The boys are back in town
(The boys are back in town)
The boys are back in town
(The boys are back in town)
Spread the word around
Guess who's back in town
Just spread the word around
Okay I am going to repeat myself.... Yes I told you before its all about GETTING RIGHT BACK TO WHERE WE STARTED FROM. Let's face it. Expectations have changed. Look no further than the game thread. Down 2 at halftime and it was like we were down double digits. That is perfectly okay. Expectations should be higher because we know this team can play better than it has and that is why its so frustrating to watch. Tonight we dug out another ugly yet beautiful win. See I am starting to repeat myself again. Thats what happens when you string 4 straight Big 10 wins for the first time in history and I do not even remember the last time in another conference we won 4 straight. Winning with defense, winning with lunch pail, winning with putting your head down and clawing your way to a win, winning by working hard, nothing fancy, nothing flashy, doing it the way Pikiell excited us in the previous seasons. The gang is back together again....Geo, Myles, Ron, Caleb and Paul. The boys are back in town...just spread the word around. This is what makes Rutgers basketball. This is the bread and butter. Guess who's back in town, this is how we have turned the season around
Much of this game was ugly. RU was not playing with purpose and not playing with the urgency that you would think on its home court. Minnesota is a nice team but I did not think they were doing anything particularly dicey on either end of the court. RU was hampered by a bevy of mistakes from the bench but lets also note excuse some of the starters were also playing poorly. At the end of 5 game skid, there was a consensus on the board that we needed to go back to basics and make a change which would mean Young and Mathis out of the starting lineup and reduced minutes for at least one if not both. It is clear that Coach Pikiell and his staff made that crucial move that saved the season and the shot at a NCAA bid. I have no doubt about it that this lineup shakeup was perhaps THE best move in Pikiell's tenure here. A bold move that potentially can ruffle some feathers but one that had to be made in order for the program to move forward. Last 3 games, RU very strong starts with big drop off with subs. Seems like once that happens in all 3 games, even the starters go into a funk. In the last 5-6 minutes of this game, RU again relied solely on its starting lineup to grind out this victory and its so rewarding to see a lunch pail guy like Caleb make huge plays late and a struggling star in Harper once again come up huge in the late stages. Throw in the Geo patented shot making shot and Myles presence on defense and Paul's headiness.
I kept saying in the game thread that this game was unfolding just like Iowa. RU out to an early lead, then let Iowa retake lead, then played even. RU didnt play particularly bad versus Iowa, its just that they could never come with a stop when they needed too. In this game, it wasnt looking good, Minnesota seemingly got every bounce and lucky break, 3s from a big man, were getting two shots everytime down as they were outboarding us for that stretch. Then things changed. Caleb was the catalyst. Admittedly I thought Caleb played too much in the first half and needed glasses his shot was so off. In the latter stages though he had a look in his eye. 2 consecutive boards, 2 free throws and 2 buckets and a dunk off of a steal to complete to score 8 straight RU points and all of sudden the game was tied at 60. Caleb, Caleb Caleb feel so good for you that you stepped up to the plate. Caleb's play sparked a huge monmentum shift but Caleb was not done, his 3 point shot at 1:38 pushed RU into the lead at 71-70. Caleb went for 14 points on 5-11 shooting, 6 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals in his best game since I don't know when. Yet for all Caleb contributed, all of the starters were vital down the stretch. Myles was a defensive monster in that stretch and it was Myles that largely kept RU in the game to that point. 7-8 shooting, 15 points, a whopping 12 boards and 3 blocks. As good as big guy was for Minnesota, it was steady Myles that matched him. What about Ron...well again like a few recent games, just all out struggling with his shot and at times not looking good on defense but Ron showed up in crunch time. Consecutive rebounds off of Minnesota misses in the last minute and then nailing 3 foul shots. An overall spotty game but Ron continues to show he will contribute and make winning plays even if his shots are not falling. Ron did that tonight, we needed every bit of what he gave us late. Geo was quiet much of the game but damn when he showed up he showed. A layup here, a jumper there, two free throws, and oh just his patent step back jumper. Geo scored 8 points in a key stretch, the only other bucket was the Caleb 3 but it was his beauty at 1:01, a long jumper right on line that put RU up 73-72 a lead they would never relinquish. To top it all off, Geo secured the game sealing rebound off the Ron missed free throw. The boys are back in to ow own....just spread the word around
I thought Mathis was solid in his limited minutes. He had one ugly shot but his 3 buckets were pretty nice looking and I thought he played under control, maybe should have some more minutes early but I was content with him not being in late. I think Mathis can contribute alot to this team in the future so I like he is buying into his new role. I will not get too much into the JY situation because its polarizing here. JY will be counted on this year for sure. We need a locked in JY, he is a part of success. However he is not the main cog and again thats what we realized in our 5 game skid. Our ceiling may not be as high but the lunch pail kids are the ones I trust and apparently Pike trust to dig out these wins. Obviously JY needs to be integrated sooner than later. RU cannot survive with just 5 starters for 10 minutes at a time. JY is well beyond the time where making stupid mistakes should be tolerated and until he straightens it out the best solution for this team is to go with what got you there in the first place. I applaud how Pikiell is handling this and the last piece of the puzzle is getting JY's head on straight and to realize when things are going sideways
Have to make special mention of the free throw shooting. I believe RU started 3-8 and they finished at 18-25....hitting 15 of their last 17. Quite a spectacular clip for a team that has just been struggling all year. Don't ever say free throws do not matter because if this team shot is regular clip they lose tonight.
oh and one more thing. I would never want Marcus Carr on my team, in fact Minnesota's college hoops IQ might rival some horrible Jordan/Hill teams. Carr the star was a big fat zero with his horrific mistakes down the stretch most notably dribbles to nowhere leading to a wasted timeout and then a just stupid 3 point shot with 23 seconds on the clock when a simple drive to the basket would do. I know they had no timeouts but man Pitino looks pretty small after this game. I would imagine the Minnesota fans were pissed to the say the least which their meltdown. Not fouling Geo after the Harper miss was further proof of a poorly coached team. Waaaaaaaaah Oh Ricky
Enjoy Rutgers fans, enjoy this win, no game until next Tuesday. Two weeks ago, RU had just lost their 5th in a row, were 7-6 and just 3-6 in league and this board was like a wake. Now 4 in a row, 7-6 in league with a top 4 finish still in their grasp, a NET that probably lands in the top 25 and 3 wins away from a virtual NCAA tournament lock.
(The boys are back in town)
The boys are back in town
(The boys are back in town)
Spread the word around
Guess who's back in town
Just spread the word around
Okay I am going to repeat myself.... Yes I told you before its all about GETTING RIGHT BACK TO WHERE WE STARTED FROM. Let's face it. Expectations have changed. Look no further than the game thread. Down 2 at halftime and it was like we were down double digits. That is perfectly okay. Expectations should be higher because we know this team can play better than it has and that is why its so frustrating to watch. Tonight we dug out another ugly yet beautiful win. See I am starting to repeat myself again. Thats what happens when you string 4 straight Big 10 wins for the first time in history and I do not even remember the last time in another conference we won 4 straight. Winning with defense, winning with lunch pail, winning with putting your head down and clawing your way to a win, winning by working hard, nothing fancy, nothing flashy, doing it the way Pikiell excited us in the previous seasons. The gang is back together again....Geo, Myles, Ron, Caleb and Paul. The boys are back in town...just spread the word around. This is what makes Rutgers basketball. This is the bread and butter. Guess who's back in town, this is how we have turned the season around
Much of this game was ugly. RU was not playing with purpose and not playing with the urgency that you would think on its home court. Minnesota is a nice team but I did not think they were doing anything particularly dicey on either end of the court. RU was hampered by a bevy of mistakes from the bench but lets also note excuse some of the starters were also playing poorly. At the end of 5 game skid, there was a consensus on the board that we needed to go back to basics and make a change which would mean Young and Mathis out of the starting lineup and reduced minutes for at least one if not both. It is clear that Coach Pikiell and his staff made that crucial move that saved the season and the shot at a NCAA bid. I have no doubt about it that this lineup shakeup was perhaps THE best move in Pikiell's tenure here. A bold move that potentially can ruffle some feathers but one that had to be made in order for the program to move forward. Last 3 games, RU very strong starts with big drop off with subs. Seems like once that happens in all 3 games, even the starters go into a funk. In the last 5-6 minutes of this game, RU again relied solely on its starting lineup to grind out this victory and its so rewarding to see a lunch pail guy like Caleb make huge plays late and a struggling star in Harper once again come up huge in the late stages. Throw in the Geo patented shot making shot and Myles presence on defense and Paul's headiness.
I kept saying in the game thread that this game was unfolding just like Iowa. RU out to an early lead, then let Iowa retake lead, then played even. RU didnt play particularly bad versus Iowa, its just that they could never come with a stop when they needed too. In this game, it wasnt looking good, Minnesota seemingly got every bounce and lucky break, 3s from a big man, were getting two shots everytime down as they were outboarding us for that stretch. Then things changed. Caleb was the catalyst. Admittedly I thought Caleb played too much in the first half and needed glasses his shot was so off. In the latter stages though he had a look in his eye. 2 consecutive boards, 2 free throws and 2 buckets and a dunk off of a steal to complete to score 8 straight RU points and all of sudden the game was tied at 60. Caleb, Caleb Caleb feel so good for you that you stepped up to the plate. Caleb's play sparked a huge monmentum shift but Caleb was not done, his 3 point shot at 1:38 pushed RU into the lead at 71-70. Caleb went for 14 points on 5-11 shooting, 6 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals in his best game since I don't know when. Yet for all Caleb contributed, all of the starters were vital down the stretch. Myles was a defensive monster in that stretch and it was Myles that largely kept RU in the game to that point. 7-8 shooting, 15 points, a whopping 12 boards and 3 blocks. As good as big guy was for Minnesota, it was steady Myles that matched him. What about Ron...well again like a few recent games, just all out struggling with his shot and at times not looking good on defense but Ron showed up in crunch time. Consecutive rebounds off of Minnesota misses in the last minute and then nailing 3 foul shots. An overall spotty game but Ron continues to show he will contribute and make winning plays even if his shots are not falling. Ron did that tonight, we needed every bit of what he gave us late. Geo was quiet much of the game but damn when he showed up he showed. A layup here, a jumper there, two free throws, and oh just his patent step back jumper. Geo scored 8 points in a key stretch, the only other bucket was the Caleb 3 but it was his beauty at 1:01, a long jumper right on line that put RU up 73-72 a lead they would never relinquish. To top it all off, Geo secured the game sealing rebound off the Ron missed free throw. The boys are back in to ow own....just spread the word around
I thought Mathis was solid in his limited minutes. He had one ugly shot but his 3 buckets were pretty nice looking and I thought he played under control, maybe should have some more minutes early but I was content with him not being in late. I think Mathis can contribute alot to this team in the future so I like he is buying into his new role. I will not get too much into the JY situation because its polarizing here. JY will be counted on this year for sure. We need a locked in JY, he is a part of success. However he is not the main cog and again thats what we realized in our 5 game skid. Our ceiling may not be as high but the lunch pail kids are the ones I trust and apparently Pike trust to dig out these wins. Obviously JY needs to be integrated sooner than later. RU cannot survive with just 5 starters for 10 minutes at a time. JY is well beyond the time where making stupid mistakes should be tolerated and until he straightens it out the best solution for this team is to go with what got you there in the first place. I applaud how Pikiell is handling this and the last piece of the puzzle is getting JY's head on straight and to realize when things are going sideways
Have to make special mention of the free throw shooting. I believe RU started 3-8 and they finished at 18-25....hitting 15 of their last 17. Quite a spectacular clip for a team that has just been struggling all year. Don't ever say free throws do not matter because if this team shot is regular clip they lose tonight.
oh and one more thing. I would never want Marcus Carr on my team, in fact Minnesota's college hoops IQ might rival some horrible Jordan/Hill teams. Carr the star was a big fat zero with his horrific mistakes down the stretch most notably dribbles to nowhere leading to a wasted timeout and then a just stupid 3 point shot with 23 seconds on the clock when a simple drive to the basket would do. I know they had no timeouts but man Pitino looks pretty small after this game. I would imagine the Minnesota fans were pissed to the say the least which their meltdown. Not fouling Geo after the Harper miss was further proof of a poorly coached team. Waaaaaaaaah Oh Ricky
Enjoy Rutgers fans, enjoy this win, no game until next Tuesday. Two weeks ago, RU had just lost their 5th in a row, were 7-6 and just 3-6 in league and this board was like a wake. Now 4 in a row, 7-6 in league with a top 4 finish still in their grasp, a NET that probably lands in the top 25 and 3 wins away from a virtual NCAA tournament lock.