GAME 27 Michigan: Rutgers is exactly the team their resume says they are.

[bac2therac]

The entire body of work is on its profile. 7 wins vs schools projected in the field. 5 Quad 1 wins, an incredible 4 game win streak against ranked opponents. Some dazzling games at the RAC. Play like the best defensive team in the world. Yet its exactly not all good. The NET which will probably dip to 85. Unimaginably bad losses to Lafayette and UMass. 3-9 on the road. Losing to too many mediocre schools in the bottom 5 of the conference. A woeful 6-4 non conference mark vs 305th ranked non conference schedule. RU likely sits on the last 4 in line right now. A team that is going to present a conundrum for the NCAA selection committee. A team that mainly at home can play with any team in the country but also a team that can play some really bad uninspiring basketball. Its been like that all season long and that is why we are here.

Tonight was back to some reality. RU played exactly like they did in most of their road contests. Game lost because they are not locked in and coming out with hunger or any eye of the tiger. As much as it was a big game for Michigan it was equally as big for Rutgers. For the first 36 minutes or so, this game could have gone either way. Both teams struggled getting any kind of momentum but it was disappointing that Rutgers with how well they had been playing did not seem to have that edge we are used to seeing. RU played with fire and they got burned. That they failed to come out with any needed fire to set tone in the 2nd half was telling Please save the stuff about refs. This game was even in the 2nd half. RU had a bunch of seniors who did not come to play and reverted back to pouting and whining and bad body language when things did not go well. I am disappointed with the lack of urgency, poise or leadership when things were going wrong. Not one player did anything to say hey we have to hold this together here. Two players were particularly awful today. One allowed his frustrations to effect the team, the other pulled an all too familiar ghosting act. The rest of the team did little to step up and that is disappointing. In retrospect, that hustle play by Johns over Mulcahy was the telling moment of the game

I realize we all dreamt big dreams after that run but in doing so we forget how bad we are capable of playing if we are not locked in mentally. Its our mental game that is the real problem here and it has cropped up all too well this year. RU is now sliding down the bracket. Wisconsin now becomes a must win for them on Saturday. If RU makes the tournament, it will be because they earned it. No one is handing it them and no is giving it just because they had a four game stretch of beating top teams. If RU does not make the tournament, there should be no crying or bitching. This team has/had EVERY opportunity to make the tournament. Tonights loss is just one game. Still 3 to go and they simply have to complete the deal. The Selection Committee is not a charity. Body of work, body of work....that is never going to change and RU is at a crossroads are they going to push this thing and reach the top of the mountain or will they pull a Sisyphus

 

[kcg88]

It's demoralizing for both the team and the fans to keep getting within 2 but never tying it. I think the games goes differently if we hit one of about a dozen baskets to pull even.

 

[GRU23]

It's demoralizing for both the team and the fans to keep getting within 2 but never tying it. I think the games goes differently if we hit one of about a dozen baskets to pull even.

We did pull even at some point tho right?

 

[cm_13]

It's demoralizing for both the team and the fans to keep getting within 2 but never tying it. I think the games goes differently if we hit one of about a dozen baskets to pull even.

And then when we did tie it up, they immediately hit back to back 3s to open up a six point lead.

 

[RUsojo]

Lot of credit to Cliff who has been bringing it almost every single night and has elevated his game individually and become the life float for his teammates.

The perimeter defense has really plagued this team.

 

[Duff366]

One of the most frustrating games I've ever seen. Sure the StonyHartfayette games sucked but they were early in the year. This game hurts.

 

[kcg88]

We did pull even at some point tho right?

Yeah you might be right. Feels like Michigan always scored the very next possession.

 

[Proud NJ Sports Fan]

Lot of credit to Cliff who has been bringing it almost every single night and has elevated his game individually and become the life float for his teammates.

I’d like to see him block or alter more layups by guards

 

[King of S]

The entire body of work is on its profile. 7 wins vs schools projected in the field. 5 Quad 1 wins, an incredible 4 game win streak against ranked opponents. Some dazzling games at the RAC. Play like the best defensive team in the world. Yet its exactly not all good. The NET which will probably dip to 85. Unimaginably bad losses to Lafayette and UMass. 3-9 on the road. Losing to too many mediocre schools in the bottom 5 of the conference. A woeful 6-4 non conference mark vs 305th ranked non conference schedule. RU likely sits on the last 4 in line right now. A team that is going to present a conundrum for the NCAA selection committee. A team that mainly at home can play with any team in the country but also a team that can play some really bad uninspiring basketball. Its been like that all season long and that is why we are here.

Tonight was back to some reality. RU played exactly like they did in most of their road contests. Game lost because they are not locked in and coming out with hunger or any eye of the tiger. As much as it was a big game for Michigan it was equally as big for Rutgers. For the first 36 minutes or so, this game could have gone either way. Both teams struggled getting any kind of momentum but it was disappointing that Rutgers with how well they had been playing did not seem to have that edge we are used to seeing. RU played with fire and they got burned. That they failed to come out with any needed fire to set tone in the 2nd half was telling Please save the stuff about refs. This game was even in the 2nd half. RU had a bunch of seniors who did not come to play and reverted back to pouting and whining and bad body language when things did not go well. I am disappointed with the lack of urgency, poise or leadership when things were going wrong. Not one player did anything to say hey we have to hold this together here. Two players were particularly awful today. One allowed his frustrations to effect the team, the other pulled an all too familiar ghosting act. The rest of the team did little to step up and that is disappointing. In retrospect, that hustle play by Johns over Mulcahy was the telling moment of the game

I realize we all dreamt big dreams after that run but in doing so we forget how bad we are capable of playing if we are not locked in mentally. Its our mental game that is the real problem here and it has cropped up all too well this year. RU is now sliding down the bracket. Wisconsin now becomes a must win for them on Saturday. If RU makes the tournament, it will be because they earned it. No one is handing it them and no is giving it just because they had a four game stretch of beating top teams. If RU does not make the tournament, there should be no crying or bitching. This team has/had EVERY opportunity to make the tournament. Tonights loss is just one game. Still 3 to go and they simply have to complete the deal. The Selection Committee is not a charity. Body of work, body of work....that is never going to change and RU is at a crossroads are they going to push this thing and reach the top of the mountain or will they pull a Sisyphus

Bingo!

 

[RUskoolie]

On a side note, Michigan's fans in both sports..it's like a church environment. Completely pathetic home court advantage tonight.

 

[Duff366]

Welcome back King of S!! Like clockwork!

 

[RUsojo]

I’d like to see him block or alter more layups by guards

I am in a place where i'd probably like to see 2 or 3 things from the other 9 guys who play before I ask anything more of Cliff.

We need the rest of the team to dig deep. They did a great job fighting back to having a punchers chance at a tournament bid. To fall short now and miss the tournament with the possibility of Cliff leaving is the nightmare scenario that I hope they can put to bed in the next two games so we don't have to entertain it any further.

 

[SantaFeScarlet]

We did pull even at some point tho right?

Yes

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

If you didn’t see mental and physical fatigue from a few of our players you are missing it. It is understandable and predictable. Paul Mulcahy never behaves like that. That isn’t who he is.

These athletes are human. They have breaking points. there are mini walls. They get through them. Sunday/Wednesday road games in 2 cities with all kinds of air travel and sleeping in hotels.

We were a step slow all night defending the line. We have been very good at late and multiple players were bad here, not just the usual suspect.

Put this game in the toilet and flush it and get ready for Saturday.

 

[winfield102]

TERRIBLE SHOTS. hero ball all night. Caleb should not be touching the ball on offense, EVER. He basically undoes everything he does on defense.
Wake up Pike and get a clue. This is the bullshit we saw at the beginning of the season. Too cocky and shit the bed. We shared the ball against Purdue in the loss. Where was that RU team?

Paul was terrible tonight but has built some history so we just have to live with it. Geo has basically faded away.

How many times did Michigan take it to the hole? Felt like a ton and felt like they somehow shot 137% when they drove. I didn't think you could shoot over 100%, but Michigan proved me wrong.

Back to being on the wrong side of the tourney. The team just doesn't like nice things.

 

[Rutgers25]

On a side note, Michigan's fans in both sports..it's like a church environment. Completely pathetic home court advantage tonight.

agree, overrated fan base.

 

[bac2therac]

If you didn’t see mental and physical fatigue from a few of our players you are missing it. It is understandable and predictable. Paul Mulcahy never behaves like that. That isn’t who he is.

These athletes are human. They have breaking points. there are mini walls. They get through them. Sunday/Wednesday road games in 2 cities with all kinds of air travel and sleeping in hotels.

We were a step slow all night defending the line. We have been very good at late and multiple players were bad here, not just the usual suspect.

Put this game in the toilet and flush it and get ready for Saturday.

Michigan just went through a whirlwind and had two guys out including a punk who has been playing well of late

you can tell pretty early on if RU is locked in or not. I didnt see it in those first 5-6 minutes

 

[bethlehemfan]

You can stick your head in the sand and say refs never matter but they do. Does is excuse a terrible performance? No but it’s definitely a factor particularly for rutgers. I said before the game if the refs don’t take us out and we rebound and we make some shots we would be fine. We were 0-3 tonight.

 

[RUJMM78]

This game is another example of what fans have seen all season.The highs and lows has been marked by inconsistent performances from most of the starters and very little contributions from the bench.The team was world beaters in the four game sweep of ranked opponents and then quickly reverse form in the last two games.The last three games of the season will be fraught with great uncertainty as to NCAA selection.

 

[NYSportsFan]

The entire body of work is on its profile. 7 wins vs schools projected in the field. 5 Quad 1 wins, an incredible 4 game win streak against ranked opponents. Some dazzling games at the RAC. Play like the best defensive team in the world. Yet its exactly not all good. The NET which will probably dip to 85. Unimaginably bad losses to Lafayette and UMass. 3-9 on the road. Losing to too many mediocre schools in the bottom 5 of the conference. A woeful 6-4 non conference mark vs 305th ranked non conference schedule. RU likely sits on the last 4 in line right now. A team that is going to present a conundrum for the NCAA selection committee. A team that mainly at home can play with any team in the country but also a team that can play some really bad uninspiring basketball. Its been like that all season long and that is why we are here.

Tonight was back to some reality. RU played exactly like they did in most of their road contests. Game lost because they are not locked in and coming out with hunger or any eye of the tiger. As much as it was a big game for Michigan it was equally as big for Rutgers. For the first 36 minutes or so, this game could have gone either way. Both teams struggled getting any kind of momentum but it was disappointing that Rutgers with how well they had been playing did not seem to have that edge we are used to seeing. RU played with fire and they got burned. That they failed to come out with any needed fire to set tone in the 2nd half was telling Please save the stuff about refs. This game was even in the 2nd half. RU had a bunch of seniors who did not come to play and reverted back to pouting and whining and bad body language when things did not go well. I am disappointed with the lack of urgency, poise or leadership when things were going wrong. Not one player did anything to say hey we have to hold this together here. Two players were particularly awful today. One allowed his frustrations to effect the team, the other pulled an all too familiar ghosting act. The rest of the team did little to step up and that is disappointing. In retrospect, that hustle play by Johns over Mulcahy was the telling moment of the game

I realize we all dreamt big dreams after that run but in doing so we forget how bad we are capable of playing if we are not locked in mentally. Its our mental game that is the real problem here and it has cropped up all too well this year. RU is now sliding down the bracket. Wisconsin now becomes a must win for them on Saturday. If RU makes the tournament, it will be because they earned it. No one is handing it them and no is giving it just because they had a four game stretch of beating top teams. If RU does not make the tournament, there should be no crying or bitching. This team has/had EVERY opportunity to make the tournament. Tonights loss is just one game. Still 3 to go and they simply have to complete the deal. The Selection Committee is not a charity. Body of work, body of work....that is never going to change and RU is at a crossroads are they going to push this thing and reach the top of the mountain or will they pull a Sisyphus

Well summed up as always. Hopefully next year’s team realizes the importance of playing out of conf games vs bad teams in Nov, because 19-8 would look a whole lot better than 16-11 right now, that’s for sure. One of the wildest RU resumes in memory, that’s for sure.

 

[bac2therac]

You can stick your head in the sand and say refs never matter but they do. Does is excuse a terrible performance? No but it’s definitely a factor particularly for rutgers. I said before the game if the refs don’t take us out and we rebound and we make some shots we would be fine. We were 0-3 tonight.

for the 2nd straight game we fouled on our opponents first possession...caleb last time, ron tonight. both just bad fouls...why foul 20 seconds into the game. Our opponents seem to know we foul prone..the first Paul foul he was out of control...2nd foul was all ball and yes it was a bad bad calll...I agree. The 2nd Ron foul very questionable but RU was just down 2 and only 8 fouls were called at half. Paul's 3rd was all on him and it was because he was outhustled by Johns and then made a stupid mistake

so are you going to argue those 2 calls on Paul and Ron somehow altered the way the game was going. RU had plenty of chances to buckle down. How many possessions did they piss away taking a poor shot down 2. The defense was atrocious all night

 

[bethlehemfan]

for the 2nd straight game we fouled on our opponents first possession...caleb last time, ron tonight. both just bad fouls...why foul 20 seconds into the game. Our opponents seem to know we foul prone..the first Paul foul he was out of control...2nd foul was all ball and yes it was a bad bad calll...I agree. The 2nd Ron foul very questionable but RU was just down 2 and only 8 fouls were called at half. Paul's 3rd was all on him and it was because he was outhustled by Johns and then made a stupid mistake

so are you going to argue those 2 calls on Paul and Ron somehow altered the way the game was going. RU had plenty of chances to buckle down. How many possessions did they piss away taking a poor shot down 2. The defense was atrocious all night

Bac you never ever acknowledge refs can influence a game. Did you ever play the game? It doesn’t seem like it.

 

[Scangg]

If you didn’t see mental and physical fatigue from a few of our players you are missing it. It is understandable and predictable. Paul Mulcahy never behaves like that. That isn’t who he is.

These athletes are human. They have breaking points. there are mini walls. They get through them. Sunday/Wednesday road games in 2 cities with all kinds of air travel and sleeping in hotels.

We were a step slow all night defending the line. We have been very good at late and multiple players were bad here, not just the usual suspect.

Put this game in the toilet and flush it and get ready for Saturday.

I was secretly worried you were right the whole time but was trying to will Rutgers into bringing it.

They only needed their B game to win, maybe less. Frustrating performance from the backcourt.

They were begging us to take the lead in the end of the first half

Refs took Paul out of the game literally and mentally

Shows how important Paul is. When he's not on the team resorted to standing around iso no offense

If we are going to do that let cliff get more post touches

 

[bac2therac]

Bac you never ever acknowledge refs can influence a game. Did you ever play the game? It doesn’t seem like it.

RU was down 2 at halftime. Michigan went to the line 4 times I think RU 2. RU was even with i dont know 13 minutes left. The refs were barely calling fouls in this game . Period, if you are going to harp on the refs after you have every opportunity to take charge. The refs didnt cause Paul to get outhustled by Johns in a pivotal moment of the game and then get called for his 3rd foul. The refs didnt cause Geo to miss every outside shot he took, Ron to throw up an airball. Michgan guards to just breeze under the hoop for scoop shots.

RU did not show poise, composure or leadership. That isnt the refs fault. There are 5 players that go on the court. If they fall apart because Mulcahy is not there, its not the refs fault

 

[SantaFeScarlet]

On a side note, Michigan's fans in both sports..it's like a church environment. Completely pathetic home court advantage tonight.

And we got beat handidly... terrible

 

[SantaFeScarlet]

RU was down 2 at halftime. Michigan went to the line 4 times I think RU 2. RU was even with i dont know 13 minutes left. The refs were barely calling fouls in this game . Period, if you are going to harp on the refs after you have every opportunity to take charge. The refs didnt cause Paul to get outhustled by Johns in a pivotal moment of the game and then get called for his 3rd foul. The refs didnt cause Geo to miss every outside shot he took, Ron to throw up an airball. Michgan guards to just breeze under the hoop for scoop shots.

RU did not show poise, composure or leadership. That isnt the refs fault. There are 5 players that go on the court. If they fall apart because Mulcahy is not there, its not the refs fault

This game was all about the players and not the refs.

 

[bethlehemfan]

RU was down 2 at halftime. Michigan went to the line 4 times I think RU 2. RU was even with i dont know 13 minutes left. The refs were barely calling fouls in this game . Period, if you are going to harp on the refs after you have every opportunity to take charge. The refs didnt cause Paul to get outhustled by Johns in a pivotal moment of the game and then get called for his 3rd foul. The refs didnt cause Geo to miss every outside shot he took, Ron to throw up an airball. Michgan guards to just breeze under the hoop for scoop shots.

RU did not show poise, composure or leadership. That isnt the refs fault. There are 5 players that go on the court. If they fall apart because Mulcahy is not there, its not the refs fault

Have you ever acknowledged refs can influence a game? Because they did tonight. We’re we bad yes. Even whistle we have a better chance. Maybe we still lose. Again your position is refs are never a factor ever. If you played the game you would know that’s not the case. People are human.

 

[kcg88]

Bac you never ever acknowledge refs can influence a game. Did you ever play the game? It doesn’t seem like it.

Don't shoot 2-12 from 3 on the road.

 

[bethlehemfan]

Don't shoot 2-12 from 3 on the road.

Again we could have played better. Refs were a factor. Never said we played well or deserved to win. Even whistle who knows.

 

[fluoxetine]

You can stick your head in the sand and say refs never matter but they do. Does is excuse a terrible performance? No but it’s definitely a factor particularly for rutgers. I said before the game if the refs don’t take us out and we rebound and we make some shots we would be fine. We were 0-3 tonight.

for the 2nd straight game we fouled on our opponents first possession...caleb last time, ron tonight. both just bad fouls...why foul 20 seconds into the game. Our opponents seem to know we foul prone..the first Paul foul he was out of control...2nd foul was all ball and yes it was a bad bad calll...I agree. The 2nd Ron foul very questionable but RU was just down 2 and only 8 fouls were called at half. Paul's 3rd was all on him and it was because he was outhustled by Johns and then made a stupid mistake

so are you going to argue those 2 calls on Paul and Ron somehow altered the way the game was going. RU had plenty of chances to buckle down. How many possessions did they piss away taking a poor shot down 2. The defense was atrocious all night

Bac you never ever acknowledge refs can influence a game. Did you ever play the game? It doesn’t seem like it.

Bac, I sort of understand why you take this hard line of basically refusing to admit that officiating affects games which I assume is to counteract the contingent of the board that seems to think Rutgers is getting systematically and completely hosed game after game, which is absurd.

But the truth is, these games are not well officiated. In general I don’t think officials are biased against Rutgers, they just aren’t officiating well. Sometimes that helps us and sometimes it hurts. Today those stupid calls against mulcahy as they basically refused to call anything else on either team pretty obviously hurt us. Not sure it would’ve mattered that much as we were playing like shit, but it’s really hard to deny the impact there without looking pretty ridiculous

 

[BigEastPhil]

Several takeaways from my end:

- The inability to tie the game on about 10 consecutive attempts sealed our fate.

- Another long rut of horrible ball doomed us midway thru 2nd half

- Body language of Paul and Geo were awful

- Road woes as always continue to doom us.
- Good defensive job by Michigan on Paul. Every time he went iso, there was a tall defender on Paul - not a small guard.

-Kudos to Cliff and Harp who brought their game to play. Shame only when 2 guys played well given the stakes.

 

[winfield102]

There are probably 10 other things to discuss before talking about the refs.

They had NOTHING to do with tonight's loss.

Paul's 2nd foul wasn't a foul but a very stupid play by Paul. Super risky. If he was an innocent bystander, different story. Going for the block was the wrong move.

 

[SantaFeScarlet]

Don't shoot 2-12 from 3 on the road.

And blame the loss on the refs

 

[RUJMM78]

Several takeaways from my end:

- The inability to tie the game on about 10 consecutive attempts sealed our fate.

- Another long rut of horrible ball doomed us midway thru 2nd half

- Body language of Paul and Geo were awful

- Road woes as always continue to doom us.
- Good defensive job by Michigan on Paul. Every time he went iso, there was a tall defender on Paul - not a small guard.

-Kudos to Cliff and Harp who brought their game to play. Shame only when 2 guys played well given the stakes.

Spot on comments citing reasons for the loss.Its hard to fathom over so many years the poor performances on the road.Players and coaches have come and gone but the results remain the same.

 

[Groz]

The entire body of work is on its profile. 7 wins vs schools projected in the field. 5 Quad 1 wins, an incredible 4 game win streak against ranked opponents. Some dazzling games at the RAC. Play like the best defensive team in the world. Yet its exactly not all good. The NET which will probably dip to 85. Unimaginably bad losses to Lafayette and UMass. 3-9 on the road. Losing to too many mediocre schools in the bottom 5 of the conference. A woeful 6-4 non conference mark vs 305th ranked non conference schedule. RU likely sits on the last 4 in line right now. A team that is going to present a conundrum for the NCAA selection committee. A team that mainly at home can play with any team in the country but also a team that can play some really bad uninspiring basketball. Its been like that all season long and that is why we are here.

Tonight was back to some reality. RU played exactly like they did in most of their road contests. Game lost because they are not locked in and coming out with hunger or any eye of the tiger. As much as it was a big game for Michigan it was equally as big for Rutgers. For the first 36 minutes or so, this game could have gone either way. Both teams struggled getting any kind of momentum but it was disappointing that Rutgers with how well they had been playing did not seem to have that edge we are used to seeing. RU played with fire and they got burned. That they failed to come out with any needed fire to set tone in the 2nd half was telling Please save the stuff about refs. This game was even in the 2nd half. RU had a bunch of seniors who did not come to play and reverted back to pouting and whining and bad body language when things did not go well. I am disappointed with the lack of urgency, poise or leadership when things were going wrong. Not one player did anything to say hey we have to hold this together here. Two players were particularly awful today. One allowed his frustrations to effect the team, the other pulled an all too familiar ghosting act. The rest of the team did little to step up and that is disappointing. In retrospect, that hustle play by Johns over Mulcahy was the telling moment of the game

I realize we all dreamt big dreams after that run but in doing so we forget how bad we are capable of playing if we are not locked in mentally. Its our mental game that is the real problem here and it has cropped up all too well this year. RU is now sliding down the bracket. Wisconsin now becomes a must win for them on Saturday. If RU makes the tournament, it will be because they earned it. No one is handing it them and no is giving it just because they had a four game stretch of beating top teams. If RU does not make the tournament, there should be no crying or bitching. This team has/had EVERY opportunity to make the tournament. Tonights loss is just one game. Still 3 to go and they simply have to complete the deal. The Selection Committee is not a charity. Body of work, body of work....that is never going to change and RU is at a crossroads are they going to push this thing and reach the top of the mountain or will they pull a Sisyphus

Good analysis as usual Bac. While Paul was having a game to forget, it was imperative for Geo to step up and he did not. Only a few games left and we do have to show urgency or we will be all be left asking why............

Best of Luck,
Groz

 

[Pils86]

It was away and refs didn't help, but if Geo shot like Houstan and Houstan shot like Geo we win easily. The team needs to stay positive and wins will come.

 

[billgumpper]

Bottom line is we need to win 2 of the next 3 to get in the tourney.

 

[billgumpper]

Good analysis as usual Bac. While Paul was having a game to forget, it was imperative for Geo to step up and he did not. Only a few games left and we do have to show urgency or we will be all be left asking why............

Best of Luck,
Groz

Geo had his 3 game stretch, now the true inconsistent Geo shows up the last 2 games. Paul in early foul trouble the last 2 games being over aggressive on defense.

 

[rucoe89]

It's demoralizing for both the team and the fans to keep getting within 2 but never tying it. I think the games goes differently if we hit one of about a dozen baskets to pull even.

Can’t pull even if most of your roster has no reliable shooters or scorers. Ours tend to be more of the streaky type.

 

[jonS]

RU was down 2 at halftime. Michigan went to the line 4 times I think RU 2. RU was even with i dont know 13 minutes left. The refs were barely calling fouls in this game . Period, if you are going to harp on the refs after you have every opportunity to take charge. The refs didnt cause Paul to get outhustled by Johns in a pivotal moment of the game and then get called for his 3rd foul. The refs didnt cause Geo to miss every outside shot he took, Ron to throw up an airball. Michgan guards to just breeze under the hoop for scoop shots.

RU did not show poise, composure or leadership. That isnt the refs fault. There are 5 players that go on the court. If they fall apart because Mulcahy is not there, its not the refs fault

I always enjoy reading your summaries of the game and usually agree with your observations. But today I think you're too critical of the team, its senior leadership and the overall play. Unlike you, I do think the refs had an influence on the game. There was one play in the second half when Rutgers was playing well , stole the ball and broke to the basket when the ref called a charge when it should have been a Michigan foul. That hurt Rutgers momentum. That's one play but there were many others when fouls should have been called but weren't. Michigan was shooting lights out --some of that had to do with poor defense but a lot had to do with Michigan putting it together. Their ability to finish around the basket was unreal. It happens...Their game plan to push the ball up on offense and not let Rutgers half court defense stifle them worked. Paul playing few minutes definitely hurt the offensive flow but kudos to Ron , he played hard despite obvious pain with his finger..

Ps--it's almost cliche but it's really hard to win two games against a Big opponent in the same season , especially when the second game is away..