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GAME 23 NEBRASKA: Disgraceful display by all

bac2therac

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No smoking blow tonight. Lets call this team out for what it did tonight. It pissed away a chance to clinch a NCAA bid definitively and instead now put enormous pressure to pull out a win at Minnesota and/or in the Big Tournament. In the sad annals of RU basketball this one has the potential to surpass the Georgetown, Seton Hall, and Virginia Tech games in years past. Consider Rutgers got humiliated from the very beginning of this game against a team who had lose like 28 of their last 30 league games (or something like that). Yeah Nebraska had their game of their lives but its not about that. Its about the total no show from Geo, Ron and Myles and the disappearance of any leadership. Its about a return to the poor from the 5 game losing skid where the team crawled into the fetal possession while they were jellied down the court. Horrendous is an understatement for the effort tonight. This team got beat on every single loose ball. There wasnt fight, no one went to the ground. I hope there are plenty of tears in this lockerroom because there needs to be. What I saw tonight was a team that once again didnt grasp what they were playing for and instead crumbled into little boys pouting...and pouting yet again is never a good look.

And Pikiell and staff...wow oblivious might be the best description. It was clear Hoiberg ran a clinic around Pike to start and there was no adjustments. Pike once again failed to mentally prepare this team and thats on him. That is just happened vs Maryland should alarm everyone. The Indiana comeback was something to see. Apparently the program thought it was over and it had clinched a bid. Heads swelled again. Hey guess what Geo, you guys have not done jack shit yet. The NCAA bid now is in serious question.

Losing by 10 or 15 is one thing. Down by 30 is another. The NET has the potential to drop as many as 15-20 spots with a loss like this. And for the long suffering fans we do not deserve this but we do know Rutgers is going Rutgers. We would not be who we are without another nightmare game to add to the horror show of our last 30 years in hoops

I will tell you I have been all over the map with my analysis of this team this year. I am ready to throw my hands up in the air. Only Pike and the players know whats going on but obviously something is and I dont think its basketball related. Time is running out. Lets see what this team is made of against a Minnesota team who has tanking the season themselves, injured and desperate for a win, I will say that Carr even in defeat has shown about 100x more heart than what I saw from Rutgers today. Truly one of the most disgraceful effort and performances that I have ever witnessed from a Rutgers team in 30 plus years of following.
 
I am not a big fan of things away from the court are going on... but it has to be something. This team is playing with no heart. We played Michigan tough but are going to lose by 30 to this team
 
No smoking blow tonight. Lets call this team out for what it did tonight. It pissed away a chance to clinch a NCAA bid definitively and instead now put enormous pressure to pull out a win at Minnesota and/or in the Big Tournament. In the sad annals of RU basketball this one has the potential to surpass the Georgetown, Seton Hall, and Virginia Tech games in years past. Consider Rutgers got humiliated from the very beginning of this game against a team who had lose like 28 of their last 30 league games (or something like that). Yeah Nebraska had their game of their lives but its not about that. Its about the total no show from Geo, Ron and Myles and the disappearance of any leadership. Its about a return to the poor from the 5 game losing skid where the team crawled into the fetal possession while they were jellied down the court. Horrendous is an understatement for the effort tonight. This team got beat on every single loose ball. There wasnt fight, no one went to the ground. I hope there are plenty of tears in this lockerroom because there needs to be. What I saw tonight was a team that once again didnt grasp what they were playing for and instead crumbled into little boys pouting...and pouting yet again is never a good look.

And Pikiell and staff...wow oblivious might be the best description. It was clear Hoiberg ran a clinic around Pike to start and there was no adjustments. Pike once again failed to mentally prepare this team and thats on him. That is just happened vs Maryland should alarm everyone. The Indiana comeback was something to see. Apparently the program thought it was over and it had clinched a bid. Heads swelled again. Hey guess what Geo, you guys have not done jack shit yet. The NCAA bid now is in serious question.

Losing by 10 or 15 is one thing. Down by 30 is another. The NET has the potential to drop as many as 15-20 spots with a loss like this. And for the long suffering fans we do not deserve this but we do know Rutgers is going Rutgers. We would not be who we are without another nightmare game to add to the horror show of our last 30 years in hoops

I will tell you I have been all over the map with my analysis of this team this year. I am ready to throw my hands up in the air. Only Pike and the players know whats going on but obviously something is and I dont think its basketball related. Time is running out. Lets see what this team is made of against a Minnesota team who has tanking the season themselves, injured and desperate for a win, I will say that Carr even in defeat has shown about 100x more heart than what I saw from Rutgers today. Truly one of the most disgraceful effort and performances that I have ever witnessed from a Rutgers team in 30 plus years of following.
Pike once again failed to mentally prepare this team and thats on him.
end of story
 
There are too many times I get the impression that Jacob Young is the only one who gives a damn out there. Geo and Harper have their heads in the clouds too often. They're not focused.
 
The lack of leadership; the lack of toughness ; the lack of preparation is downright frightening!

If they care about NCAA bid, we ll see a valiant effort vs Minnesota.
 
also,..this team is a one and done in the NCAA tourney IF they make it....you need to have leadership plus some tourney experience. This team will get overwhelmed and gobbled by a team that competes every night
 
No smoking blow tonight. Lets call this team out for what it did tonight. It pissed away a chance to clinch a NCAA bid definitively and instead now put enormous pressure to pull out a win at Minnesota and/or in the Big Tournament. In the sad annals of RU basketball this one has the potential to surpass the Georgetown, Seton Hall, and Virginia Tech games in years past. Consider Rutgers got humiliated from the very beginning of this game against a team who had lose like 28 of their last 30 league games (or something like that). Yeah Nebraska had their game of their lives but its not about that. Its about the total no show from Geo, Ron and Myles and the disappearance of any leadership. Its about a return to the poor from the 5 game losing skid where the team crawled into the fetal possession while they were jellied down the court. Horrendous is an understatement for the effort tonight. This team got beat on every single loose ball. There wasnt fight, no one went to the ground. I hope there are plenty of tears in this lockerroom because there needs to be. What I saw tonight was a team that once again didnt grasp what they were playing for and instead crumbled into little boys pouting...and pouting yet again is never a good look.

And Pikiell and staff...wow oblivious might be the best description. It was clear Hoiberg ran a clinic around Pike to start and there was no adjustments. Pike once again failed to mentally prepare this team and thats on him. That is just happened vs Maryland should alarm everyone. The Indiana comeback was something to see. Apparently the program thought it was over and it had clinched a bid. Heads swelled again. Hey guess what Geo, you guys have not done jack shit yet. The NCAA bid now is in serious question.

Losing by 10 or 15 is one thing. Down by 30 is another. The NET has the potential to drop as many as 15-20 spots with a loss like this. And for the long suffering fans we do not deserve this but we do know Rutgers is going Rutgers. We would not be who we are without another nightmare game to add to the horror show of our last 30 years in hoops

I will tell you I have been all over the map with my analysis of this team this year. I am ready to throw my hands up in the air. Only Pike and the players know whats going on but obviously something is and I dont think its basketball related. Time is running out. Lets see what this team is made of against a Minnesota team who has tanking the season themselves, injured and desperate for a win, I will say that Carr even in defeat has shown about 100x more heart than what I saw from Rutgers today. Truly one of the most disgraceful effort and performances that I have ever witnessed from a Rutgers team in 30 plus years of following.
Well I have been watching 45 years and this is one of the most pathetic perfomances
 
No smoking blow tonight. Lets call this team out for what it did tonight. It pissed away a chance to clinch a NCAA bid definitively and instead now put enormous pressure to pull out a win at Minnesota and/or in the Big Tournament. In the sad annals of RU basketball this one has the potential to surpass the Georgetown, Seton Hall, and Virginia Tech games in years past. Consider Rutgers got humiliated from the very beginning of this game against a team who had lose like 28 of their last 30 league games (or something like that). Yeah Nebraska had their game of their lives but its not about that. Its about the total no show from Geo, Ron and Myles and the disappearance of any leadership. Its about a return to the poor from the 5 game losing skid where the team crawled into the fetal possession while they were jellied down the court. Horrendous is an understatement for the effort tonight. This team got beat on every single loose ball. There wasnt fight, no one went to the ground. I hope there are plenty of tears in this lockerroom because there needs to be. What I saw tonight was a team that once again didnt grasp what they were playing for and instead crumbled into little boys pouting...and pouting yet again is never a good look.

And Pikiell and staff...wow oblivious might be the best description. It was clear Hoiberg ran a clinic around Pike to start and there was no adjustments. Pike once again failed to mentally prepare this team and thats on him. That is just happened vs Maryland should alarm everyone. The Indiana comeback was something to see. Apparently the program thought it was over and it had clinched a bid. Heads swelled again. Hey guess what Geo, you guys have not done jack shit yet. The NCAA bid now is in serious question.

Losing by 10 or 15 is one thing. Down by 30 is another. The NET has the potential to drop as many as 15-20 spots with a loss like this. And for the long suffering fans we do not deserve this but we do know Rutgers is going Rutgers. We would not be who we are without another nightmare game to add to the horror show of our last 30 years in hoops

I will tell you I have been all over the map with my analysis of this team this year. I am ready to throw my hands up in the air. Only Pike and the players know whats going on but obviously something is and I dont think its basketball related. Time is running out. Lets see what this team is made of against a Minnesota team who has tanking the season themselves, injured and desperate for a win, I will say that Carr even in defeat has shown about 100x more heart than what I saw from Rutgers today. Truly one of the most disgraceful effort and performances that I have ever witnessed from a Rutgers team in 30 plus years of following.
I'm known for writing too many words. Here's my summary. We sucked tonight.
 
This kind of performance from a veteran team is very alarming.
I know this sounds extreme based on the fact that we will most likely break a 30 year streak, but I think this is the beginning of the end for Pike. He has done a poor job with a veteran team this season. The offense is unwatchable with no ball movement or off ball movement. The team has not improved at all this season.
 
I always believed talent was more important than experience,This game doesn't make a season but there were too many poor performances this season where players were missing in action.The lasting impression for the season was the woeful offense that impacted the way the team performed defensively and emotionally.The need for shooters was never more evident than in this game where Nebraska was on fire and Rutgers was ice cold.
 
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I always believed talent was more important than experience,This game doesn't make a season but there were too many poor performances this season where players were missing in action.The lasting impression for the season was the woeful offense that impacted the way the team performed defensively and emotionally.The need for shooters was never more evident than in this game where Nebraska was on fire and Rutgers was ice cold.

Overall this team is like a hothouse flower- it looks good when everything is set well but wilts horribly when almost any type of adversity hits.

Joe P.
 
If the issues are relationship and team chemistry based and have lingered this long even with the immense opportunity in front of these experienced “leaders” we have on the roster who built this themselves, shame on them. This isn’t high school. This is the premier college basketball conference in the country. To piss away the first tourney bid in 30 years because guys are too immature and to “me, me, me” is ridiculous.

And if Pike can’t get these kids to get over themselves and refocus on what really matters here, I have serious questions about him as well. Coaching definitely isn’t all about x’s and o’s. Keeping a team and program together, believing and rowing in the same direction matters just as much.

And for Recruiting this doesn’t help. If I’m a player or a parent I see a team who is not unified and a coach who can’t get them there. So why not go elsewhere instead of taking the chance?

All is solved if we somehow make the big dance, otherwise we all know next year is likely to be a step backwards and who knows after that. Last night was everything and we blew it. Now the next two games are everything until we win one. It’s silly that we’re in the position we are, but would anyone expect anything less from Rutgers? So typical.
 
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the rotations continue to puzzle me. Mish mashing guys together like its early season. This is the time to tighten up to 8 guys and give Geo/Harper/Johnson all they can eat
 
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the rotations continue to puzzle me. Mish mashing guys together like its early season. This is the time to tighten up to 8 guys and give Geo/Harper/Johnson all they can eat
Those three players were not playing up to their potential .Pikiell was looking fora spark from the bench but he got zilch.
 
the rotations continue to puzzle me. Mish mashing guys together like its early season. This is the time to tighten up to 8 guys and give Geo/Harper/Johnson all they can eat
agree they were not playing well but his lineups and subs all year have sucked Mulcahy got torched by the Nebraska guy for 14 points in the first 4 minutes but Pikell makes no adjustments nor does Mulcahy; Pikell appears to have no feel for the game as far as subbing
 
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You should always avoid the overreaction posts in either direction....whether Maryland Indiana or Nebraska.

The bottom line is what I have stated multiple times in the past. If you are playing quality opponents each night and you are not disciplined and together, you will get beat.

This is about 1 thing.....individual play overwhelming the team concepts on offense and defense. If you recruit more talented players, you are not necessarily going to get better unless the players buy in and are coachable all the time.

What is interesting about this entire rebuild here and with other programs is.....how do you balance individual talent and get it to buy in....?? It is now appearing across all of college basketball, becoming more difficult to navigate.

As far as this game, I posted in another thread, this team has an erratic personality of talent that now has decided to try and play individual defense instead of team defense and this team minus a Mathis (who is a good defender) does not have the athletic ability or footspeed to gamble, reach on defense and must communicate to get stops.

I don't think it's anything more than players like Jacob Young and Geo Baker, along with Montez Mathis and others, need to play "team defense".....

Too many fake hustle plays by Jacob Young lead to an occasional steal, but against a team like Iowa or Nebraska that is willing to use your aggressive defense against you, you will get burned if you're undisciplined like Jacob Young is.

People will say, Jacob hustles and he runs really fast....but he is a poor defender for a player with his athletic ability.....he doesn't need to go for steals each possession.....and now the rest of the roster is following this poor decision making on defense.

People will say, "RU needs shooters", but shooters are not going to save a team from bad defense, poor footspeed and lack of quickness.

RU is now going to face another team that is capable of big numbers, if you play gambling and undisciplined defense....gamble for steals against Marcus Carr and get carved up??? Or play team defense, stop jumping to block shots, stop going for silly pump fakes and appearing to hustle.....close out on shooters with your feet, not flailing arms....

Pike has 3 days to get back to basics on defense....do that and RU can compete with anyone in the country. Keep reaching for steals, losing balance and trying to play hero ball like Jacob Young....?? Do that and it's a 1 and done in the NCAAs and B1G tournament.
 
We went back to basics after our 5 game losing streak which was similar to last nights game but then inexplicably reverted back to the same habits after being frustrated by Michigan

This team is a shell of last years team. That team was a joy to watch. All heart and hunger and workpail. Fought for everything. This team thought they arrived and works for nothing
 
I got nothing new to say from watching last nights game that I haven't said in prior game recaps. Why this stuff is not getting addressed is beyond me.
 
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It was bad bad bad last night. At one point I'm watching Mathis guard absolutely no one, staring directly at the Nebraska bench while the ball is swung to the opposite corner for a wide open three from Mayen. At another, I'm watching Young sag like 15 feet off Mayen into the paint, and then completely lose him on a backdoor cut to the hoop... Baker try to thread a needle bounce pass through three defenders that of course gets picked off... McConnell miss the rim on a 3 foot shot... Mulcahy getting completely abused by Mayan on defense... Harper tripping over his own feet... Johnson not boxing out for rebounds... no hustle from anyone on loose balls... virtually no effort to get the ball inside against a smaller lineup at all resulting in no FTs until late in the 2nd half.... seemingly no offensive or defensive gameplan to speak of from the coaches or adjustments at halftime...

No one played well, save possibly Omoruyi and some flashes from Young. It was like they felt they would win just by showing up.
 
We went back to basics after our 5 game losing streak which was similar to last nights game but then inexplicably reverted back to the same habits after being frustrated by Michigan

This team is a shell of last years team. That team was a joy to watch. All heart and hunger and workpail. Fought for everything. This team thought they arrived and works for nothing
Agreed. Last year's team was better, hungrier, and a much greater joy to watch. I'll never forget Geo's postgame comment after then #11 Rutgers suffered a tough Iowa loss that ( paraphrasing) "Yes , we lost but we know we're good". I thought it was a very troubling comment --indicative of a team that played with false swagger and thought it could turn any game around because they were so good. Well it was a harbinger to come as Rutgers is not as good as they once thought they were. As I look back on this season a grad transfer would have been helpful. This team was too set in its ways and comfortable with itself and needed someone to stir the pot a little.
 
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I got nothing new to say from watching last nights game that I haven't said in prior game recaps. Why this stuff is not getting addressed is beyond me.


this is the troubling aspect, about half dozen games I have thrown by hands up in the air for this analysis because it was pointless to go into a detailed game recap of what happened. We turned it around at Indiana but it was the same exact start
 
The opening play to get a three-point look for Harper that missed set the stage for the rest of the game. We never established inside to get an inside out game going. We were hunting for threes early, and building a wall of bricks that we then couldn't get over. All while playing terrible defense on Mayen to give him open look after open look.
 
The opening play to get a three-point look for Harper that missed set the stage for the rest of the game.
That shot was HUGE for our mindset. If that one goes in, I bet the team feels, "Alright, here we go". Instead, their guy goes lights out to start and we are ice cold and the body language just showed we were shell shocked.

We used to often start games by setting up an alley-oop attempt for Harper. That seems like a long time ago now. I'd like to see us go back to something like that. I was very grateful to have recorded last night's game so when I started to watch it around 9 PM, I was able to fast forward through a lot of terrible basketball in the second half once it was obvious we were not going to rally.
 
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That shot was HUGE for our mindset. If that one goes in, I bet the team feels, "Alright, here we go". Instead, their guy goes lights out to start and we are ice cold and the body language just showed we were shell shocked.

We used to often start games by setting up an alley-oop attempt for Harper. That seems like a long time ago now. I'd like to see us go back to something like that. I was very grateful to have recorded last night's game so when I started to watch it around 9 PM, I was able to fast forward through a lot of terrible basketball in the second half once it was obvious we were not going to rally.

Our first 3 attempts were all three pointers, without any effort at all to go inside. Harper, McConnell, Baker... and we went 1/3. Over the first 6 minutes, we had taken 6 threes (1/6) and 5 twos (3/5) with no FTs. We had fallen in love with the three before we got out of the locker room.

And this in a game where Nebraska's "big" was mostly Walker at 6-8/232, and the offensive strategy was somehow "don't go to Johnson to let him leverage his size/weight advantage"
 
As far as this game, I posted in another thread, this team has an erratic personality of talent that now has decided to try and play individual defense instead of team defense and this team minus a Mathis (who is a good defender) does not have the athletic ability or footspeed to gamble, reach on defense and must communicate to get stops.

I don't think it's anything more than players like Jacob Young and Geo Baker, along with Montez Mathis and others, need to play "team defense".....

Too many fake hustle plays by Jacob Young lead to an occasional steal, but against a team like Iowa or Nebraska that is willing to use your aggressive defense against you, you will get burned if you're undisciplined like Jacob Young is.

People will say, Jacob hustles and he runs really fast....but he is a poor defender for a player with his athletic ability.....he doesn't need to go for steals each possession.....and now the rest of the roster is following this poor decision making on defense.
Loved this part. Anybody that knows and values defense can see this. The number of times guys blow by and everyone stands and watches is frustrating. No position and to much follow and reach. Well said!
 
No smoking blow tonight. Lets call this team out for what it did tonight. It pissed away a chance to clinch a NCAA bid definitively and instead now put enormous pressure to pull out a win at Minnesota and/or in the Big Tournament. In the sad annals of RU basketball this one has the potential to surpass the Georgetown, Seton Hall, and Virginia Tech games in years past. Consider Rutgers got humiliated from the very beginning of this game against a team who had lose like 28 of their last 30 league games (or something like that). Yeah Nebraska had their game of their lives but its not about that. Its about the total no show from Geo, Ron and Myles and the disappearance of any leadership. Its about a return to the poor from the 5 game losing skid where the team crawled into the fetal possession while they were jellied down the court. Horrendous is an understatement for the effort tonight. This team got beat on every single loose ball. There wasnt fight, no one went to the ground. I hope there are plenty of tears in this lockerroom because there needs to be. What I saw tonight was a team that once again didnt grasp what they were playing for and instead crumbled into little boys pouting...and pouting yet again is never a good look.

And Pikiell and staff...wow oblivious might be the best description. It was clear Hoiberg ran a clinic around Pike to start and there was no adjustments. Pike once again failed to mentally prepare this team and thats on him. That is just happened vs Maryland should alarm everyone. The Indiana comeback was something to see. Apparently the program thought it was over and it had clinched a bid. Heads swelled again. Hey guess what Geo, you guys have not done jack shit yet. The NCAA bid now is in serious question.

Losing by 10 or 15 is one thing. Down by 30 is another. The NET has the potential to drop as many as 15-20 spots with a loss like this. And for the long suffering fans we do not deserve this but we do know Rutgers is going Rutgers. We would not be who we are without another nightmare game to add to the horror show of our last 30 years in hoops

I will tell you I have been all over the map with my analysis of this team this year. I am ready to throw my hands up in the air. Only Pike and the players know whats going on but obviously something is and I dont think its basketball related. Time is running out. Lets see what this team is made of against a Minnesota team who has tanking the season themselves, injured and desperate for a win, I will say that Carr even in defeat has shown about 100x more heart than what I saw from Rutgers today. Truly one of the most disgraceful effort and performances that I have ever witnessed from a Rutgers team in 30 plus years of following.
can you compress this into a tweet and send it to them?
 
Our first 3 attempts were all three pointers, without any effort at all to go inside. Harper, McConnell, Baker... and we went 1/3. Over the first 6 minutes, we had taken 6 threes (1/6) and 5 twos (3/5) with no FTs. We had fallen in love with the three before we got out of the locker room.

And this in a game where Nebraska's "big" was mostly Walker at 6-8/232, and the offensive strategy was somehow "don't go to Johnson to let him leverage his size/weight advantage"
That and bad defense as well-described by Hawk did us in to start and unlike the IU game, we simply never improved later in the game. It happens. Doesn't mean we lose to UM though. Let's see how the team responds.
 
And if Pike can’t get these kids to get over themselves and refocus on what really matters here, I have serious questions about him as well.

How does one do this?

A. Tell them they Stink until they prove differently
B. Make them run touch ups (notice I am PC here) until they puke
C. Bench them and have 2nd team play
D. Throw things at them
E. Threaten to take away their locker room
F. Break in to their room and steal their phones
G. Yell at them
 
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55 years here......hard to think of a bigger stinker.
50...there have been bigger stinkers relative to play...perhaps a few..but not if you factor in the variables of time , place, opponent, and opportunity.

Now that it's legal perhaps another team meeting to pass the bone and get their freakin heads aligned as a team?
 
How does one do this?

A. Tell them they Stink until they prove differently
B. Make them run touch ups (notice I am PC here) until they puke
C. Bench them and have 2nd team play
D. Throw things at them
E. Threaten to take away their locker room
F. Break in to their room and steal their phones
G. Yell at them
He could start with trying G first.
 
How does one do this?

A. Tell them they Stink until they prove differently
B. Make them run touch ups (notice I am PC here) until they puke
C. Bench them and have 2nd team play
D. Throw things at them
E. Threaten to take away their locker room
F. Break in to their room and steal their phones
G. Yell at them
Anything but naked free throws in practice is on the table for me.
 
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