GAME 31 NORTHWESTERN: Sinking

[bac2therac]

No one wants a recap. This game was not competitive after RU went up 10-3, they went 12 minutes with just 2 points. Not going to win when your offense is that putrid. It is what it is. Numb to the pain of an epic collapse the past month. A horrendous game plan and execution tonight. Every single one of the program's flaws and recruiting issues were exposed tonight. The coaching staff could not come up with any adjustment. Players continually shooting themselves in the foot and losing all confidence. A pretty strong first half defensive effort for naught as the 2nd half was just a failure in all aspects. Another RAC loss at home. 5th of the year. Not used to this kind of losing in a while. The last 4 losses, their opponent took it to them and RU was feeble. No fight at all. Very unRutgers like but once Mag went down this team didnt rally, it bled and now its on the verge of sinking. A very nice resume on the verge of being sent to purgatory called the NIT. This program is down to one last chance in the Big 10 tournament vs Michigan. Whether you believe the team can do it is one thing but that chance does exist. Do they have it in them? Reality would say they just are not good enough. Not sad, just accepting it.

 

[T2Kplus20]

No one wants a recap. This game was not competitive after RU went up 10-3, they went 12 minutes with just 2 points. Not going to win when your offense is that putrid. It is what it is. Numb to the pain of an epic collapse the past month. A horrendous game plan and execution tonight. Every single one of the program's flaws and recruiting issues were exposed tonight. The coaching staff could not come up with any adjustment. Players continually shooting themselves in the foot and losing all confidence. A pretty strong first half defensive effort for naught as the 2nd half was just a failure in all aspects. Another RAC loss at home. 5th of the year. Not used to this kind of losing in a while. The last 4 losses, their opponent took it to them and RU was feeble. No fight at all. Very unRutgers like but once Mag went down this team didnt rally, it bled and now its on the verge of sinking. A very nice resume on the verge of being sent to purgatory called the NIT. This program is down to one last chance in the Big 10 tournament vs Michigan. Whether you believe the team can do it is one thing but that chance does exist. Do they have it in them? Reality would say they just are not good enough. Not sad, just accepting it.

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One word:
Gutless

 

[fatsam98]

I was annoyed and frustrated sitting in the RAC vs Nebraska and Michigan.

Minnesota the other night I was apoplectic.

Today walking out of the RAC I had already accepted it by time I got to my car.

Seems like we're going out with barely a whimper.

 

[bethlehemfan]

Doesn’t seem promising but you never know. Maybe we make some shots and Michigan is cold.

 

[DennisHajekRC84]

I was annoyed and frustrated sitting in the RAC vs Nebraska and Michigan.

Minnesota the other night I was apoplectic.

Today walking out of the RAC I had already accepted it by time I got to my car.

Seems like we're going out with barely a whimper.

MY wife was shocked that I had so little negative emotion leaving tonight. I've been resigned to this for a bit. Just a terrible finish to the season given how the table was set.
Talk of thee town to that silent tree falling in the forest.

 

[RUfromNJ]

What pct did we shoot on jump shots tn?

 

[T2Kplus20]

I was annoyed and frustrated sitting in the RAC vs Nebraska and Michigan.

Minnesota the other night I was apoplectic.

Today walking out of the RAC I had already accepted it by time I got to my car.

Seems like we're going out with barely a whimper.

Selective apathy is a critical skill for all RU fans.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

What pct did we shoot on jump shots tn?

Paul’s form is messed up
Caleb shot is completely different than his freshaman year
Cliff can’t shoot
Audige was on Cam

Right now it is hard to envision us making shots. I am sure I am exaggerating and being emotional. Currently it feels like an equation without an answer

 

[ScarletDave]

This will all be funny when we not only beat Michigan but then pull off a stunner on Purdue in Chicago this week

 

[bac2therac]

I was annoyed and frustrated sitting in the RAC vs Nebraska and Michigan.

Minnesota the other night I was apoplectic.

Today walking out of the RAC I had already accepted it by time I got to my car.

Seems like we're going out with barely a whimper.

exactly how I felt...acceptance is a good thing, Incredibly devastated after Minnesota but handling this one okay

 

[fatsam98]

This will all be funny when we not only beat Michigan but then pull off a stunner on Purdue in Chicago this week

I mean we do seem to be a better team away from the RAC lately. Wouldn't shock me, nor would losing to UM by 30. College bball can be crazy.

 

[BigEastPhil]

As others said, I wasn’t depressed after this game. Throughout the game , the realization hit that we are not an ncaa team.
It’s painful watching us offensively.
With the exception of Caleb’s defense, everyone played a sub par game
That drought in the first half was painful.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

Pretty tame recap. The staff isn't going to throw players under the bus, it's not in Pikes nature to do so publicly.

The offense for any team in college basketball, starts and ends with your guard play. If you have a big man on top of it, great.....but the basketball game starts and ends with generating offense from your lead guards, ideally, those with game experience at a Power 5 level.

The smoke signals were there last spring, based on what they targeted.....Kyle Lofton from St Bona was a combo guard, who may have helped......Marcus Hammond went to Notre Dame instead, landing in purgatory of a miserable South Bend winter. Lofton and Florida.....?? Also nowhere near the NCAAs.

We instead rolled the dice that both Spencer and Mulcahy as a senior, would be savvy enough to be a combo of the driving guard who generated a historical 4 to 5 game run, that bailed RU out last year......with enough play to help RHJ and Geo.

On paper, if I wanted Kyle Lofton for just one year or Spencer for 2, give me a 2 year transfer kid all day. It just required Paul to step up.....he was either not aware of what it took to go from 5th option to 2nd or 3rd.

I don't think a recap is too necessary. No one can explain such a steep decline in effectiveness from a 3 to 4 year starting guard. But it then spread to others....once one player starts to hesitate, the others get gunshy....

It's going to be OK, because the staff now has no more excuses to try and make RU fans believe that the next complimentary player can be asked to become a front line 2nd or 3rd option. The overhaul of this roster might not all get done in one spring/summer, but it wouldn't shock me to see it.

Can you dance at 18-13 with such an ineffective PG and a won/ loss record that probably should be 19-12 or 20-11 & look like the world has figured this limited talent group out??

A lot of blame placed at the feet of Geo and RHJ the last 2 seasons, suddenly looks kinda foolish now. The longest week ever upcoming, is not for the faint of heart for sure.

 

[bac2therac]

Pretty tame recap. The staff isn't going to throw players under the bus, it's not in Pikes nature to do so publicly.

The offense for any team in college basketball, starts and ends with your guard play. If you have a big man on top of it, great.....but the basketball game starts and ends with generating offense from your lead guards, ideally, those with game experience at a Power 5 level.

The smoke signals were there last spring, based on what they targeted.....Kyle Lofton from St Bona was a combo guard, who may have helped......Marcus Hammond went to Notre Dame instead, landing in purgatory of a miserable South Bend winter. Lofton and Florida.....?? Also nowhere near the NCAAs.

We instead rolled the dice that both Spencer and Mulcahy as a senior, would be savvy enough to be a combo of the driving guard who generated a historical 4 to 5 game run, that bailed RU out last year......with enough play to help RHJ and Geo.

On paper, if I wanted Kyle Lofton for just one year or Spencer for 2, give me a 2 year transfer kid all day. It just required Paul to step up.....he was either not aware of what it took to go from 5th option to 2nd or 3rd.

I don't think a recap is too necessary. No one can explain such a steep decline in effectiveness from a 3 to 4 year starting guard. But it then spread to others....once one player starts to hesitate, the others get gunshy....

It's going to be OK, because the staff now has no more excuses to try and make RU fans believe that the next complimentary player can be asked to become a front line 2nd or 3rd option. The overhaul of this roster might not all get done in one spring/summer, but it wouldn't shock me to see it.

Can you dance at 18-13 with such an ineffective PG and a won/ loss record that probably should be 19-12 or 20-11 & look like the world has figured this limited talent group out??

A lot of blame placed at the feet of Geo and RHJ the last 2 seasons, suddenly looks kinda foolish now. The longest week ever upcoming, is not for the faint of heart for sure.

tame recap..what do you want. There is literally nothing to recap. Team had no fight and wasnt good enough and lost any hunger or fire.

team isnt good and there is no one to replace Mag because recruiting was bad for a couple years. Pikes loyalty to Mulcahy prevented him from going after an ace portal player and thus you get what he have. Pike thinking a freshmen like Simpson could be good enough to play as good as a 6 man. A player like Hyatt basically invisibe tonight...another one that should move on

I told everyone that making up for Geo and Ron was going to be incredibly difficult. We better start having standards. Pike has been a godsend here but he is getting paid big bucks. The finish to the season was a disaster. Couldnt even hold on to a 10 points lead in 70 seconds. Didnt even have a pulse in 4 of 5 home league games.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

exactly how I felt...acceptance is a good thing, Incredibly devastated after Minnesota but handling this one okay

I am definitely STAGE 5. However I expected a win tonight. So I guess I am mixed.

 

[jordkap]

exactly how I felt...acceptance is a good thing, Incredibly devastated after Minnesota but handling this one okay

I went through the stages of grief after Minnesota. This one I didn’t even mind. I’ve accepted their fate already

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Let’s not lose sight of 1 thing.

After we got healthy we were playing like a Top 10 team. We were justifiable ranked despite the bad start purely because of injuries.

I was worried about the minutes, but truly was thinking this was a team capable of being National Champs.

This was with Paul as PG.

 

[BigEastPhil]

Saw Sugar Ray Richardson at RAC after game and he whispered to me “ the ship be sinking “.

BAC - thought we’d get another “ There’s got to be a Morning After” song again.

 

[fluoxetine]

Let’s not lose sight of 1 thing.

After we got healthy we were playing like a Top 10 team. We were justifiable ranked despite the bad start purely because of injuries.

I was worried about the minutes, but truly was thinking this was a team capable of being National Champs.

This was with Paul as PG.

We legit have multiple players playing at their absolute worst. Paul Mulcahy was never like the optimal PG but he's never been like this.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

REM song might work here

 

[bac2therac]

Saw Sugar Ray Richardson at RAC after game and he whispered to me “ the ship be sinking “.

BAC - thought we’d get another “ There’s got to be a Morning After” song again.

makes my job easier tanking the season in such glorious fashion. No one needs a thousand words on why we couldnt pull it out. Rutgers wasnt even close tonight to competing in this game.

 

[DennisHajekRC84]

tame recap..what do you want. There is literally nothing to recap. Team had no fight and wasnt good enough and lost any hunger or fire.

team isnt good and there is no one to replace Mag because recruiting was bad for a couple years. Pikes loyalty to Mulcahy prevented him from going after an ace portal player and thus you get what he have. Pike thinking a freshmen like Simpson could be good enough to play as good as a 6 man. A player like Hyatt basically invisibe tonight...another one that should move on

I told everyone that making up for Geo and Ron was going to be incredibly difficult. We better start having standards. Pike has been a godsend here but he is getting paid big bucks. The finish to the season was a disaster. Couldnt even hold on to a 10 points lead in 70 seconds. Didnt even have a pulse in 4 of 5 home league games.

we got out rebounded again (39-30) and left a bunch of points at the line AGAIN going 11 for 21 (52 freakin %)...well at least it wasn't the 5 of 16 vs. UM bad.

 

[bac2therac]

REM song might work here

im on to next year....are you ready for the New Sensation hey gavin hey

 

[fluoxetine]

It's possible to have fight AND an eFG% of 38.2.

How would that look different than what we saw tonight?

 

[bac2therac]

we got out rebounded again (39-30) and left a bunch of points at the line AGAIN going 11 for 21 (52 freakin %)

if we hit free throws, we would have a lead or tie at halftime. Same as the Michigan game.

 

[bac2therac]

It's possible to have fight AND an eFG% of 38.2.

How would that look different than what we saw tonight?

i didnt see fight tonight at all. 2nd half was a disaster and an unravelling defensively

 

[fluoxetine]

i didnt see fight tonight at all. 2nd half was a disaster and an unravelling defensively

But what would it look like to both
(1) fight and
(2) shoot like trash?

It's obviously possible. Did we fight against Seton Hall? Michigan?

These effort estimations seem pointless because they basically correlate 100% with the result of the game. I could easily predict how much fight the team is given credit for in the recap thread of a game without actually watching the game.. I just need to look at the score line.

 

[BigEastPhil]

if we hit free throws, we would have a lead or tie at halftime. Same as the Michigan game.

Game was eerily reminiscent of Michigan game. We get out to big lead / can’t hit free throws / couldn’t hit 3s and never had a run throughout game

 

[DennisHajekRC84]

But what would it look like to both
(1) fight and
(2) shoot like trash?

It's obviously possible. Did we fight against Seton Hall? Michigan?

These effort estimations seem pointless because they basically correlate 100% with the result of the game. I could easily predict how much fight the team is given credit for in the recap thread of a game without actually watching the game.. I just need to look at the score line.

didn't ask me but I also think we played pretty darn hard tonight. Not happy being out rebounded..and of course 14 turnovers..

this team is a better road team than home team? Weird.

 

[RutgersDom]

One word:
Gutless

Such a bad bad take and childish...They are offensively challenged (Which will start to change next year) but gutless is the last thing they are...

 

[BigEastPhil]

i didnt see fight tonight at all. 2nd half was a disaster and an unravelling defensively

Caleb brought it big time defensively tonight. He wanted the win in the worst way. .

 

[RU848789]

I am definitely STAGE 5. However I expected a win tonight. So I guess I am mixed.

I reached the acceptance stage of the grief process after the MN game. It's just pretty clear we're not nearly as good defensively without Mag, plus there are other problems that have surfaced within the team to make us less effective offensively (not that we were ever that good, but a great D can hide some things) and at the end of the day, we're just not that good right now. I dont usually do predictions, but I thought we were going to lose tonight, as I said to my ticket mates and son, who came to the game with me, tonight. it's just sad that it all fell apart so badly. Yes, I know this team is capable of an upset against UM, given that we were able to beat WI and PSU on the road, but I'm not counting on it.

 

[RU848789]

i didnt see fight tonight at all. 2nd half was a disaster and an unravelling defensively

Disagree completely - effort was there, execution and talent weren't.

 

[RU848789]

Such a bad bad take and childish...They are offensively challenged (Which will start to change next year) but gutless is the last thing they are...

His specialty is bad takes.

 

[ColonelRutgers]

I’m just resigned to the fact that the team just isn’t good so if I thought we were underachieving or not trying I’d be upset. We are just atrocious offensively. There simply isn’t a Geo or Ron that can get us out of a scoring drought by just manufacturing something on their own. Paul has dropped off a cliff which is baffling at this point in his career. Either Cam can’t get open or we don’t do enough to get him open or both. Caleb is a great defensive player but he just doesn’t have the shooting touch to be a first, second, third or maybe even fourth option. Beating Michigan to get back in the mix? Good luck with that.

 

[Knightmoves]

The relative absence of a half court scoring offense, lack of shooters and having no guard who can drive to the basket has doomed this team down the stretch.

The Minnesota collapse also sapped the team confidence to bounce back from adversity.

I respect our players and thank them for giving it all they have but they look like dead men walking at this point.

 

[RUJMM78]

tame recap..what do you want. There is literally nothing to recap. Team had no fight and wasnt good enough and lost any hunger or fire.

team isnt good and there is no one to replace Mag because recruiting was bad for a couple years. Pikes loyalty to Mulcahy prevented him from going after an ace portal player and thus you get what he have. Pike thinking a freshmen like Simpson could be good enough to play as good as a 6 man. A player like Hyatt basically invisibe tonight...another one that should move on

I told everyone that making up for Geo and Ron was going to be incredibly difficult. We better start having standards. Pike has been a godsend here but he is getting paid big bucks. The finish to the season was a disaster. Couldnt even hold on to a 10 points lead in 70 seconds. Didnt even have a pulse in 4 of 5 home league games.

Spot on comments.Over achieiving came to a crushing ending with the lack of talent and the failure to install a offense based on the limited skillset of the roster.There was hardly any noticable player improvement on offense from the beginning of the B1G Ten season to the end.

 

[Bayonnebomber79]

Is that pike playing the violin?

 

[FIJI'83]

zero Offense is soul sucking for the players and fans. Changes must be made to the roster by not inviting back Mulcahy, Hyatt, Reiber and Miller, and hitting the portal hard. An assistant who is an offensive guru must be brought in.

 

[RUfubar]

Calebs shot is mechanically off likely based on injury. He can produce offensively when he's on. We have all seen it with a mid-range jumper.
Paul is either damaged physically and or mentally and/or both.
Cliff lacks offensive coordination. Nothing really new here but I thought his foul shooting had improved.
Hyatt is incredibly inconsistent. Cam is a warrior who can't do it alone. If you put Spencer & cam together in one person then you have your answer. Mag was a link in a connected chain & it broke. No repair held up.