GAME 24 NORTHWESTERN : Rutgers will not go quietly

[bac2therac]

Fans were treated to $10 voucher upon entering the RAC. Steve Pikiell said "Dinners on Me". We thought he meant a dog and a pretzel. Instead we were treated to a seven course meal of hoops. Much of it inedible in the first few courses until an unlikely tasty trio of treys kept our interest. But it was the main course called Wildcat Turnovers concocted with a special recipe that only Chef Pikiell knows, that filled our bellies. Everyone was on their feet. The party lights were on. The club music was relentless. The cake was baked. It took RU so long to bake. It would have been a shame to leave it out in the rain. Because not sure Rutgers will have ever this kind of recipe again for a win. Came down to one play, one stop and I know people disagree but I love RU not fouling and letting their bread and butter bring it home. And Rutgers did it. They iced the cake. They saved the win. They fed the RAC crazies.

The first half was really ugly. RU came out flat. RU only had 3 fg in the first 12 minutes. They fell behind 29-16 looking listless and in disarray on offense. Mag being out hurt no question but on the flip side Berry was not playing for NW and Langborg was tossed for elbowing into the jewels. I really think Jeremiah came up limping on one drive and was clearly not 100% or effective in that first. I think he was 2-4fg but sort of disappeared from our offense. The usual suspect were tossing bricks and RU was turning it over way too much. Pike was just trying to throw out all kinds of lineups. Oskar finally got some time. I dont know if we need to credit @BigEastPhil for giving Oskar a pep talk but Oskar would have the stretch of his career. A 3 point barrage in the final 2:20 for 9 points injecting a huge energy jolt for Rutgers taking RU from down 29-16 to down just 32-27. It would be his only points of the night but I am not sure Rutgers is in position to be able to win this game if Oskar did not resuscitate his teammates before halftime. Every team needs role players. Noah was the guy on Saturday. It will not be the same guy every night. It was Oskar's turn and he stepped up to the plate. Good on him.


2nd half RU looked like they were going to chip away, getting as close as 3 until a quick NW spurt on two Buie treys had them up 11 again. Then the defense took over. The first 6 minute scoreless stretch for Northwestern allowed RU to keep chip slowly away. Still a bit wobbly on offense. RU was able to get things back to 1. Whether it was J Will or Cliff or Derek or J Mike, the defense was stifling and they were expending alot of energy. I know Pike wanted to give them a bit of a rest but having Egbole/Oskar/Gavin on the court at the same time was no bueno and quickly the Cats exploited this lineup getting a bit of seperation at 51-44. So quickly back in the game the starters went. This game was perhaps a top 20 game for me and perhaps a top 5 defensive performance ever at the RAC. Rutgers held Northwestern to just one fg over 9 minutes (ironically a wide open 3 by Barnhizer that tied that game at 58). Unbelievably the Cats would suffer a 2nd 6 minute stretch without a point where RU outscored the Cats 12-0 to go from 51-44 down to 56-51 up. This 6-7 minute stretch saw Northwestern go 0-5 fg and 4 turnovers coming up empty on 9 straight possessions. It was as if Pikiell had unleashed an Iron Claw that rendered the Cats unconscious. 17 points for Buie in the first half but yet only 10 in the 2nd and after hitting 2 treys early in the 2nd half, Buie went the final 17: 14 without a fg. Let me repeat that. BOO BUIE WHO SCORED 27 TONIGHT WAS HELD BY RUTGERS WITHOUT A FG FOR THE FINAL 17:14 OF THE GAME. It was mainly driven by a plucky youngster named Jamichael Davis who had the defensive performance of his life. Buie is one of the best players in the league. He was schooled any other guard that RU put on him. J Mike rose to the task and denied, denied, denied. It would be J Mike with help from Cliff on the last possession. Some say J Mike fouled him. From my view it wasnt. Rutgers tenacity led to 10 steals and 15 Northwestern turnovers in total. I believe Northwestern came in the game one of the top teams IN NOT turning the ball over. And let me say through all of this the RAC crowd was the ultimate 6th man playing their own level of defense. Loudest crowd of the year and we need every bit of it.

At halftime I thought to myself whats my opening line going to be. I thought it would be you can play all the elite defense you want but if you can put it in the basket, you are not going to win games. The offense was a bit painful to watch tonight. RU left alot of points off the board mainly at the free throw line where at one point they were just 11-20 before finishing 15-25 the one miss being Hyatt with a chance to seal the game with 10 seconds. RU could only muster 8 fast break points and while RU did score 16 points off turnovers it should have been so much more. Alot of rushed frenetic out of control moves to the hoop and some blown point blank dunks and bunnies. It was a tough slog but RU finally wrested the lead away from some timely makes by J Mike, J Will and Derek....the latter as particularly frustrating he is with his shot, hit two big ones with confidence. Aundre Hyatt didnt have a great night shooting but the pass from Derek to Aundre for that wide open 3 he nailed to put RU back up 3 after Northwestern had tied the game. J Will of course the guy you want with the ball once again with a really tough one handed shot falling to the side....a dramatic type bounce up and in on that critical possession with RU clinging to a 61-60 approaching 20 seconds. When it counted our offense showed up. That is a great sign. You are seeing multiple players now making big time shots that answer and count.

10 steals, forcing 15 turnovers, 9 blocks, holding Northwestern to 18-50 36% shooting. But its you cannot see how good the defense was from the box score. I am sure the defensive efficiency numbers got even better after tonight.

Cliff 9 points, 9 boards, 5 blocks, 2 steals. Jeremiah 15 points, 5 boards, 5 assists, 3 blocks, Derek 8 points, 4 assists, 4 steals!, Noah 5 boards, 3 assists. J Mike 11 points, 2 steals. Hyatt 10 points, 6 boards. Oskar 9 points, Egbole 1 point. Gavin was pretty bad. Wolf no minutes. Hopefully Mag gets healthy quick because we need him alot and it took a half to figure something out without him.


This team somehow can absolutely pull your hair out from one half to another. We have seen it all season long. Just when you are ready to throw in the towel, this team claws and fights and pound nails, chews on them and spits them out at their opponents. I cannot DOWNPLAY how big this win was today. It was Rutgers last chance to have another chance to dance. This was a must win for any NCAA hopes. I did not see any realistic path of not winning this game and then rallying to win 6 of 7. Northwestern is only a Quad 2 win but they are likely a NCAA participant. The victory gives Rutgers 4 wins now vs NCAA projected schools with 3 more opportunities to come. This would be the "easiest" of the 4 they had left. The momentum stays alive. One game at a time but suddenly Rutgers has won 4 in a row and now have crept up legitimately as a bubble school. . Lest we forget about Chef Pikiell.....boy he is whipping up quite the recipe for a possible NCAA tourney run. We are so lucky to have him. Just an amazing knack for getting his team to be resilient and play through the tough times and somehow finding ways to thread that needle over and over. Where Rutgers goes from here is unknown. But one thing is for sure after written off for dead following the Penn State "dogshit" performance, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights will not lie down nor go quietly


Yeah, we're gonna tear it up
We gonna trash it up
Gonna round it up
Gonna shake it up
Oh no no no, I will not lie down

Turn this thing around
I will not go quietly
I will not lie down
I will not go quietly

I will not lie down
I will not go quietly
I will not lie down
No, I will not lie down, no

 

[Degaz-RU]

A tasty ending indeed, but if the Wisconsin blowout was like surf and turf, this meal was like eating burgers at McDonald’s — you love how it tastes but it gives you agita.

We definitely need to get back one of our key ingredients — Mag — for Sunday. Also hope Noah is okay with Pike saying he had a knee injury and couldn’t play in the 2nd half.

 

[Roy_Faulker]

Good write up as usual.

Was surprised A. Williams made a cameo but didn’t contribute much getting stuffed twice at the rim and promptly subbed out.

NW played very disciplined defense with good spacing.

 

[Sweet Peas Corner]

Good write up. You should write a book on how to be a Rutgers fan called How To Be A Rutgers Fan For Dummies,

 

[BillyC80]

Nice job bac, MacArthur’s Park has nothing on you (in length or in substance).

Was looking for a mention of that spectacular JWill block, but beyond that you covered the night perfectly.

 

[rufeelinit]

Some surprises to me after looking at the box score:

We only had 9 TO's for the game. NW had 17. I thought we had close to that amount in the first half which may have been the case. Big difference and very important for us to win this battle given the offensive limitations of this team.

Noah had 5 rebounds and 3 assists and no shots in 10 minutes. I commented in the game thread at the end of the first half that I did not think they ran one play to get him open off ball. He was productive in other ways that honestly I missed.

Oskar was Wisconsin Noah in this game. Things are much worse at halftime if he is not hitting the 3.

13 assists on 27 made FGs. I think that is a pretty good %. Again the ball movement was better than it looked while watching.

FT % 60%. Needs to be better.

Cliff 9 points, 9 rebounds and 5 blocks. We did not seem to be able to find him and he is still is a questionable finisher but he just so important to this team.

What is not in the Box score is the second half defense on Buie. This adjustment should have occurred earlier but they made him work much harder in the second half. JMike lead the effort but others contributed as well.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

One thing to keep in mind. I would think every Rutgers fan would say we are so much better in offense with JWill.

The reality is our adjusted offensive efficiency numbers have been putrid 3 of the 4 games.

We are still a bad offensive team with Jwill.

 

[fatsam98]

Missed a big opportunity to work Swedish meatballs into the opening paragraph.

 

[goru7]

Fans were treated to $10 voucher upon entering the RAC. Steve Pikiell said "Dinners on Me". We thought he meant a dog and a pretzel. Instead we were treated to a seven course meal of hoops. Much of it inedible in the first few courses until an unlikely tasty trio of treys kept our interest. But it was the main course called Wildcat Turnovers concocted with a special recipe that only Chef Pikiell knows, that filled our bellies. Everyone was on their feet. The party lights were on. The club music was relentless. The cake was baked. It took RU so long to bake. It would have been a shame to leave it out in the rain. Because not sure Rutgers will have ever this kind of recipe again for a win. Came down to one play, one stop and I know people disagree but I love RU not fouling and letting their bread and butter bring it home. And Rutgers did it. They iced the cake. They saved the win. They fed the RAC crazies.

The first half was really ugly. RU came out flat. RU only had 3 fg in the first 12 minutes. They fell behind 29-16 looking listless and in disarray on offense. Mag being out hurt no question but on the flip side Berry was not playing for NW and Langborg was tossed for elbowing into the jewels. I really think Jeremiah came up limping on one drive and was clearly not 100% or effective in that first. I think he was 2-4fg but sort of disappeared from our offense. The usual suspect were tossing bricks and RU was turning it over way too much. Pike was just trying to throw out all kinds of lineups. Oskar finally got some time. I dont know if we need to credit @BigEastPhil for giving Oskar a pep talk but Oskar would have the stretch of his career. A 3 point barrage in the final 2:20 for 9 points injecting a huge energy jolt for Rutgers taking RU from down 29-16 to down just 32-27. It would be his only points of the night but I am not sure Rutgers is in position to be able to win this game if Oskar did not resuscitate his teammates before halftime. Every team needs role players. Noah was the guy on Saturday. It will not be the same guy every night. It was Oskar's turn and he stepped up to the plate. Good on him.


2nd half RU looked like they were going to chip away, getting as close as 3 until a quick NW spurt on two Buie treys had them up 11 again. Then the defense took over. The first 6 minute scoreless stretch for Northwestern allowed RU to keep chip slowly away. Still a bit wobbly on offense. RU was able to get things back to 1. Whether it was J Will or Cliff or Derek or J Mike, the defense was stifling and they were expending alot of energy. I know Pike wanted to give them a bit of a rest but having Egbole/Oskar/Gavin on the court at the same time was no bueno and quickly the Cats exploited this lineup getting a bit of seperation at 51-44. So quickly back in the game the starters went. This game was perhaps a top 20 game for me and perhaps a top 5 defensive performance ever at the RAC. Rutgers held Northwestern to just one fg over 9 minutes (ironically a wide open 3 by Barnhizer that tied that game at 58). Unbelievably the Cats would suffer a 2nd 6 minute stretch without a point where RU outscored the Cats 12-0 to go from 51-44 down to 56-51 up. This 6-7 minute stretch saw Northwestern go 0-5 fg and 4 turnovers coming up empty on 9 straight possessions. It was as if Pikiell had unleashed an Iron Claw that rendered the Cats unconscious. 17 points for Buie in the first half but yet only 10 in the 2nd and after hitting 2 treys early in the 2nd half, Buie went the final 17: 14 without a fg. Let me repeat that. BOO BUIE WHO SCORED 27 TONIGHT WAS HELD BY RUTGERS WITHOUT A FG FOR THE FINAL 17:14 OF THE GAME. It was mainly driven by a plucky youngster named Jamichael Davis who had the defensive performance of his life. Buie is one of the best players in the league. He was schooled any other guard that RU put on him. J Mike rose to the task and denied, denied, denied. It would be J Mike with help from Cliff on the last possession. Some say J Mike fouled him. From my view it wasnt. Rutgers tenacity led to 10 steals and 15 Northwestern turnovers in total. I believe Northwestern came in the game one of the top teams IN NOT turning the ball over. And let me say through all of this the RAC crowd was the ultimate 6th man playing their own level of defense. Loudest crowd of the year and we need every bit of it.

At halftime I thought to myself whats my opening line going to be. I thought it would be you can play all the elite defense you want but if you can put it in the basket, you are not going to win games. The offense was a bit painful to watch tonight. RU left alot of points off the board mainly at the free throw line where at one point they were just 11-20 before finishing 15-25 the one miss being Hyatt with a chance to seal the game with 10 seconds. RU could only muster 8 fast break points and while RU did score 16 points off turnovers it should have been so much more. Alot of rushed frenetic out of control moves to the hoop and some blown point blank dunks and bunnies. It was a tough slog but RU finally wrested the lead away from some timely makes by J Mike, J Will and Derek....the latter as particularly frustrating he is with his shot, hit two big ones with confidence. Aundre Hyatt didnt have a great night shooting but the pass from Derek to Aundre for that wide open 3 he nailed to put RU back up 3 after Northwestern had tied the game. J Will of course the guy you want with the ball once again with a really tough one handed shot falling to the side....a dramatic type bounce up and in on that critical possession with RU clinging to a 61-60 approaching 20 seconds. When it counted our offense showed up. That is a great sign. You are seeing multiple players now making big time shots that answer and count.

10 steals, forcing 15 turnovers, 9 blocks, holding Northwestern to 18-50 36% shooting. But its you cannot see how good the defense was from the box score. I am sure the defensive efficiency numbers got even better after tonight.

Cliff 9 points, 9 boards, 5 blocks, 2 steals. Jeremiah 15 points, 5 boards, 5 assists, 3 blocks, Derek 8 points, 4 assists, 4 steals!, Noah 5 boards, 3 assists. J Mike 11 points, 2 steals. Hyatt 10 points, 6 boards. Oskar 9 points, Egbole 1 point. Gavin was pretty bad. Wolf no minutes. Hopefully Mag gets healthy quick because we need him alot and it took a half to figure something out without him.


This team somehow can absolutely pull your hair out from one half to another. We have seen it all season long. Just when you are ready to throw in the towel, this team claws and fights and pound nails, chews on them and spits them out at their opponents. I cannot DOWNPLAY how big this win was today. It was Rutgers last chance to have another chance to dance. This was a must win for any NCAA hopes. I did not see any realistic path of not winning this game and then rallying to win 6 of 7. Northwestern is only a Quad 2 win but they are likely a NCAA participant. The victory gives Rutgers 4 wins now vs NCAA projected schools with 3 more opportunities to come. This would be the "easiest" of the 4 they had left. The momentum stays alive. One game at a time but suddenly Rutgers has won 4 in a row and now have crept up legitimately as a bubble school. . Lest we forget about Chef Pikiell.....boy he is whipping up quite the recipe for a possible NCAA tourney run. We are so lucky to have him. Just an amazing knack for getting his team to be resilient and play through the tough times and somehow finding ways to thread that needle over and over. Where Rutgers goes from here is unknown. But one thing is for sure after written off for dead following the Penn State "dogshit" performance, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights will not lie down nor go quietly


Yeah, we're gonna tear it up
We gonna trash it up
Gonna round it up
Gonna shake it up
Oh no no no, I will not lie down

Turn this thing around
I will not go quietly
I will not lie down
I will not go quietly

I will not lie down
I will not go quietly
I will not lie down
No, I will not lie down, no

View embedded media

Excellent write up as usual. My biggest takeaway was that we didn’t play very well almost all game and Northwestern did play well for long stretches of the game , but we still found a way to win. That tells you a lot about the resilience of this team especially when their backs are up against the wall. Somehow some way Pike is a master when he is walking out on that plank. Cannot explain it but he gets his defense turned up to elite level and somehow there appears enough offense to win the game. Just awesome and amazing at the same time.

So many contributions but again I have said it repeatedly stop turning the ball over and you give yourself a chance. 8 first half turnovers and looking like absolute crap, a step slow , missed shot after missed shot , but bailed out late with 3 Oskar threes in 2 minutes that gets it down to 5 and then a manageable 7 point deficit at halftime. Only 1 second half turnover and the effort picked up immensely on both ends and even though we still missed shots , fast break opportunities , dunks by Cliff and a 1 foot lay in that he left short , we turned up the defense against Buie and against their whole team and then we finally made shots. Foul shooting still a huge problem that almost cost us . Again , I repeat , the most impressive thing was winning when we did not play well like a C level game. That says a lot , good teams find a way to win even when they do not play at their best. On top of that , resilience not once but three times , in the first half down 13 and things looking hopeless and cutting it to 5 , after we got it tied finally with Cliff’s foul shot at 42 all , Northwestern goes back up 7 in less than 2 minutes and we erased it , and then again the final push to finally take a 5 point lead which evaporates when we leave Brooks open for 3 in the only defensive mistake of the half but Hyatt hitting the huge 3 . Lots of guts tonight.

Ton of huge plays but the biggest in my mind was the Jeremiah block on Nicholson at the rim that prevented them from expanding their lead. He has been really great in being the go to guy and in reviving Cliff’s involvement but his defense is underated.

The refs were terrible mostly against Ru but the ejection of Lansborg was a bad call. I thought Flagrant one but Carino is reporting he asked Collins in . the postgame presser what the refs said, and he said a blow to the chops is either a common foul or a Flagrant 2. They could not call a Flagrant 1. If true , that Rule has to change. He should not been tossed . Also did not think they was a foul on Boo’s last shot . Our guys standing straight and Boo thrusting his body into them. That is a no call all game long. The numerous other calls against RU and there were about 5-6 were just horrendous. We never get a home whistle. One of the few teams that doesn’t and always have to play against the refs home and away and still found a way to win. Tremendous win and we live another day with hopes of the Dance flashing somewhere in the back of our minds.

 

[BillyC80]

One thing to keep in mind. I would think every Rutgers fan would say we are so much better in offense with JWill.

The reality is our adjusted offensive efficiency numbers have been putrid 3 of the 4 games.

We are still a bad offensive team with Jwill.

What is JWill’s offensive efficiency? How many assists does he have? How many turnovers?

The team as a whole is bad offensively but he has been good.

 

[goru7]

One thing to keep in mind. I would think every Rutgers fan would say we are so much better in offense with JWill.

The reality is our adjusted offensive efficiency numbers have been putrid 3 of the 4 games.

We are still a bad offensive team with Jwill.

You say that after last night but that doesn’t tell the story or is not accurate . Maryland and Michigan second halves we shot over 50% and hardly turned the ball over 2 and 3 as compared to 12 and 10 turnovers in the first half of Maryland and Michigan. That is why the offensive efficiency number is bad because of the turnovers not the offense as much.
Wisconsin we shot 44% for the game but 59% from 3 and ended over 1.0 per possession so our offense was more than good and efficient.
Last night not very good especially because of 8 first half turnovers ( compared to 1 second half ) but we were out of sorts offensively all night until the last 6 minutes of the game. Missing foul shots doesn’t help the offensive efficiency number easy. But when our backs were against the wall, JMike a jumper , Derek two jumpers , Jeremiah the drive and then the floater and Hyatt’s three. So just looking at a final number doesn’t tell the story of how we won this game.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Wisconsin was the 1 out of 4.

I am just giving facts.....as a whole offensively (measured by points per possession adjusted for opponents D) we have been bad in 3 of the 4 games.

On defense we have been stupidly good.

......and turnovers are bad and it makes an offense bad and is included in an evaluation of an offense.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

What is JWill’s offensive efficiency? How many assists does he have? How many turnovers?

The team as a whole is bad offensively but he has been good.

not a fan of using individual off eff...107.4

 

[kcg88]

Wisconsin was the 1 out of 4.

I am just giving facts.....as a whole offensively (measured by points per possession adjusted for opponents D) we have been bad in 3 of the 4 games.

On defense we have been stupidly good.

"Bad" represents a meaningful improvement from where we were.

Start of season through January 31 we have the 311th offense.

February 1 through now we have the 224th offense.

 

[kcg88]

Bart's adjusted offense numbers for the past four:

95.7
96.3
118.3
98.7

Not great but here are some of our numbers from before:

Penn State 73.6
Indiana 89.4
Stonehill 80.3
Illinois 88.3
Illinois 92.3

The times we were above those numbers never really felt sustainable -- the three point shooting against SHU, Simpson making every midrange jumper against Ohio State, etc.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Bart's adjusted offense numbers for the past four:

95.7
96.3
118.3
98.7

Not great but here are some of our numbers from before:

Penn State 73.6
Indiana 89.4
Stonehill 80.3
Illinois 88.3
Illinois 92.3

The times we were above those numbers never really felt sustainable -- the three point shooting against SHU, Simpson making every midrange jumper against Ohio State, etc.

3 out of 4 games it took elite defense to win.

Good news is if we stay healthy we have the depth to stay elite. It is a big ask though for us to keep putting up these defensive numbers.

Anyone who tries to compare how we play and the energy required to other schools, especially ACC, needs to be smacked.

Jwill and Cliff played too many minutes last night. We almost lost because Jwill broke down on D vs Barnhizer late. He was playing on fumes.

 

[Salvi's Headband]

Fans were treated to $10 voucher upon entering the RAC. Steve Pikiell said "Dinners on Me". We thought he meant a dog and a pretzel. Instead we were treated to a seven course meal of hoops. Much of it inedible in the first few courses until an unlikely tasty trio of treys kept our interest. But it was the main course called Wildcat Turnovers concocted with a special recipe that only Chef Pikiell knows, that filled our bellies. Everyone was on their feet. The party lights were on. The club music was relentless. The cake was baked. It took RU so long to bake. It would have been a shame to leave it out in the rain. Because not sure Rutgers will have ever this kind of recipe again for a win. Came down to one play, one stop and I know people disagree but I love RU not fouling and letting their bread and butter bring it home. And Rutgers did it. They iced the cake. They saved the win. They fed the RAC crazies.

The first half was really ugly. RU came out flat. RU only had 3 fg in the first 12 minutes. They fell behind 29-16 looking listless and in disarray on offense. Mag being out hurt no question but on the flip side Berry was not playing for NW and Langborg was tossed for elbowing into the jewels. I really think Jeremiah came up limping on one drive and was clearly not 100% or effective in that first. I think he was 2-4fg but sort of disappeared from our offense. The usual suspect were tossing bricks and RU was turning it over way too much. Pike was just trying to throw out all kinds of lineups. Oskar finally got some time. I dont know if we need to credit @BigEastPhil for giving Oskar a pep talk but Oskar would have the stretch of his career. A 3 point barrage in the final 2:20 for 9 points injecting a huge energy jolt for Rutgers taking RU from down 29-16 to down just 32-27. It would be his only points of the night but I am not sure Rutgers is in position to be able to win this game if Oskar did not resuscitate his teammates before halftime. Every team needs role players. Noah was the guy on Saturday. It will not be the same guy every night. It was Oskar's turn and he stepped up to the plate. Good on him.


2nd half RU looked like they were going to chip away, getting as close as 3 until a quick NW spurt on two Buie treys had them up 11 again. Then the defense took over. The first 6 minute scoreless stretch for Northwestern allowed RU to keep chip slowly away. Still a bit wobbly on offense. RU was able to get things back to 1. Whether it was J Will or Cliff or Derek or J Mike, the defense was stifling and they were expending alot of energy. I know Pike wanted to give them a bit of a rest but having Egbole/Oskar/Gavin on the court at the same time was no bueno and quickly the Cats exploited this lineup getting a bit of seperation at 51-44. So quickly back in the game the starters went. This game was perhaps a top 20 game for me and perhaps a top 5 defensive performance ever at the RAC. Rutgers held Northwestern to just one fg over 9 minutes (ironically a wide open 3 by Barnhizer that tied that game at 58). Unbelievably the Cats would suffer a 2nd 6 minute stretch without a point where RU outscored the Cats 12-0 to go from 51-44 down to 56-51 up. This 6-7 minute stretch saw Northwestern go 0-5 fg and 4 turnovers coming up empty on 9 straight possessions. It was as if Pikiell had unleashed an Iron Claw that rendered the Cats unconscious. 17 points for Buie in the first half but yet only 10 in the 2nd and after hitting 2 treys early in the 2nd half, Buie went the final 17: 14 without a fg. Let me repeat that. BOO BUIE WHO SCORED 27 TONIGHT WAS HELD BY RUTGERS WITHOUT A FG FOR THE FINAL 17:14 OF THE GAME. It was mainly driven by a plucky youngster named Jamichael Davis who had the defensive performance of his life. Buie is one of the best players in the league. He was schooled any other guard that RU put on him. J Mike rose to the task and denied, denied, denied. It would be J Mike with help from Cliff on the last possession. Some say J Mike fouled him. From my view it wasnt. Rutgers tenacity led to 10 steals and 15 Northwestern turnovers in total. I believe Northwestern came in the game one of the top teams IN NOT turning the ball over. And let me say through all of this the RAC crowd was the ultimate 6th man playing their own level of defense. Loudest crowd of the year and we need every bit of it.

At halftime I thought to myself whats my opening line going to be. I thought it would be you can play all the elite defense you want but if you can put it in the basket, you are not going to win games. The offense was a bit painful to watch tonight. RU left alot of points off the board mainly at the free throw line where at one point they were just 11-20 before finishing 15-25 the one miss being Hyatt with a chance to seal the game with 10 seconds. RU could only muster 8 fast break points and while RU did score 16 points off turnovers it should have been so much more. Alot of rushed frenetic out of control moves to the hoop and some blown point blank dunks and bunnies. It was a tough slog but RU finally wrested the lead away from some timely makes by J Mike, J Will and Derek....the latter as particularly frustrating he is with his shot, hit two big ones with confidence. Aundre Hyatt didnt have a great night shooting but the pass from Derek to Aundre for that wide open 3 he nailed to put RU back up 3 after Northwestern had tied the game. J Will of course the guy you want with the ball once again with a really tough one handed shot falling to the side....a dramatic type bounce up and in on that critical possession with RU clinging to a 61-60 approaching 20 seconds. When it counted our offense showed up. That is a great sign. You are seeing multiple players now making big time shots that answer and count.

10 steals, forcing 15 turnovers, 9 blocks, holding Northwestern to 18-50 36% shooting. But its you cannot see how good the defense was from the box score. I am sure the defensive efficiency numbers got even better after tonight.

Cliff 9 points, 9 boards, 5 blocks, 2 steals. Jeremiah 15 points, 5 boards, 5 assists, 3 blocks, Derek 8 points, 4 assists, 4 steals!, Noah 5 boards, 3 assists. J Mike 11 points, 2 steals. Hyatt 10 points, 6 boards. Oskar 9 points, Egbole 1 point. Gavin was pretty bad. Wolf no minutes. Hopefully Mag gets healthy quick because we need him alot and it took a half to figure something out without him.


This team somehow can absolutely pull your hair out from one half to another. We have seen it all season long. Just when you are ready to throw in the towel, this team claws and fights and pound nails, chews on them and spits them out at their opponents. I cannot DOWNPLAY how big this win was today. It was Rutgers last chance to have another chance to dance. This was a must win for any NCAA hopes. I did not see any realistic path of not winning this game and then rallying to win 6 of 7. Northwestern is only a Quad 2 win but they are likely a NCAA participant. The victory gives Rutgers 4 wins now vs NCAA projected schools with 3 more opportunities to come. This would be the "easiest" of the 4 they had left. The momentum stays alive. One game at a time but suddenly Rutgers has won 4 in a row and now have crept up legitimately as a bubble school. . Lest we forget about Chef Pikiell.....boy he is whipping up quite the recipe for a possible NCAA tourney run. We are so lucky to have him. Just an amazing knack for getting his team to be resilient and play through the tough times and somehow finding ways to thread that needle over and over. Where Rutgers goes from here is unknown. But one thing is for sure after written off for dead following the Penn State "dogshit" performance, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights will not lie down nor go quietly


Yeah, we're gonna tear it up
We gonna trash it up
Gonna round it up
Gonna shake it up
Oh no no no, I will not lie down

Turn this thing around
I will not go quietly
I will not lie down
I will not go quietly

I will not lie down
I will not go quietly
I will not lie down
No, I will not lie down, no

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Wolf should get some of Ogboles minutes after that cheap shot.

 

[High Quality H2O]

Pike was just trying to throw out all kinds of lineups. Oskar finally got some time. I dont know if we need to credit @BigEastPhil for giving Oskar a pep talk but Oskar would have the stretch of his career. A 3 point barrage in the final 2:20 for 9 points injecting a huge energy jolt for Rutgers taking RU from down 29-16 to down just 32-27. It would be his only points of the night but I am not sure Rutgers is in position to be able to win this game if Oskar did not resuscitate his teammates before halftime.

I got to sit next to @BigEastPhil and witnessed this.
So I'm buying.
Oskar missed his first three then sets up RIGHT in front of us.
Phil yells "Get Hot Oskar! Get Hot!"
Oskar drains it on his next touch. Oskar comes down again and Phil yells the same thing. Voila!

Had to be a bit of a butterfly effect here.

 

[kcg88]

3 out of 4 games it took elite defense to win.

Good news is if we stay healthy we have the depth to stay elite. It is a big ask though for us to keep putting up these defensive numbers.

Anyone who tries to compare how we play and the energy required to other schools, especially ACC, needs to be smacked.

Jwill and Cliff played too many minutes last night. We almost lost because Jwill broke down on D vs Barnhizer late. He was playing on fumes.

It's easier to get the buy in to play that level of defense when shots are going in at even a slightly higher level. That's how it went in the Nebraska game too. Throwing in a 20 point victory where we mostly cruised matters a lot too. Are we able to pull out last night if we had to dig deep against Wisconsin?

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

It's easier to get the buy in to play that level of defense when shots are going in at even a slightly higher level. That's how it went in the Nebraska game too. Throwing in a 20 point victory where we mostly cruised matters a lot too. Are we able to pull out last night if we had to dig deep against Wisconsin?

i am thinking there is enough time in between and we didnt have to go in an airplane and sleep in a hotel

 

[BillyC80]

You say that after last night but that doesn’t tell the story or is not accurate . Maryland and Michigan second halves we shot over 50% and hardly turned the ball over 2 and 3 as compared to 12 and 10 turnovers in the first half of Maryland and Michigan. That is why the offensive efficiency number is bad because of the turnovers not the offense as much.
Wisconsin we shot 44% for the game but 59% from 3 and ended over 1.0 per possession so our offense was more than good and efficient.
Last night not very good especially because of 8 first half turnovers ( compared to 1 second half ) but we were out of sorts offensively all night until the last 6 minutes of the game. Missing foul shots doesn’t help the offensive efficiency number easy. But when our backs were against the wall, JMike a jumper , Derek two jumpers , Jeremiah the drive and then the floater and Hyatt’s three. So just looking at a final number doesn’t tell the story of how we won this game.

goru, this is why I’m not a fan of what I refer to as homogenized stats across a series of games. Individual games are won with winning plays, not with stats.

Hyatt’s three near the end was like a 3-run homer in the bottom of the 9th inning, after your team had been shutout for 8 innings and was down 2-0.

Similarly, JWill’s block was like an over the shoulder catch at the centerfield wall to take 2 runs off the board earlier in the game.

And lastly, JMike’s defense was like a shortstop that time and again gets to the ball in the hole and consistently makes plays that the average shortstop doesn’t make.

In the end you can win with defense keeping you in striking distance until the offense can make a play, so the stats don’t tell the whole tale.

 

[PhillyRU]

goru, this is why I’m not a fan of what I refer to as homogenized stats across a series of games. Individual games are won with winning plays, not with stats.

Hyatt’s three near the end was like a 3-run homer in the bottom of the 9th inning, after your team had been shutout for 8 innings and was down 2-0.

Similarly, JWill’s block was like an over the shoulder catch at the centerfield wall to take 2 runs off the board earlier in the game.

And lastly, JMike’s defense was like a shortstop that time and again gets to the ball in the hole and consistently makes plays that the average shortstop doesn’t make.

In the end you can win with defense keeping you in striking distance until the offense can make a play, so the stats don’t tell the whole tale.

Right, but if we were like the 15th best defense in the country there’s no play for our offense to make. Wisconsin doesn’t even have a save opportunity.

 

[goru7]

Wisconsin was the 1 out of 4.

I am just giving facts.....as a whole offensively (measured by points per possession adjusted for opponents D) we have been bad in 3 of the 4 games.

On defense we have been stupidly good.

......and turnovers are bad and it makes an offense bad and is included in an evaluation of an offense.

No , unforced mindless turnovers that can be easily eliminated as evidenced in all 4 games , as compared to forced turnovers we cause as defense , should not be used in grading an offense. You cannot say our offense has been bad in second half MAryland , Michigan , Northwestern and the entire Wisconsin game. Not buying that analytics bullshit.

 

[BillyC80]

Right, but if we were like the 15th best defense in the country there’s no play for our offense to make. Wisconsin doesn’t even have a save opportunity.

All I can say is, thankfully we have the #2 defense.

 

[goru7]

Bart's adjusted offense numbers for the past four:

95.7
96.3
118.3
98.7

Not great but here are some of our numbers from before:

Penn State 73.6
Indiana 89.4
Stonehill 80.3
Illinois 88.3
Illinois 92.3

The times we were above those numbers never really felt sustainable -- the three point shooting against SHU, Simpson making every midrange jumper against Ohio State, etc.

Now try second half MAryland and Michigan and what spits out in the last four and include Northwestern second half just for giggles

 

[Bayonnebomber79]

Jmike’s clamp down of baba buie was a thing of beauty. I love watching that guy do his thing.

 

[bac2therac]

I got to sit next to @BigEastPhil and witnessed this.
So I'm buying.
Oskar missed his first three then sets up RIGHT in front of us.
Phil yells "Get Hot Oskar! Get Hot!"
Oskar drains it on his next touch. Oskar comes down again and Phil yells the same thing. Voila!

Had to be a bit of a butterfly effect here.

Great meeting you at the post game board meet up! Phil has a story for every game!

 

[RUDiddy777]

Thanks for the lift this chilly Friday morning Bac!

 

[winfield102]

One thing to keep in mind. I would think every Rutgers fan would say we are so much better in offense with JWill.

The reality is our adjusted offensive efficiency numbers have been putrid 3 of the 4 games.

We are still a bad offensive team with Jwill.

Is there a place to find individual offensive efficiency? It just seems like good things happen when JWill has the ball. Guys get really good opportunities to make baskets when he passes them the ball on his drives. I think we will see multiple 20 point and 8 assist games coming up with the way he is playing. A couple more shots fall, a couple of passes get cleaned up (tough to feed the big men in those spots) and some of passes lead to made buckets. It felt like 15 and 5 was the worst outcome possible against NW, could have easily been a 20/8 game.

We are still needlessly shooting long 2's. That can't be eliminated soon enough while we have JWill. Not needed, not wanted. 4 tough away games coming up. We can't expect the same elite defensive efficiency numbers. Pikes gotta get the players to improve the shot selection. It's critical due to our issues making layups, 3's and foul shots.

I loved his 2 loops around the key without picking up his dribble. Good discipline while aways hunting for a good shot or open man.

He's also 110% committed on defense, making his offensive play even more impressive.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

not a fan of using individual off eff...107.4

The straight up field goal percentage (% of time the shot goes through the net - regardless of whether it’s a 2 or 3) has improved by almost a whole percent in those 4 games - we’re up to 39.1% now from an astounding 38.2%. NW was our worst effort in this metric of the last 4 games, and even still, we shot 39.3% overall which is still higher than our current season average.

This is the stat that matters most for us on offense in my opinion because when we make shots we can set up that press and generally get our D set. That we’re putting the ball through the net at a higher rate is reflective of one player, namely Jeremiah, being able to step up and stop the bleeding when we need him too by scoring and assisting others. This is huge even if the aggregate off efficiency numbers don’t reflect a major improvement.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

The straight up field goal percentage (% of time the shot goes through the net - regardless of whether it’s a 2 or 3) has improved by almost a whole percent in those 4 games - we’re up to 39.1% now from an astounding 38.2%. NW was our worst effort in this metric of the last 4 games, and even still, we shot 39.3% overall which is still higher than our current season average.

This is the stat that matters most for us on offense in my opinion because when we make shots we can set up that press and generally get our D set. That we’re putting the ball through the net at a higher rate is reflective of one player, namely Jeremiah, being able to step up and stop the bleeding when we need him too by scoring and assisting others. This is huge even if the aggregate off efficiency numbers don’t reflect a major improvement.

Our eyeballs in 3/4 games aren't matching what raw data days. Doesn't mean we take the raw data and draw conclusions from it.

ZERO ZERo ZERO doubt his vision is rubbing off on others (especially Derek). I do expect us to play better offensively in the future than our 4 game average and certainly better than in Game 1,2 and 4.

We are 11-40 from 3 in games 1,2 and 4 despite what I would describe as "better" looks than we have had on average. We should be better than that and it would help those game OFF EFF scores

 

[kcg88]

Our eyeballs in 3/4 games aren't matching what raw data days. Doesn't mean we take the raw data and draw conclusions from it.

ZERO ZERo ZERO doubt his vision is rubbing off on others (especially Derek). I do expect us to play better offensively in the future than our 4 game average and certainly better than in Game 1,2 and 4.

We are 11-40 from 3 in games 1,2 and 4 despite what I would describe as "better" looks than we have had on average. We should be better than that and it would help those game OFF EFF scores

1 point per possession against Michigan
0.98 against Northwestern

Only the Maryland game was hideous and they have the #5 defense in the country.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Is there a place to find individual offensive efficiency? It just seems like good things happen when JWill has the ball. Guys get really good opportunities to make baskets when he passes them the ball on his drives. I think we will see multiple 20 point and 8 assist games coming up with the way he is playing. A couple more shots fall, a couple of passes get cleaned up (tough to feed the big men in those spots) and some of passes lead to made buckets. It felt like 15 and 5 was the worst outcome possible against NW, could have easily been a 20/8 game.

We are still needlessly shooting long 2's. That can't be eliminated soon enough while we have JWill. Not needed, not wanted. 4 tough away games coming up. We can't expect the same elite defensive efficiency numbers. Pikes gotta get the players to improve the shot selection. It's critical due to our issues making layups, 3's and foul shots.

I loved his 2 loops around the key without picking up his dribble. Good discipline while aways hunting for a good shot or open man.

He's also 110% committed on defense, making his offensive play even more impressive.

I think we are a better team if he scores less and others score more.

As far as the elite defensive efficiency scores....don't know what to think. There is always going to be a small part of luck in those def scores....unconcious shooting, banked 3s, high FT%, but we are really bringing it and unlike last year we have depth at guard.

If we can find a way to score 1.00 PPP in B1G play (raw not adjusted) I think we will win 80+% of games.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

1 point per possession against Michigan
0.98 against Northwestern

Only the Maryland game was hideous and they have the #5 defense in the country.

As you know scoring 1.00 PPP vs Michigan isn't something you should get a trophy for.

 

[kcg88]

As you know scoring 1.00 PPP vs Michigan isn't something you should get a trophy for.

No trophy for Wisconsin's (1.00 PPP) or Ohio State's (0.97 PPP) offense either, then.

Also: Not saying it's been good, just that it's been a step up from putrid.

 

[DC8690]

One thing to keep in mind. I would think every Rutgers fan would say we are so much better in offense with JWill.

The reality is our adjusted offensive efficiency numbers have been putrid 3 of the 4 games.

We are still a bad offensive team with Jwill.

So when everyone says how next year our offense is going to be much better, you complain that our defense is going to take a hit, then we win 4 games in a row with outstanding defense, and you complain our offense stinks. Are you ever just happy?

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

So when everyone says how next year our offense is going to be much better, you complain that our defense is going to take a hit, then we win 4 games in a row with outstanding defense, and you complain our offense stinks. Are you ever just happy?

Maybe wording can be different.

One thing to keep in mind. I would think every Rutgers fan would say we are so much better in offense with JWill.

The reality is our adjusted offensive efficiency numbers have been putrid 3 of the 4 games. EDIT ADD It doesn't mean that things won't improve

We are still a bad offensive team with Jwill. EDIT We have had bad offensive results as a team with JWIll.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

So when everyone says how next year our offense is going to be much better, you complain that our defense is going to take a hit, then we win 4 games in a row with outstanding defense, and you complain our offense stinks. Are you ever just happy?

There is no fan more ecstatic with how we are winning. I can guarantee you that. Most great fans are as ecstatic as me with our winning.

 

[DC8690]

There is no fan more ecstatic with how we are winning. I can guarantee you that. Most great fans are as ecstatic as me with our winning.

I love defense always have, I’m just happy the season is fun again. Next year might be different but hopefully just as fun.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

No trophy for Wisconsin's (1.00 PPP) or Ohio State's (0.97 PPP) offense either, then.

Also: Not saying it's been good, just that it's been a step up from putrid.

What adjective would you describe a 220ish ranked offense?

My scale is
RANCID-PUTRID-Awful-POOR-Below AVERAGE-AVERAGE-ABOVE AVERAGE-ELITE