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GAME 27 WISCONSIN: Give it all you got

bac2therac

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It is good to win. Rutgers needed this win. The fans needed it. The NCAA tourney team sheet needed it. Beating Wisconsin is not as sexier as in some other seasons but this was a Q1 (oscillating) road win against a school projected in the NCAA tourney (last 4 in). It is a quality win no matter how you look at. It is RU 6th win vs a team projected in the field. RU still needs a game or two for good measure but this alleviates some of the pressure and doubts growing on their backs after 3 straight losses the worst of which was the Nebraska debacle at the RAC.

Not a pretty win. No one cares about style points in the month before March madness. A few ugly breakdowns on defense led to back to back to back to back 3s by Wisconsin and all of a sudden a 5 point lead was a 3 point deficit. RU easily could have folded and the whole recap and narrative would be different. Wisconsin could have won on one of their flurry of last second tries but they didn't. Let's bac up a bit. Rutgers was dealt an enormous blow to their gameplan when Caleb McConnell was declared out for this game due to late back spasms. That just pretty much threw the whole approach to the game in disarray so the coaching staff was going to face a tough job adjusting on the fly. Oskar got the start and generally played okay missing a few open shots but hit one later. RU generally survived without Caleb in the first half. Next man up as RU weathered that first half with a 2 point lead that probably should have been more. RU rode some sizzling shooting from Cam 5-6 from 3 in the first half for 19 points. The Hepburn foul trouble was a big help the counter Caleb being out and perhaps even moreso in the first half. I did not like RU D at times in this game especially from the perimeter. These were wide open shots and after a long stretch of futility, Wisconsin hit 4 in a row and took the lead. But RU defense buckled down. In the final 3:36 of the game, Wisconsin would not score a point. Possessions ran quick too. Both schools would only have the ball 4 times in that final 3:36 eating up much of the clock. I said in the game thread it was the upperclassmen who needed to show something. During that 12-4 Badger run they looked a bit defeated and panicked rather than controlled and comfortable and RU really controlled much of this game on the road. Well you saw a bunch of guys step up and give it all they had. Despite that flurry of 3s given up, RU deserved this win. That is why I was getting pissed in the game thread. RU had weathered the loss of Caleb. They kept digging and digging in all game. There was a really good stretch of D for about 5 minutes of the 2nd half but the problem was RU just could not get out of their own way. So yeah if RU didnt win, I would have been disappointed. Every time RU had a chance to build a nice cushion they slogged off. See last 90 seconds of first, RU going through their own fg drought after the 17 minute mark of the 2nd half and then when the lead was 5 in the 2nd. A few times where we blinked on D and did not value the possessions and had wrong guys shooting. Yet RU got back in familiar territory late. One possessions games, ride the D and hope one of your captains rises to the occasion. He did.

After a timeout where you knew this play had to be called by Pike, Paul found Cliff for an easy dunk and the lead was down to just 1. Hyatt made a coveted rebound off a missed 3 and his heady play grabbing the all important offensive board after a Simpson miss at the rim. Andre would dunk on the putback erasing all the memories of blown bunnies from this game and others. A Cliff board off a missed 3 gave RU the ball with about 46 seconds left and a shot at taking the game to 2 possessions. RU played such great D on that last play. In on the D on the drive, altering the shot, contesting the rebound and then comes all the way out on the 3 to tip it with no foul. Brilliant play by Cliff who was shaky especially in the first half. GIVE IT ALL YOU GOT CLIFF! BIG TIME BIG TIME! Players make plays. Leaders rise to the occasion. Cliff went a warrior like 38 minutes. 5-12 shooting, 8 boards, 2 blocks, 12 points. Cliff can be so inconsistent. Missing dunks and getting beat at the rim but when he brings it, whoa.




Pike dealt a bad hand by the Caleb injury. I have not heard any of his post game comments or interviews so do not know the details. Cannot complain with the lineups. Had Reiber out there at times with Cliff and went back to Reiber in 2nd who had a career highlight dunk alley oop assisted by Paul. Reibs played 16 minutes, I didnt like his one jump shot he took in the 2nd half but overall a very solid game. 2-4, 5 points, 2 boards and even an assist. Alot of the lineup issue was alleviate by Cam finding his stroke early. Hit those 3s three in a row and he was off to the races. He would cool off considerably in the 2nd half and Gard definitely adjusted so those looks were not quite so open. Cam came up with a big one, his only made fg in the 2nd half that broke a 4 minute drought. Cam finished 7-14, 6-10 from 3, 5 boards and he skied for some of them for 22 points in 34 minutes. Bravo, a return to form for Cam who wasnt even on the court in a couple of these last games in the closing minutes. I hope people are giving credit to Hyatt today. I think his best overall game since Mag when out because it was more of what I can do to help the team rather than what can I do to take a shot. Big difference and when he does this, his value really shoots up. Aundre was 4-9 fg for 8 points, our leading rebounder with 9, 3 assists, 2 blocks in 34 minutes. Oskar 18 minutes in a starting role, 3 points on just 1-3 fg but he played his role and has to be applauded for that. Paul lack of aggression still a problem in the first half but came out more energy in the 2nd hitting on a couple shots earlier. 36 minutes on 3-7 fg, 6 points, 6 assists. Definitely played smarter late but still think he should be looking for his shot more. Derek played 21 minutes but was a quiet 1-3 fg, 2 points although the one that went down was nice looking. On paper you would think he would be more active vs a team like Wisconsin but I actually like he only shot the ball 3x. He needed to provide minutes, stick with his man and dont hurt RU. Overall I think he accomplished that without throwing up forced shots.

So hopefully Caleb can heal up and RU has some extra time to heal up for Michigan. A win here would go along way to all but securing a NCAA bid...think 2 overall are needed. Obviously today took that monkey off their back. And its interesting with their backs sort of against the wall, this is what Pike's team do, every single damn time. They give it all they go and secure that road win under duress. Everyone can exhale and breath for a few days and put away the angst. The bus is moving again albeit with some knocks and pinging and their may be a few repairs to be made but Rutgers has derailment that was cropping up in the back of our minds.
 
36 three point attempts today by Wisconsin ..made 12

The rotations, as a whole, were a lot better in the second half .
 
Throw out all the metrics, this is a program win worthy of an old fashioned or 2 with dinner tonight. RU just beat Wisconsin at the Kohl Center missing 2 starters. Think about that for a second in consideration of where both programs were 5 years ago.

I thought reiber had 3 or 4 excellent passes to cliff today. Cliff only finished 1 of them but maybe we found something here? I think we’re slowly finding the new identity of this team. For better or worse, we’re going to need 18+ from either spencer or Hyatt, 10 minutes of respectable palmquist, and everyone else pulling the rope. The rest will depend on what Simpson and reiber can bring to the table.
 
I as most RU fans are absolutely thrilled with the W today breaking the 3 game losing streak and doing so without Mag and Caleb. How tough that is to find out less than 1/2 hour before game Caleb would be out. Rotations , roles change. The mental toughness of this team is incredible most of the year and today on full display. A ton of credit to Cam to get open , hit his first shot , and then kept on shooting. Great job by Pike running him off the screen and it was so good Gard had to use an early timeout. A ton of credit to Hyatt for some big rebounds and better defense and a great follow of Derek’s miss with a minute left. Everybody else gutted it out.

Now , I do believe there is a ton to criticize or discuss and doing it after a win should be easier and less confrontational. Initially , I thought we should have won by 13-15 points and when we lost leads or let them get close end of the first half 36-29 and 50-45, I was besides myself.
Now Pike had a definite strategy to trap the post shutting down Crowl and Wahl and it worked great but the failure on rotations giving up 12 threes was almost criminal and almost cost us the game. Wisconsin was not beating us hitting 2’s and we continue to let them back in and actually get the lead a few times. Credit to us we did not hang our heads and took lead back but the guys cannot rotate that terribly and allow open shooters even if they were not the regular guys Hepburn and Essingan .
First half offense was real good with 9 assists on 13 baskets and Cam was on fire but the ball moved , our spacing was good especially on PNR. And pick and pop and scoring 36 was great.
Now why in the second half we stopped passing and resorted to one on one and taking a first shot or a shot with no one underneath for a rebound was maddening.

Cliff does not have to dunk everything. He can lay it on the glass for an easy 2 and would have had 6 points on his 4 attempts instead of 3 missed awkward layups and letting the rim stuff him on at least 1 dunk attempt. It was the difference in extending the lead to 5 or maybe 10 or allowing it to become 45-42 Wisconsin.

Cam hit a big 3 to tie it at 45 but he was so frustrating after a tremendous first half. He got around the backup guard and had a layup and then hooked the defender when he didn’t have to , he left 4-5 shots that were wide open and did not follow thru on his shot and left them short again , he had another drive and missed the layup arguing for a foul ( Bardo said no foul not sure why the whining ) and I agree no need for the whining. He should have been working harder to get open running around screens. So although he had a great first half with 19 points , I am disappointed he didn’t have 35. He was open , he was aggressive but not enough and has to keep that shooter mentality all game. He could be the difference maker for us making up the scoring shortage with the Mag loss and today Mag and Caleb’s loss.
Paul still to passive and not attempting to score enough but did a better job in the second half getting 2 baskets and then running PNR with Cliff and also with Dean for the dunk, especially coming back with it after their ran it last trip but Dean couldn’t handle the pass from Paul. Still want to Paul to do more and maybe not start at half court but get to the wing or down low in a post up which we did not see at all today. He also was lackadaisical on defense running by Kesmit 2 times where he got burned at least once and his rotations were the bad ones that led to them hitting those second half threes. He has to get rebounds and his size and get it and go starting a fast break or more uptempo.

Saw Dean and Cliff together and some high lo and I liked it. Dean just has to be more aware on defense in the zone as he let Wisconsin get loose for the 3’s at the end of the half and he has to rebound more.
Overall a tremendous win. Once again Pike now for 4 straight years after a losing streak goes on the road and gets a huge win. It is no coincidence. Just would be nice for once to get a solid 10-15 point win when we are the better team. Thrilled as hell but we need to correct these things if we are going to do things in the NCAA ‘s without MAG.
 
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Great review.

Thought our spacing with Reiber and Oscar was pretty good. Cliff makes the bunnies in the first half we have a double digit lead. Opened up the middle more than usual.

Cliff D to win the game was amazing.
Cam may saved the season in the first half.
Hyatt has become our most consistent player.
Paul’s steal appeared cathartic.

A much needed win.
 
Back spasms can linger for weeks potentially. I sure hope so but it's far from a given

It's more concerning with someone who has a history of back problems
I saw first hand. He came out in warm ups 2nd half but was just limping around and holding his back. I don't know. Hopefully he gets over it quickly.
 


It is good to win. Rutgers needed this win. The fans needed it. The NCAA tourney team sheet needed it. Beating Wisconsin is not as sexier as in some other seasons but this was a Q1 (oscillating) road win against a school projected in the NCAA tourney (last 4 in). It is a quality win no matter how you look at. It is RU 6th win vs a team projected in the field. RU still needs a game or two for good measure but this alleviates some of the pressure and doubts growing on their backs after 3 straight losses the worst of which was the Nebraska debacle at the RAC.

Not a pretty win. No one cares about style points in the month before March madness. A few ugly breakdowns on defense led to back to back to back to back 3s by Wisconsin and all of a sudden a 5 point lead was a 3 point deficit. RU easily could have folded and the whole recap and narrative would be different. Wisconsin could have won on one of their flurry of last second tries but they didn't. Let's bac up a bit. Rutgers was dealt an enormous blow to their gameplan when Caleb McConnell was declared out for this game due to late back spasms. That just pretty much threw the whole approach to the game in disarray so the coaching staff was going to face a tough job adjusting on the fly. Oskar got the start and generally played okay missing a few open shots but hit one later. RU generally survived without Caleb in the first half. Next man up as RU weathered that first half with a 2 point lead that probably should have been more. RU rode some sizzling shooting from Cam 5-6 from 3 in the first half for 19 points. The Hepburn foul trouble was a big help the counter Caleb being out and perhaps even moreso in the first half. I did not like RU D at times in this game especially from the perimeter. These were wide open shots and after a long stretch of futility, Wisconsin hit 4 in a row and took the lead. But RU defense buckled down. In the final 3:36 of the game, Wisconsin would not score a point. Possessions ran quick too. Both schools would only have the ball 4 times in that final 3:36 eating up much of the clock. I said in the game thread it was the upperclassmen who needed to show something. During that 12-4 Badger run they looked a bit defeated and panicked rather than controlled and comfortable and RU really controlled much of this game on the road. Well you saw a bunch of guys step up and give it all they had. Despite that flurry of 3s given up, RU deserved this win. That is why I was getting pissed in the game thread. RU had weathered the loss of Caleb. They kept digging and digging in all game. There was a really good stretch of D for about 5 minutes of the 2nd half but the problem was RU just could not get out of their own way. So yeah if RU didnt win, I would have been disappointed. Every time RU had a chance to build a nice cushion they slogged off. See last 90 seconds of first, RU going through their own fg drought after the 17 minute mark of the 2nd half and then when the lead was 5 in the 2nd. A few times where we blinked on D and did not value the possessions and had wrong guys shooting. Yet RU got back in familiar territory late. One possessions games, ride the D and hope one of your captains rises to the occasion. He did.

After a timeout where you knew this play had to be called by Pike, Paul found Cliff for an easy dunk and the lead was down to just 1. Hyatt made a coveted rebound off a missed 3 and his heady play grabbing the all important offensive board after a Simpson miss at the rim. Andre would dunk on the putback erasing all the memories of blown bunnies from this game and others. A Cliff board off a missed 3 gave RU the ball with about 46 seconds left and a shot at taking the game to 2 possessions. RU played such great D on that last play. In on the D on the drive, altering the shot, contesting the rebound and then comes all the way out on the 3 to tip it with no foul. Brilliant play by Cliff who was shaky especially in the first half. GIVE IT ALL YOU GOT CLIFF! BIG TIME BIG TIME! Players make plays. Leaders rise to the occasion. Cliff went a warrior like 38 minutes. 5-12 shooting, 8 boards, 2 blocks, 12 points. Cliff can be so inconsistent. Missing dunks and getting beat at the rim but when he brings it, whoa.




Pike dealt a bad hand by the Caleb injury. I have not heard any of his post game comments or interviews so do not know the details. Cannot complain with the lineups. Had Reiber out there at times with Cliff and went back to Reiber in 2nd who had a career highlight dunk alley oop assisted by Paul. Reibs played 16 minutes, I didnt like his one jump shot he took in the 2nd half but overall a very solid game. 2-4, 5 points, 2 boards and even an assist. Alot of the lineup issue was alleviate by Cam finding his stroke early. Hit those 3s three in a row and he was off to the races. He would cool off considerably in the 2nd half and Gard definitely adjusted so those looks were not quite so open. Cam came up with a big one, his only made fg in the 2nd half that broke a 4 minute drought. Cam finished 7-14, 6-10 from 3, 5 boards and he skied for some of them for 22 points in 34 minutes. Bravo, a return to form for Cam who wasnt even on the court in a couple of these last games in the closing minutes. I hope people are giving credit to Hyatt today. I think his best overall game since Mag when out because it was more of what I can do to help the team rather than what can I do to take a shot. Big difference and when he does this, his value really shoots up. Aundre was 4-9 fg for 8 points, our leading rebounder with 9, 3 assists, 2 blocks in 34 minutes. Oskar 18 minutes in a starting role, 3 points on just 1-3 fg but he played his role and has to be applauded for that. Paul lack of aggression still a problem in the first half but came out more energy in the 2nd hitting on a couple shots earlier. 36 minutes on 3-7 fg, 6 points, 6 assists. Definitely played smarter late but still think he should be looking for his shot more. Derek played 21 minutes but was a quiet 1-3 fg, 2 points although the one that went down was nice looking. On paper you would think he would be more active vs a team like Wisconsin but I actually like he only shot the ball 3x. He needed to provide minutes, stick with his man and dont hurt RU. Overall I think he accomplished that without throwing up forced shots.

So hopefully Caleb can heal up and RU has some extra time to heal up for Michigan. A win here would go along way to all but securing a NCAA bid...think 2 overall are needed. Obviously today took that monkey off their back. And its interesting with their backs sort of against the wall, this is what Pike's team do, every single damn time. They give it all they go and secure that road win under duress. Everyone can exhale and breath for a few days and put away the angst. The bus is moving again albeit with some knocks and pinging and their may be a few repairs to be made but Rutgers has derailment that was cropping up in the back of our minds.
BAC--Another fine summary. Biggest positive is that Rutgers stopped a 3-game losing streak and won a " must have" road game at Wisconsin despite being short-handed. And a win is a win especially with March Madness staring us in the face. But I dampen my enthusiasm with the realistic observation that this is one of the poorest Wisconsin teams that I've seen in quite some time. The Rutgers team from a month ago with Mag would have beaten Wisconsin by 18-20 points. The Badgers don't excel in any one area of the game, lack athleticism, don't shoot or defend particularly well , and have no " go-to" scorer. They definitely need an upgrade in recruiting. I wonder if Gard's time at Wisconsin may be limited.
 
My thoughts:

Cam’s confidence was the most important outcome of this game. Need him to be chucking and swishing to make any type of noise in March.

Love the pass-first mentality but with the injuries, Paul needs to be a tiny bit more aggressive.

Cliff is who he is, very good not spectacular. Need a slightly higher fg % from him.

Hyatt has come into his own, especially defensively. Everyone has overlooked that aspect but he’s been getting some big boards and blocks. Keep it up on both ends.

Dean’s defense is not as bad as some here say. He usually gives us better minutes than Wolf but both have their usefulness depending on matchup.

Simpson, like Wolf, is a freshman and any good minutes are a plus. Needs to continue letting the game come to him and focus on defense, but take those midranges and drives to the hoop with confidence.

Similar for Palmquist (any good minutes are a plus). Needs to focus on D and know his role as a spot up shooter.
 
My thoughts:

Cam’s confidence was the most important outcome of this game. Need him to be chucking and swishing to make any type of noise in March.

Love the pass-first mentality but with the injuries, Paul needs to be a tiny bit more aggressive.

Cliff is who he is, very good not spectacular. Need a slightly higher fg % from him.

Hyatt has come into his own, especially defensively. Everyone has overlooked that aspect but he’s been getting some big boards and blocks. Keep it up on both ends.

Dean’s defense is not as bad as some here say. He usually gives us better minutes than Wolf but both have their usefulness depending on matchup.

Simpson, like Wolf, is a freshman and any good minutes are a plus. Needs to continue letting the game come to him and focus on defense, but take those midranges and drives to the hoop with confidence.

Similar for Palmquist (any good minutes are a plus). Needs to focus on D and know his role as a spot up shooter.
I will add to Dean he is a pretty good passer out of the high low with Cliff
 
Somewhere the great Bo Ryan, whose center when he was a high school QB was Ted Cottrell, is shaking his head. Rutgers with another win on the road at Wisconsin.
 
I as most RU fans are absolutely thrilled with the W today breaking the 3 game losing streak and doing so without Mag and Caleb. How tough that is to find out less than 1/2 hour before game Caleb would be out. Rotations , roles change. The mental toughness of this team is incredible most of the year and today on full display. A ton of credit to Cam to get open , hit his first shot , and then kept on shooting. Great job by Pike running him off the screen and it was so good Gard had to use an early timeout. A ton of credit to Hyatt for some big rebounds and better defense and a great follow of Derek’s miss with a minute left. Everybody else gutted it out.

Now , I do believe there is a ton to criticize or discuss and doing it after a win should be easier and less confrontational. Initially , I thought we should have won by 13-15 points and when we lost leads or let them get close end of the first half 36-29 and 50-45, I was besides myself.
Now Pike had a definite strategy to trap the post shutting down Crowl and Wahl and it worked great but the failure on rotations giving up 12 threes was almost criminal and almost cost us the game. Wisconsin was not beating us hitting 2’s and we continue to let them back in and actually get the lead a few times. Credit to us we did not hang our heads and took lead back but the guys cannot rotate that terribly and allow open shooters even if they were not the regular guys Hepburn and Essingan .
First half offense was real good with 9 assists on 13 baskets and Cam was on fire but the ball moved , our spacing was good especially on PNR. And pick and pop and scoring 36 was great.
Now why in the second half we stopped passing and resorted to one on one and taking a first shot or a shot with no one underneath for a rebound was maddening.

Cliff does not have to dunk everything. He can lay it on the glass for an easy 2 and would have had 6 points on his 4 attempts instead of 3 missed awkward layups and letting the rim stuff him on at least 1 dunk attempt. It was the difference in extending the lead to 5 or maybe 10 or allowing it to become 45-42 Wisconsin.

Cam hit a big 3 to tie it at 45 but he was so frustrating after a tremendous first half. He got around the backup guard and had a layup and then hooked the defender when he didn’t have to , he left 4-5 shots that were wide open and did not follow thru on his shot and left them short again , he had another drive and missed the layup arguing for a foul ( Bardo said no foul not sure why the whining ) and I agree no need for the whining. He should have been working harder to get open running around screens. So although he had a great first half with 19 points , I am disappointed he didn’t have 35. He was open , he was aggressive but not enough and has to keep that shooter mentality all game. He could be the difference maker for us making up the scoring shortage with the Mag loss and today Mag and Caleb’s loss.
Paul still to passive and not attempting to score enough but did a better job in the second half getting 2 baskets and then running PNR with Cliff and also with Dean for the dunk, especially coming back with it after their ran it last trip but Dean couldn’t handle the pass from Paul. Still want to Paul to do more and maybe not start at half court but get to the wing or down low in a post up which we did not see at all today. He also was lackadaisical on defense running by Kesmit 2 times where he got burned at least once and his rotations were the bad ones that led to them hitting those second half threes. He has to get rebounds and his size and get it and go starting a fast break or more uptempo.

Saw Dean and Cliff together and some high lo and I liked it. Dean just has to be more aware on defense in the zone as he let Wisconsin get loose for the 3’s at the end of the half and he has to rebound more.
Overall a tremendous win. Once again Pike now for 4 straight years after a losing streak goes on the road and gets a huge win. It is no coincidence. Just would be nice for once to get a solid 10-15 point win when we are the better team. Thrilled as hell but we need to correct these things if we are going to do things in the NCAA ‘s without MAG.
Nice summation but I will nit pick on one comment. We scored 58 points for us to have won by 13 we would have had to hold them to 45 points. Without 2 of our best defenders that would seem like a real tough order
 
I as most RU fans are absolutely thrilled with the W today breaking the 3 game losing streak and doing so without Mag and Caleb. How tough that is to find out less than 1/2 hour before game Caleb would be out. Rotations , roles change. The mental toughness of this team is incredible most of the year and today on full display. A ton of credit to Cam to get open , hit his first shot , and then kept on shooting. Great job by Pike running him off the screen and it was so good Gard had to use an early timeout. A ton of credit to Hyatt for some big rebounds and better defense and a great follow of Derek’s miss with a minute left. Everybody else gutted it out.

Now , I do believe there is a ton to criticize or discuss and doing it after a win should be easier and less confrontational. Initially , I thought we should have won by 13-15 points and when we lost leads or let them get close end of the first half 36-29 and 50-45, I was besides myself.
Now Pike had a definite strategy to trap the post shutting down Crowl and Wahl and it worked great but the failure on rotations giving up 12 threes was almost criminal and almost cost us the game. Wisconsin was not beating us hitting 2’s and we continue to let them back in and actually get the lead a few times. Credit to us we did not hang our heads and took lead back but the guys cannot rotate that terribly and allow open shooters even if they were not the regular guys Hepburn and Essingan .
First half offense was real good with 9 assists on 13 baskets and Cam was on fire but the ball moved , our spacing was good especially on PNR. And pick and pop and scoring 36 was great.
Now why in the second half we stopped passing and resorted to one on one and taking a first shot or a shot with no one underneath for a rebound was maddening.

Cliff does not have to dunk everything. He can lay it on the glass for an easy 2 and would have had 6 points on his 4 attempts instead of 3 missed awkward layups and letting the rim stuff him on at least 1 dunk attempt. It was the difference in extending the lead to 5 or maybe 10 or allowing it to become 45-42 Wisconsin.

Cam hit a big 3 to tie it at 45 but he was so frustrating after a tremendous first half. He got around the backup guard and had a layup and then hooked the defender when he didn’t have to , he left 4-5 shots that were wide open and did not follow thru on his shot and left them short again , he had another drive and missed the layup arguing for a foul ( Bardo said no foul not sure why the whining ) and I agree no need for the whining. He should have been working harder to get open running around screens. So although he had a great first half with 19 points , I am disappointed he didn’t have 35. He was open , he was aggressive but not enough and has to keep that shooter mentality all game. He could be the difference maker for us making up the scoring shortage with the Mag loss and today Mag and Caleb’s loss.
Paul still to passive and not attempting to score enough but did a better job in the second half getting 2 baskets and then running PNR with Cliff and also with Dean for the dunk, especially coming back with it after their ran it last trip but Dean couldn’t handle the pass from Paul. Still want to Paul to do more and maybe not start at half court but get to the wing or down low in a post up which we did not see at all today. He also was lackadaisical on defense running by Kesmit 2 times where he got burned at least once and his rotations were the bad ones that led to them hitting those second half threes. He has to get rebounds and his size and get it and go starting a fast break or more uptempo.

Saw Dean and Cliff together and some high lo and I liked it. Dean just has to be more aware on defense in the zone as he let Wisconsin get loose for the 3’s at the end of the half and he has to rebound more.
Overall a tremendous win. Once again Pike now for 4 straight years after a losing streak goes on the road and gets a huge win. It is no coincidence. Just would be nice for once to get a solid 10-15 point win when we are the better team. Thrilled as hell but we need to correct these things if we are going to do things in the NCAA ‘s without MAG.
The gameplan was to get Cam open looks at it really worked all game. He was on fire first half and went a bit more cold in 2nd but still I like what I saw from the plan. You could see that he was moving without the ball and going around screens which is something I have not seen recently. Keep that going as I rather he is putting on 12-15 shots per game than anyone else outside of Cliff within 3ft. Cam really needs a pump fake move when in the paint to draw fouls and get to the line...otherwise no complaints

PM def still needs to be more aggressive but he was playing the Pick n Roll very well with both Dean and Cliff. Still think he needs to find more shots and get into the 10-15pt range for us to win every game.

Oskar should not dribble the ball EVER...almost as bad as Rieber's defensive decision making. We get burned on possessions when both of those things happen.
 
Did not see the game live and like #'s knew the outcome before getting to the DVR. Certainly made it much easier to view. A much needed W and getting it done without Caleb is a testament to this team.

Two very different halves of basketball. Unfortunately, these are the style of games we need to play to improve our chances of winning. We just lack offensive firepower.

I must admit, that I did not come out of this game feeling we are back on track. I feel more fortunate that we got the W. Not that we did not deserve it, but the quality of play in the second half did not suggest either team took the game from the other.

After watching Michigan, Penn State and even Minnesota (with Garcia and more active frosh center) there are no easy games for us to get the 12 conference wins I was hoping for prior to the tournament. Thinking 11-9/10-10 is more likely.
 
BAC--Another fine summary. Biggest positive is that Rutgers stopped a 3-game losing streak and won a " must have" road game at Wisconsin despite being short-handed. And a win is a win especially with March Madness staring us in the face. But I dampen my enthusiasm with the realistic observation that this is one of the poorest Wisconsin teams that I've seen in quite some time. The Rutgers team from a month ago with Mag would have beaten Wisconsin by 18-20 points. The Badgers don't excel in any one area of the game, lack athleticism, don't shoot or defend particularly well , and have no " go-to" scorer. They definitely need an upgrade in recruiting. I wonder if Gard's time at Wisconsin may be limited.

No one has come close to beating them by 18-20 at home. At least not this year.
 
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Really liked what I saw out of Simpson. He's growing up. Not forcing the action. All 3 shot attempts were good looks and he's taking care of the ball. Yes, the flagrant wasn't great, but we're definitely seeing more good than bad lately.
Agree here. Simpson has been much more in control the past several games, not forcing shots and not dribbling into no man’s land and then coughing it up or making an awful desperation pass.

He’s playing his role well now, as a 10-20 mpg backup guard, hitting some midrange shots, getting into the lane and dishing. Even his defense has improved.

The in-season improvement has been incremental, but noticeable.
 
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A few things...

Was really impressed by the way the bench stepped up on defense throughout the game. There were some lapses, but that was understandable in the circumstances. For most of this season, the defense was driven by McConnell/Mag - they are the two best individual defenders, and the two best help defenders, on the team. When they are in together, they can clamp down on the other team's best two players and force the others to rise up and get points - which a lot of teams aren't able to do. And very rarely did both of them sit at the same time until recently when Mag went down, when McConnell was averaging 35.3 mpg... leaving <5 minutes per game where neither were on the court.

Going into this game, we knew that our best available defender was 3rd best on the team... and that we'd be, at best, playing with our 6th and 7th best defenders on the floor together, and frequently having to press our 8th and 9th into action.

As expected, there were some breakdowns - and times when there was a lack of defensive "connectedness" - where Wisconsin was able to get great looks and knock down shots. But overall, they bought into Pike's concepts and leaned into the system - and it frustrated a Wisconsin offense that has struggled to put up points this year.

As for McConnell's injury, this is something that plagued him for the better part of a season earlier in his Rutgers career, so I hope this doesn't linger. I'm wondering if the high number of game minutes (and I'm sure practice minutes trying to rework the offense/defense without Mag) just put a lot of extra strain that exacerbated a prior issue. Hoping the longer layoff between Michigan can allow him to rest and do PT while the rest of the team works on concepts of how to play without him.
 
Bac- good points all around, but I especially like the observations about Hyatt. I have been very critical of him especially on defense and on offense for his shot selection early in the shot clock. But he has become much more of a team player and his defense is improving. If he keeps it up it will be a very good sign for RU down the stretch, as Mag‘s shoes are very big to fill. I do think Aundre benefitted on defense yesterday from Wisconsin’s lack of athleticism. Michigan will be a much tougher test.
 
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Nice summation but I will nit pick on one comment. We scored 58 points for us to have won by 13 we would have had to hold them to 45 points. Without 2 of our best defenders that would seem like a real tough order
Cliff’s 4 missed layups including the one the rim stuffed his dunk. All he has to do is lay it off the glass. He doesn’t have to dunk everything when he is not in perfect position . So simple and so fundamental and he scores 20 instead of 12 points . That stretch in the second half where we took bad shot after bad shot without good ball movement along with Cliff’s misses could have easily scored 10-12 more points.
 
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Great recap once again Bac.

Amazed that Wisconsin's scouting didn't say to never let Cam breathe and stay on him all the time and let the rest of RU beat them.

The difference between making shots while open, versus when a guy is in your face all game long is immense, especially with a guy like Cam who can really shoot when open.

Best of Luck,
Groz
 
Great recap once again Bac.

Amazed that Wisconsin's scouting didn't say to never let Cam breathe and stay on him all the time and let the rest of RU beat them.

The difference between making shots while open, versus when a guy is in your face all game long is immense, especially with a guy like Cam who can really shoot when open.

Best of Luck,
Groz
It wasn't scouting issue. Cam got free because Wisconsin is slow of foot.
 
Bac - I also watched the game again and think you short changed Paul for his defense. Yes he lost Kesmit a couple times, but he was largely responsible for shutting down Essigean, who had been lighting it up of late. Paul’s length really bothered Essigean.
 
Great recap once again Bac.

Amazed that Wisconsin's scouting didn't say to never let Cam breathe and stay on him all the time and let the rest of RU beat them.

The difference between making shots while open, versus when a guy is in your face all game long is immense, especially with a guy like Cam who can really shoot when open.

Best of Luck,
Groz
They adjusted at halftime. I wonder if Cam has been doing so little on offense in the weeks leading up to it that Wisconsin didn’t game plan for him as much. Michigan will be prepared for him.
 
No one. I’ve had back spasms. They’re not a big deal to come back from.
So, your medical qualifications are that you have had back spasms that got better? And you know that, physiologically, your back spasms were identical to those that Caleb has had? And you know that his history of back injuries (major lumbar disc problems caused him to redshirt most of the 20-21 season) are not a factor at all with regard to his current condition? He may very well get better quickly, but you have zero idea of his medical situation or how long it will take him to recover.

https://www.app.com/story/sports/co...all-vs-ohio-state-caleb-mcconnell/4122117001/
 
So, your medical qualifications are that you have had back spasms that got better? And you know that, physiologically, your back spasms were identical to those that Caleb has had? And you know that his history of back injuries (major lumbar disc problems caused him to redshirt most of the 20-21 season) are not a factor at all with regard to his current condition? He may very well get better quickly, but you have zero idea of his medical situation or how long it will take him to recover.

https://www.app.com/story/sports/co...all-vs-ohio-state-caleb-mcconnell/4122117001/
You’re right. I was making a prediction. I could be wrong. You should get fired up about it.
 
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