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GAME 12 PRINCETON: Season slipping away as every game is exactly the same

I think he has two more seasons after this no question
I think the only variable is just how bad it gets next season. It could be very bad with 100 level seats opening up big time and a Littlepage-Jordan level record. Lathan is the only B1G level player that we have even remote hopes of retaining (although I’d be surprised if he stayed) it doesn’t look like any of the incoming freshman will be B1G ready and the holdovers are just bad. That means Pike has to snatch at least 3 B1G starters from the portal. Good luck with that. He couldn’t get one this year.
 
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I think the only variable is just how bad it gets next season. It could be very bad with 100 level seats opening up big time and a Littlepage-Jordan level record. Lathan is the only B1G level player that we have even remote hopes of retaining (although I’d be surprised if he stayed) it doesn’t look like any of the incoming freshman will be B1G ready and the holdovers are just bad. That means Pike has to snatch at least 3 B1G starters from the portal. Good luck with that. He couldn’t get one this year.
yeah i could see that but remember this school was also was resisting to can Jordan or Hill or Flood or Ash...different conference but somethings tend to stay the same

thank god they are not doing rennovation and reseats soon but i do think because of this years sellout or announced sellout..they will raise prices once agaiin..let them and watch people drop out
 
yeah i could see that but remember this school was also was resisting to can Jordan or Hill or Flood or Ash...different conference but somethings tend to stay the same

thank god they are not doing rennovation and reseats soon but i do think because of this years sellout or announced sellout..they will raise prices once agaiin..let them and watch people drop out
I know 6 and possibly 8 that say they are dropping them next season in the 100s right now but I’ve heard that before too. 4 have had it with NIL and college sports in general and 4 see what’s coming (or not coming). Good chance to get some new blood in I guess.
 
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I know 6 and possibly 8 that say they are dropping them next season in the 100s right now but I’ve heard that before too. 4 have had it with NIL and college sports in general and 4 see what’s coming (or not coming). Good chance to get some new blood in I guess.
i have had it already with NIL

how this team navigates the rest of the season to save some face even without a tourney run will determine a lot for me....if it goes in a direction it could, i will be out and not looking bac

to me i have zero connection to this team at all...probably as much as I did to the 2nd Eddie Jordan team
 
i have had it already with NIL

to me i have zero connection to this team at all...probably as much as I did to the 2nd Eddie Jordan team
Yup it just doesn’t work for a school like Rutgers. I fear it won’t matter soon that we are even in the B1G, regarding sports anyway.
 
another reason not to play them

Pike has a blindspot to certain kind of teams...Iowa is another, Nebraska....these type of teams he throws his hands up in the air. The Notre Dame tourney game a few years back was criminal how bad our defense was
I think this is true a couple of years ago, but I think he has a couple of big issues he needs to sort out, he clearly is having challenges teaching his defense in an era where you can only count on having players for a year, and then even if he solved that, I think the book is out on how to defeat his defense, which is very predictable and has some large holes that are not hard to exploit by good teams.
 
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I can feel you slipping away from me.
A little bit further now every day.
I'm holding on, but I can't believe
This is how you want it to be.
Oh, you're slipping away.
Oh, you're slipping away.
It feels like walking down a long, dark road.
You never talk to me the way you did before.
You ride through the city with your head held high.
And all I can do is watch you go by.
Oh, you're slipping away.
Oh, you're slipping away.
I'm gonna give it all I've got to give.
I've got to hold on, see what tomorrow brings.
You're slipping away, but give me one more try.
One more chance to wipe these tears from my eyes.
You're slipping away.
Oh, you're slipping away


I can't remember how this got started
But I can tell you exactly how it will end
Every day is exactly the same
Every day is exactly the same
There is no love here and there is no pain
Every day is exactly the same



There are so many things I want to say but I feel as if I am said them already in virtually every recap this year. Every game is literally exactly the same. Those astute enough knew is not a sustainable way to play basketball and win 19-20 games. It all started with St Johns. Sure wow did RU look fantastic on offense yet crumbled in crunch time defensively. It really didnt go away against 4 abhorrent teams at the RAC. A couple of them had no pulse so it wasnt close. Being tied with St Peter's late was frightening. Whether it was Kennesaw, Notre Dame, Alabama, Texas A&M, Ohio State, Penn State, Seton Hall and today's calimitous performance vs Princeton, these were all variations of the same game. Rutgers defense never rising to beyond average and most of the time subpar to woeful as it was all day today. Rutgers could score oh yeah they could do that but they would always go through a rough patch where they couldnt even get their vaunted NBA players to contribute. Never enough bench and not getting enough stops. You play like this, you dance with the devil. Sometimes you will win like Notre Dame and Seton Hall...other times you will lose like Kennesaw and Princeton. Sometimes some fans want to throw parties and stick their heads in the sand over beating an awful Seton Hall calling it a rivalry game...wonder if they will fall back on that excuse today...but then again what rivalry. Princeton now has won 5 of 6 against Rutgers

It was obvious from Day 1 this was a historically bad defense team. Even the most negative of us thought perhaps we would see it get better as the season went on. Certainly the effort in Vegas kept alot of optimism alive. Reality is that the OSU game on its heels was an utter disaster vs a team who isnt that good. RU was desperate to cling to a win vs Penn State after running up a 17 point lead. RU got bullied by Seton Hall and needed a last second shot to win the game but if you were paying attention you were in a groundhog day loop. Such a poorly constructed roster with many players providing virtually nothing.....and I just do not know why Pike recruiting offensive players on a team with two offensive superstarts and then no one to play defense or rebound. Surely its not all about NIL is it.

Pointless to recap individual plays today. The fact that this game was close and back and forth in the first half basically told you it was going down to the last possessions. There was a glimmer in the 2nd half when RU went up 6 maybe they would do something but that was quickly snuffed out as Princeton went on a big run and took control of the game. For this game Princeton had the 2 best guys on the court today. Lee was sensational today even as his late turnovers gave RU a shot. 21 points, 11 assists, 6 boards yes only 7-22 shooting but I would take 10 Lees on my team for his passion and ability to take contact. Pierce was a monster and Pike had no answer for him....10-17 fg, 21 points and 14 boards...absolutely abused Rutgers. Harper was excellent but Dylan could only do so much and I believe Harper was limited to just 5 points in the 2nd half???? Ace was a brutal 6-16 fg and even has he hit 2 big ones late and possibly game winner...alot of mistakes and sorry for top 10 NBA draft pick not good enough when the opponent is rising to the challenge. Princeton took 7 more shots than RU and won the offensive board battle 19-12. Unbelivably they went just 8-18 at the free throw line and still won with RU going 18-23.

Credit Mitch because once again Pike was badly outcoached for the 2nd straight game. Whats interesting is that PU shot 18 3s in the first half but only 9 in the 2nd where they went 4-9 and became a more efficient offense. I thought one potential mistake he made was taking the air out of the ball a bit too soon and Princeton was scoreless for almost 2 and half minutes before their game winning bucket by Pierce who easily got the hoop unresisted. Double edge sword for Pike. He didnt bring in enough talent for a ncaa team this year and overall the team just refuses to committ to play defense....that battle was lost in the early games...yet perhaps it was lost by signing Ace/Dylan. On the other hand how do you prepare for each opponent. Its clear most coaches know exactly how to play Rutgers...they know to keep attacking. Pike looks like his hands are in the air at this point. Perhaps nothing can be done. The Rutgers program signed a deal with the devil and its misfiring spectacularly with time ticking out for a turnaround and we have not even hit 2025.

Oh sidenote...Rutgers should not be playing this game. Pike knows it. Tuned in fans know it. People like RU72 and NJ beat writers love it and treat it as a Super Bowl game. You cannot convince me otherwiseThe reality is that it does nothing for a teams resume and that is what EVERYTHING is about. Let us talk resume. Rutgers resume now at 7-5 with 2 Quad 3 losses and ZERO out of conference wins of note is in the trash. Its going to take 11-7 in the Big 10 to just get into discussion at 19-12 and more likely needing to finish 12-6 the rest of the way and yeah that Columbia game is no gimme either. Any and all discussion about NCAA should be on hold unless this team can win 3 of their next 4 Big 10 games. Its a very very narrow path. I wouldnt say over but I would firmly say SLIPPING AWAY ON A ROAD TO NOWHERE.

If someone wants to claim what an exciting game this was and claim RU never gives up and gives them their moneys worth well I am going to disagree. Players of a lifetime for one year and it looks like a total wasted season that could have major implications down the road. The program is giving me a sour taste right now. Save all the excuses, tired of excuses. If you bring in 2 top 5 draft picks you better have the program headed somewhere and it is very hard to have faith right now. Maybe come March this thread will be bumped up to say see you got it wrong...maybe but until then every game is exactly the same.

Yes , very disappointing and another close game loss . But the season is over and Fire Pike threads can go screw off.
We got 45 points from the supporting cast , which is outstanding and normally enough for a win. Unfortunately , ACE was just off today and off balance on a number of his shots and although he hit the 2 to bring us within 2 and the 3 for the lead with 17 seconds , he was not efficient on offense and his defense and shot blocking did not help out his teammates that really needed it. Plus his offensive goaltending late when JMike ‘s layup was going in also lacked IQ and cost the team.
We still missed about 4-5 layups with about 5 minutes into the second half that hurt since we could have extended our lead.
Now the reason for the loss was the inability to keep our man in front of us. We for some reason especially in the first half was overplaying Princeton , trying to deny the ball , giving up back door layup after back door layup.
Then in the second half , Henderson borrows from the NBA playbook and identifies a mismatch and exploits it. Lee getting the Martini switch 4 times was ridiculous. JMike made no effort to get over the screen and it burnt us. Pierce also took advantage over Jordan for the game winner.
Supposedly JMike , Jeremiah and Jordan were good defensive players. They were bad today and have been as a whole this year .
Not having a rim protector like we have had for years is also killing us as teams are just driving uncontested to the rim.

Pike not trying a change of defense was puzzling as he somehow thought Princeton’s success was going stop. Not sure why he had that thought. No effort to get the ball out of Lee’s hand , trying a zone or 1/3/1 half court trapping defense or anything but allowing Princeton to run their stuff all day was not smart coaching today.


Then the dagger to the heart with 19 offensive rebounds for Princeton and converted to over 20 second chance points. This was an early problem through games 4-5 games but I thought we solved the problem but it reared its ugly head today. All of our guards and forwards and centers have to damn rebound. Pike has failed getting that message through and we have size and length. So it is clear we are not putting in the effort which is an indictment of the players but also Pike. It has cost us a few wins and it sucks it has not been fixed.

Now some credit has to go to Princeton. Their Sweet 16 blueprint from 2023 where they crashed the offensive glass , got second chance points , hit timely 3 ‘s and back doored to death really good Power teams was on display today. Lee was fantastic as was Pierce and they got timely threes from 2-3 other guys . The first half shooting by both teams was terrific basketball to watch.
Now some on here , mostly BAC , thinks playing Princeton should never happen. I disagree , they are an old rival , coming off 3 time Ivy champs , Henderson playing Power teams tough and winning 11 times , make them a great test. It is not a trap game but a game against a really good basketball team that will be Quad 2 by the end of the year and win the Ivy again and will be an NCAA team . The committee is not hurting us for losing by 1 in the last second. It was a terrific game today as every neutral commentator on TV , except for Rutgers fans on this board , said it was a great game with some high level play.
It is only December and we are 7-5 like a lot of usual tourney teams , UNC , Xavier , Creighton and we have to win in conference to make it. Hopeful we master winning all these close games in the New Year
 
Yes , very disappointing and another close game loss . But the season is over and Fire Pike threads can go screw off.
We got 45 points from the supporting cast , which is outstanding and normally enough for a win. Unfortunately , ACE was just off today and off balance on a number of his shots and although he hit the 2 to bring us within 2 and the 3 for the lead with 17 seconds , he was not efficient on offense and his defense and shot blocking did not help out his teammates that really needed it. Plus his offensive goaltending late when JMike ‘s layup was going in also lacked IQ and cost the team.
We still missed about 4-5 layups with about 5 minutes into the second half that hurt since we could have extended our lead.
Now the reason for the loss was the inability to keep our man in front of us. We for some reason especially in the first half was overplaying Princeton , trying to deny the ball , giving up back door layup after back door layup.
Then in the second half , Henderson borrows from the NBA playbook and identifies a mismatch and exploits it. Lee getting the Martini switch 4 times was ridiculous. JMike made no effort to get over the screen and it burnt us. Pierce also took advantage over Jordan for the game winner.
Supposedly JMike , Jeremiah and Jordan were good defensive players. They were bad today and have been as a whole this year .
Not having a rim protector like we have had for years is also killing us as teams are just driving uncontested to the rim.

Pike not trying a change of defense was puzzling as he somehow thought Princeton’s success was going stop. Not sure why he had that thought. No effort to get the ball out of Lee’s hand , trying a zone or 1/3/1 half court trapping defense or anything but allowing Princeton to run their stuff all day was not smart coaching today.


Then the dagger to the heart with 19 offensive rebounds for Princeton and converted to over 20 second chance points. This was an early problem through games 4-5 games but I thought we solved the problem but it reared its ugly head today. All of our guards and forwards and centers have to damn rebound. Pike has failed getting that message through and we have size and length. So it is clear we are not putting in the effort which is an indictment of the players but also Pike. It has cost us a few wins and it sucks it has not been fixed.

Now some credit has to go to Princeton. Their Sweet 16 blueprint from 2023 where they crashed the offensive glass , got second chance points , hit timely 3 ‘s and back doored to death really good Power teams was on display today. Lee was fantastic as was Pierce and they got timely threes from 2-3 other guys . The first half shooting by both teams was terrific basketball to watch.
Now some on here , mostly BAC , thinks playing Princeton should never happen. I disagree , they are an old rival , coming off 3 time Ivy champs , Henderson playing Power teams tough and winning 11 times , make them a great test. It is not a trap game but a game against a really good basketball team that will be Quad 2 by the end of the year and win the Ivy again and will be an NCAA team . The committee is not hurting us for losing by 1 in the last second. It was a terrific game today as every neutral commentator on TV , except for Rutgers fans on this board , said it was a great game with some high level play.
It is only December and we are 7-5 like a lot of usual tourney teams , UNC , Xavier , Creighton and we have to win in conference to make it. Hopeful we master winning all these close games in the New Year
Pike never changes his defense, it is very predictable and is becoming a big issue. A few years ago he occasionally played some zone, but now everyone shoots better so it looks like he has given up on that.
 
Most are realistic that the season is effectively over too

Then stop watching until next season.

We wrote off the 21-22 team after a worse start and they gave us a season for the ages. We wrote off the 22-23 team after November and they were 8-3 in the B1G and cruising to our best finish before Mawot went down. I’m sure many others wrote off the 19-20 and the 20-21 teams during their slumps.

I’ll wait until March to render a verdict.

But yeah, it needs to get better fast. Theres not much margin left.
 
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Then stop watching until next season.

We wrote off the 21-22 team after a worse start and they gave us a season for the ages. We wrote off the 22-23 team after November and they were 8-3 in the B1G and cruising to our best finish before Mawot went down. I’m sure many others wrote off the 19-20 and the 20-21 teams during their slumps.

I’ll wait until March to render a verdict.

But yeah, it needs to get better fast. Theres not much margin left.
Most of us can have a realistic conversation now based on what we see and don't need to wait until March to have it shoved down our throats. But you be you.
 
Most are realistic that the season is effectively over too
How as a basketball fan can you say the season is over. ? We are in the Big 10 not Conference USA or the Asun. There are at least 10-12 Quad 1 and 2 opportunities ahead. Have you seen us get blown out ? You cannot envision any improvement , all doom and gloom. Wow , what a fan
 
How as a basketball fan can you say the season is over. ? We are in the Big 10 not Conference USA or the Asun. There are at least 10-12 Quad 1 and 2 opportunities ahead. Have you seen us get blown out ? You cannot envision any improvement , all doom and gloom. Wow , what a fan
The OSU game on the road. That’s a small B1G team and they feasted in the paint. Every team we play has feasted in the paint. Good luck
 
How as a basketball fan can you say the season is over. ? We are in the Big 10 not Conference USA or the Asun. There are at least 10-12 Quad 1 and 2 opportunities ahead. Have you seen us get blown out ? You cannot envision any improvement , all doom and gloom. Wow , what a fan

Also haven’t seen anywhere near Aces potential.
 
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How as a basketball fan can you say the season is over. ? We are in the Big 10 not Conference USA or the Asun. There are at least 10-12 Quad 1 and 2 opportunities ahead. Have you seen us get blown out ? You cannot envision any improvement , all doom and gloom. Wow , what a fan
Agree. Disappointed but there are some reasons for hope too. We’ve played games down to the wire against top teams and we also looked very good against PSU. I’ll hold off from saying the season is over because many on this board are quick to write off Pike and his teams only to look like idiots when he’s turned things around in the past .
 
The OSU game on the road. That’s a small B1G team and they feasted in the paint. Every team we play has feasted in the paint. Good luck

Definitely need to make some adjustments. I think Ogbole needs more minutes at the 5 and Lathan needs to rotate into the 4. Martini just hasn’t shown he can handle this level.
 
How as a basketball fan can you say the season is over. ? We are in the Big 10 not Conference USA or the Asun. There are at least 10-12 Quad 1 and 2 opportunities ahead. Have you seen us get blown out ? You cannot envision any improvement , all doom and gloom. Wow , what a fan
Reality is a bitch
 
I can feel you slipping away from me.
A little bit further now every day.
I'm holding on, but I can't believe
This is how you want it to be.
Oh, you're slipping away.
Oh, you're slipping away.
It feels like walking down a long, dark road.
You never talk to me the way you did before.
You ride through the city with your head held high.
And all I can do is watch you go by.
Oh, you're slipping away.
Oh, you're slipping away.
I'm gonna give it all I've got to give.
I've got to hold on, see what tomorrow brings.
You're slipping away, but give me one more try.
One more chance to wipe these tears from my eyes.
You're slipping away.
Oh, you're slipping away


I can't remember how this got started
But I can tell you exactly how it will end
Every day is exactly the same
Every day is exactly the same
There is no love here and there is no pain
Every day is exactly the same



There are so many things I want to say but I feel as if I am said them already in virtually every recap this year. Every game is literally exactly the same. Those astute enough knew is not a sustainable way to play basketball and win 19-20 games. It all started with St Johns. Sure wow did RU look fantastic on offense yet crumbled in crunch time defensively. It really didnt go away against 4 abhorrent teams at the RAC. A couple of them had no pulse so it wasnt close. Being tied with St Peter's late was frightening. Whether it was Kennesaw, Notre Dame, Alabama, Texas A&M, Ohio State, Penn State, Seton Hall and today's calimitous performance vs Princeton, these were all variations of the same game. Rutgers defense never rising to beyond average and most of the time subpar to woeful as it was all day today. Rutgers could score oh yeah they could do that but they would always go through a rough patch where they couldnt even get their vaunted NBA players to contribute. Never enough bench and not getting enough stops. You play like this, you dance with the devil. Sometimes you will win like Notre Dame and Seton Hall...other times you will lose like Kennesaw and Princeton. Sometimes some fans want to throw parties and stick their heads in the sand over beating an awful Seton Hall calling it a rivalry game...wonder if they will fall back on that excuse today...but then again what rivalry. Princeton now has won 5 of 6 against Rutgers

It was obvious from Day 1 this was a historically bad defense team. Even the most negative of us thought perhaps we would see it get better as the season went on. Certainly the effort in Vegas kept alot of optimism alive. Reality is that the OSU game on its heels was an utter disaster vs a team who isnt that good. RU was desperate to cling to a win vs Penn State after running up a 17 point lead. RU got bullied by Seton Hall and needed a last second shot to win the game but if you were paying attention you were in a groundhog day loop. Such a poorly constructed roster with many players providing virtually nothing.....and I just do not know why Pike recruiting offensive players on a team with two offensive superstarts and then no one to play defense or rebound. Surely its not all about NIL is it.

Pointless to recap individual plays today. The fact that this game was close and back and forth in the first half basically told you it was going down to the last possessions. There was a glimmer in the 2nd half when RU went up 6 maybe they would do something but that was quickly snuffed out as Princeton went on a big run and took control of the game. For this game Princeton had the 2 best guys on the court today. Lee was sensational today even as his late turnovers gave RU a shot. 21 points, 11 assists, 6 boards yes only 7-22 shooting but I would take 10 Lees on my team for his passion and ability to take contact. Pierce was a monster and Pike had no answer for him....10-17 fg, 21 points and 14 boards...absolutely abused Rutgers. Harper was excellent but Dylan could only do so much and I believe Harper was limited to just 5 points in the 2nd half???? Ace was a brutal 6-16 fg and even has he hit 2 big ones late and possibly game winner...alot of mistakes and sorry for top 10 NBA draft pick not good enough when the opponent is rising to the challenge. Princeton took 7 more shots than RU and won the offensive board battle 19-12. Unbelivably they went just 8-18 at the free throw line and still won with RU going 18-23.

Credit Mitch because once again Pike was badly outcoached for the 2nd straight game. Whats interesting is that PU shot 18 3s in the first half but only 9 in the 2nd where they went 4-9 and became a more efficient offense. I thought one potential mistake he made was taking the air out of the ball a bit too soon and Princeton was scoreless for almost 2 and half minutes before their game winning bucket by Pierce who easily got the hoop unresisted. Double edge sword for Pike. He didnt bring in enough talent for a ncaa team this year and overall the team just refuses to committ to play defense....that battle was lost in the early games...yet perhaps it was lost by signing Ace/Dylan. On the other hand how do you prepare for each opponent. Its clear most coaches know exactly how to play Rutgers...they know to keep attacking. Pike looks like his hands are in the air at this point. Perhaps nothing can be done. The Rutgers program signed a deal with the devil and its misfiring spectacularly with time ticking out for a turnaround and we have not even hit 2025.

Oh sidenote...Rutgers should not be playing this game. Pike knows it. Tuned in fans know it. People like RU72 and NJ beat writers love it and treat it as a Super Bowl game. You cannot convince me otherwiseThe reality is that it does nothing for a teams resume and that is what EVERYTHING is about. Let us talk resume. Rutgers resume now at 7-5 with 2 Quad 3 losses and ZERO out of conference wins of note is in the trash. Its going to take 11-7 in the Big 10 to just get into discussion at 19-12 and more likely needing to finish 12-6 the rest of the way and yeah that Columbia game is no gimme either. Any and all discussion about NCAA should be on hold unless this team can win 3 of their next 4 Big 10 games. Its a very very narrow path. I wouldnt say over but I would firmly say SLIPPING AWAY ON A ROAD TO NOWHERE.

If someone wants to claim what an exciting game this was and claim RU never gives up and gives them their moneys worth well I am going to disagree. Players of a lifetime for one year and it looks like a total wasted season that could have major implications down the road. The program is giving me a sour taste right now. Save all the excuses, tired of excuses. If you bring in 2 top 5 draft picks you better have the program headed somewhere and it is very hard to have faith right now. Maybe come March this thread will be bumped up to say see you got it wrong...maybe but until then every game is exactly the same.


Every game is exactly the same. The season isn’t slipping - it’s gone. I’ll say it. They have 9 games upcoming - 4 of those teams r ranked. None of the teams having losing records. The road games, all four teams are undefeated at home. So now we need to shift the convo to back to back years of pike going below .500 in two years and figure out if he is the coach for the future. That’s the convo. This team is incapable of a 6-7 game win streak and I will HAPPILY be wrong and u can come back to this post, tag me every day abt “see how wrong you were” I will happily own it, print it on a shirt, I don’t care. To get a recruiting class like this, to add the 8th leading scorer in America last year and he plays 4 mins a game, come on guys. And to be 7-5 after 12 with what is upcoming, means the convo now has to shift to the failure these back to back seasons have been with 4 top 100 HS recruits on the rosters.
 
The OSU game on the road. That’s a small B1G team and they feasted in the paint. Every team we play has feasted in the paint. Good luck
That is a recurring theme for Pike as much as it is for the players. That game Ohio State identified the mismatch and Royal had a career game and career high of 21 points. Henderson did it today with Lee and Pierce following the NBA model.
Pike has made zero adjustments , switch defenses , double team the hot player , go to zone or 1/3/1 half court trap. Nothing. It was clear where the other team was going with the ball and Pike has down a bad job realizing his defender is getting roasted and has allowed it to continue. That is a valid criticism of Pike.
Not having a rim protector who can rebound has also made the defense look worse.
 
I can feel you slipping away from me.
A little bit further now every day.
I'm holding on, but I can't believe
This is how you want it to be.
Oh, you're slipping away.
Oh, you're slipping away.
It feels like walking down a long, dark road.
You never talk to me the way you did before.
You ride through the city with your head held high.
And all I can do is watch you go by.
Oh, you're slipping away.
Oh, you're slipping away.
I'm gonna give it all I've got to give.
I've got to hold on, see what tomorrow brings.
You're slipping away, but give me one more try.
One more chance to wipe these tears from my eyes.
You're slipping away.
Oh, you're slipping away


I can't remember how this got started
But I can tell you exactly how it will end
Every day is exactly the same
Every day is exactly the same
There is no love here and there is no pain
Every day is exactly the same



There are so many things I want to say but I feel as if I am said them already in virtually every recap this year. Every game is literally exactly the same. Those astute enough knew is not a sustainable way to play basketball and win 19-20 games. It all started with St Johns. Sure wow did RU look fantastic on offense yet crumbled in crunch time defensively. It really didnt go away against 4 abhorrent teams at the RAC. A couple of them had no pulse so it wasnt close. Being tied with St Peter's late was frightening. Whether it was Kennesaw, Notre Dame, Alabama, Texas A&M, Ohio State, Penn State, Seton Hall and today's calimitous performance vs Princeton, these were all variations of the same game. Rutgers defense never rising to beyond average and most of the time subpar to woeful as it was all day today. Rutgers could score oh yeah they could do that but they would always go through a rough patch where they couldnt even get their vaunted NBA players to contribute. Never enough bench and not getting enough stops. You play like this, you dance with the devil. Sometimes you will win like Notre Dame and Seton Hall...other times you will lose like Kennesaw and Princeton. Sometimes some fans want to throw parties and stick their heads in the sand over beating an awful Seton Hall calling it a rivalry game...wonder if they will fall back on that excuse today...but then again what rivalry. Princeton now has won 5 of 6 against Rutgers

It was obvious from Day 1 this was a historically bad defense team. Even the most negative of us thought perhaps we would see it get better as the season went on. Certainly the effort in Vegas kept alot of optimism alive. Reality is that the OSU game on its heels was an utter disaster vs a team who isnt that good. RU was desperate to cling to a win vs Penn State after running up a 17 point lead. RU got bullied by Seton Hall and needed a last second shot to win the game but if you were paying attention you were in a groundhog day loop. Such a poorly constructed roster with many players providing virtually nothing.....and I just do not know why Pike recruiting offensive players on a team with two offensive superstarts and then no one to play defense or rebound. Surely its not all about NIL is it.

Pointless to recap individual plays today. The fact that this game was close and back and forth in the first half basically told you it was going down to the last possessions. There was a glimmer in the 2nd half when RU went up 6 maybe they would do something but that was quickly snuffed out as Princeton went on a big run and took control of the game. For this game Princeton had the 2 best guys on the court today. Lee was sensational today even as his late turnovers gave RU a shot. 21 points, 11 assists, 6 boards yes only 7-22 shooting but I would take 10 Lees on my team for his passion and ability to take contact. Pierce was a monster and Pike had no answer for him....10-17 fg, 21 points and 14 boards...absolutely abused Rutgers. Harper was excellent but Dylan could only do so much and I believe Harper was limited to just 5 points in the 2nd half???? Ace was a brutal 6-16 fg and even has he hit 2 big ones late and possibly game winner...alot of mistakes and sorry for top 10 NBA draft pick not good enough when the opponent is rising to the challenge. Princeton took 7 more shots than RU and won the offensive board battle 19-12. Unbelivably they went just 8-18 at the free throw line and still won with RU going 18-23.

Credit Mitch because once again Pike was badly outcoached for the 2nd straight game. Whats interesting is that PU shot 18 3s in the first half but only 9 in the 2nd where they went 4-9 and became a more efficient offense. I thought one potential mistake he made was taking the air out of the ball a bit too soon and Princeton was scoreless for almost 2 and half minutes before their game winning bucket by Pierce who easily got the hoop unresisted. Double edge sword for Pike. He didnt bring in enough talent for a ncaa team this year and overall the team just refuses to committ to play defense....that battle was lost in the early games...yet perhaps it was lost by signing Ace/Dylan. On the other hand how do you prepare for each opponent. Its clear most coaches know exactly how to play Rutgers...they know to keep attacking. Pike looks like his hands are in the air at this point. Perhaps nothing can be done. The Rutgers program signed a deal with the devil and its misfiring spectacularly with time ticking out for a turnaround and we have not even hit 2025.

Oh sidenote...Rutgers should not be playing this game. Pike knows it. Tuned in fans know it. People like RU72 and NJ beat writers love it and treat it as a Super Bowl game. You cannot convince me otherwiseThe reality is that it does nothing for a teams resume and that is what EVERYTHING is about. Let us talk resume. Rutgers resume now at 7-5 with 2 Quad 3 losses and ZERO out of conference wins of note is in the trash. Its going to take 11-7 in the Big 10 to just get into discussion at 19-12 and more likely needing to finish 12-6 the rest of the way and yeah that Columbia game is no gimme either. Any and all discussion about NCAA should be on hold unless this team can win 3 of their next 4 Big 10 games. Its a very very narrow path. I wouldnt say over but I would firmly say SLIPPING AWAY ON A ROAD TO NOWHERE.

If someone wants to claim what an exciting game this was and claim RU never gives up and gives them their moneys worth well I am going to disagree. Players of a lifetime for one year and it looks like a total wasted season that could have major implications down the road. The program is giving me a sour taste right now. Save all the excuses, tired of excuses. If you bring in 2 top 5 draft picks you better have the program headed somewhere and it is very hard to have faith right now. Maybe come March this thread will be bumped up to say see you got it wrong...maybe but until then every game is exactly the same.

Great post.
This team blows (coaches and players)
Just wasting a golden opportunity
 
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That is a recurring theme for Pike as much as it is for the players. That game Ohio State identified the mismatch and Royal had a career game and career high of 21 points. Henderson did it today with Lee and Pierce following the NBA model.
Pike has made zero adjustments , switch defenses , double team the hot player , go to zone or 1/3/1 half court trap. Nothing. It was clear where the other team was going with the ball and Pike has down a bad job realizing his defender is getting roasted and has allowed it to continue. That is a valid criticism of Pike.
Not having a rim protector who can rebound has also made the defense look worse.

Also, let’s not take anything away from Princeton. Pierce and Xaivian were ranked top 100 players in college ball and could get to the NBA, G League minimum. Ohio State blew out a 4th ranked Kentucky. Need to win, but KSU is still the only really bad L.
 
Also haven’t seen anywhere near Aces potential.
I don't disagree but we are 39% thru our regular season.

Why haven't we seen it? What's gonna change in the next 10 games? Did today look like every other game, with less shots falling? Who is responsible for Ace not hitting his potential?
 
I don't disagree but we are 39% thru our regular season.

Why haven't we seen it? What's gonna change in the next 10 games? Did today look like every other game, with less shots falling? Who is responsible for Ace not hitting his potential?
He's just not developed enough. His game or physically. Unfortunately it will be over here before he ever gets there. I see this most likely going down as a lost season
 
Less than 2 years ago we were one of the best teams in college basketball.

i see 2 losses to Iowa in there

that team wasnt even ranked after beating Msu...a game where we struggled to score until Mulchay took over....you think this was one of the top teams..sorry

that team blew a 10 point lead to that same Minnesota team while players dance to Africa on the bench

Huh? Did I forget that final four run?

Youre smoking crack. We didnt even make the tourney. And youre saying if we had a 6th man wed make the final 4? Smoking crack
We have played like one of the best teams in college basketball for stretches under Pike.

Mid Dec through Jan 2019-20
Beginning of 20-21
The stretch mentioned in the 22-23 season.

That said..

We finished #28 in kenpom in the 19-20 season and it's been all downhill from there. Playing great for parts of a season means nothing. If your supposedly great team is so fragile that losing on player sends it on a downward spirial to missing the tourney entirely that also means nothing.

Getting to #28 was super impressive at Rutgers in 2020. Topping out at #28 is not close to good enough in the long term. If Pike fails four years in a row his seat will be very hot and rightfully so.
 
Also I've made fun of a lot of people here for believing hype and coach speak and whatnot (esp in like 2021-22 when people were super pissed at Pike for hyping up his team preseason) but maybe some of the media people (e.g. people maybe on this very website) could start shutting the **** up about how great the team is every preseason unless it actually is great? I guess you people just have no idea what you are watching?
 
His lane is getting grinders to be a bubble team. People have gotten mad every time ive said the following two things

1) he offers a high floor but low ceiling
2) you can give him the most talented roster in the world and his lack of running an offense will make them look average

Does anyone disagree with me now?
Other than 2 players this is not a talented roster.
 
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There is no chance we go 2 more seasons of no post season and he is still here. If we do not dance this year it will be a massive fail and the fanbase will turn on him. New AD will look to make a splash hire if Pike goes down in flames the following season. No way 2 years and I am a big Pike fan.
If we don't make the tourney (and chances of us making it are below 25%), and Pike survives until next season his seat will be burning hot. I think to a person making the tourney was pretty much a foregone conclusion - Im not sure anyone could have predicted this. Huge hype and expectations coming into this year (whether unrealistic or not) from everyone - whatever way you slice it, it looks like he will fail miserably.
 
His lane is getting grinders to be a bubble team. People have gotten mad every time ive said the following two things

1) he offers a high floor but low ceiling
2) you can give him the most talented roster in the world and his lack of running an offense will make them look average

Does anyone disagree with me now?
We aren’t loosing because of our offense. We are losing because of piss poor defense and rebounding.
 
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