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GAME 16 IOWA: One game at a time in this league

bac2therac

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Today sucked but is anyone totally surprised. These kind of losses happen to most schools in the Big 10 and have happened to Rutgers before. I was very hesitant to get on board about talking about the implications of beating Purdue and what possibilities lay ahead until RU went 2-0 vs Maryland and Iowa. I feared the Maryland game more than this one, that I got wrong but my concerns were valid. To take that leap to the next level. If you want to dream big dreams and compete for a Big 10 title, a game like Iowa is one you HAVE to win on your own home court. Its why those Big 10 analysts raised the issue that they were going to wait to see with Rutgers because they have a habit of following up big wins with a drop in performance vs middle of the road Big 10 schools. Iowa is getting better no question but they are not a top 5 team in the league. Honestly there is nothing wrong with losing to Iowa. It happens. They made big shots, repelled every run and followed an impressive gameplan by Fran.

Have to say the Big 10 is an absolute bear this year. Its a friggin Saskwatch! Throw out Minnesota who is atrocious. On any given night any of the other 13 can jump up and beat each other. I see Northwestern just won at Indiana and Maryland knocked off Ohio State. Iowa comes into the RAC and takes down Rutgers. Take nothing for granted. Do not sleep on any team. Sorting out the standings will not be easy at seasons end. One or two results can be the difference between a 5 seed or a 12 seed. Its absolutely crucial to protect one's home court. It absolutely crucial to match your opponent and be ready to play. Unfortunately for Rutgers, they did not do those two things. Not that Rutgers didnt give effort or play hard. Its thats they did not play at the level that Iowa brought. Credit the Hawkeyes, its more that they won this game rather than Rutgers lost. For starters they established themselves by killing RU on the boards early while hitting their early shots. They controlled tempo. RU missed their bunnies and were playing catch up the entire game and they never did. RU played exactly into Iowa's hands. Vs a great offensive team you ABSOLUTELY must get off to a solid start and make shots and RU didnt and RU's defense was subpar as well to begin the game. Tone was set. Game was lost in those first 5-10 minutes. RU may have cut it into the lead 2x to 4 in the first half and then 5 in the 2nd half, but this game was never close. Iowa dominated RU in every facet of the game from playmaking to shotmaking to intensity to ball movement to purpose to coaching to adjustments. Iowa exploited RU's inefficenty and lack of urgency on offense.

Fran takes a lot of heat on this board but the guy is an excellent coach. Proved it today. His team was not intimidated at all playing here and showed confidence early and then poise late. The way they work and rotate the ball to the open guy is a work of art. Defensively I was shocked RU struggled with just a bit of Iowa pressure so Fran did a good job there. RU simply has to be better and its a real blueprint that is coming on on how to disrupt our already shaky offense. Pike was not able to win a chess match and while you can say "well he does not shoot the shots" I felt there were key moments to could have been game changers even if it wasnt RUs night anyhow. RU cut the gap to 34-30, Cam got his third foul, he was taken out, Woolfolk misses one and one then fouls 3 pointer and RU down 39-30 and it would balloon to 42-30. RU who had just cut it to 4 went scoreless the last 4 minutes or so without Cam on the court. I know its hindsight but I said it in the game thread as well. I also thought there were times Cam wasnt in the game and I was like what is going on. Plus too much Derek Simpson, kid cannot be taking our most shots on the team. There were other things that I am displeased about with Pike but that centers around WTF is going on with Cliff

Sandfordt on Iowa answered his call and came out of nowhere to nail this win down. At 55-50, RU was repeatedly beat on defense leading to back to back wide open shots. Suddenly its 61-50 and the game is basically out of reach again. Sandfordt would hit another open shot and then a jumper. He was unstoppable and got hot at the wrong moment. 11 straight points and 14 of their final 21. On the other end, Rutgers had nothing, cutting the gap to 6 but lacked any real lack of urgency or fire to pull off a realistic comeback. Lebraca was the go to guy in the first and the Murray hit some timely shots that were daggers. The guards on Iowa went a combined 6-24 so thats interesting to see. We overplay and double team and we got burned by an unknown.

Overall our defense on the day was trash in the first half. You wonder what Pike was preparing for. Thats not the RU play that we expect. On offense, RU couldnt finish early and then they got predictably passive which carried into the 2nd half. The only time RU looked good in this game was about a 7 minute stretch when they did force turnovers and convert in transition going on a 14-1 run that got the RAC loud and wanting more. Alas it took one 3 to basically end that rally. That we couldnt buckle down in a 2-3 possession game was disppointing

Cliff now has become an offensive hole. He has bad hands and his shot is not even close anymore. He is even having trouble making dunks. Its tough to come down so hard given we just came off a 5 game in streak but the writing has been on the wall as of late. Cliff ended with 9 and 9 yet only 2 fg attempts in the 2nd half. For an offense that is struggling, it cannot happen. Teams are doubling him and he isnt fighting through or quick enough to pass it out. Defensively, Cliff was beaten early and often early by Rebraca and we were forced to do alot of doubling which left the perimeter open the majority of Iowa's possession. Rutgers cannot get to where the fans want it to go without a better Cliff period. I do not have the answers. That is for Pike to figure it out. Pike goes to Cliff early and he repeated cannot hit an easy bunnies. Those are misses that sets the tone and today we paid dearly for it.

As for everyone else....Mulcahy struggled and didnt make his presence known much anywhere. Cannot have your leader going 2-10 with one assist,,,bizarro game from him. Caleb not always making the right decision and costly late turnover but he was 6-8 fg, 12 points, 7 boards, 4 steals and was most consistent of anyone today. Mag was lost early, got better but damage was done. Hyatt was Hyatt and thats not a bad thing, maybe could have had some of Mags minutes. Cam didnt get enough looks or touches. Derek wasnt good. I realize he made a couple of plays but too many missed defensive assignments and taking too many shots especially one ill advised at 55-48. Derek took 11 shots, 3-11, 0-4 from 3, that is just not right for this team. No one can give me an argument otherwise. Wolf was really bad in his 2 minutes. Reiber just not applicable for this game. Pike not his best gameplan or in game coaching this year, might be his worst.

Overall Rutgers just did not get it done for whatever reason. The vaunted D was not there and its clear RU is beatable at the RAC. Cannot dwell but at the same time need to remember you need to bring it every night. The basketball gods are cruel. In one week we win at #1 Purdue, return to the RAC to bully Purdue and then a disappointing loss to a middle pack type Big 10 school at home. Northwestern up next and they are brimming with confidence, tied for first in Big 10 and have the talent to beat RU. Every night is different, every night is a war, never look more than one game ahead. How this team responds to this loss will tell alot. Its a cliche but you do not want to start losing in bunches in this league.

The loss is just one...its okay, these things can happen. We can recover
 
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Iowa will not make 12 threes on the road again all year. Most teams in the league won’t do it even once. Cam hits the late 3 and it’s a 3 point game with 42 seconds and Iowa was coming off like 3 turnovers. Every game has a mind of its own but I’m not panicking in the slightest. This is life in the Big Ten - go beat the Wildcats !
 
Good Recap, I posted my thoughts in Zap's tough loss thread and noted some of the same points about Iowa's effectiveness and our struggles. Not sure if the conference has many Top 25 teams but there is a lot of parity. I expect our upcoming opponents to go to school on what worked well for Iowa today. We will need to continually adapt.
 
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I am worried about our bench play.

Simpson is now 1/2 through the season and he is making the same mistakes over and over again. I am officially worried. Yes he works very hard. Yes he has ability. Every 1 good play he makes it seems like you get 2 bad ones

Hyatt. The poor perimeter defense from last year reared itself today. He wasn’t alone. Such a drop off defensively when Mag leaves the game

Reiber/woolfolk. I don’t take a Reiber suddenly getting the minutes back as a positive.

This team HAS to have a bench that we can trust. If we have to go back to playing starters 38 minutes we will have nothing left in mid March.
 
Really think Caleb needs to return to “defensive specialist” mindset.

There were too many possessions today where he was looking to take over on the offensive side of the ball and that’s just not when he’s at his best.

Also this team reverted back to a half court offense today which is why we struggled.

I don’t think Iowa figured us out, I think we just didn’t show up today and that sucks.
 
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good point about Derek.,...he does make great plays...but you get almost 2

Is Pike okay with Derek taking 11 shots, the most on the team. He is a freshmen averaged around 20 minute in league play.

I think with derek, reiber, woolf, the issue is the starters were crap early. That magnifies their mistakes. We are missing a player I think

at the end of the day, you cant have Paul and Cliff being black holes on offense
 
The shots Derek took today were mostly good. He doesn’t hesitate to put them up when open and that’s good. However, the results of those shots were.. not great.
 
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I think this team and Pike teams in general have more problems NOT taking shots they should instead of vice versa. So I’m not going to get too worked up about someone putting them up unless they’re obviously horrible ones
 
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I am worried about our bench play.

Simpson is now 1/2 through the season and he is making the same mistakes over and over again. I am officially worried. Yes he works very hard. Yes he has ability. Every 1 good play he makes it seems like you get 2 bad ones

Hyatt. The poor perimeter defense from last year reared itself today. He wasn’t alone. Such a drop off defensively when Mag leaves the game

Reiber/woolfolk. I don’t take a Reiber suddenly getting the minutes back as a positive.

This team HAS to have a bench that we can trust. If we have to go back to playing starters 38 minutes we will have nothing left in mid March.
Can not degree more with this. You want Mag to be this great defensive player but he has not been. No D today. Wasn’t good SHU either. Hyatt can at least hit a shot and rebounds very well. Time for Hyatt to start. Mag’s missed bunnies, bad turnovers and can’t handle the ball in open court. I thought he set the negative tone for the game.
 
Really think Caleb needs to return to “defensive specialist” mindset.

There were too many possessions today where he was looking to take over on the offensive side of the ball and that’s just not when he’s at his best.

Also this team reverted back to a half court offense today which is why we struggled.

I don’t think Iowa figured us out, I think we just didn’t show up today and that sucks.
Caleb as a 5th year starter makes more head scratching plays then he should. He and Cam were the only two who showed up today. Cliff had a soft almost double double.
 
Can not degree more with this. You want Mag to be this great defensive player but he has not been. No D today. Wasn’t good SHU either. Hyatt can at least hit a shot and rebounds very well. Time for Hyatt to start. Mag’s missed bunnies, bad turnovers and can’t handle the ball in open court. I thought he set the negative tone for the game.
:DeadHorse: :BeatDeadHorse:
 
Today sucked but is anyone totally surprised. These kind of losses happen to most schools in the Big 10 and have happened to Rutgers before. I was very hesitant to get on board about talking about the implications of beating Purdue and what possibilities lay ahead until RU went 2-0 vs Maryland and Iowa. I feared the Maryland game more than this one, that I got wrong but my concerns were valid. To take that leap to the next level. If you want to dream big dreams and compete for a Big 10 title, a game like Iowa is one you HAVE to win on your own home court. Its why those Big 10 analysts raised the issue that they were going to wait to see with Rutgers because they have a habit of following up big wins with a drop in performance vs middle of the road Big 10 schools. Iowa is getting better no question but they are not a top 5 team in the league. Honestly there is nothing wrong with losing to Iowa. It happens. They made big shots, repelled every run and followed an impressive gameplan by Fran.

Have to say the Big 10 is an absolute bear this year. Its a friggin Saskwatch! Throw out Minnesota who is atrocious. On any given night any of the other 13 can jump up and beat each other. I see Northwestern just won at Indiana and Maryland knocked off Ohio State. Iowa comes into the RAC and takes down Rutgers. Take nothing for granted. Do not sleep on any team. Sorting out the standings will not be easy at seasons end. One or two results can be the difference between a 5 seed or a 12 seed. Its absolutely crucial to protect one's home court. It absolutely crucial to match your opponent and be ready to play. Unfortunately for Rutgers, they did not do those two things. Not that Rutgers didnt give effort or play hard. Its thats they did not play at the level that Iowa brought. Credit the Hawkeyes, its more that they won this game rather than Rutgers lost. For starters they established themselves by killing RU on the boards early while hitting their early shots. They controlled tempo. RU missed their bunnies and were playing catch up the entire game and they never did. RU played exactly into Iowa's hands. Vs a great offensive team you ABSOLUTELY must get off to a solid start and make shots and RU didnt and RU's defense was subpar as well to begin the game. Tone was set. Game was lost in those first 5-10 minutes. RU may have cut it into the lead 2x to 4 in the first half and then 5 in the 2nd half, but this game was never close. Iowa dominated RU in every facet of the game from playmaking to shotmaking to intensity to ball movement to purpose to coaching to adjustments. Iowa exploited RU's inefficenty and lack of urgency on offense.

Fran takes a lot of heat on this board but the guy is an excellent coach. Proved it today. His team was not intimidated at all playing here and showed confidence early and then poise late. The way they work and rotate the ball to the open guy is a work of art. Defensively I was shocked RU struggled with just a bit of Iowa pressure so Fran did a good job there. RU simply has to be better and its a real blueprint that is coming on on how to disrupt our already shaky offense. Pike was not able to win a chess match and while you can say "well he does not shoot the shots" I felt there were key moments to could have been game changers even if it wasnt RUs night anyhow. RU cut the gap to 34-30, Cam got his third foul, he was taken out, Woolfolk misses one and one then fouls 3 pointer and RU down 39-30 and it would balloon to 42-30. RU who had just cut it to 4 went scoreless the last 4 minutes or so without Cam on the court. I know its hindsight but I said it in the game thread as well. I also thought there were times Cam wasnt in the game and I was like what is going on. Plus too much Derek Simpson, kid cannot be taking our most shots on the team. There were other things that I am displeased about with Pike but that centers around WTF is going on with Cliff

Sandfordt on Iowa answered his call and came out of nowhere to nail this win down. At 55-50, RU was repeatedly beat on defense leading to back to back wide open shots. Suddenly its 61-50 and the game is basically out of reach again. Sandfordt would hit another open shot and then a jumper. He was unstoppable and got hot at the wrong moment. 11 straight points and 14 of their final 21. On the other end, Rutgers had nothing, cutting the gap to 6 but lacked any real lack of urgency or fire to pull off a realistic comeback. Lebraca was the go to guy in the first and the Murray hit some timely shots that were daggers. The guards on Iowa went a combined 6-24 so thats interesting to see. We overplay and double team and we got burned by an unknown.

Overall our defense on the day was trash in the first half. You wonder what Pike was preparing for. Thats not the RU play that we expect. On offense, RU couldnt finish early and then they got predictably passive which carried into the 2nd half. The only time RU looked good in this game was about a 7 minute stretch when they did force turnovers and convert in transition going on a 14-1 run that got the RAC loud and wanting more. Alas it took one 3 to basically end that rally. That we couldnt buckle down in a 2-3 possession game was disppointing

Cliff now has become an offensive hole. He has bad hands and his shot is not even close anymore. He is even having trouble making dunks. Its tough to come down so hard given we just came off a 5 game in streak but the writing has been on the wall as of late. Cliff ended with 9 and 9 yet only 2 fg attempts in the 2nd half. For an offense that is struggling, it cannot happen. Teams are doubling him and he isnt fighting through or quick enough to pass it out. Defensively, Cliff was beaten early and often early by Rebraca and we were forced to do alot of doubling which left the perimeter open the majority of Iowa's possession. Rutgers cannot get to where the fans want it to go without a better Cliff period. I do not have the answers. That is for Pike to figure it out. Pike goes to Cliff early and he repeated cannot hit an easy bunnies. Those are misses that sets the tone and today we paid dearly for it.

As for everyone else....Mulcahy struggled and didnt make his presence known much anywhere. Cannot have your leader going 2-10 with one assist,,,bizarro game from him. Caleb not always making the right decision and costly late turnover but he was 6-8 fg, 12 points, 7 boards, 4 steals and was most consistent of anyone today. Mag was lost early, got better but damage was done. Hyatt was Hyatt and thats not a bad thing, maybe could have had some of Mags minutes. Cam didnt get enough looks or touches. Derek wasnt good. I realize he made a couple of plays but too many missed defensive assignments and taking too many shots especially one ill advised at 55-48. Derek took 11 shots, 3-11, 0-4 from 3, that is just not right for this team. No one can give me an argument otherwise. Wolf was really bad in his 2 minutes. Reiber just not applicable for this game. Pike not his best gameplan or in game coaching this year, might be his worst.

Overall Rutgers just did not get it done for whatever reason. The vaunted D was not there and its clear RU is beatable at the RAC. Cannot dwell but at the same time need to remember you need to bring it every night. The basketball gods are cruel. In one week we win at #1 Purdue, return to the RAC to bully Purdue and then a disappointing loss to a middle pack type Big 10 school at home. Northwestern up next and they are brimming with confidence, tied for first in Big 10 and have the talent to beat RU. Every night is different, every night is a war, never look more than one game ahead. How this team responds to this loss will tell alot. Its a cliche but you do not want to start losing in bunches in this league.

The loss is just one...its okay, these things can happen. We can recover
Bac-Not to be argumentative, but the Big Ten is not an absolute bear by any metric. There is not a dominant team, unless you consider Purdue to be one. I don't.As of tomorrow there should be 6 Big Ten teams in the NET top 60 and without doing the research that would appear to be a low over the last decade, but for one aberrant season.The ACC has been pilloried here,but it will have 7 teams. The Big 12 will have 9.Indiana was the clear consensus preseason pick and they can't hold a candle to Purdue,Ohio State,Rutgers, Michigan State and perhaps Wisconsin. Iowa had a kid shooting 20% from 3 hit everything he threw up.There is parity from 1-6,but not the absolute danger of previous years.We shall see.
 
Really think Caleb needs to return to “defensive specialist” mindset.

There were too many possessions today where he was looking to take over on the offensive side of the ball and that’s just not when he’s at his best.

Also this team reverted back to a half court offense today which is why we struggled.

I don’t think Iowa figured us out, I think we just didn’t show up today and that sucks.
He took 8 shots in 33 minutes (and was 6-8)
 
Great observations as usual Bac. I disagree slightly about Hyatt. He lost his man, No. 20, on several key possessions in the second half, which led to a Big Iowa run as the kid scored 3 threes and a bucket. I was begging Pike to put Mag back in after the second time Aundre got burned! Pike was trying to, as Mag sat at the scorers table for more than 3 minutes waiting for a stoppage. By the time it came, it was too late.
 
I am worried about our bench play.

Simpson is now 1/2 through the season and he is making the same mistakes over and over again. I am officially worried. Yes he works very hard. Yes he has ability. Every 1 good play he makes it seems like you get 2 bad ones

Hyatt. The poor perimeter defense from last year reared itself today. He wasn’t alone. Such a drop off defensively when Mag leaves the game

Reiber/woolfolk. I don’t take a Reiber suddenly getting the minutes back as a positive.

This team HAS to have a bench that we can trust. If we have to go back to playing starters 38 minutes we will have nothing left in mid March.
Unfortunately I agree that the bench is suspect. Starters , except Mag, will need to play 34 minutes each
 
Today sucked but is anyone totally surprised. These kind of losses happen to most schools in the Big 10 and have happened to Rutgers before. I was very hesitant to get on board about talking about the implications of beating Purdue and what possibilities lay ahead until RU went 2-0 vs Maryland and Iowa. I feared the Maryland game more than this one, that I got wrong but my concerns were valid. To take that leap to the next level. If you want to dream big dreams and compete for a Big 10 title, a game like Iowa is one you HAVE to win on your own home court. Its why those Big 10 analysts raised the issue that they were going to wait to see with Rutgers because they have a habit of following up big wins with a drop in performance vs middle of the road Big 10 schools. Iowa is getting better no question but they are not a top 5 team in the league. Honestly there is nothing wrong with losing to Iowa. It happens. They made big shots, repelled every run and followed an impressive gameplan by Fran.

Have to say the Big 10 is an absolute bear this year. Its a friggin Saskwatch! Throw out Minnesota who is atrocious. On any given night any of the other 13 can jump up and beat each other. I see Northwestern just won at Indiana and Maryland knocked off Ohio State. Iowa comes into the RAC and takes down Rutgers. Take nothing for granted. Do not sleep on any team. Sorting out the standings will not be easy at seasons end. One or two results can be the difference between a 5 seed or a 12 seed. Its absolutely crucial to protect one's home court. It absolutely crucial to match your opponent and be ready to play. Unfortunately for Rutgers, they did not do those two things. Not that Rutgers didnt give effort or play hard. Its thats they did not play at the level that Iowa brought. Credit the Hawkeyes, its more that they won this game rather than Rutgers lost. For starters they established themselves by killing RU on the boards early while hitting their early shots. They controlled tempo. RU missed their bunnies and were playing catch up the entire game and they never did. RU played exactly into Iowa's hands. Vs a great offensive team you ABSOLUTELY must get off to a solid start and make shots and RU didnt and RU's defense was subpar as well to begin the game. Tone was set. Game was lost in those first 5-10 minutes. RU may have cut it into the lead 2x to 4 in the first half and then 5 in the 2nd half, but this game was never close. Iowa dominated RU in every facet of the game from playmaking to shotmaking to intensity to ball movement to purpose to coaching to adjustments. Iowa exploited RU's inefficenty and lack of urgency on offense.

Fran takes a lot of heat on this board but the guy is an excellent coach. Proved it today. His team was not intimidated at all playing here and showed confidence early and then poise late. The way they work and rotate the ball to the open guy is a work of art. Defensively I was shocked RU struggled with just a bit of Iowa pressure so Fran did a good job there. RU simply has to be better and its a real blueprint that is coming on on how to disrupt our already shaky offense. Pike was not able to win a chess match and while you can say "well he does not shoot the shots" I felt there were key moments to could have been game changers even if it wasnt RUs night anyhow. RU cut the gap to 34-30, Cam got his third foul, he was taken out, Woolfolk misses one and one then fouls 3 pointer and RU down 39-30 and it would balloon to 42-30. RU who had just cut it to 4 went scoreless the last 4 minutes or so without Cam on the court. I know its hindsight but I said it in the game thread as well. I also thought there were times Cam wasnt in the game and I was like what is going on. Plus too much Derek Simpson, kid cannot be taking our most shots on the team. There were other things that I am displeased about with Pike but that centers around WTF is going on with Cliff

Sandfordt on Iowa answered his call and came out of nowhere to nail this win down. At 55-50, RU was repeatedly beat on defense leading to back to back wide open shots. Suddenly its 61-50 and the game is basically out of reach again. Sandfordt would hit another open shot and then a jumper. He was unstoppable and got hot at the wrong moment. 11 straight points and 14 of their final 21. On the other end, Rutgers had nothing, cutting the gap to 6 but lacked any real lack of urgency or fire to pull off a realistic comeback. Lebraca was the go to guy in the first and the Murray hit some timely shots that were daggers. The guards on Iowa went a combined 6-24 so thats interesting to see. We overplay and double team and we got burned by an unknown.

Overall our defense on the day was trash in the first half. You wonder what Pike was preparing for. Thats not the RU play that we expect. On offense, RU couldnt finish early and then they got predictably passive which carried into the 2nd half. The only time RU looked good in this game was about a 7 minute stretch when they did force turnovers and convert in transition going on a 14-1 run that got the RAC loud and wanting more. Alas it took one 3 to basically end that rally. That we couldnt buckle down in a 2-3 possession game was disppointing

Cliff now has become an offensive hole. He has bad hands and his shot is not even close anymore. He is even having trouble making dunks. Its tough to come down so hard given we just came off a 5 game in streak but the writing has been on the wall as of late. Cliff ended with 9 and 9 yet only 2 fg attempts in the 2nd half. For an offense that is struggling, it cannot happen. Teams are doubling him and he isnt fighting through or quick enough to pass it out. Defensively, Cliff was beaten early and often early by Rebraca and we were forced to do alot of doubling which left the perimeter open the majority of Iowa's possession. Rutgers cannot get to where the fans want it to go without a better Cliff period. I do not have the answers. That is for Pike to figure it out. Pike goes to Cliff early and he repeated cannot hit an easy bunnies. Those are misses that sets the tone and today we paid dearly for it.

As for everyone else....Mulcahy struggled and didnt make his presence known much anywhere. Cannot have your leader going 2-10 with one assist,,,bizarro game from him. Caleb not always making the right decision and costly late turnover but he was 6-8 fg, 12 points, 7 boards, 4 steals and was most consistent of anyone today. Mag was lost early, got better but damage was done. Hyatt was Hyatt and thats not a bad thing, maybe could have had some of Mags minutes. Cam didnt get enough looks or touches. Derek wasnt good. I realize he made a couple of plays but too many missed defensive assignments and taking too many shots especially one ill advised at 55-48. Derek took 11 shots, 3-11, 0-4 from 3, that is just not right for this team. No one can give me an argument otherwise. Wolf was really bad in his 2 minutes. Reiber just not applicable for this game. Pike not his best gameplan or in game coaching this year, might be his worst.

Overall Rutgers just did not get it done for whatever reason. The vaunted D was not there and its clear RU is beatable at the RAC. Cannot dwell but at the same time need to remember you need to bring it every night. The basketball gods are cruel. In one week we win at #1 Purdue, return to the RAC to bully Purdue and then a disappointing loss to a middle pack type Big 10 school at home. Northwestern up next and they are brimming with confidence, tied for first in Big 10 and have the talent to beat RU. Every night is different, every night is a war, never look more than one game ahead. How this team responds to this loss will tell alot. Its a cliche but you do not want to start losing in bunches in this league.

The loss is just one...its okay, these things can happen. We can recover
Hyatt was dragging and I believe Fran noticed it when that kid went off. He toasted Andre. Also woolfolks two minutes were a disaster. The foul on the threee pointer is the kind of thing that definitively costs you games. You can’t gift a team like that 3 points particularly after getting abused by the center and missing the front end of a one on one. That sequence killed us. That and Andre not being able to guard his man were killers. Not that anyone else did enough to win either.
 
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I didn't watch but not surprised. It happens We have been getting a lot of good press, sometimes you start believing your own press clippings and boom, get punched in the face next game.

We are also going from hunter to hunted, teams are bringing their A game against us. Can't sneak up on people. It's a different approach these guys need to get used to.
 
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Part of the reason why we follow up a few big wins with a string of poor play is the notebook gets out on how to beat us. Outside of Cliff we don’t have elite big 10 talent the top 4-5 teams in the conference have, so it becomes easier for teams to grind our offense to a halt until we reset and adapt. That’s essentially how the past 3 NCAA seasons recently have gone.
 
Iowa will not make 12 threes on the road again all year. Most teams in the league won’t do it even once. Cam hits the late 3 and it’s a 3 point game with 42 seconds and Iowa was coming off like 3 turnovers. Every game has a mind of its own but I’m not panicking in the slightest. This is life in the Big Ten - go beat the Wildcats !
Great post!
 
Bac-Not to be argumentative, but the Big Ten is not an absolute bear by any metric. There is not a dominant team, unless you consider Purdue to be one. I don't.As of tomorrow there should be 6 Big Ten teams in the NET top 60 and without doing the research that would appear to be a low over the last decade, but for one aberrant season.The ACC has been pilloried here,but it will have 7 teams. The Big 12 will have 9.Indiana was the clear consensus preseason pick and they can't hold a candle to Purdue,Ohio State,Rutgers, Michigan State and perhaps Wisconsin. Iowa had a kid shooting 20% from 3 hit everything he threw up.There is parity from 1-6,but not the absolute danger of previous years.We shall see.

Any team can beat any team IMO

We are already seeing it...today 3 of the so called top 6 went down..2 at home

Penn St up on Purdue

The league is a bear...maybe nor nationally but how on earth can you seperate these 13 or 12 if you give the top spot to Purdue
 
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Big ten is fun this year. Theres no great teams, just a bunch of good teams. You can make a case for like 8 teams winning the conference. Purdue also incredibly overrated. I think psu beats them tn.

Psu is a dark horse to win the conference, super old team
 
He may be making freshman mistakes, but Simpson had more gas in the tank than most members of the team today. He has some serious hops and a real jump shot. Also applies perimeter pressure very well. I will live with some errors that are the result of his aggressiveness.

Not sure what we are doing with the Reiber/Woofolk combination behind Cliff. Dean just looks very tentative to me. I think his only way to make a real contribution is as a stretch 4 rather than a 5. Maybe we get away with him at the 5 in some match up but I would be investing in Woolfolk at this point.
 
Seriously how many times are you going to win the game when you play sloppy at the rim and the other team shoots 44% as a team from 3.

We can afford one of those conditions not both.

It will happen again, but not that often.
 
Hyatt was dragging and I believe Fran noticed it when that kid went off. He toasted Andre. Also woolfolks two minutes were a disaster. The foul on the threee pointer is the kind of thing that definitively costs you games. You can’t gift a team like that 3 points particularly after getting abused by the center and missing the front end of a one on one. That sequence killed us. That and Andre not being able to guard his man were killers. Not that anyone else did enough to win either.
False narrative. It was Mag who wasn’t guarding and taking awful shots and bad turnovers. Mag played ten more minutes than Hyatt yet both had the same amount of rebounds and Mag had one more basket. Where are the plus/minus stats? Mag misses are move devastating as easy misses or killing fast breaks.
 
Today sucked but is anyone totally surprised. These kind of losses happen to most schools in the Big 10 and have happened to Rutgers before. I was very hesitant to get on board about talking about the implications of beating Purdue and what possibilities lay ahead until RU went 2-0 vs Maryland and Iowa. I feared the Maryland game more than this one, that I got wrong but my concerns were valid. To take that leap to the next level. If you want to dream big dreams and compete for a Big 10 title, a game like Iowa is one you HAVE to win on your own home court. Its why those Big 10 analysts raised the issue that they were going to wait to see with Rutgers because they have a habit of following up big wins with a drop in performance vs middle of the road Big 10 schools. Iowa is getting better no question but they are not a top 5 team in the league. Honestly there is nothing wrong with losing to Iowa. It happens. They made big shots, repelled every run and followed an impressive gameplan by Fran.

Have to say the Big 10 is an absolute bear this year. Its a friggin Saskwatch! Throw out Minnesota who is atrocious. On any given night any of the other 13 can jump up and beat each other. I see Northwestern just won at Indiana and Maryland knocked off Ohio State. Iowa comes into the RAC and takes down Rutgers. Take nothing for granted. Do not sleep on any team. Sorting out the standings will not be easy at seasons end. One or two results can be the difference between a 5 seed or a 12 seed. Its absolutely crucial to protect one's home court. It absolutely crucial to match your opponent and be ready to play. Unfortunately for Rutgers, they did not do those two things. Not that Rutgers didnt give effort or play hard. Its thats they did not play at the level that Iowa brought. Credit the Hawkeyes, its more that they won this game rather than Rutgers lost. For starters they established themselves by killing RU on the boards early while hitting their early shots. They controlled tempo. RU missed their bunnies and were playing catch up the entire game and they never did. RU played exactly into Iowa's hands. Vs a great offensive team you ABSOLUTELY must get off to a solid start and make shots and RU didnt and RU's defense was subpar as well to begin the game. Tone was set. Game was lost in those first 5-10 minutes. RU may have cut it into the lead 2x to 4 in the first half and then 5 in the 2nd half, but this game was never close. Iowa dominated RU in every facet of the game from playmaking to shotmaking to intensity to ball movement to purpose to coaching to adjustments. Iowa exploited RU's inefficenty and lack of urgency on offense.

Fran takes a lot of heat on this board but the guy is an excellent coach. Proved it today. His team was not intimidated at all playing here and showed confidence early and then poise late. The way they work and rotate the ball to the open guy is a work of art. Defensively I was shocked RU struggled with just a bit of Iowa pressure so Fran did a good job there. RU simply has to be better and its a real blueprint that is coming on on how to disrupt our already shaky offense. Pike was not able to win a chess match and while you can say "well he does not shoot the shots" I felt there were key moments to could have been game changers even if it wasnt RUs night anyhow. RU cut the gap to 34-30, Cam got his third foul, he was taken out, Woolfolk misses one and one then fouls 3 pointer and RU down 39-30 and it would balloon to 42-30. RU who had just cut it to 4 went scoreless the last 4 minutes or so without Cam on the court. I know its hindsight but I said it in the game thread as well. I also thought there were times Cam wasnt in the game and I was like what is going on. Plus too much Derek Simpson, kid cannot be taking our most shots on the team. There were other things that I am displeased about with Pike but that centers around WTF is going on with Cliff

Sandfordt on Iowa answered his call and came out of nowhere to nail this win down. At 55-50, RU was repeatedly beat on defense leading to back to back wide open shots. Suddenly its 61-50 and the game is basically out of reach again. Sandfordt would hit another open shot and then a jumper. He was unstoppable and got hot at the wrong moment. 11 straight points and 14 of their final 21. On the other end, Rutgers had nothing, cutting the gap to 6 but lacked any real lack of urgency or fire to pull off a realistic comeback. Lebraca was the go to guy in the first and the Murray hit some timely shots that were daggers. The guards on Iowa went a combined 6-24 so thats interesting to see. We overplay and double team and we got burned by an unknown.

Overall our defense on the day was trash in the first half. You wonder what Pike was preparing for. Thats not the RU play that we expect. On offense, RU couldnt finish early and then they got predictably passive which carried into the 2nd half. The only time RU looked good in this game was about a 7 minute stretch when they did force turnovers and convert in transition going on a 14-1 run that got the RAC loud and wanting more. Alas it took one 3 to basically end that rally. That we couldnt buckle down in a 2-3 possession game was disppointing

Cliff now has become an offensive hole. He has bad hands and his shot is not even close anymore. He is even having trouble making dunks. Its tough to come down so hard given we just came off a 5 game in streak but the writing has been on the wall as of late. Cliff ended with 9 and 9 yet only 2 fg attempts in the 2nd half. For an offense that is struggling, it cannot happen. Teams are doubling him and he isnt fighting through or quick enough to pass it out. Defensively, Cliff was beaten early and often early by Rebraca and we were forced to do alot of doubling which left the perimeter open the majority of Iowa's possession. Rutgers cannot get to where the fans want it to go without a better Cliff period. I do not have the answers. That is for Pike to figure it out. Pike goes to Cliff early and he repeated cannot hit an easy bunnies. Those are misses that sets the tone and today we paid dearly for it.

As for everyone else....Mulcahy struggled and didnt make his presence known much anywhere. Cannot have your leader going 2-10 with one assist,,,bizarro game from him. Caleb not always making the right decision and costly late turnover but he was 6-8 fg, 12 points, 7 boards, 4 steals and was most consistent of anyone today. Mag was lost early, got better but damage was done. Hyatt was Hyatt and thats not a bad thing, maybe could have had some of Mags minutes. Cam didnt get enough looks or touches. Derek wasnt good. I realize he made a couple of plays but too many missed defensive assignments and taking too many shots especially one ill advised at 55-48. Derek took 11 shots, 3-11, 0-4 from 3, that is just not right for this team. No one can give me an argument otherwise. Wolf was really bad in his 2 minutes. Reiber just not applicable for this game. Pike not his best gameplan or in game coaching this year, might be his worst.

Overall Rutgers just did not get it done for whatever reason. The vaunted D was not there and its clear RU is beatable at the RAC. Cannot dwell but at the same time need to remember you need to bring it every night. The basketball gods are cruel. In one week we win at #1 Purdue, return to the RAC to bully Purdue and then a disappointing loss to a middle pack type Big 10 school at home. Northwestern up next and they are brimming with confidence, tied for first in Big 10 and have the talent to beat RU. Every night is different, every night is a war, never look more than one game ahead. How this team responds to this loss will tell alot. Its a cliche but you do not want to start losing in bunches in this league.

The loss is just one...its okay, these things can happen. We can recover

Great write up!

I couldn't agree more with all of your points tonight.

The bolded, I ESPECIALLY agree with, and mentioned on the postgame video I did. Most folks around me were saying the same thing...Mag needed to sit more tonight and Hyatt should have gotten his minutes...thats a game to game thing but it seemed obvious today.
 
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False narrative. It was Mag who wasn’t guarding and taking awful shots and bad turnovers. Mag played ten more minutes than Hyatt yet both had the same amount of rebounds and Mag had one more basket. Where are the plus/minus stats? Mag misses are move devastating as easy misses or killing fast breaks.
I like both mag and Andre - I wasn’t commenting on one versus the other rather a particular sequence where the iowa guy was on fire and Andre was gassed. It was critical and it went against us. It happens
 
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Excellent recap once again Bac. Iowa was just better than us today. They are pretty physical, including their guards and it made us look uncomfortable most of the game.

We need Paul to play well so that it opens up easier shots for the rest of our players.

Best of Luck,
Groz
 
good point about Derek.,...he does make great plays...but you get almost 2

Is Pike okay with Derek taking 11 shots, the most on the team. He is a freshmen averaged around 20 minute in league play.

I think with derek, reiber, woolf, the issue is the starters were crap early. That magnifies their mistakes. We are missing a player I think

at the end of the day, you cant have Paul and Cliff being black holes on offense
I think a lot of us see what this team is missing....and it is in fact Derek! It's just not this version of him. Derek is still a YOUNG freshman, and it feels like he is maturing at a very slow rate or not at all as the season goes on. You see flashes of his greatness, and that he can create his own shot. He gets to places nobody else on our team can get to by themselves - kind reminds of Jacob Young when he first came here. But just makes me wonder how many times somebody has sat down with him and said 'You are going to be great, but you just need to slow down and let the game come to you - trust me just slow down!' Maybe this conversation is not getting through to him, or maybe it's really not happening but it's so obvious with his game.

And right Derek, Reiber and Woolf were put in positions to spark our team, not spell our starters so they could get some rest. When you are asking these 3 to spark your team - you are in desperation mode - it's not a good place to be, and your success rate is not going to be great. I don't get the Reiber love or want for him to get more minutes - I keep asking myself if I'm missing something that others are seeing, and I just don't think I am. Reiber at his absolute best is an off the bench player who can give you good minutes - at his best!
 
False narrative. It was Mag who wasn’t guarding and taking awful shots and bad turnovers. Mag played ten more minutes than Hyatt yet both had the same amount of rebounds and Mag had one more basket. Where are the plus/minus stats? Mag misses are move devastating as easy misses or killing fast breaks.
Mag vs Hyatt comparison isn't even close. Mag on the whole just gives you so much more, and while he can have his share of WTF plays - Hyatt will drive you mad over time. Hyatt gives you more offensively, but also is not part of the team concept and just seems to go rogue at times with his poor shot selection. Mag also just a different level vs Hyatt defensively.
 
My observations:

Paul was - 21 and Caleb was -15 for the game. Not going to win when that occurs.

Paul was a complete non factor as he also only had 1 assist. He was pissed after the game yelling at himself or at others.

Iowa and Fran did a great job breaking down our defensive scheme as the number of layups they scored was abundant.

We did a good job neutralizing Murray however allowing Rebreca and Sandfort to instead kill us.

I like Mag but he was inept offensively today. I also thought Hyatt played too little today - only 16 minutes.

Some awful shooting stats: Mag (3-10) / Paul (2/10) / Cliff (3/8) and Simpson (3/11).

Fortunately or unfortunately, this is what to expect this year. Maybe with the exception of Purdue and possibly Sparty, the league is comprised of many average to good teams - with very little differentiating them in terms of talent and /or scheme. Thus the only expected is the unexpected !
 
Bac-Not to be argumentative, but the Big Ten is not an absolute bear by any metric. There is not a dominant team, unless you consider Purdue to be one. I don't.As of tomorrow there should be 6 Big Ten teams in the NET top 60 and without doing the research that would appear to be a low over the last decade, but for one aberrant season.The ACC has been pilloried here,but it will have 7 teams. The Big 12 will have 9.Indiana was the clear consensus preseason pick and they can't hold a candle to Purdue,Ohio State,Rutgers, Michigan State and perhaps Wisconsin. Iowa had a kid shooting 20% from 3 hit everything he threw up.There is parity from 1-6,but not the absolute danger of previous years.We shall see.
Spot on!

With the exception of Purdue and maybe Sparty and Minnesota (atrocious) - the majority of teams in this conference this year are all average to good - with very little differentiating them in terms of talent and scheme.

Thus the league s very balanced and there will be many games where the unexpected will occur such as Iowa knocking us off at home/ NW knocking off Indiana / MD knocking off OSU etc.

It's going to be a dogfight !
 
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My observations:

Paul was - 21 and Caleb was -15 for the game. Not going to win when that occurs.

Paul was a complete non factor as he also only had 1 assist. He was pissed after the game yelling at himself or at others.

Iowa and Fran did a great job breaking down our defensive scheme as the number of layups they scored was abundant.

We did a good job neutralizing Murray however allowing Rebreca and Sandfort to instead kill us.

I like Mag but he was inept offensively today. I also thought Hyatt played too little today - only 16 minutes.

Some awful shooting stats: Mag (3-10) / Paul (2/10) / Cliff (3/8) and Simpson (3/11).

Fortunately or unfortunately, this is what to expect this year. Maybe with the exception of Purdue and possibly Sparty, the league is comprised of many average to good teams - with very little differentiating them in terms of talent and /or scheme. Thus the only expected is the unexpected !

Phil i told you..we were going to lose a game at home we weren't expecting too. Hopefully this is the only one
 
Phil i told you..we were going to lose a game at home we weren't expecting too. Hopefully this is the only one
You did ! You thought it would be Maryland however ! ...lol.

I didn't expect it to be Iowa.

Truth be told, I was overconfident coming into this game not expecting much from what I thought was a sub par Iowa squad even hurting more with Patrick McCaffrey out.

I should have been more cognizant of their recent win vs Indiana (thus giving them more confidence) and the way they killed Seton Hall during the Gavitt Games.

Fran can coach and he was under control today as he never blew a gasket and turned all red on the sidelines.
 
Some thoughts on the game:

-I don’t understand why we aren’t running some more pick and roll to get Cliff some dunks. We are just posting Cliff up and teams are pushing him out and he is taking difficult shots.

-The person we should post up more is Paul. Rather than force him to try to dribble into the lane, we should post him up more, let him catch the ball down low and then decide whether he has a good matchup to take it to the hoop or kick it out to someone on the perimeter.

-We need to run Spencer through more screens to get him some open looks. This seems obvious, don’t understand why we aren’t doing it.

-Like the ND game last year, we don’t react well defensively when teams spread us out and have us chasing the ball on the perimeter. We overplay the ball, leaving too many players open and also give up easy buckets inside. When something isn’t working we need to adjust. Iowa’s shooting was ridiculous, but think we would have done better with less switching and double teaming on the perimeter, more straight up man to man with Cliff staying home down low.
 
You did ! You thought it would be Maryland however ! ...lol.

I didn't expect it to be Iowa.

Truth be told, I was overconfident coming into this game not expecting much from what I thought was a sub par Iowa squad even hurting more with Patrick McCaffrey out.

I should have been more cognizant of their recent win vs Indiana (thus giving them more confidence) and the way they killed Seton Hall during the Gavitt Games.

Fran can coach and he was under control today as he never blew a gasket and turned all red on the sidelines.

Their Indiana win had me on alert. They had some momentum coming in and could right the ship. I think had they lost to Indiana, this thing goes down differently, esp with the crowd, etc.

You can see these games coming sometimes. I wasn't worried per se, but I wasn't surprised. And I'm never surprised when Iowa is well coached ans has a good day shooting. This game came down to 3s and how well Iowa shot them consistently all game.

It's an annoying result, but it does happen. Hate to keep going back - but both wins and losses make the OSU game hurt more. This should be our first Big Ten loss, which would have made sense. And still does, just hurts more.
 
Bac-Not to be argumentative, but the Big Ten is not an absolute bear by any metric. There is not a dominant team, unless you consider Purdue to be one. I don't.As of tomorrow there should be 6 Big Ten teams in the NET top 60 and without doing the research that would appear to be a low over the last decade, but for one aberrant season.The ACC has been pilloried here,but it will have 7 teams. The Big 12 will have 9.Indiana was the clear consensus preseason pick and they can't hold a candle to Purdue,Ohio State,Rutgers, Michigan State and perhaps Wisconsin. Iowa had a kid shooting 20% from 3 hit everything he threw up.There is parity from 1-6,but not the absolute danger of previous years.We shall see.
Big Ten has 10 teams in the top 60 plus penn st. at 63 as of this morning. Only Michigan 77, Nebraska 83 and Minnesota 235 are lower than 63
 
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