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GAME 30 Indiana: Bitchslapped but let's move on

bac2therac

bac2therac

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Will not need a long recap for this game. There is literally nothing to talk about what happened in game. It was over in the first few minutes. Indiana took it to RU basically from the get go. Indiana was playing for a spot in the NCAA tournament and it showed. They were well coached, prepared, motivated, focused, energized and played with a purpose. Rutgers was the exact opposite. RU seemed unprepared to play this game especially on defense. They lacked hustle or any sense of urgency. It was almost as if they did not realize the stakes they were playing for..the bye. No leadership from Geo or Gene. RU seemed not in the right mindset for this game. Whether the Issa news had an effect or the crushing loss to Penn State had an effect, I cannot say, I bet both played a role somewhat.

I think like Illinois, Rutgers is tired and limping a bit to the finish. Indiana and Penn State are two teams riding high at the end of the season. All 4 showed great signs of progress but two of them seem to clearly have established as being better programs right now filled with playmakers. And yes Indiana is better. It showed today. Still that does not excuse the RU performance today. RU did not compete today, like they did not compete at Purdue and Minnesota. You do not want to be playing this poorly at the end of your season and remember RU was terrible in that first half vs PSU. Thats why I think this team may be tired and hitting a wall, Geo especially who was brutally bad today. This is a game not to dwell on. A new season starts on Wednesday.

I think its important that RU win that first round game against Nebraska. Nebby has nothing to play for either and has tanked their season. RU needs to find that will and resiliency once again to take them to the offseason with a positive note. And clearly while the short term picture seems disappointing, no NIT push, not getting the bye, dropping down to 12th, another season under 500, the longer term is brighter. RU finished with 7 conference wins...only the most optimistic among us had this team down for that many. The progress of the 4 frosh has been nothing short of amazing this year. Pike worked through some lineup issues and has generally found the right rotations and has brought the frosh along in the right way. There is reason for optimism next year with Young/Mulcahy coming in next year. I still think another piece must be added and I would caution talk about NCAA chances because of what other schools are doing. Too many question and its clear that RU is behind Indiana and also Penn State as a program right now. Still this team is generally lovable (except in its worst moments like today) and provided the fans with hope for the future and alot of thrills this season
 
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Good writeup bac as usual, and you're right, not much to say about today. This team needs to be thinking GET THAT FIRST ROUND WIN OVER NEB!

I think Geo is an emerging concern that Pike needs to deal with in the immediate future to get his head screwed on straight and focused for Nebraska. The poor kid has no answers right now and is clearly frustrated and dejected. I think the game plan against us right now is to put a physical defender on him and take him away and despite the emergence of the frosh, we just don't have enough firepower to win if Geo is a non-factor. More importantly though after this season is done Pike has to work with him to get him focused on his role going forward. He can't run the point and score 15-18/game - has to decide what Geo is gonna be the next two years.

Last point is that I think Eugene is hurting far more than has been stated, and he is willing himself to help the team, but he's on one leg. His performance against PSU was courageous, he was clearly limited and hobbling. Reminds me of the courageous performances we saw from Adrian Hill some years back. Hopefully Eugene gets that all sorted in the offseason and has a big senior year.

Overall limping across the finish line but let's get one more in the tourney and who knows in round 2.
 
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agree on both counts. Geo IS the focus of every single coach in this league, shut him down and good chance you come away with a win. Coach and Geo have to work harder on trying a way to get Geo help from others or shifting focus of offense. Next year obviously will be different with Mulcahy getting time.

Great point about Gene...as much as the warrior he is, his mobility issues are clearly hurting the team has his ability to move around the basket is causing the ball to just stop in tough spots. Its killing the offensive flow and causing more turnovers. His ability to rebound defensively is being impacted as well. Unfortunately only the offseason will help this situation. Just going to have to trudge through the end of the season like this but maybe we just need to shift the focus of the offense a little to get by
 
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bac2therac said:
Will not need a long recap for this game. There is literally nothing to talk about what happened in game. It was over in the first few minutes. Indiana took it to RU basically from the get go. Indiana was playing for a spot in the NCAA tournament and it showed. They were well coached, prepared, motivated, focused, energized and played with a purpose. Rutgers was the exact opposite. RU seemed unprepared to play this game especially on defense. They lacked hustle or any sense of urgency. It was almost as if they did not realize the stakes they were playing for..the bye. No leadership from Geo or Gene. RU seemed not in the right mindset for this game. Whether the Issa news had an effect or the crushing loss to Penn State had an effect, I cannot say, I bet both played a role somewhat.

I think like Illinois, Rutgers is tired and limping a bit to the finish. Indiana and Penn State are two teams riding high at the end of the season. All 4 showed great signs of progress but two of them seem to clearly have established as being better programs right now filled with playmakers. And yes Indiana is better. It showed today. Still that does not excuse the RU performance today. RU did not compete today, like they did not compete at Purdue and Minnesota. You do not want to be playing this poorly at the end of your season and remember RU was terrible in that first half vs PSU. Thats why I think this team may be tired and hitting a wall, Geo especially who was brutally bad today. This is a game not to dwell on. A new season starts on Wednesday.

I think its important that RU win that first round game against Nebraska. Nebby has nothing to play for either and has tanked their season. RU needs to find that will and resiliency once again to take them to the offseason with a positive note. And clearly while the short term picture seems disappointing, no NIT push, not getting the bye, dropping down to 12th, another season under 500, the longer term is brighter. RU finished with 7 conference wins...only the most optimistic among us had this team down for that many. The progress of the 4 frosh has been nothing short of amazing this year. Pike worked through some lineup issues and has generally found the right rotations and has brought the frosh along in the right way. There is reason for optimism next year with Young/Mulcahy coming in next year. I still think another piece must be added and I would caution talk about NCAA chances because of what other schools are doing. Too many question and its clear that RU is behind Indiana and also Penn State as a program right now. Still this team is generally lovable (except in its worst moments like today) and provided the fans with hope for the future and alot of thrills this season
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Back good post but we are NOT behind Penn. State. Yes we blew it big time by not coming out of the gates against them at home but I still firmly believe we are the better program and will be much better than they are next year.

As to this season I had hoped for 6 wins in conference and we got 7. So for me mission accomplished. Next year HAS to get us up in the middle of the pack with our first winning season and an NIT bid. I think it's still premature to think next year will be the NCAA's but I'm sure we would all take it and wish for that for Eugene in his senior year. But the bottomline is we saw a big jump this year in talent and play from our freshmen, who with another year under their belt would have won 2 or 3 of the close games we lost this year.
 
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PSU has won 7 of 10, they are 11th and have wins over Maryland, Michigan, and Virginia Tech...yeah I would say they are better than RU. They have a legit shot to make the finals of the Big 10 tourney.

This season was a success no matter how you look at it, even with the wobbly finish. RU did not finish last and they finished one game out of 10th. But the last two games showed me we simply need to play at a higher level next season if we hope to make any postseason..lots of work to do offseason in the gym and on the recruiting trail
 
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PSU took a lot out of them.
Thiam clearly did not help.
Indiana played out of their minds.
Radio guys said RU had a nightmare getting to game, switching planes, delays, etc.
Clunkers happen.
Beat Nebraska and they ll be fine as don’t want to end a nice season on down note.

As for the game one bright spot is watching Caleb steadily improve game by game. Harper had some moments, the steal that he turned into a three on one was a thing of beauty. Outside shooting not so much. Johnson battled again.
 
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BAC, we will agree to disagree regarding Penn. State. Yes, they got hot, but you wouldn't be saying that if one of our last 3 shots had gone in and we won that game and got a first round bye. We played pretty damn well down the stretch too. We easily should have, not could have 8 or 9 wins. A more seasoned Rutgers team would have. And the two wins PSU got against Michigan and Maryland (I watched both games) both of those better teams literally $hit the bed at PSU and NOT because PSU was better that day. If either of those teams shot like that against us at home, we would have beaten them too.

Am I disappointed in not finishing the season 10th and getting a bye? You bet I am. But, I am thrilled about the growth of this team, even with the last two losses. Our future is very bright. Brighter than PSU's whether Stevens stays or goes.
 
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other than there first half vs Penn State, this game was our first clunker in a long time (at least seems that way). Even the Penn State game we fought back hard and had a chance to win it. This game was pretty bad wire to wire.

One thing I would like to see is more movement when Gene gets the ball in the post. It seems like the offense stops and everyone watches. Also he has to learn to pass from the post more to be more effective.

Hopeful for a win Wednesday and see from there.
 
bac2therac said:
agree on both counts. Geo IS the focus of every single coach in this league, shut him down and good chance you come away with a win. Coach and Geo have to work harder on trying a way to get Geo help from others or shifting focus of offense. Next year obviously will be different with Mulcahy getting time.

Great point about Gene...as much as the warrior he is, his mobility issues are clearly hurting the team has his ability to move around the basket is causing the ball to just stop in tough spots. Its killing the offensive flow and causing more turnovers. His ability to rebound defensively is being impacted as well. Unfortunately only the offseason will help this situation. Just going to have to trudge through the end of the season like this but maybe we just need to shift the focus of the offense a little to get by
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I'm glad the issue with Gene is being discussed because I've had a similar feeling. He is unable to push off his leg and get off the floor. And it's also hurt his defense and rebounding.... The guy is a warrior and Pike is in a tough spot--limit Gene's minutes or continue to play him?
 
Let’s not breeze past the fact that it was a relatively big goal for this team not to play on Day 1 of the B1G tourney. Not only are we playing that first day, we also finished 12th out of 14 - not good when all is said and done.

Good teams beat @ILL in OT, don’t lose to Iowa when they should be guarding the inbounder, don’t come out flat vs. their rival at home with a sold out crowd and lose by a point. They also don’t lose to NW at home early in the conference schedule.

As much good as there was this season, the outcome is uninspiring IMHO. Yes we should be better next season, but what about this season? We had plenty of opportunities and didn’t take advantage. We better beat Neb and I want a win vs. MD too, otherwise we didn’t do enough this year IMHO.
 
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The fact that Geo is being shut down by the teams best defenders or just the focus of the defense combined with EO playing on one leg is more of a reason we need to see the Geo Caleb Harper EO Myles lineup more. Surround them with players who can score
 
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Indiana is playing very well now and the win was more to do with that than with RU deficiencies. Morgan played great and we couldn't match up with him. Their role players hit some big three pointers and Indy played great defense. The most glaring thing to me this game was Mathis and Geo. Geo can't take 4 shots and Mathis 11. It should be the other way around. Mathis is limited offensively, having no outside shot, and often makes out of control drives. Geo is more capable offensively and needs be more assertive. Maybe sit Mathis for longer periods and play McConnell, who is more well rounded offensively, instead. I still expect a couple of wins in the tourney.
 
bac2therac said:
PSU has won 7 of 10, they are 11th and have wins over Maryland, Michigan, and Virginia Tech...yeah I would say they are better than RU. They have a legit shot to make the finals of the Big 10 tourney.

This season was a success no matter how you look at it, even with the wobbly finish. RU did not finish last and they finished one game out of 10th. But the last two games showed me we simply need to play at a higher level next season if we hope to make any postseason..lots of work to do offseason in the gym and on the recruiting trail
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Both teams were 7-13 in big play and ru really should have completed the sweep in the end so not sure how you can say they are better. Years of self immolation probably at work here.
 
for some and I said it before PSU only sucks when they lose to us
 
read option said:
Let’s not breeze past the fact that it was a relatively big goal for this team not to play on Day 1 of the B1G tourney. Not only are we playing that first day, we also finished 12th out of 14 - not good when all is said and done.

Good teams beat @ILL in OT, don’t lose to Iowa when they should be guarding the inbounder, don’t come out flat vs. their rival at home with a sold out crowd and lose by a point. They also don’t lose to NW at home early in the conference schedule.

As much good as there was this season, the outcome is uninspiring IMHO. Yes we should be better next season, but what about this season? We had plenty of opportunities and didn’t take advantage. We better beat Neb and I want a win vs. MD too, otherwise we didn’t do enough this year IMHO.
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This is too harsh and unrealistic IMO.

You are saying if we don’t beat Nebraska AND Maryland, we didn’t do enough this year?

COME ON!

No way should the fans EXPECT to beat MD.
The team has to have that mindset.
But not the fans.

Yes, technically we finished 12th
But we were tied for 10th, losing on the tie breakers.
Finishing tied with 2 other teams at 7-13 is somewhat better than having sole possession of 12th with all teams above you having a better record.

Purdue and Michigan State finished with the same record.
Both win a share of the B1G regular season.
It dodn’t go to 1 team just because they won the tie breaker.
 
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A lot of basketball is playing well at the right time. Penn State is really playing well right and they have a lot of momentum and a future NBAer. We may have hit the freshmen wall a lot of posters have been expecting for a while.
 
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I take Bac's comments with a grain of salt. He's the same guy that was proclaiming that PSU was horrible and the worst team in the BIG after RU beat them the first game and now they're some great program. They are hot but not better than RU which frankly did not finish them off with a easy basket this week. Lots of positives to this season but Ws are the measuring stick of programs not moral victories.

GO RU
 
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bethlehemfan said:
7-13 each and we lost 3 games at the buzzer and we could have easily swept them also says otherwise.
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Not trying to be too down on an improved squad but wake me up when we stop choking in close games, then play like s*** the game right afterwards. It’s been the pattern with Rutgers Athletics in general for years.


Joe P.
 
Beating IU Senior day at Assembly Hall is extremely tough . One of the positives is that Harper, jr seems to be coming on strong.
 
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JoeRU0304 said:
Not trying to be too down on an improved squad but wake me up when we stop choking in close games, then play like s*** the game right afterwards. It’s been the pattern with Rutgers Athletics in general for years.


Joe P.
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We didn’t choke in any of those games and the team has been resilient all year. Yea tough outcome today but you might want to wake up at this point.
 
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bethlehemfan said:
We didn’t choke in any of those games and the team has been resilient all year. Yea tough outcome today but you might want to wake up at this point.
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...didn’t choke against PSU? How many shots were missed at the end? Iowa I’ll give you; that was just a lucky shot that fell in.


Joe P.
 
bethlehemfan said:
7-13 each and we lost 3 games at the buzzer and we could have easily swept them also says otherwise.
Click to expand...

Wins matter. No question one team is playing at a higher level the last few weeks. Its not about Rutgers vs Penn St. Its about RU vs the rest of the league and Penn State vs rest of the league

And PSU proved everyone wrong..at 0-10 they were the worst team in the league. PSU did suck...they found a way to lose every single Big 10 game the first 10. That changed
 
bac2therac said:
Wins matter. No question one team is playing at a higher level the last few weeks. Its not about Rutgers vs Penn St. Its about RU vs the rest of the league and Penn State vs rest of the league

And PSU proved everyone wrong..at 0-10 they were the worst team in the league. PSU did suck...they found a way to lose every single Big 10 game the first 10. That changed
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Teams go hot and cold. We went toe to toe with them. I don’t think they’re better and it’s a big stretch imo to think they are
 
bac2therac said:
Wins matter. No question one team is playing at a higher level the last few weeks. Its not about Rutgers vs Penn St. Its about RU vs the rest of the league and Penn State vs rest of the league

And PSU proved everyone wrong..at 0-10 they were the worst team in the league. PSU did suck...they found a way to lose every single Big 10 game the first 10. That changed
Click to expand...

So you were wrong about PSU at 0-10 and you're wrong about PSU now.

GO RU
 
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bethlehemfan said:
Teams go hot and cold. We went toe to toe with them. I don’t think they’re better and it’s a big stretch imo to think they are
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My originals thoughts are about 4 programs bunched together in standings....all showed stages of growth...two have seperated themselves by elevating their play when it matters most as the season closes...two have fallen off a bit as the season winded down. Stand by everything i posted
 
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