Rutgers owns Indiana we know that. Iowa owns Rutgers. Rutgers has now dropped 7 of last 9 to Iowa. It all started with that Wieskemp 3 back in 2019 that crushed our hearts. RU would get revenget at a ranked Iowa later that year. Since its been 6 losses in 7 with the only RU win a bruising 48-46 defensive slugfest at the RAC last season. Three of the losses came when RU was ranked. Iowa breezed by RU at Carver last year and easily dispatched them without a challenge in the Big 10 tourney. Today was another dominant peformance from Iowa where the Hawkeyes just imposed their will in the first half and did everything they had to do to nail down the win in the 2nd. The vaunted Rutgers defense just cannot figure out Iowa. Rutgers has given up 93, 76, 84 in the last 3 meetings.
Some similarities between this game and the first game at the RAC. In both games Iowa broke open a close game near halftime and in both games it proved to be the decisive stretches that impacted the 2nd half. RU going down 11 at half while giving up 45 was near fatal. Although RU would show no quit it cutting the defecit to just 1, you cannot play catchup all game and think you can shut down a strong offensive team on their home court. To beat Iowa you have to make them uncomfortable. RU failed to take advantage of a cold Iowa early because they were turning it over at rapid pace through the first 10 minutes. 13 turnovers in all in the first half. RU had the game at 32-30 with Mag going to line, he missed and RU blinked. Iowa would go on a devastating 13-2 run to close the half During that run, RU would turn it over 3 times and miss a bunch of bunnies. You absolutely cannot blink vs Iowa in a close game because they will make you pay. From down 2 to down 11. The whole complexion of the game changed. Iowa is incredibly tough to beat when their offense is rolling and not bothered. How do you expect to come back from down 11 on the road with 13 turnovers and Iowa 8-16 from 3...all the worries about perimeter defense were validated in this game. Many of those shots were the results of crisp passing out of the double team and finding open guys. Just like the first game and MDSU. RU overpursued and didnt stay with their man and Iowa made them pay. Why on earth would Rutgers play right into Iowa's hands
Why did Rutgers lose? The defense wasnt elite. Not going to win giving up 93 points. As said before, there were a ton of outside shots given up. Iowa I think was 8-14 at one point. 2nd half seemed like RU did a better job at forcing Iowa to go inside. Unfortunately that resulted in fouling. People can have opinions on the officiating today. RU sent Iowa to the line 34 times and they hit on 29. Perfect gameplan in the 2nd half by Fran. Were the foul calls excessive? Perhaps, RU was obviously a step to slow on defense all day. Many of those fouls were after failures to box out on rebounds, second chance opportunities were the defense stopped the initial shot but then fouled the 2nd attempt. If I were to quibble with the officiating, it would be that similar contact was not called as frequent on the other end. Make no mistake though, RU didnt lose because of officiating. RU lost because its defense was poor in the first half and it forced RU to play from behind. Then when RU had wittled the lead to just 1, they gave up some more open 3s and failed to grab that rebound or got outhustled for a rebound....the biggest of which was Mag losing that ball that was in his hands down I believe 5. Give enormous credit to Rutgers for coming back...in fact it was a beautiful run 9-0 where Hyatt was reenacting his performance vs Penn State. RU got just enough stops and was poised to wrest control. In the end, Iowa just rewon the game yet again and it would do it with another RU run that cut it to 5. RU was relentless but so was Iowa.
Not going to win when you have to play catch up all game. Not going to win when you commit 18 turnovers. Not going to win when Cam isnt giving you much of anything the first 30 minutes of the game. Not going to win when Caleb defense is way off and he is in foul trouble. Not going to win when you pile up fouls. Not going to win when Murray is going off for 24.
Do not get caught up in RU scoring 82 points, the tempo and pace of possessions was ridiculous. RU shot 30-65 fg and still lost. Yet the offense was not good in the first half where the game was ultimately lost. Iowa was incredibly efficient. Rutgers was pissing away and squandering possessions. Give enormous credit to Iowa. Its not like Rutgers lost this game. Iowa won. They deserved it. They own Rutgers. Fran is a great coach. He runs an incredibly efficient and potent offense. His defense on RU in the first half pressuring RU ball handlers disrupting our offense was spot on. He made sure his players made sure Cam did not get any good looks. Its a bad matchup. We should all hope we dont meet again in the Big 10 tourney. Iowa will win again and it will likely go down a similar way to the first two games.
At the end of the day there is nothing wrong with losing this game. Iowa is a NCAA team, game was on the road, RU had built up enough credit that they didnt need to win this one. The most encouraging thing to take from this loss is RU didnt let this game get away. Iowa could have won by 20 and in other seasons they would. RU fought like mad to keep things under 10 after they got behind. Just too much to do to get over the hump. The key as I said after the Iowa and Michigan State losses is how you bounce back. This league is unforgiving. You can have a win streak one week and a losing streak the next. You want to avoid rough patches and stringing losses together and push them off as far in the future as possible. Minnesota is up next. Yes its a MUST win for NCAA purposes and conference placement. I know some have already annointed RU into the tourney but that is not true. There is work to be done. RU needs to take care of business in games they should at home...the Minnesotas, the Nebraskas, the Michigans of the world. After Minnesota is probably the Rutgers gauntlet, a 3 game stretch of MSU at MSG, at Illinois and at Indiana. A game not at the RAC but in a different environment. Two road games vs the hottest schools in the conference.
Some really noticable things in the stat line.....Paul a whopping 13 assists. RU total of 23 assists. Hyatt 6-12 fg, 4-7 from 3, team leading 16 points
The questions that arise out of this game concern some issues that could be arising.
Did the officiating effect the game? It did not change the outcome...RU's D giving up 93 and 18 turnovers says it all. Officiating certainly did not help at times but there were two main reasons why RU lost.
Can RU compete for the Big 10 title? Likely no
How fragile is RU's spot in the Big 10 standings? Yes just one game seperates 3rd from 10th so yes its fragile
Was the interesting lineup in the 2nd half a one off or is the rotation being tweaked? Need to see next game
Is Cam's lack of production an issue? 4 games now, I say we can be concerned a bit.
Is Hyatt ready for an expaned role on this team? Hyatt is stepping up big time and yes he will be trusted and leaned on a bit more.
Will schools try to adopt the Iowa/MSU blueprint to beat RU? Yes..pressure our ball handlers, take away Cam and speed up the tempo
Should we panic? Of course not, our defense is still one of the best in the country? Losses happen and yes Iowa is our kryptonite. 90 minutes removed after the end of this game, I am less angry and more accepting that Iowa owns us.
Is Rutgers still a NCAA team? Likely yes but it has to close the season, 10 games to go and probably 5-5 makes it academic
Is Minnesota in for a beating at the RAC? YES
Some similarities between this game and the first game at the RAC. In both games Iowa broke open a close game near halftime and in both games it proved to be the decisive stretches that impacted the 2nd half. RU going down 11 at half while giving up 45 was near fatal. Although RU would show no quit it cutting the defecit to just 1, you cannot play catchup all game and think you can shut down a strong offensive team on their home court. To beat Iowa you have to make them uncomfortable. RU failed to take advantage of a cold Iowa early because they were turning it over at rapid pace through the first 10 minutes. 13 turnovers in all in the first half. RU had the game at 32-30 with Mag going to line, he missed and RU blinked. Iowa would go on a devastating 13-2 run to close the half During that run, RU would turn it over 3 times and miss a bunch of bunnies. You absolutely cannot blink vs Iowa in a close game because they will make you pay. From down 2 to down 11. The whole complexion of the game changed. Iowa is incredibly tough to beat when their offense is rolling and not bothered. How do you expect to come back from down 11 on the road with 13 turnovers and Iowa 8-16 from 3...all the worries about perimeter defense were validated in this game. Many of those shots were the results of crisp passing out of the double team and finding open guys. Just like the first game and MDSU. RU overpursued and didnt stay with their man and Iowa made them pay. Why on earth would Rutgers play right into Iowa's hands
Why did Rutgers lose? The defense wasnt elite. Not going to win giving up 93 points. As said before, there were a ton of outside shots given up. Iowa I think was 8-14 at one point. 2nd half seemed like RU did a better job at forcing Iowa to go inside. Unfortunately that resulted in fouling. People can have opinions on the officiating today. RU sent Iowa to the line 34 times and they hit on 29. Perfect gameplan in the 2nd half by Fran. Were the foul calls excessive? Perhaps, RU was obviously a step to slow on defense all day. Many of those fouls were after failures to box out on rebounds, second chance opportunities were the defense stopped the initial shot but then fouled the 2nd attempt. If I were to quibble with the officiating, it would be that similar contact was not called as frequent on the other end. Make no mistake though, RU didnt lose because of officiating. RU lost because its defense was poor in the first half and it forced RU to play from behind. Then when RU had wittled the lead to just 1, they gave up some more open 3s and failed to grab that rebound or got outhustled for a rebound....the biggest of which was Mag losing that ball that was in his hands down I believe 5. Give enormous credit to Rutgers for coming back...in fact it was a beautiful run 9-0 where Hyatt was reenacting his performance vs Penn State. RU got just enough stops and was poised to wrest control. In the end, Iowa just rewon the game yet again and it would do it with another RU run that cut it to 5. RU was relentless but so was Iowa.
Not going to win when you have to play catch up all game. Not going to win when you commit 18 turnovers. Not going to win when Cam isnt giving you much of anything the first 30 minutes of the game. Not going to win when Caleb defense is way off and he is in foul trouble. Not going to win when you pile up fouls. Not going to win when Murray is going off for 24.
Do not get caught up in RU scoring 82 points, the tempo and pace of possessions was ridiculous. RU shot 30-65 fg and still lost. Yet the offense was not good in the first half where the game was ultimately lost. Iowa was incredibly efficient. Rutgers was pissing away and squandering possessions. Give enormous credit to Iowa. Its not like Rutgers lost this game. Iowa won. They deserved it. They own Rutgers. Fran is a great coach. He runs an incredibly efficient and potent offense. His defense on RU in the first half pressuring RU ball handlers disrupting our offense was spot on. He made sure his players made sure Cam did not get any good looks. Its a bad matchup. We should all hope we dont meet again in the Big 10 tourney. Iowa will win again and it will likely go down a similar way to the first two games.
At the end of the day there is nothing wrong with losing this game. Iowa is a NCAA team, game was on the road, RU had built up enough credit that they didnt need to win this one. The most encouraging thing to take from this loss is RU didnt let this game get away. Iowa could have won by 20 and in other seasons they would. RU fought like mad to keep things under 10 after they got behind. Just too much to do to get over the hump. The key as I said after the Iowa and Michigan State losses is how you bounce back. This league is unforgiving. You can have a win streak one week and a losing streak the next. You want to avoid rough patches and stringing losses together and push them off as far in the future as possible. Minnesota is up next. Yes its a MUST win for NCAA purposes and conference placement. I know some have already annointed RU into the tourney but that is not true. There is work to be done. RU needs to take care of business in games they should at home...the Minnesotas, the Nebraskas, the Michigans of the world. After Minnesota is probably the Rutgers gauntlet, a 3 game stretch of MSU at MSG, at Illinois and at Indiana. A game not at the RAC but in a different environment. Two road games vs the hottest schools in the conference.
Some really noticable things in the stat line.....Paul a whopping 13 assists. RU total of 23 assists. Hyatt 6-12 fg, 4-7 from 3, team leading 16 points
The questions that arise out of this game concern some issues that could be arising.
Did the officiating effect the game? It did not change the outcome...RU's D giving up 93 and 18 turnovers says it all. Officiating certainly did not help at times but there were two main reasons why RU lost.
Can RU compete for the Big 10 title? Likely no
How fragile is RU's spot in the Big 10 standings? Yes just one game seperates 3rd from 10th so yes its fragile
Was the interesting lineup in the 2nd half a one off or is the rotation being tweaked? Need to see next game
Is Cam's lack of production an issue? 4 games now, I say we can be concerned a bit.
Is Hyatt ready for an expaned role on this team? Hyatt is stepping up big time and yes he will be trusted and leaned on a bit more.
Will schools try to adopt the Iowa/MSU blueprint to beat RU? Yes..pressure our ball handlers, take away Cam and speed up the tempo
Should we panic? Of course not, our defense is still one of the best in the country? Losses happen and yes Iowa is our kryptonite. 90 minutes removed after the end of this game, I am less angry and more accepting that Iowa owns us.
Is Rutgers still a NCAA team? Likely yes but it has to close the season, 10 games to go and probably 5-5 makes it academic
Is Minnesota in for a beating at the RAC? YES
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