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GAME 28 MICHIGAN: Slip Sliding Away

bac2therac

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Slip sliding away, slip sliding away
You know the nearer your destination
The more you're slip sliding away


No one needs a long recap after this debacle at the RAC and Ive probably made a 100 posts in other threads and this is likely not to be something more than a rant. RU loses its 2nd straight game at the RAC, its 4th overall of the season and with Michigan not projected in the field as of now, that is 3 losses to non ncaa teams at home. I wondered after the Nebraska loss if RU had reached bottom yet. Sure this team gutted out a win down Caleb at Wisconsin but it did not mean Rutgers was back. I thought the game tonight was HUGE for comfortably making the NCAA tourney. Our highest stakes game of the season. It was setting up so well. The blackout crowd was absolutely electric and the 13-3 RU in the first 6 minutes gave us the best atmosphere of the season. Can't say the players were not ready to play. They were. I am absolutely shocked at the lack of fight they showed tonight and thats two in a row at the RAC.

Michigan finished the first half on a 23-10 run where RU made only 3 fg in the last 14 minutes of the half. RU punched them hard. Michigan punched back. RU never recovered. One failed attempt after going down 8 got the RAC rocking and appeared to set the stage with RU closing to 40-38 with 10 minutes to go. RU's D at come alive and shots were going down. Pathetically Rutgers would go almost 10 minutes with just 2 made fg until Dereks meaningless bucket with 12 seconds left. Til that point, Michigan finished the last 10 minutes on a ridiculous 17-5 run over 9:48 seconds. Those last 10 minutes were reminiscent of a Fred Hill era offense. Filled with laughably bad possession after bad possession, bonehead moves and embarrassing turnovers. It was every bit as ugly as you remember.

And RU had one last gasp actually at 48-42 after a Caleb steal for a layup RU down 2 possessions but they acted like they were down 20. The lack of leadership and poise and heart down the stretch was not something you usually see from a Pike team. Not sure which of the 3 is worse but they are all problematic in their own way. A rock bottom performance for the 2022-23 edition of the Scarlet Knights

Do not be afraid to be hard on this team. This is big boy basketball. Pike gets paid the big bucks. His players put up a dreadful performance. Pike's own performance was dreadful highlighted by two momentum killing drives, the first at 13-3 while RU was smelling blood in the water..out goes Cliff and Cam and all that joy from the first 6 minutes was gone. And yes momentum is a thing in hoops. RU may have shit the bed anyway but the rug was pulled out from under them. Not the first time the mass subs which maddeningly HAVE TO HAPPEN at the same time every game have tripped RU up. Then in the 2nd half, after RU fought its way back to come within 2. Cam goes out, Paul goes out. Look like an absolute chinese fire drill trying to dribble and pass the ball. All our momentum was lost yet again and it was goodnight Irene. Missed shots but moreso about 4 turnovers did Rutgers in and then even the upperclassmen performed pathetic in the last 5 minutes. This is on all of them. Its on the coach. its on the players.

We can talk about Mag if we want. Mag does not miss 3-11 free throws. Mag is not seniors missing 4 or missing one and ones or missing two after blowing a transtion dunk on a small foul yet again. RU played pretty good D today overall. Michigan only scored 58. They only had 26 at halftime. They only had 40 with 10 minutes. You should be able to win at home with those numbers. You cannot win when you leadership and decision making and offensive gameplan is atrocious. I do not know what kind of offense Pike runs but it isnt good. We had this debate ad nauseum. Everyone can see it. Just because RU wins game 61-55 this year does not mean we cannot talk about it. Pike has no bench. Our bench isnt good and its not at this level and I have no problem saying it. Pike has about 5 misses on this team. I always wondered how RU would replace Ron and Geo and Pike did a phenomenal job hiding how bad our offense was. For all the bravado from beat writers and others declaring that this team is so deep and has hidden talent that truly is not the case apparently. Mag is a huge loss. This is true. He is one player. To see this utter breakdown in all facets of the offense from passing to dribbling to taking a shot is alarming at this level. This was Fred Hill level.

So now it is scary when it comes to the NCAA tournament. 3 games left, 2 on the road, the next one to a team RU handled easily at the RAC by 20 and a team like tonight fighting for a NCAA bid. But so is Rutgers now. Suddenly the all but lock is now in question and the pressure is on. The eye test says this is not a tourney team. The resume ON THIS DAY says it is. After 3 more games the resume may also say its not a tourney team. Not sad about this team. There is nothing unfortunate. This on the, Reality may be setting in. Funny things happen in February and March, I have seen teams tank their way out of the NCAA tourney. I have seen teams throw up a string of bad losses but then somehow pull out a huge win to salvage the season. I have no clue what this team will do but I do know that the nearer to its destination the more it appears they are slip sliding away.


 
Great write up. But no one can possibly expect much even if we slip into Tournament. We can't score more than 50s it seems playing well.
 
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I think Pikiell mis-scouted his own roster. He thought Reiber would be a lot better. He thought Simpson could replace more of what was lost with Geo. He thought Mulcahy and McConnell could be consistent playmakers. Maybe he convinced himself Caleb's tournament performance was for real and not an outlier. But this team has no one who can take a defender off the dribble and open up the floor. That is priority #1 this off-season.
 
The players can bounce back but this was the most demoralizing loss for the RU fan base that I can recall in many years.

The 13-3 lead to start the game became fools gold for RU fans when the Offense played tight the rest of the way and could not execute in the half court or in transition.

This is the time for a good coach to rally the team and get them back to playing winning basketball. The team lost a great deal of goodwill with RU fans last night. It’s all about Wins the rest of the way.
 
Because no one can shoot jump shots and score or drive the lane and score a layup, we are left to watch Mulcahy and others force feed the ball to Cliff with his back to the basket totally bereft of post moves or a scorer’s touch save for the occasional dunk. As Bac points out it goes from tragic to pathetic. Also, a team which can’t score like this one is not entertaining to watch. Sadly, this team’s dysfunction has stripped away the mystique built around the vaunted Trapezoid of Terror. All I got to say is that all of those 4 and 5 star verbals better become written commitments especially since RU had made a long term written commitment to Pikell.
 
Slip sliding away, slip sliding away
You know the nearer your destination
The more you're slip sliding away


No one needs a long recap after this debacle at the RAC and Ive probably made a 100 posts in other threads and this is likely not to be something more than a rant. RU loses its 2nd straight game at the RAC, its 4th overall of the season and with Michigan not projected in the field as of now, that is 3 losses to non ncaa teams at home. I wondered after the Nebraska loss if RU had reached bottom yet. Sure this team gutted out a win down Caleb at Wisconsin but it did not mean Rutgers was back. I thought the game tonight was HUGE for comfortably making the NCAA tourney. Our highest stakes game of the season. It was setting up so well. The blackout crowd was absolutely electric and the 13-3 RU in the first 6 minutes gave us the best atmosphere of the season. Can't say the players were not ready to play. They were. I am absolutely shocked at the lack of fight they showed tonight and thats two in a row at the RAC.

Michigan finished the first half on a 23-10 run where RU made only 3 fg in the last 14 minutes of the half. RU punched them hard. Michigan punched back. RU never recovered. One failed attempt after going down 8 got the RAC rocking and appeared to set the stage with RU closing to 40-38 with 10 minutes to go. RU's D at come alive and shots were going down. Pathetically Rutgers would go almost 10 minutes with just 2 made fg until Dereks meaningless bucket with 12 seconds left. Til that point, Michigan finished the last 10 minutes on a ridiculous 17-5 run over 9:48 seconds. Those last 10 minutes were reminiscent of a Fred Hill era offense. Filled with laughably bad possession after bad possession, bonehead moves and embarrassing turnovers. It was every bit as ugly as you remember.

And RU had one last gasp actually at 48-42 after a Caleb steal for a layup RU down 2 possessions but they acted like they were down 20. The lack of leadership and poise and heart down the stretch was not something you usually see from a Pike team. Not sure which of the 3 is worse but they are all problematic in their own way. A rock bottom performance for the 2022-23 edition of the Scarlet Knights

Do not be afraid to be hard on this team. This is big boy basketball. Pike gets paid the big bucks. His players put up a dreadful performance. Pike's own performance was dreadful highlighted by two momentum killing drives, the first at 13-3 while RU was smelling blood in the water..out goes Cliff and Cam and all that joy from the first 6 minutes was gone. And yes momentum is a thing in hoops. RU may have shit the bed anyway but the rug was pulled out from under them. Not the first time the mass subs which maddeningly HAVE TO HAPPEN at the same time every game have tripped RU up. Then in the 2nd half, after RU fought its way back to come within 2. Cam goes out, Paul goes out. Look like an absolute chinese fire drill trying to dribble and pass the ball. All our momentum was lost yet again and it was goodnight Irene. Missed shots but moreso about 4 turnovers did Rutgers in and then even the upperclassmen performed pathetic in the last 5 minutes. This is on all of them. Its on the coach. its on the players.

We can talk about Mag if we want. Mag does not miss 3-11 free throws. Mag is not seniors missing 4 or missing one and ones or missing two after blowing a transtion dunk on a small foul yet again. RU played pretty good D today overall. Michigan only scored 58. They only had 26 at halftime. They only had 40 with 10 minutes. You should be able to win at home with those numbers. You cannot win when you leadership and decision making and offensive gameplan is atrocious. I do not know what kind of offense Pike runs but it isnt good. We had this debate ad nauseum. Everyone can see it. Just because RU wins game 61-55 this year does not mean we cannot talk about it. Pike has no bench. Our bench isnt good and its not at this level and I have no problem saying it. Pike has about 5 misses on this team. I always wondered how RU would replace Ron and Geo and Pike did a phenomenal job hiding how bad our offense was. For all the bravado from beat writers and others declaring that this team is so deep and has hidden talent that truly is not the case apparently. Mag is a huge loss. This is true. He is one player. To see this utter breakdown in all facets of the offense from passing to dribbling to taking a shot is alarming at this level. This was Fred Hill level.

So now it is scary when it comes to the NCAA tournament. 3 games left, 2 on the road, the next one to a team RU handled easily at the RAC by 20 and a team like tonight fighting for a NCAA bid. But so is Rutgers now. Suddenly the all but lock is now in question and the pressure is on. The eye test says this is not a tourney team. The resume ON THIS DAY says it is. After 3 more games the resume may also say its not a tourney team. Not sad about this team. There is nothing unfortunate. This on the, Reality may be setting in. Funny things happen in February and March, I have seen teams tank their way out of the NCAA tourney. I have seen teams throw up a string of bad losses but then somehow pull out a huge win to salvage the season. I have no clue what this team will do but I do know that the nearer to its destination the more it appears they are slip sliding away.


Bac--Great write up because it's so honest. The mantra all season has been how our defense sets up our offense . And when we play an elite level of defense our offense is good. We depend on steals, transition offense and tough aggressive pressing defense. And then we are very good., even ranked as high as #23. But take away the catalyst for that defense and we look ordinary. Very ordinary. The loss of Mag is huge and Caleb is obviously not 100%. We do not have players who can create their own offense and score when needed. Our half court offense is dreadful at times , especially when we're missing outside shots. But your other observation is dead on. We have no bench. For all the excitement of Griffiths and our hopeful 2024 class , the criticism of Pike's past recruiting is legitimate. Palmquist, Miller and Reiber have done absolutely nothing in the years they've played for Rutgers . No knock on them but they are not Big Ten caliber talent and will never be. They need to sit and let Simpson and Woolfolk play more. They have talent but are freshmen. They have an upside. So be it --let the dice roll. If the NCAA people look at the full body of our work , we're in. If they place emphasis on recent success, we're in trouble.
 
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watching RU on offense, especially the last 10 minutes was like watching a YMCA pickup game...forced passes, by Caleb by Paul by everyone. Sloppy as $hit! We get a stop down 6 I think Caleb with the board and promptly throws a pass right to the little Michigan guard who drains a jumper back up 8. Thought that was game....

So many missed FT's. Thought the second half would be better but NO, Paul misses the first 2 of the 2nd.

Even my wife who is always telling me to calm down got pissed and was yelling at the TV and she is the most level headed person I know who NEVER shows negative emotion. SLOPPY
 
Oh, and I knew last night was bad juju when the halftime line for the West Men's bathroom was redirected towards the stands and away from the concourse.
 
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9/10 seed rn, 10/11 if we lose to PSU and scared shitless on the flight to Minnesota.

Beat PSU.
This is why I don’t like to project seedings until we know that we are definitely in the tournament. Unfortunately that has not happened yet.
 
After the strong start I get the “sky is falling” mentality but let’s get some perspective. At the beginning of the season, after losing Ron and Geo, did most expect this to be an NCAA tournament team? Given the roster we have, this has been a strong season. Look where we’ve come from in just 7 years. You build a program from nothing by developing and squeezing out the most from hard working but less talented recruits. Pike’s gotten this program to its first NCAA tournament in 30 years … and multiple ones at that. Now we’re in the middle of the pack in the conference, competitive in every game and notched some road wins. The next step to move us up the ladder is to up the talent level. Reinforcements are on the way in the form of top recruits like we’ve never seen before. The long term picture is bright.
 
You have to have a clear cut batch of 5 to 6 teams that are NCAA caliber before you get to RU and the RU resume.

The RHJ and Geo departures clearly have been items that have shown up this year.

But so has Keegan Murray at Iowa

Brad Davison at Wisconsin....

Malachi Branham at OSU (1 & done)

John Harrar at PSU

Pete Nance, Ryan Young and Casey Simmons at NW (all transfers out).

Andre Curbelo at Illinois (St Johns) 4-5* PG Skyy Clark hitting the portal in December 2022)

Some are key departures and some have been offset by incoming talent or development in each program.

RU is still clearly in the NCAA field. Would I like to see Dawson Garcia not play for Minnesota next week?? Sure, he's their best all around player.

Do I think RU is still better than PSU on paper and resume....YES....same goes for Wisconsin.

Is Michigan going to close with 3 more wins, with or without Jett Howard....?? Probably not, but maybe they win at Illinois and Indiana (unlikely but who knows).

The path is still clearly in front of RU and Caleb playing last night, provides some good news facing Pickett or Funk from PSU and dealing with Jamison Battle at Minnesota, while hoping we contain the rest of the Gophers.

NW has to go to Maryland, host PSU then hit the RAC....not exactly a lock as a 5 seed as some projected, easily can drop to a 9 or 10 seed with 3 more losses.

Play the rest of the games, see who steps up for RU. We are still in discovery mode on stepping up into roles and who is or isn't capable of being a go-to player.

I liked Cam being more aggressive, Caleb played as well as you can ask at probably 70%.

We need Hyatt and Paul to step forward in these last 3 games. And Pike has to get more Simpson minutes and let him play through mistakes, his ability to create when things break down, is badly needed.

Let's not overreact. There's a ton of good on the RU resume that exceeds a LOT of teams in comparison.
 
Whether it was mags injury, fatigue, or a combination of things, it’s clear this team has lost its equilibrium. Whats crazy to me is this is happening even tho palmquist, in my opinion, has provided respectable minutes. Team is just not playing Rutgers basketball right now. Cliffs foul at the end of the half and Caleb’s outlet pass are totally contrary to what pike has preached.
 
While I can’t say I am shocked or even surprised that we lost, the manner in which it occurred is very discouraging.

We hold Michigan to under 60 points and still lose by double digits?

We just don’t have enough talent on the roster. I see a lot of people killing Pike about his substitutions and I get it to some extent, but if you step back the criticism should be about the back end of the roster. I mean maybe he could sub more effectively but the issue is that the team has too many guys that can’t be relied on from one game to another.

While Mawot has developed, Dean and Oskar still don’t look like Big 10 players. Jalen Miller can’t score and Pike decided to use a scholarship on Chol who is not ready. Then he decides not use his last ship and gives it to Terry which is a nice gesture,if you have enough overall depth

Been saying all year that I thought we were a player short of doing damage in the tournament and that our margin for error is small and that was before the Mag injury.

We were just miserable most of the night offensively and the decision making of our most experienced players got worse as the second half progressed

I am at the point where I would not be surprised to see Cliff looking at his transfer options at the end of the year. I think he likes it here and has been a great team mate but if he has pro aspirations, I am sure some are going to be whispering in his ear that he needs to find a better team that can make shots and thus not allow defenses to collapse on him. Not sure how much of his lack of offensive development is on him versus the coach staff or the pieces around him. His low post game is getting worse. His first possession last night was his best.

While I hope we make the tournament we are not going far and I am preparing myself for the possibility we might not win another game.

Since MSU, I was hopeful after the Indiana game and disappointed but not discouraged after Illinois. The alarm bells went off against Nebraska. I did not feel much better about things after Wisconsin and am now coming to grips with reality after Michigan. Right now I am wondering how the heck we won 17 games.

Final point, I was impressed with Michigan’s D. They should have a better record than they do.
 
watching RU on offense, especially the last 10 minutes was like watching a YMCA pickup game...forced passes, by Caleb by Paul by everyone. Sloppy as $hit! We get a stop down 6 I think Caleb with the board and promptly throws a pass right to the little Michigan guard who drains a jumper back up 8. Thought that was game....

So many missed FT's. Thought the second half would be better but NO, Paul misses the first 2 of the 2nd.

Even my wife who is always telling me to calm down got pissed and was yelling at the TV and she is the most level headed person I know who NEVER shows negative emotion. SLOPPY
We didn't value possessions when it mattered most which I know kills bac. It was tough to watch them repeatedly shoot themselves in the foot for no reason
 
Whether it was mags injury, fatigue, or a combination of things, it’s clear this team has lost its equilibrium. Whats crazy to me is this is happening even tho palmquist, in my opinion, has provided respectable minutes. Team is just not playing Rutgers basketball right now. Cliffs foul at the end of the half and Caleb’s outlet pass are totally contrary to what pike has preached.
Oskar didn't put up stats, but he wasn't a liability out there last night. He was much better than Hyatt
 
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We didn't value possessions when it mattered most which I know kills bac. It was tough to watch them repeatedly shoot themselves in the foot for no reason
beyond the first half wasted possesions

I think RU had 3 tries at 40-38 to tie it...even at 42-38. Its almost as if they dont realize the moment they are in.

Same thing with Iowa 2nd half, whittled down to 3 and then gone. Nebraska I think we made a run in 2nd half and that was it. The comebacks do not sustain themselves

I think this team needs to play with a lead and that is done by being efficient in the first half. Missing 9 free throws in that half is absurd. Make 5 of those and they are up 2 and quite possibly more because of how scoring effects later plays.
 
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Oskar didn't put up stats, but he wasn't a liability out there last night. He was much better than Hyatt


yeah I mean it also says alot that Pike went with Oskar for long stretches instead of Hyatt. Palm has come a long way. He made one his 3 yesterday and that was a big one but overall a respectable performance
 
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beyond the first half wasted possesions

I think RU had 3 tries at 40-38 to tie it...even at 42-38. Its almost as if they dont realize the moment they are in.

Same thing with Iowa 2nd half, whittled down to 3 and then gone. Nebraska I think we made a run in 2nd half and that was it. The comebacks do not sustain themselves

I think this team needs to play with a lead and that is done by being efficient in the first half. Missing 9 free throws in that half is absurd. Make 5 of those and they are up 2 and quite possibly more because of how scoring effects later plays.
We have gotten leads and good starts in most games it seems. The mass subs seem to kill us like clockwork, but whenever Cliff goes out it will continue to be brutal unless Dean or Wolf steps up

Then like you said it always seems like there is a crucial point where we have some momentum but can't take advantage. It never seems to be just missed shots. It always seems to be turnovers or really poor shot attempts and then the momentum is gone
 
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beyond the first half wasted possesions

I think RU had 3 tries at 40-38 to tie it...even at 42-38. Its almost as if they dont realize the moment they are in.

Same thing with Iowa 2nd half, whittled down to 3 and then gone. Nebraska I think we made a run in 2nd half and that was it. The comebacks do not sustain themselves

I think this team needs to play with a lead and that is done by being efficient in the first half. Missing 9 free throws in that half is absurd. Make 5 of those and they are up 2 and quite possibly more because of how scoring effects later plays.
The free throws are critical. Missing free throws gives the other team life, but it also doesn’t allow you to set your defense which has a knock on effect. Make the free ones and this game likely has a different result.
 
So so much to unwind and apologize in advance for the length but these are the issues;
1) Disappointment dropping 2nd straight RAC game and 2 of the worst scoring outputs 45 and (43 against Seton Hall ) at home. ;
2) Pike ‘s 3 sub package and the timing of it ;
3) the Impact the loss of Mag has had on our team;
4) the Failure of the bench not just last night but all year, along with who is on the floor at the same time ;
5) The failure of the upperclassmen in this Order ; Paul , Cliff, Cam and Caleb , that has cost us wins;
6) Hyatt last night and was it an outlier?:
7) Free throws last night and was it an outlier?:
8) RAC crowd.
Diving in :
1) if you told me prior to the year we would lose 4 games at the RAC , I would not have believed you and then if you told me we would score 45 and 43 in 2 of them and have our worst offensive showing and efficiency in those games and not on the road , I would say no way. The disappointment to the fan base for the Seton Hall loss and last night’s loss to Michigan is just devastating and almost unfathomable. ;
2) Pike’s 3 sub package. I have never been a fan of the 3 at a time approach even when we were winning , and do not understand why 1 cannot be subbed 5 minutes in , then another 2-3 minutes later and the next one with 10 minutes on the half. I fully understand Coach has to develop a bench , while not wearing down our starters playing them 36+ minutes a night. But also making the sub at a predetermined time regardless of the start or the score doesn’t show a feel for that particular game. Last night we were up 13-3 , the RAC was on fire , Michigan was shook , Cliff was dominating and Hunter Dickinson was under control. In my opinion you do not sub Cliff there and wait for Hunter to be subbed like he was at the 11 minute mark. Sit Cliff when Hunter sat. Getting Caleb in the game for Oscar was fine but Cam had things going early and should have stayed in and maybe Derek comes in for Hyatt who airballed 3 threes. It cannot be proven 1 way or another but the sub pattern in the game changed momentum and gave Michigan confidence after they were shook when Hunter hit 2 immediate buckets on Dean. They were no longer shook and started playing with more confidence. My guess is that it takes them a lot longer to get there and maybe into the second half before they do. It was a bad move and backfired but for the reason that it gave Michigan hope.

3). The Impact of Mag- There is already a lengthy thread on this and there is truth on both sides. The impact of Mag is enormous , not just defensively and offensively , rebounding , intangibles , things that do not show up on a state sheet , but it has messed up the rotation and forced Coach to play guys who were riding the pine and belonged there except for stealing a minute or two . Those that deny it that claim he was the 5th option on offense Miss the boat. He was the ultimate glue guy , the head of our elite press that has turned pedestrian , helped Cliff defensively on double teams and caused turnovers and deflections , helped Cliff on the boards , where we have been getting killed recently , the turnovers in our press led to runouts and uptempo that improved our offense output as I am convinced we play better at a little uptempo than the half court struggle we are watching.
Now the other side is also true , that other teams have lost players , who are thought of more highly than Mag and have adapted and overcome . But that leads to 2 issues ; 1) Paul , Cam , Caleb and Cliff have not stepped up offensively to fill the loss not just in points , but with getting a crucial basket , or grabbing a critical defensive rebound or getting the offensive rebound for a putback or to extend the possession . Last night there were at least 2 rebounds that hit the floor. Why our whole team including the guards (Paul ) or our forwards (Oscar and Hyatt) didn’t crash the boards and only Cam did was horrendous. One rebound Cliff had to chase way out to the top of the key and couldn’t swipe at it in time and that lead a 3 point conversion on the second chance point and another huge swing in the game. 2 ) The loss of Mag has put Oscar and Dean and Aundre at times on the court for longer stretches that they deserve and there have been games that we have gotten 0 from our bench . You do not want to be playing guys that give you 0 for extended minutes against any competition but certainly against BIG 10 competition.
4) Failure of the bench. I know Pike has tried to develop a bench but the Derek, Dean , Wolf and Oscar contributions have been minimal and much less than below average. Hyatt being a 6th man before Mag’s injury was doing okay and even as a starter was okay before the goose egg last night . I think that was an outlier . But Andre as a starter makes the bench even more thin and exposed. Last night , I could not see why Oscar and Aundre were on the floor for all those minutes and gave you 3 points and almost no rebounds or steals or assists or anything. I would have gone 4 guards with Derek plus Cliff , Cam , Paul , and Caleb. Scoring was at a premium. We will be lucky to get anything out of our bench this year but if Caleb is healthy he has to get back in the starting lineup and Oscar has to sit and hope he hits a three in the 3-5 minutes he should be playing.

5) Failure of the upperclassman in Order, Paul, Cliff Cam and Caleb. Paul ‘s refusal to shoot , forcing passes for turnovers , too much dribbling which has coincided with the crisp passing and moving the ball earlier in the year disappearing and therefore a clunky offense , is totally on him. He is the main reason we are struggling and this goes to Hawk’s point along with the other starters , that they are all playing worse since Mag’s injury ( is it a coincidence or not ) . If we did not see them all play better Paul, Cliff, Caleb and even Cam then we would just say that is their limit and they are not good enough. But that is not true and we have seen it . Paul has dominated games at this level , Cliff has dominated games at this level and his low post ball handling , footwork , failure to control the ball , failure to use the backboard and to use it properly , failure to pass out of the post more than 1 time a game , has regressed. Caleb hardly ever went one on one in prior years and only when we posted him low with the size advantage. Now either because he thinks he has to either to help the team or showcase his talent it has failed. The amount of terrible turnovers he has thrown this year had to be worse than prior ones. He is hurt and I give him credit but again he could be a lot better. Our guards have to be giving us at least 10-12 a game with an occasional 14-18 points. We cannot get single digits 2-4 points or even 6 and 7 points from our starting guards. We beat MSU at MSG after Paul and Caleb had 0 at the half and we scored 19 points and looked horrible like Michigan’s second half last night , but Paul scored 17 and Caleb 9 in the second half for 26 points and they stepped up and we won. We should be getting 20-26 a game out of them. We are not and we are losing.
6). Hyatt. Aundre has been good and last night was an outlier in my opinion as he airballed both 3’s , both foul shots went in and out ( He got tight ) failed to rebound , failed to attack the glass offensively or defensively . All things he had been doing better the last 8-10 games.
7) Free Throws 5-16. 3-11. Another outlier as we have shot them pretty well most of the year , although over the last 4 or so we have missed a few surprisingly ,. Cliff’s 4 missed were long, unusually as he has been shooting better in his last 4 : Aundre ‘s 2 were in and out ( He got tight ) Paul’s missed first 2, in and out ( He got tight ) Next 2, made 1 and missed 2nd ( tight again ) .? Was the moment and the raucous crowd and the stakes too much for them. The misses clearly impacted the game , preventing a bigger first half lead after Michigan came back from 13-3 and we were at 18-12. We should have been up 10 at 22-12 and instead 18-12 turned to 18-15 when they hit a 3. It cost us a first half lead of at least 5-7 and instead we were down a couple. I was suprised and upset at half.
8) RAC Crowd - It was special with a tremendous buzz in the arena and ready to blow the roof off, It was also packed into every nook and SRO everywhere . The crowd did all it could as we were stinking up the joint for the last 28 minutes of that game. What a way to disappoint a huge great turnout . Mind boggling. Could not have played in a better atmosphere than any game over the last 4 years.
 
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