Come take my hand
You should know me
I've always been in your mind
You know that I'll be kind
I'll be guiding you
Building your dream
Has to start now
There's no other road to take
You won't make a mistake
I'll be guiding you
You have to believe we are magic
Nothin' can stand in our way
You have to believe we are magic
Don't let your aim ever stray
And if all your hopes survive
Your destiny will arrive
I'll bring all your dreams alive
For you
I'll bring all your dreams alive
For you
As I said earlier in the season that if Rutgers played all its games at the RAC, it would contend for the Big 10 Title. The energy and confidence level that this team brings to the RAC is immeasurable. The magic of the RAC is legendary. After a one game stink egg vs Maryland, that Rutgers/RAC symbiotic relationship returned and then some. A glorious experience at the RAC filled with all the bells and whistles. that winning provide. A true first class performance by the players, the coaching staff, the fans, the students, the cheerleaders, ithe band. Everyone stepped up to the plate today and because of that we got enjoy it without any tums moments of sweating out another last possession nailbiter. This is the 2nd win by Pike over an Izzo led Michigan State but its the first that the Rutgers community got to see in person. Much like the wins over Illinois and Maryland in 2020, these were tight games that RU just blew the doors off of their opponents in the 2nd half and won going away Arguably today's win is the best by a Rutgers led Pikiell team in Big 10 conference play. The first half was a tale of two teams playing at a pretty high level with RU up 2 even though it seemed like they should be up more.
Backing up a bit, I think even I will give up trying to fully analyze the psyche of this team. Projecting consistency from them has proved maddening even from half to half. A good chunk of the board thought the most Rutgers thing to do was Rutgers beating Michigan State after losing that comeback bid to Northwestern the other night. Yet another half thought RU was done for. Certainly one could also understand those that thought RU would be in big trouble this game and beyond. The Jekyll and Hyde nature of the team certainly does not offer alot of confidence in predictions. And I will not offer any predictions in this post. Its one game at a time going forward. We know what Rutgers is capable of, good and bad.
As for the game itself, it was won with the coaching prep, it was won in practice, it was won in the locker room, it was one with locked in mindset. Yes the eye test matters and RU looked the part from opening tip and had that eye of the tiger. All Rutgers had to do with execute. It all starts with Coach Pikiell much maligned for such an up and down season that seems teetering on the verge of slipping away coaching a magical game that would do even the most heralded of coaching wizards proud. Have not heard any post game stuff yet so I do not know he did it or how he got his team to focus his team on the prize tonight against a top 20 league foe who had only lost 3 times previously. Whatever last gold nugget he pulled out his pocket to salvage the season it worked. The Pikiell magic put a hex on Izzo and his hogwarts and left them powerless to combat what the Scarlet Knights had to offer on any end. I talk about mindset alot in my recaps especially during losses. Seemingly, most of Rutgers road woes stem from the fact the games are lost within the first 10 minutes. Arguably they might be lost somewhere on the bus over from the hotel. I am going to give Pikiell a world of credit here for whatever he did to get in the players head but it was clear he did everything in this game to put Rutgers in the right position to have success. The players deserve their credit. The execution was flawless. The rewards tremendous.
Every single starter plus a couple of bench players were in the right spot doing the right things, making the right decision. The cogs in the wheel all did their part finding unexpected serendipity in executing. If we were ever waiting for a game where we got everyone to be on the same page and have a good night, wait no more. The was a near flawless display of team ball conducted by Steve Pikiell. As I said before the first half was a fairly even half with RU shooting really well but only being up a couple points. I did like the RU defensive strategy even though it was leading to some open 3s. RU was helping alot on D but I like the odds if Sparty is being forced to beat RU with late 3s in the shot clock. The second half began innocuous enough but have to love how RU pounced on the vulnerability of Sparty especially around that technical on Izzo. RU was showing poise and amping up their on the ball D and you could tell that MSU was getting frustrated. Sparty would make one run to it to 3 points with 14 minutes left but it was all Rutgers after that. Stunningly enough the critical stretch where RU went on a 10-0 run to pushe the lead to 13 was a curious lineup consisting of Reiber, Miller, Paul, Caleb and Mag. Mulcahy was unleased, scoring 5 and we would add another 3 to maintain that lead at 63-50. In that stretch Caleb got a steal and rebounded a miss for a layin and Reiber hit yet another open 3 from the corner. Sparty was reeling and never recovered. Pike hit gold with that lineup and then the starters took over sealing the deal. Down the stretch, Paul had 7 assists and was involved in every play whether and became a decoy. They had to cover Paul because they feared THE MULCAHY who had such success earlier in the 2nd half doing it hold school and bullying his way to the basket. Instead of shooting, Paul would simply find Cliff or even Ron/Geo on the perimeter. Um hello how about the behind the back pass to Ron for a 3 in the 2nd half, following up on his earlier one to Threeiber in the first half. This was simply wonderful to watch his game. Paul's metamorphosis at Northwestern took flight as a butterfly in the 2nd half tonight. Another amazing stat line, Rutgers had 22 assists and Paul would have a whopping 12 while scoring 15 points. I do not think even the biggest Paul fans here could have expected the last two games. The impact on how it changes how you guard RU and how the ball moves is incredible. It has freed up Ron and Geo on the perimeter. It has unclogged the paint for Cliff. It has the opponent guessing instead of predictably forcing RU to jack up jump shots late in the shot clock. Credit Pike, credit Paul and credit Paul's teammates who may have just sacrificed a bit of their own game for greater success for the team. I thought Geo took his leads from Paul and not the other way around. Geo was solid on both ends tonight and did not have to be the volume shooter but did a bunch of little things. 5 assists, 12 points, 3 of 6 from 3 on only 7 shots. Did Pike have a talk with Geo and Caleb because their play was night and day from the last few. Caleb had been pulled the last two, I think 3 games now but the last 2 got his minutes really reduced. Caleb was confident tonight and he did not force his shots. His game starts with defense and that was shown with his 4 steals but tonight his shot was on too. He finished with 11 points, 9 boards. Sure tonight the shots went down, but it just looked like these were not the forced shots that have been plaguing him. Ron bounced back, yeah only 6-14 shooting but 17 pts but like Paul he was bullying his way to the basket and not hesitant. Cliff a perfect 6 for 6 and solid 5-8 at the line for 17 points, Sparty really had no answer when Cliff got touches. Paul and Cliff are really developing quite the rapport now. Reiber perhaps the stealth MVP of the game...12 points in just 10 minutes, those 3 all in big spot moments. He has developed tremendously in the past few weeks and delivering onions to all. Miller gave some good energy minutes on D and it was quite unfortunate that ankle injury didnt look good with just seconds left in garbage time.
This was team ball at its finest, 6 guys in double figures, all with the same purpose, on the same page, having the same goals. What a magic show by Steve Pikiell. Where it takes us we just do not know......
