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GAME 27 NCAA TOURNEY CLEMSON: These are the days to remember

bac2therac

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Unbelievable! What a year! What a team! We have been caught up in just finding a way to make it to the NCAA tournament for 30 years it sort of overshadowed just what this program staff has truly accomplished. The highs outweighing the lows. Our ugly play has been a constant for much of the latter half of the year but we need to accept that. It can be painful to watch us at times, there are moments where if we would just get out of our own way we have a helluva lot easier time putting these teams away. We are exactly what we R. What you see is what you get. We are a team that will play tooth and nail and do everything they can to try and grind out a win. There will be tastes of brilliance but stretches of pure ugliness but its our ugly. Our scrappy, ugly, Jersey way of basketball where nothing comes easy but somehow we keep showing up. Think about it, tonight followed the prototypical Rutgers victory this season. The one thing we did better was that we kept pace early so we didnt need to dig out from a big hole. How many wins were based playing solid D and timing one run that gave us a cushion down the stretch...Syracuse, Purdue, Minnesota, Minnesota again, Indiana. These lunch pail games where defense and getting turnovers and limiting the opponent to one shot and then exposing them in transition with a flurry of buckets leaving them wounded on defense and less confident on offense.

What to say about Geo. His tweets aside because that has nothing to do with him as a player so keep that commentary out of this thread. There have been questions about Geo's legacy here on the board. Without a doubt Geo has cemented his story. Whether there is a part 2 next year, only Geo knows but he emphatically answered his doubters. This kid rated 415 or whatever took a chance on RU and Coach Pikiell took a chance on Geo as well. Geo showed some flashes as a freshmen but we never knew he was capable of what he did at the Garden. From there the expectations were placed on Geo. Perhaps unfairly perhaps not. Many wanted Geo to be Corey Sanders but Geo wasn't Corey Sanders who had more natural skills. Geo was Geo. He had to work for everything from when he was that 95 pound weakling to the man he is today. Geo teased us with some incredible late game step backs and 3s and it seemed like it was setting up for a monster year for him. But Geo struggled this year whatever that might mean, failed to find his consistency after his injury and at times seem to disappear even in big spots. I do not even think Geo was the most vocal leader, maybe he just isnt that kind of guy. What I do know is that Geo leads by example. Seen it before and seen it tonight. I have no doubt that Coach Pikiell trusted Geo with the ball in the late stages to make a play to win Rutgers a game...successful or not, Pike was going to ride with his playmaker and one responsible for much of the success of RU rising from the ashes. Geo hit the 3 after a timeout from the wing that put RU up 58-55 and then Geo missed two 3s in big spots at 58-56. Win or lose, Pike was going with Geo. Last play of the game and Clemson deciding to play it out with a 6 second differential on the clock, a busted pass that bounced off Harper and landed back in Geo's hands who promptly went up and layed in. Could anyone have scripted it better? Would you want any other actor or player in the last 30 years taking that shot. Geo made some history tonight. He cemented our first NCAA win in 38 years. He will be forever loved here not for his stats or 3 point shooting or natural ability but for taking a chance on a moribund program and for all those times he delivered in a big spots that warmed our hearts.




Geo made the play of the game just like JY made the play of the game vs Minnesota but at some point everyone contributed. Caleb McConnell taken some criticism this year for some up and down play but damn tonight he was such an X factor on offense and defense, scrapping for everything and having the headiness to just be everywhere. A double double..wow 13 points/10 boards in 24 minutes. How about that layup at 53-52 where we desperately needed something. Such an opportunistic game and example of a player who contributes even though other parts of his game might struggle. Jacob Young was absolutely unstoppable in our stretch where RU went on a 16-2 run over 5 minutes. Rutgers was shutting Clemson down, poking the ball away and then running and making Clemson pay, Young had 5 points in that stretch but it was clear his presence at the time was vital. You see what happened when he was taken out, RU fell into a funk. Since we did win, I am going to overlook what could have been a brutal coaching decision by Pikiell. It all worked out for the best. Myles certainly didnt have his best night but he got a couple of key rebounds late, a huge block of a Sims shot and I believe in on the play at 58-56 where Sims traveled. Myles was a warrior after taking that fall on his back and he still got his 10 rebounds, 3 blocks and 3 steals. Do not forget Paul McCauley, he nailed two huge 3s again completely his roll just like he did vs Minnesota, key moments where RU was really struggling on offense he allowed them to stay in the game. Ron had a bad night shooting 3-14 but still wound up with 10 and he really was awful from 3 but Ron is always going to be a threat. All of his 10 were needed and added touch of swagger at times tonight. Cliff gave 9 minutes, 3 boards, he did what he had to do tonight, no issue. Mathis..lets just say no comment on this night


This is Rutgers basketball. Embrace it. We will never be the style of Ohio State who by the way came up looking very small today or Iowa who has so many options on offense. This team has such a small margin of error. To win they have to fight for everything. In some of our losses, we didnt and its no surprise why we lost. Its no surprise that wins like tonight harken back to wins from last year and its no surprise some of the guys who stepped up tonight in big spots. The haters will hate, people will scoff and laugh Rutgers???? Yet who is laughing now. Would you rather be Purdue right now or Ohio State or Tennessee. A funny thing happens in tournaments. Team make the own luck and then some ride their own waves. This is the first step. Dream big dreams. Remember Loyola Chicago, I was just looking at their run from 3 years back and was reminded how they won most of their games by the skin of their teeth and I think on at least one last shot. All bets are off in the NCAA. You can write your own history. Rutgers lives to see another day against the most reasonable 2 seed they can find

Be proud Rutgers fans, we have all suffered for way too long. Bathe yourself in it the next two days. Rutgers Nation is standing strong this weekend. Our fans were joyous and loud and real and all of America heard them tonight. We are blessed with success


These are days you'll remember
Never before and never since
I promise
Will the whole world be warm as this
And as you feel it
You'll know it's true
That you are blessed and lucky
 
Everything was aligned today. We caught all the breaks. We were due!

Kudos to Caleb. Geo cemented his legacy! Jacob, Paul and Ron came up big when needed

Hope Myles recovers quickly and makes a difference vs Houston on Sunday

Let’s make more history and become America s Sweet 16 darling!
 
Signature RU win.

JY is the goat, Caleb played way better than expected early, Mathis was bad, and we caught some breaks down the stretch. Geo had his normal game and caught maybe the biggest break at the end with the turnover turned layup and Paul gave us offense that we need in his minutes.
 
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Love reading this great post on such a history making night. I don't know how I'm going to sleep tonight...I appreciate all you do for this community my brother ❤


thank you, you have been a positive addition to the board this year, enjoy this night and more is to come
 
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Congrats @bac2therac I’m sure you’ve been a Rutgers basketball fan a lot longer than I have and endured a lot more than me. I’m 27 and have been a football fan since like 2005 but only started following basketball since Pike was hired and haven’t missed many games since. I never played (I wrestled) so I try to learn a lot about the game through people on here and, in particular, your post game write ups so thank you. I don’t know anyone on here in person but it’s people like you on here who I get so happy for on nights like tonight. Hopefully there’s many more post game summaries like this in the future. Cheers brother and lets go beat Houston!
 
Unbelievable! What a year! What a team! We have been caught up in just finding a way to make it to the NCAA tournament for 30 years it sort of overshadowed just what this program staff has truly accomplished. The highs outweighing the lows. Our ugly play has been a constant for much of the latter half of the year but we need to accept that. It can be painful to watch us at times, there are moments where if we would just get out of our own way we have a helluva lot easier time putting these teams away. We are exactly what we R. What you see is what you get. We are a team that will play tooth and nail and do everything they can to try and grind out a win. There will be tastes of brilliance but stretches of pure ugliness but its our ugly. Our scrappy, ugly, Jersey way of basketball where nothing comes easy but somehow we keep showing up. Think about it, tonight followed the prototypical Rutgers victory this season. The one thing we did better was that we kept pace early so we didnt need to dig out from a big hole. How many wins were based playing solid D and timing one run that gave us a cushion down the stretch...Syracuse, Purdue, Minnesota, Minnesota again, Indiana. These lunch pail games where defense and getting turnovers and limiting the opponent to one shot and then exposing them in transition with a flurry of buckets leaving them wounded on defense and less confident on offense.

What to say about Geo. His tweets aside because that has nothing to do with him as a player so keep that commentary out of this thread. There have been questions about Geo's legacy here on the board. Without a doubt Geo has cemented his story. Whether there is a part 2 next year, only Geo knows but he emphatically answered his doubters. This kid rated 415 or whatever took a chance on RU and Coach Pikiell took a chance on Geo as well. Geo showed some flashes as a freshmen but we never knew he was capable of what he did at the Garden. From there the expectations were placed on Geo. Perhaps unfairly perhaps not. Many wanted Geo to be Corey Sanders but Geo wasn't Corey Sanders who had more natural skills. Geo was Geo. He had to work for everything from when he was that 95 pound weakling to the man he is today. Geo teased us with some incredible late game step backs and 3s and it seemed like it was setting up for a monster year for him. But Geo struggled this year whatever that might mean, failed to find his consistency after his injury and at times seem to disappear even in big spots. I do not even think Geo was the most vocal leader, maybe he just isnt that kind of guy. What I do know is that Geo leads by example. Seen it before and seen it tonight. I have no doubt that Coach Pikiell trusted Geo with the ball in the late stages to make a play to win Rutgers a game...successful or not, Pike was going to ride with his playmaker and one responsible for much of the success of RU rising from the ashes. Geo hit the 3 after a timeout from the wing that put RU up 58-55 and then Geo missed two 3s in big spots at 58-56. Win or lose, Pike was going with Geo. Last play of the game and Clemson deciding to play it out with a 6 second differential on the clock, a busted pass that bounced off Harper and landed back in Geo's hands who promptly went up and layed in. Could anyone have scripted it better? Would you want any other actor or player in the last 30 years taking that shot. Geo made some history tonight. He cemented our first NCAA win in 38 years. He will be forever loved here not for his stats or 3 point shooting or natural ability but for taking a chance on a moribund program and for all those times he delivered in a big spots that warmed our hearts.




Geo made the play of the game just like JY made the play of the game vs Minnesota but at some point everyone contributed. Caleb McConnell taken some criticism this year for some up and down play but damn tonight he was such an X factor on offense and defense, scrapping for everything and having the headiness to just be everywhere. A double double..wow 13 points/10 boards in 24 minutes. How about that layup at 53-52 where we desperately needed something. Such an opportunistic game and example of a player who contributes even though other parts of his game might struggle. Jacob Young was absolutely unstoppable in our stretch where RU went on a 16-2 run over 5 minutes. Rutgers was shutting Clemson down, poking the ball away and then running and making Clemson pay, Young had 5 points in that stretch but it was clear his presence at the time was vital. You see what happened when he was taken out, RU fell into a funk. Since we did win, I am going to overlook what could have been a brutal coaching decision by Pikiell. It all worked out for the best. Myles certainly didnt have his best night but he got a couple of key rebounds late, a huge block of a Sims shot and I believe in on the play at 58-56 where Sims traveled. Myles was a warrior after taking that fall on his back and he still got his 10 rebounds, 3 blocks and 3 steals. Do not forget Paul McCauley, he nailed two huge 3s again completely his roll just like he did vs Minnesota, key moments where RU was really struggling on offense he allowed them to stay in the game. Ron had a bad night shooting 3-14 but still wound up with 10 and he really was awful from 3 but Ron is always going to be a threat. All of his 10 were needed and added touch of swagger at times tonight. Cliff gave 9 minutes, 3 boards, he did what he had to do tonight, no issue. Mathis..lets just say no comment on this night


This is Rutgers basketball. Embrace it. We will never be the style of Ohio State who by the way came up looking very small today or Iowa who has so many options on offense. This team has such a small margin of error. To win they have to fight for everything. In some of our losses, we didnt and its no surprise why we lost. Its no surprise that wins like tonight harken back to wins from last year and its no surprise some of the guys who stepped up tonight in big spots. The haters will hate, people will scoff and laugh Rutgers???? Yet who is laughing now. Would you rather be Purdue right now or Ohio State or Tennessee. A funny thing happens in tournaments. Team make the own luck and then some ride their own waves. This is the first step. Dream big dreams. Remember Loyola Chicago, I was just looking at their run from 3 years back and was reminded how they won most of their games by the skin of their teeth and I think on at least one last shot. All bets are off in the NCAA. You can write your own history. Rutgers lives to see another day against the most reasonable 2 seed they can find

Be proud Rutgers fans, we have all suffered for way too long. Bathe yourself in it the next two days. Rutgers Nation is standing strong this weekend. Our fans were joyous and loud and real and all of America heard them tonight. We are blessed with success


These are days you'll remember
Never before and never since
I promise
Will the whole world be warm as this
And as you feel it
You'll know it's true
That you are blessed and lucky

Very well said Bac!!!! You've become a go-to fellow fan for rutgers basketball. And love all of your post game statements. Cheers!!!
 
Unbelievable! What a year! What a team! We have been caught up in just finding a way to make it to the NCAA tournament for 30 years it sort of overshadowed just what this program staff has truly accomplished. The highs outweighing the lows. Our ugly play has been a constant for much of the latter half of the year but we need to accept that. It can be painful to watch us at times, there are moments where if we would just get out of our own way we have a helluva lot easier time putting these teams away. We are exactly what we R. What you see is what you get. We are a team that will play tooth and nail and do everything they can to try and grind out a win. There will be tastes of brilliance but stretches of pure ugliness but its our ugly. Our scrappy, ugly, Jersey way of basketball where nothing comes easy but somehow we keep showing up. Think about it, tonight followed the prototypical Rutgers victory this season. The one thing we did better was that we kept pace early so we didnt need to dig out from a big hole. How many wins were based playing solid D and timing one run that gave us a cushion down the stretch...Syracuse, Purdue, Minnesota, Minnesota again, Indiana. These lunch pail games where defense and getting turnovers and limiting the opponent to one shot and then exposing them in transition with a flurry of buckets leaving them wounded on defense and less confident on offense.

What to say about Geo. His tweets aside because that has nothing to do with him as a player so keep that commentary out of this thread. There have been questions about Geo's legacy here on the board. Without a doubt Geo has cemented his story. Whether there is a part 2 next year, only Geo knows but he emphatically answered his doubters. This kid rated 415 or whatever took a chance on RU and Coach Pikiell took a chance on Geo as well. Geo showed some flashes as a freshmen but we never knew he was capable of what he did at the Garden. From there the expectations were placed on Geo. Perhaps unfairly perhaps not. Many wanted Geo to be Corey Sanders but Geo wasn't Corey Sanders who had more natural skills. Geo was Geo. He had to work for everything from when he was that 95 pound weakling to the man he is today. Geo teased us with some incredible late game step backs and 3s and it seemed like it was setting up for a monster year for him. But Geo struggled this year whatever that might mean, failed to find his consistency after his injury and at times seem to disappear even in big spots. I do not even think Geo was the most vocal leader, maybe he just isnt that kind of guy. What I do know is that Geo leads by example. Seen it before and seen it tonight. I have no doubt that Coach Pikiell trusted Geo with the ball in the late stages to make a play to win Rutgers a game...successful or not, Pike was going to ride with his playmaker and one responsible for much of the success of RU rising from the ashes. Geo hit the 3 after a timeout from the wing that put RU up 58-55 and then Geo missed two 3s in big spots at 58-56. Win or lose, Pike was going with Geo. Last play of the game and Clemson deciding to play it out with a 6 second differential on the clock, a busted pass that bounced off Harper and landed back in Geo's hands who promptly went up and layed in. Could anyone have scripted it better? Would you want any other actor or player in the last 30 years taking that shot. Geo made some history tonight. He cemented our first NCAA win in 38 years. He will be forever loved here not for his stats or 3 point shooting or natural ability but for taking a chance on a moribund program and for all those times he delivered in a big spots that warmed our hearts.




Geo made the play of the game just like JY made the play of the game vs Minnesota but at some point everyone contributed. Caleb McConnell taken some criticism this year for some up and down play but damn tonight he was such an X factor on offense and defense, scrapping for everything and having the headiness to just be everywhere. A double double..wow 13 points/10 boards in 24 minutes. How about that layup at 53-52 where we desperately needed something. Such an opportunistic game and example of a player who contributes even though other parts of his game might struggle. Jacob Young was absolutely unstoppable in our stretch where RU went on a 16-2 run over 5 minutes. Rutgers was shutting Clemson down, poking the ball away and then running and making Clemson pay, Young had 5 points in that stretch but it was clear his presence at the time was vital. You see what happened when he was taken out, RU fell into a funk. Since we did win, I am going to overlook what could have been a brutal coaching decision by Pikiell. It all worked out for the best. Myles certainly didnt have his best night but he got a couple of key rebounds late, a huge block of a Sims shot and I believe in on the play at 58-56 where Sims traveled. Myles was a warrior after taking that fall on his back and he still got his 10 rebounds, 3 blocks and 3 steals. Do not forget Paul McCauley, he nailed two huge 3s again completely his roll just like he did vs Minnesota, key moments where RU was really struggling on offense he allowed them to stay in the game. Ron had a bad night shooting 3-14 but still wound up with 10 and he really was awful from 3 but Ron is always going to be a threat. All of his 10 were needed and added touch of swagger at times tonight. Cliff gave 9 minutes, 3 boards, he did what he had to do tonight, no issue. Mathis..lets just say no comment on this night


This is Rutgers basketball. Embrace it. We will never be the style of Ohio State who by the way came up looking very small today or Iowa who has so many options on offense. This team has such a small margin of error. To win they have to fight for everything. In some of our losses, we didnt and its no surprise why we lost. Its no surprise that wins like tonight harken back to wins from last year and its no surprise some of the guys who stepped up tonight in big spots. The haters will hate, people will scoff and laugh Rutgers???? Yet who is laughing now. Would you rather be Purdue right now or Ohio State or Tennessee. A funny thing happens in tournaments. Team make the own luck and then some ride their own waves. This is the first step. Dream big dreams. Remember Loyola Chicago, I was just looking at their run from 3 years back and was reminded how they won most of their games by the skin of their teeth and I think on at least one last shot. All bets are off in the NCAA. You can write your own history. Rutgers lives to see another day against the most reasonable 2 seed they can find

Be proud Rutgers fans, we have all suffered for way too long. Bathe yourself in it the next two days. Rutgers Nation is standing strong this weekend. Our fans were joyous and loud and real and all of America heard them tonight. We are blessed with success


These are days you'll remember
Never before and never since
I promise
Will the whole world be warm as this
And as you feel it
You'll know it's true
That you are blessed and lucky
Great recap.
 
bac, you always manage to capture the collective feelings of the fan base after our games, and no better than this recap.

A few other game notes of my own:

1. CLOSEOUTS - we heard a lot before the game about Clemson’s 3-pt shooting prowess, but our perimeter defense was SUPERB. You could see our guys making an effort to close out on the shooters, and the Tigers didn’t get many open looks out there. We held them to 6-19, for just 31.6%. This was a HUGE key, as we never allowed them to go in a big demoralizing run with threes.

2. CALEB - man did he come up big. His defense was excellent as usual, and he had those timely layups and that HUGE three to put us up 50-39. After Trapp went off early in the second half with 7 straight points, Pike made an adjustment and put Caleb on him, and Caleb basically shut him down the rest of the way — he shut his Trapp. I killed Pike in the game thread for leaving Mathis in the game during Clemson’s 10-0 run, but he gets credit for keeping Caleb in the game (and sitting Paul) for defense even after Paul hit those two threes.

3. PAUL - he is an unsung hero of this game. His two 3-pointers early in the second half fueled our 37 point half, giving the team some good feelings and jump starting our offensive run. We hit 6 threes in the second half, all of which were critical, and “Paul with a three from the corner” is starting to become a regular occurrence.

4. MYLES - he mostly had a rough night, with two separate injuries and an inability to convert on his post opportunities. You could see Pike was running stuff early on to get Myles some post touches, but he yakked up the ball at least twice, and so we (rightly) stopped dumping the ball down low. But, his interior defense was stellar as usual (3 blocks plus several other shots he affected), and he cleaned the defensive glass in the second half and limited Clemson’s second chances to almost nil.

5. TURNOVERS - we had 10 or 11 of them in the first half, limiting our offense to 23 points. But you could see the players make a concerted effort in the second half to value the ball more and not dribble into danger. There were several times I noticed our guys pull back out from danger, and the result was only 3 or 4 turnovers in the second half.

6. ENERGY - the team brought 40 minutes of energy in this game. No lulls in effort, nobody coasting around without purpose, nobody sulking even when our offense wasn’t clicking. Pike had this team motivated from the opening tap, and they gave their all. Special shoutout here to Harper, who brought a ton of energy and intangibles despite having an off night on offense. His positional defense was superb throughout the game, especially on that critical possession when he had to guard Simms with Myles on the bench with an ankle injury. Ron stayed with Simms down the lane and caused Simms to travel. Huge.

7. JAKE - he is the Scarlet Energizer Bunny, positively relentless on defense, and just involved in everything. Just when you thought we were down, he gets a steal in the passing lane and gets a runout for a dunk. And he made THREE 3-pointers, all at critical junctures, and during our big run, he had that gorgeous dish to Paul on a 3 on 2 break. And how about his defense on our old nemesis, Nick Honor? Honor went just 1 for 8 from the field in 22 minutes and was basically invisible, mostly because Jake was in his shorts all night.

8. GEO - this was a typical game for Geo, just 2 for 8 from deep, but 5-11 overall with 13 points and 3 assists. But he hit two nice jumpers in the early going, our only outside shots in the first 10 minutes of the game. Then his offense kind of disappeared... until we needed it the most. He hits a HUGE three late, and then seals the game with The Layup Heard Round Piscataway. That’s the kind of hustle play that WINNERS are made of, guys like Brian Leonard (remember his 20 yard gain on that swing pass against Louisville on the game winning drive?) or dare I say Derek Jeter. Geo is OUR Captain, and he led us this night.

9. TEAM - there were many heroes in this game, but no one guy stole the show. This was Rutgers Basketball, a quintessential TEAM win, based on gritty defense, rebounding, timely offense, and a collective determination that was very often missing in this difficult pandemic year. But it was back last night, and this TEAM made history, scoring our first NCAA tournament victory since 1983. Savor this, and ON TO HOUSTON.
 
That was a fun second half to watch. First half not so much. Could have gone either way but we hung on and did just enough after watching Clemson battle back from being down 50-39.

We rebounded well the entire game and stopped turning the ball over so much in the second half. That was the difference because our shooting numbers were not what I thought we would need to win. We got by with Ron not playing his best and Montez really struggled offensively. Geo was steady throughout and we took advantage when we got fortunate bounces of the basket like on his last basket.

While Simms got 15 and 11 I thought we did a pretty good job of making others beat us. Myles handled the assignment well along with his consistent rebounding, which is what we really need from him over scoring. Clemson was just not going to allow us to get him the ball cleanly inside.

We did hit some big shots in the second half and it was again noticeable how a little success on the offensive end boosts this team's confidence which carries over and increases the intensity on the defensive end.

I would be remiss in not mentioning Caleb. While Paul made a nice contribution offensively, I thought Trapp was getting the better of him in the second half. Perhaps Pike could have switched RH on Trapp but chose to go back to Caleb, which was effective. Other than a couple of questionable three point shots, CM was very good and finished his opportunities. He was in the right place at the right time.

Finally, Pike gets credit for settling them down at half time. I was not confident at half time because I thought both teams were bad in the first half. Ours was more self inflicted but Clemson shot poorly and did not take advantage. In addition to Caleb move, I thought he got JY back into the game just in the nick of time when Clemson was making its move.

On to Houston. Did not see a lot their game because it was so one side. We need as much good JY as possible against his hometown team. Hopefully Myles is healthy and ready to go. Can't wait to watch.
 
it is amazing how you guys have a compete disconnect during games and after games. We go from worst team ever to great overnight...
 
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Great recap and well said. Was definitely worried after the big lead vanished that Pike’s questionable substitutions would end up being the postgame topic. So glad we all get to enjoy a huge win instead.
 
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The amazing aspect of this team is the ability to grind out wins without any consistency on offense.The difference in this game was that Clemson never got a double digit lead.
 
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Ron harpers mom single? Thats the biggest question coming out of last night for me
 
The key last night like so many other wins this season was Rutgers ability to control the boards and limit second chance shots. Rutgers was +9 on the boards and was able to gather several key offensive rebounds that enabled them to score points when needed. And Ron Harper demonstrated that even when his shot isn't working , his rebounding and defense are critical. Too often when his shot is off , he's let the rest of his game suffer. But not tonight. He got several key rebounds and stops when they were absolutely needed.
 
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"Young had 5 points in that stretch but it was clear his presence at the time was vital. You see what happened when he was taken out, RU fell into a funk. Since we did win, I am going to overlook what could have been a brutal coaching decision by Pikiell."

you are too emotional during games. you can literally go look up the the stats and timing. Momentum was gone already when JY came out. He was playing 12 straight minutes and looked beat along with myles. JY, Myles and Paul were on the floor while we got an 11 point lead and then were still on the floor when we gave it back.

10:51 45-39
10:24 sub out ron and geo, sub in Paul and montez
10:17 Layup Paul assist by JY off JY defensive rebound (47-39)
10:08 foul JY
9:35 3 for Caleb assist by Paul(50-39)
9:18 Simms blows by myles for and and-1. Foul on Myles(at this point myles played 11 straight minutes), (50-42)
8:50 Caleb missed 3
8:38 Hunter Made 3 (50-45)

Momentum gone

8:08 Montez missed 3
8:03 Sub out Jacob(played 12 straight minutes), myles and paul, sub in Geo, Ron, cliff
8:00 montez miss, rebound mconnell, turnover Geo
7:48 Foul on Geo
7:19 ron miss
7:01 Geo missed 3
6:48 Clemson score (50-47)
6:25 Caleb Miss
5:51 Cliff miss
5:45 montez miss
5:42 Sub JY and Myles for Montez and Cliff

JY plays 12 straight minutes ignites an 11 point lead with caleb, lead goes away, leaves game up 5 then comes back up 3. Yet some how pikiell killed the momentum or made a mistake. Again he did a great job managing the substitutions. In fact he may have waited to long and let them run hot.

You guys are too emotional. Thank good pikiell and crew are level headed.
 
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"Young had 5 points in that stretch but it was clear his presence at the time was vital. You see what happened when he was taken out, RU fell into a funk. Since we did win, I am going to overlook what could have been a brutal coaching decision by Pikiell."

you are too emotional during games. you can literally go look up the the stats and timing. Momentum was gone already when JY came out. He was playing 12 straight minutes and looked beat along with myles. JY, Myles and Paul were on the floor while we got an 11 point lead and then were still on the floor when we gave it back.

10:51 45-39
10:24 sub out ron and geo, sub in Paul and montez
10:17 Layup Paul assist by JY off JY defensive rebound (47-39)
10:08 foul JY
9:35 3 for Caleb assist by Paul(50-39)
9:18 Simms blows by myles for and and-1. Foul on Myles(at this point myles played 11 straight minutes), (50-42)
8:50 Caleb missed 3
8:38 Hunter Made 3 (50-45)

Momentum gone

8:08 Montez missed 3
8:03 Sub out Jacob(played 12 straight minutes), myles and paul, sub in Geo, Ron, cliff
8:00 montez miss, rebound mconnell, turnover Geo
7:48 Foul on Geo
7:19 ron miss
7:01 Geo missed 3
6:48 Clemson score (50-47)
6:25 Caleb Miss
5:51 Cliff miss
5:45 montez miss
5:42 Sub JY and Myles for Montez and Cliff

JY plays 12 straight minutes ignites an 11 point lead with caleb, lead goes away, leaves game up 5 then comes back up 3. Yet some how pikiell killed the momentum or made a mistake. Again he did a great job managing the substitutions. In fact he may have waited to long and let them run hot.

You guys are too emotional. Thank good pikiell and crew are level headed.

The mistake there was NOT taking JY out. And it wasn’t even inserting Mathis, IF it would’ve just been for a couple of minutes.

The mistake was leaving Mathis in the game after Clemson cut the lead from 50-39 to 50-45. There was a timeout there, and he should’ve yanked Mathis, but Pike left him in, and it went from bad to worse, as Clemson continued its run and pulled to 50-49, and then ultimately tied the game at 55.

Had Geo not scored our last five points, and had the team not tightened up on defense, that four minute stretch after we took the 50-39 lead, where we gave up a 10-0 run, would have been the main culprit in a devastating loss.

Mathis just needs to sit, except for maybe 3 or 4 minutes each half, if that.
 
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There have been questions about Geo's legacy here on the board. Without a doubt Geo has cemented his story.

Agree. I'm in favor of putting his jersey in the rafters with Lloyd, Sellers, Bailey, etc. Last night sealed the deal for me.

And I'll say it here. Although I got a ton of likes for my post, I was wrong to say the NIL issue would be a distraction. When Geo hit that 3 to open the game, I knew he had the focus I was hoping for.
 
Agree. I'm in favor of putting his jersey in the rafters with Lloyd, Sellers, Bailey, etc. Last night sealed the deal for me.

And I'll say it here. Although I got a ton of likes for my post, I was wrong to say the NIL issue would be a distraction. When Geo hit that 3 to open the game, I knew he had the focus I was hoping for.
No doubt. He erased two huge “have nots” hanging over this program.
 
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bac, you always manage to capture the collective feelings of the fan base after our games, and no better than this recap.

A few other game notes of my own:

1. CLOSEOUTS - we heard a lot before the game about Clemson’s 3-pt shooting prowess, but our perimeter defense was SUPERB. You could see our guys making an effort to close out on the shooters, and the Tigers didn’t get many open looks out there. We held them to 6-19, for just 31.6%. This was a HUGE key, as we never allowed them to go in a big demoralizing run with threes.

2. CALEB - man did he come up big. His defense was excellent as usual, and he had those timely layups and that HUGE three to put us up 50-39. After Trapp went off early in the second half with 7 straight points, Pike made an adjustment and put Caleb on him, and Caleb basically shut him down the rest of the way — he shut his Trapp. I killed Pike in the game thread for leaving Mathis in the game during Clemson’s 10-0 run, but he gets credit for keeping Caleb in the game (and sitting Paul) for defense even after Paul hit those two threes.

3. PAUL - he is an unsung hero of this game. His two 3-pointers early in the second half fueled our 37 point half, giving the team some good feelings and jump starting our offensive run. We hit 6 threes in the second half, all of which were critical, and “Paul with a three from the corner” is starting to become a regular occurrence.

4. MYLES - he mostly had a rough night, with two separate injuries and an inability to convert on his post opportunities. You could see Pike was running stuff early on to get Myles some post touches, but he yakked up the ball at least twice, and so we (rightly) stopped dumping the ball down low. But, his interior defense was stellar as usual (3 blocks plus several other shots he affected), and he cleaned the defensive glass in the second half and limited Clemson’s second chances to almost nil.

5. TURNOVERS - we had 10 or 11 of them in the first half, limiting our offense to 23 points. But you could see the players make a concerted effort in the second half to value the ball more and not dribble into danger. There were several times I noticed our guys pull back out from danger, and the result was only 3 or 4 turnovers in the second half.

6. ENERGY - the team brought 40 minutes of energy in this game. No lulls in effort, nobody coasting around without purpose, nobody sulking even when our offense wasn’t clicking. Pike had this team motivated from the opening tap, and they gave their all. Special shoutout here to Harper, who brought a ton of energy and intangibles despite having an off night on offense. His positional defense was superb throughout the game, especially on that critical possession when he had to guard Simms with Myles on the bench with an ankle injury. Ron stayed with Simms down the lane and caused Simms to travel. Huge.

7. JAKE - he is the Scarlet Energizer Bunny, positively relentless on defense, and just involved in everything. Just when you thought we were down, he gets a steal in the passing lane and gets a runout for a dunk. And he made THREE 3-pointers, all at critical junctures, and during our big run, he had that gorgeous dish to Paul on a 3 on 2 break. And how about his defense on our old nemesis, Nick Honor? Honor went just 1 for 8 from the field in 22 minutes and was basically invisible, mostly because Jake was in his shorts all night.

8. GEO - this was a typical game for Geo, just 2 for 8 from deep, but 5-11 overall with 13 points and 3 assists. But he hit two nice jumpers in the early going, our only outside shots in the first 10 minutes of the game. Then his offense kind of disappeared... until we needed it the most. He hits a HUGE three late, and then seals the game with The Layup Heard Round Piscataway. That’s the kind of hustle play that WINNERS are made of, guys like Brian Leonard (remember his 20 yard gain on that swing pass against Louisville on the game winning drive?) or dare I say Derek Jeter. Geo is OUR Captain, and he led us this night.

9. TEAM - there were many heroes in this game, but no one guy stole the show. This was Rutgers Basketball, a quintessential TEAM win, based on gritty defense, rebounding, timely offense, and a collective determination that was very often missing in this difficult pandemic year. But it was back last night, and this TEAM made history, scoring our first NCAA tournament victory since 1983. Savor this, and ON TO HOUSTON.



great points...our defense last night was very very good and limiting Clemson to just one shot and out most of the time was important. And no kidding when we take care of the ball like we do in the 2nd half good things happen. Its an easy game, not as worried about making shots as much as winning the two catagories..rebounding and turnovers. If RU had just taken care of the rock they lead by 6 at least at halftime.

Myles was super on the incredible end but alas his offensive game has totally disappeared and has become a liability at this point. Unfortunately it is a 4 on 5 game offensively and we just need to tough it out as its just too risky to involve him.

loved the energy yesterday right from the get go. There were nerves for sure but you cannot question our energy
 
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