those games.
I am higher on the actual ability of the team than I was at the beginning of the season, but not sure if I am higher on our actual NCAA chances given we've pissed away (or been ****ed out of) a number of important wins at this point.
I think your recaps are the problem. Possibly costing RU valuable Ws.

You w

None of your ultimatums would have any truth but for your soft approach.
This is beginning to get deeply weird.
 
I considered hammering the team and coaching staff real hard as I sat down to write this but as it wore on I think I hit them a bit less violently. Not the end of the world but its eye opening and again it comes back to my fears I spoke about before. Its something we have to live with.

The thread follows the needle,
The thread follows the needle,
In and out the needle goes,

This is Pike's philosophy and we have seen it in all 3 NCAA years prior. A team built almost entirely on defense and hunger with a dash of bigtime shot making. Big wins, big highs when that thread is weaving out in out and like butter not even grazing the needle at all. When things go right that needle become cavernous. The defensive domination leads to great success on offense. However in the three prior years in addition to those big wins, there were inexplicable losses, no shows, anemic offensive games...that will happen sometimes when you try to thread your season through a needle with a philosphy which almost exclusively concentrates on defense over offense. In prior years, there were superstars like Geo and Ron that could overcome alot of the struggles on offense. They lived for these moments. Problem is Steve Pikiell did not replace them. Oh his defense is as good and potentially better than its ever been. I really think that. However when all of your starters and right down to your bench are below average shooters, that needle can look microscopic. I have seen posters say that this years team is better than last year...omg that is hogwash, they are completely focusing on one aspect of the team but dismissing the white elephant in the room. You cannot lose players like Geo and Ron and replace them with what Steve did. The remaining players on the team are all flawed in some ways and we have gone ad nauseum about their weaknesses. These are not players that can create their own shots or have shown the ability to hit shots in crunch time. We overrate our starters. Our defense is sparkling. That is why it rates in the top 10 in many catagories. Our offense is dreadful. Steve Pikiell threaded the needle the past 3 seasons and RU was able to squeak into the NCAAs. He is an incredible coach but he walks a very fine line with his roster and particularly this season which seemingly is lacking the options up and down.

For as good as RU's defense was tonight, it was inadequate and indescribably dreadful on the offensive end. Give major credit to Shaheen Holloway and Seton Hall, they played at a slighter higher intensity level than RU from the get go, overcoming any RAC home court edge and not only that they were tougher than RU on the boards and most importantly when it mattered in crunch time. This is not a good SHU team currently. Tough one but likely not a NCAA team. I do not care much about the rivalry anymore. I do not care we lost to Seton Hall. I care we lost to a middling team on our home court...and RU already lost to a middling team in Temple on the road in a game where we once again were outtoughed but this time we were at full strength. Seton Hall came into the vaunted RAC and served notice what kind of game this would be. Surprisingly Pikiell's team seemed unprepared for the type of relentless pressure that SHU was going to throw at us. To make matters worse when your star center cannot stay on the court in the first half because of foul trouble for the 3rd or 4th game straight then we have a serious problem. Cliff going out allowed SHU to control that first half. Credit Pike for risking alot by putting Cliff back into the game with about 4 minutes and 2 fouls and Cliff responded with 5 points, RU put on a dazzling display of defense forcing shot clock violations and turnovers. The RAC was back jumping and you could feel the tide turning. The run was 14-3 over about 6 minutes. This was suddenly going the way it was supposed to be. Surely it would continue in the 2nd half. right?

After a couple minutes of offensive ineptitude from both teams. RU could back to back beautiful contributions with two sweet moves to the hoop by Mag. RU was up 30-23, the joint was rocking and Holloway sensing his team was in danger of falling out of the game called timeout with 16:52. SHU got a wide open look, got another rebound and another look at 3 and then someone wrested the ball away from I believe Cam on another rebound where they hit a layup to cut it to 30-25 but more importantly it signaled that SHU was not going away. The sequence seemed to invigorate the sputtering Pirates who had been outscored 18-4 over 9 minutes. I believe RU was winning the battle of boards 19-14 previous to that play. The rest of the way SHU would dominate 16-7. It tells you alot about how one series of misses and boards and finally converting on the third chance played a pivotal roll in how the game would play out. RU would hit a 5 minute stretch of with no points and lost the lead at 34-33. RU turned it over 5x in that stretch including 3 by Paul Mulcahy. When your star leader is screwing up, the offense is going to degenerate into a train wreck and it did.

There was a brief moment where the RAC once again came alive. RU a couple of stops and 2 Paul free throws and Caleb hoisting a 3 with the shot clocking running down, suddenly its 38-34 and RU gets another point. I think many agree a big turning point happened on the next possesion. Caleb grabs rebound, dribbles down court, instead of resetting for good shot on a big possession up 4, Caleb inexplicably throws up a 3 immediately. Bad shot, bad decision, bad outcome by a senior leader. RU would only score 5 points the rest of the way. Yes 5 points, 2 fgs in the last 9 minutes, I do not care how phenomenal your defense is, you are not going to win basketball games scoring 5 points in the last 9 minutes and 10 in the last 14. Its complete failure on this entire team and coaching staff.

I said after the game. It does not matter how many shots RU had to win the game,in the final possessions, it was never going to win this game. Those last few possessions were criminal. I was shocked that a Pikiell coached team would run an offense like that wasting 20 seconds at a time on 2 of the 3 final possessions I cannot even explain. The failure runs deep. From Cliff to Paul to Caleb to Aundre to Pikiell. Will someone tell me what in the hell was going on. It looked like I was back in a Fred Hill game vs Jackson State. No team has any justification to look that bad on its fast few possession. Rutgers was not going to win this game. Seton Hall deserved it as crappy as they played. Give them credit for their gameplan and taking the crowd out and being tougher.

You want your team to gut out a win because a win is always better than a loss. Even with a win this team would need to be criticized greatly. I was surprised there was a lack of leadership and hunger down the stretch. The players want to win. Yet I did not see the signs of anyone wanting to take charge and that is a disappointment. Tonight shows how slim that margin is and its truly about how small the needle is. If there are breakdowns in the cogs of the wheel, this team can be really bad on one end of the court.

The season isnt over not by a longshot. Last year told us that. Still where are our Ron and Geo. They are not coming to save this team. This team now with 3 out of conference losses....one to a ncaa team but now 2 to middle of the road teams and yet ooc trying to hang its hat on UMass Lowell. As good as Indiana win was, now there is pressure building for more Indiana type win and they will have to do it on the road. I am less certain than I was a week ago, but thats okay, I was less certain before the Indiana game. This program can win this year and have a special season. Its no god given guarantee and we need to start accepting some major flaws in the makeup. Our bench is extremely limited and the players who have potential are mistake prone youngsters. Rutgers is still one of the best defensive team in the country and that puts us in almost every game in the Big 10. But you only get so many screwups. Now with Temple and SHU losses, Rutgers is starting to put themselves in a very familiar position under Pike's tenure of having to thread that needle once again.

Sometimes I think we've come too far
If we're lost and if not where we are
Half of us is easy, the other half is hard
Even though we do our best, we end up being scarred
By the time there's nothin' left to choose
One man puts the fire out, the other lights the fuse
It's a fine line
A very fine line
Split decision
It's a fine line
Split decision
Oh, it's a fine line
It's a very fine line
Split decision
It's a fine line
A very fine line

I think you may be working behind the seasons to make sure Big 10 blue bloods defeat Rutgers. I have never seen you on Easton Ave. or at the Grease Trucks.
 
The team plays amazing defense. They are legit.

Caleb tries to do more than he should on offense. His 1st turnover was after trying to jack up a shitty deep 2 very early in the shot clock. He had his 2nd 5 TO game.

Paul was brutal tonight.

Spencer had some open looks that he has to hit.

Hyatt had a good game other than his offensive charge (good for 1 a game) and short arming the last shot.

The ball seems to slip thru Cliff's hands consistently on any loose ball.
 
Last edited:
never take another team for granted--as I said the Hall would show up and unfortunately they did so--anything can happen, no matter what the "experts" say--that's
why making predictions is nonesense and though I 'm a big vegas/casino gambler I really try to stay away from sports betting and advise others to do so.
 
I considered hammering the team and coaching staff real hard as I sat down to write this but as it wore on I think I hit them a bit less violently. Not the end of the world but its eye opening and again it comes back to my fears I spoke about before. Its something we have to live with.

The thread follows the needle,
The thread follows the needle,
In and out the needle goes,

This is Pike's philosophy and we have seen it in all 3 NCAA years prior. A team built almost entirely on defense and hunger with a dash of bigtime shot making. Big wins, big highs when that thread is weaving out in out and like butter not even grazing the needle at all. When things go right that needle become cavernous. The defensive domination leads to great success on offense. However in the three prior years in addition to those big wins, there were inexplicable losses, no shows, anemic offensive games...that will happen sometimes when you try to thread your season through a needle with a philosphy which almost exclusively concentrates on defense over offense. In prior years, there were superstars like Geo and Ron that could overcome alot of the struggles on offense. They lived for these moments. Problem is Steve Pikiell did not replace them. Oh his defense is as good and potentially better than its ever been. I really think that. However when all of your starters and right down to your bench are below average shooters, that needle can look microscopic. I have seen posters say that this years team is better than last year...omg that is hogwash, they are completely focusing on one aspect of the team but dismissing the white elephant in the room. You cannot lose players like Geo and Ron and replace them with what Steve did. The remaining players on the team are all flawed in some ways and we have gone ad nauseum about their weaknesses. These are not players that can create their own shots or have shown the ability to hit shots in crunch time. We overrate our starters. Our defense is sparkling. That is why it rates in the top 10 in many catagories. Our offense is dreadful. Steve Pikiell threaded the needle the past 3 seasons and RU was able to squeak into the NCAAs. He is an incredible coach but he walks a very fine line with his roster and particularly this season which seemingly is lacking the options up and down.

For as good as RU's defense was tonight, it was inadequate and indescribably dreadful on the offensive end. Give major credit to Shaheen Holloway and Seton Hall, they played at a slighter higher intensity level than RU from the get go, overcoming any RAC home court edge and not only that they were tougher than RU on the boards and most importantly when it mattered in crunch time. This is not a good SHU team currently. Tough one but likely not a NCAA team. I do not care much about the rivalry anymore. I do not care we lost to Seton Hall. I care we lost to a middling team on our home court...and RU already lost to a middling team in Temple on the road in a game where we once again were outtoughed but this time we were at full strength. Seton Hall came into the vaunted RAC and served notice what kind of game this would be. Surprisingly Pikiell's team seemed unprepared for the type of relentless pressure that SHU was going to throw at us. To make matters worse when your star center cannot stay on the court in the first half because of foul trouble for the 3rd or 4th game straight then we have a serious problem. Cliff going out allowed SHU to control that first half. Credit Pike for risking alot by putting Cliff back into the game with about 4 minutes and 2 fouls and Cliff responded with 5 points, RU put on a dazzling display of defense forcing shot clock violations and turnovers. The RAC was back jumping and you could feel the tide turning. The run was 14-3 over about 6 minutes. This was suddenly going the way it was supposed to be. Surely it would continue in the 2nd half. right?

After a couple minutes of offensive ineptitude from both teams. RU could back to back beautiful contributions with two sweet moves to the hoop by Mag. RU was up 30-23, the joint was rocking and Holloway sensing his team was in danger of falling out of the game called timeout with 16:52. SHU got a wide open look, got another rebound and another look at 3 and then someone wrested the ball away from I believe Cam on another rebound where they hit a layup to cut it to 30-25 but more importantly it signaled that SHU was not going away. The sequence seemed to invigorate the sputtering Pirates who had been outscored 18-4 over 9 minutes. I believe RU was winning the battle of boards 19-14 previous to that play. The rest of the way SHU would dominate 16-7. It tells you alot about how one series of misses and boards and finally converting on the third chance played a pivotal roll in how the game would play out. RU would hit a 5 minute stretch of with no points and lost the lead at 34-33. RU turned it over 5x in that stretch including 3 by Paul Mulcahy. When your star leader is screwing up, the offense is going to degenerate into a train wreck and it did.

There was a brief moment where the RAC once again came alive. RU a couple of stops and 2 Paul free throws and Caleb hoisting a 3 with the shot clocking running down, suddenly its 38-34 and RU gets another point. I think many agree a big turning point happened on the next possesion. Caleb grabs rebound, dribbles down court, instead of resetting for good shot on a big possession up 4, Caleb inexplicably throws up a 3 immediately. Bad shot, bad decision, bad outcome by a senior leader. RU would only score 5 points the rest of the way. Yes 5 points, 2 fgs in the last 9 minutes, I do not care how phenomenal your defense is, you are not going to win basketball games scoring 5 points in the last 9 minutes and 10 in the last 14. Its complete failure on this entire team and coaching staff.

I said after the game. It does not matter how many shots RU had to win the game,in the final possessions, it was never going to win this game. Those last few possessions were criminal. I was shocked that a Pikiell coached team would run an offense like that wasting 20 seconds at a time on 2 of the 3 final possessions I cannot even explain. The failure runs deep. From Cliff to Paul to Caleb to Aundre to Pikiell. Will someone tell me what in the hell was going on. It looked like I was back in a Fred Hill game vs Jackson State. No team has any justification to look that bad on its fast few possession. Rutgers was not going to win this game. Seton Hall deserved it as crappy as they played. Give them credit for their gameplan and taking the crowd out and being tougher.

You want your team to gut out a win because a win is always better than a loss. Even with a win this team would need to be criticized greatly. I was surprised there was a lack of leadership and hunger down the stretch. The players want to win. Yet I did not see the signs of anyone wanting to take charge and that is a disappointment. Tonight shows how slim that margin is and its truly about how small the needle is. If there are breakdowns in the cogs of the wheel, this team can be really bad on one end of the court.

The season isnt over not by a longshot. Last year told us that. Still where are our Ron and Geo. They are not coming to save this team. This team now with 3 out of conference losses....one to a ncaa team but now 2 to middle of the road teams and yet ooc trying to hang its hat on UMass Lowell. As good as Indiana win was, now there is pressure building for more Indiana type win and they will have to do it on the road. I am less certain than I was a week ago, but thats okay, I was less certain before the Indiana game. This program can win this year and have a special season. Its no god given guarantee and we need to start accepting some major flaws in the makeup. Our bench is extremely limited and the players who have potential are mistake prone youngsters. Rutgers is still one of the best defensive team in the country and that puts us in almost every game in the Big 10. But you only get so many screwups. Now with Temple and SHU losses, Rutgers is starting to put themselves in a very familiar position under Pike's tenure of having to thread that needle once again.

Sometimes I think we've come too far
If we're lost and if not where we are
Half of us is easy, the other half is hard
Even though we do our best, we end up being scarred
By the time there's nothin' left to choose
One man puts the fire out, the other lights the fuse
It's a fine line
A very fine line
Split decision
It's a fine line
Split decision
Oh, it's a fine line
It's a very fine line
Split decision
It's a fine line
A very fine line

This is where I thought you were going for.

 
Paul Mulcahy must shoot the ball. Did he take one normal jump shot ?

Mulcahy must be a threat to score or he might as well sit on the bench.

Last year Paul averaged 17 points and 7 assists per game in the 6 game stretch from Northwestern to Purdue in February. It changed the season and he looked like one of the best players in the country.

Cliff has got to stop getting 2 fouls in every game in the first 10 minutes.
Cliff has got to stop trying to force a shot while being double teamed 12 feet from the basket.

The entire team has got to stop with the forced entry passes and the insane amount of turnovers.
 
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This is or was an awfully bad recap ignoring plainly obvious items. It's easy to blame Paul, Caleb and Cliff as if they are scorers......they are NOT scorers.

If you add another non scoring or non offensive player to this trio, you now have 4 players who are in your starting lineup, who are not scoring players.

Mulcahy for the 100th time, is not a PG.....he is a wing player who can handle the ball in spots, but he does not score or have the ability to play at the top of the key to initiate offense. It has not worked in now 3+ seasons at RU......and we keep repeating the same mistakes, trying to force a non shooting guard, with no quickness, to play in the middle of the floor. He has averaged around 6 to 8PPG in his career. That is not a B1G caliber stat line.

Caleb is a DPOY and is also a wing player asked to do too much. He is not going to be a player who you can isolate on the ball generate his own shot off the dribble.

Mag is a nice player, who should be a 18 to 22 minutes a game kid off the bench. He does not have the fluid offense and is a lunchpail guy every team needs.

Cliff....is a speed and quickness player, playing with slow footed players all around him. The ball sticks with Mulcahy who does not beat players off the dribble to compliment Cliff. Hence he gets no real offensive touches and looks.

That's 4/5ths of tonight's starting lineup.

Which leads me to 5....Cam Spencer.

Let me say, I do think there's an adjustment period coming into a program for all players. We saw it last year with Hyatt playing very erratic basketball off the bench and placed in the wrong role. We are now repeating the same mistakes again with Spencer.

How Spencer gets a free pass, is mind boggling. I expected him to be a player who takes 13 to 14 shots a game, makes about 4 to 6 depending on the night.....I also expected a player who when left open, makes a defense pay.

It is not Paul's, Caleb's or Cliffs fault.....they are not shooters.

I expect Cam Spencer to shoot the rock.

So how do any fans expect to score and win games, with a PG playing 30 to 35 minutes and not creating his own offense and 2 defense 1st players, who are not scorers?? Is there an equation in any way where RU reaches 68 to 70PPG, with 4 non scorers on the floor.....?? The answer is NO.

You will not score enough points with that lineup. And while I value defense and rebounding more than others, the truth is Aundre Hyatt and Derek Simpson are no worse defending than what we are seeing in transition from Cam and Paul. It took 2 heroic rundown by Caleb to prevent layups, because the guards aren't fast enough to get back on defense.

You absolutely have to start Derek Simpson OR he has to come off the bench and play 22 to 26 minutes a game.

OR

You absolutely have to start Aundre Hyatt OR he has to come off the bench and play 26 to 28 minutes a game.

The easiest way to get Simpson and Hyatt 26 to 28 minutes a game is to start both players.

I would bring Spencer off the bench......and I would bring Mag off the bench.

Spencer and Mag, not Caleb, Paul and Cliff are the drags on the roster.

Bring some shooting off the bench, give Spencer less wear and tear and he can be your bench point guy.

Bring Mag off the bench to be the energy rebounding, hustling guy.

The pieces as of now, don't work and will not ever work until these changes are made.

If you play Simpson 28 minutes a game, he is going to average around 10 to 12 PPG.

If you play Hyatt 28 minutes a game, he is going to average 10 to 12 PPG.

We have no such evidence in the past that playing Mulcahy 30 minutes, guarantees 10 to 12 PPG. Unless he is off the ball as a spot up shooter, which is really the best way to use him.

The staff has to stop catering to past potential promises or potential ego issues. I am not saying there are ego issues.

But for the team to function well, you cannot start 4 limited offensive players and Cam Spencer who may need a full season to adjust to this level, and expect to get to 68 to 70PPG.

Give Simpson the ball.....we did it and let Geo Baker sink or swim....keep proven scorers like Hyatt in the lineup where they are better suited. Easy solutions.

Does it mean Hyatt is a perfect player or Simpson is not going to make mistakes?? Of course not.....but wasting talent is bad and unwatchable at this point.
 
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This team is severely handicapped on offense because we don’t have any good shooters right now. We struggle to get 5 or 6 threes per game, and that limits our scoring. Our margin for error is razor thin because we struggle to score 65 points against P6 competition. Here is our 3-Pt output thus far:

Fairfield 4-13 (exhibition)

Columbia 8-20

Sacred Heart 7-17

UML 3-16

Temple 1-16

Rider 5-15

CCSU 8-18

Miami 7-21

Indiana 6-21

OSU 5-17

SHU 5-17

Total 55-178 - 31%

Worse yet, if you take out the Columbia, Sacred Heart, and CCSU cupcake games — where we shot 23-55 for 42% — we are shooting a horrific 32-133 for 24%.

24 Percent against legitimate competition, folks. There’s your answer for why our offense struggles. And because we’re a poor shooting team, we get games like last night where we constantly force the ball inside to get higher percentage shots, except the defense is packing the lane and forcing deflections and turnovers.

We are going to struggle to score 65 points in every game, let alone 70+ that is needed to win Big Ten games. The season is teetering in the brink because we can’t score PERIOD.
 
The one item from the game itself that has me scratching my head is why Hyatt was on the bench during the key stretch late in the game. He was the ONLY guy hitting threes (3-5), and yet he’s not in the game?
 
The team is mediocre offensively.
It’s a team consistent of a bunch of parts with almost zero killer tenacity.
You can tell Simpson wants to be the guy, but he’s too out of control at the moment. I think that will change.
Other than that the offensive philosophy sucks and the parts I are just okay.
Cliff needs to be better. Paul and Caleb can’t turn the ball over the way they have. Caleb with no long passed and PM just flat out lost at times.
It’s embarrassing that this is the offense
 
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