What a rollcoaster 8 days.....play great D against Wisky but blow 9 point lead and lose in OT, then team couldn't recover and mailed in an embarrassing 20 point loss to Iowa, then we go on the road to Penn State a team who beat RU easily at the RAC and RU dominates for 35 minutes and lets the last 5 minutes get interesting but still pulls out the road win.
Program was resilient today after the Iowa debacle. Players were resilient at the end of game finally pulling one out and learning to win with a lead. Coaching staff was resilient today getting the kids to pick themselves off the floor and then to calm them down in the last minute to put them in position to secure the victory. Sure it wasnt pretty and sure it made the fans nervous but the fact is winning like this was a great test, much better than winning by double digits. RU got challenged and passed the test. Thats a huge step in learning how to win games
Monumental and historic win....first Big 10 road win EVER. This team seems to play better on the road. Only FIFTH Big 10 win ever....and second over Penn State. Time to celebrate...two conference wins on the season and reasonable chance for more with some winnable games ahead. Fans needed this win too because I could see alot of us were frustrated after the last two outings and getting down on the team. Winning matter even if we know we have a long slog ahead to get to any postseason. I gave this team and staff a pass for not being able to get up for the Iowa game because I thought it was a one shot deal.
And lost in all this was that RU dominated Penn State today all up and down the stat sheet. RU shot 46%...wow....7-16 from 3....yup its about shooting and scoring and RU finally had a day where they went in. What is stunning is they did it with only 6 players attempting shots. The loss of Nigel at least for today was a help offensively and defensively. Have to credit the players and staff for everyone buying into the game play today. Freeman, Sanders, Getty and Williams all were on the same page for the first time this year against a team with a pulse. Defensively PSU was largely shut down until they got hot at the end. First half they shut everyone down except for Garner. On the boards they cleaned up 39-27. Going to be a big confidence boost for this team going into a hot and cold Ohio State team that is young but vulnerable. Its a winnable game for sure if RU brings forth today's effort and strategy
Program was resilient today after the Iowa debacle. Players were resilient at the end of game finally pulling one out and learning to win with a lead. Coaching staff was resilient today getting the kids to pick themselves off the floor and then to calm them down in the last minute to put them in position to secure the victory. Sure it wasnt pretty and sure it made the fans nervous but the fact is winning like this was a great test, much better than winning by double digits. RU got challenged and passed the test. Thats a huge step in learning how to win games
Monumental and historic win....first Big 10 road win EVER. This team seems to play better on the road. Only FIFTH Big 10 win ever....and second over Penn State. Time to celebrate...two conference wins on the season and reasonable chance for more with some winnable games ahead. Fans needed this win too because I could see alot of us were frustrated after the last two outings and getting down on the team. Winning matter even if we know we have a long slog ahead to get to any postseason. I gave this team and staff a pass for not being able to get up for the Iowa game because I thought it was a one shot deal.
And lost in all this was that RU dominated Penn State today all up and down the stat sheet. RU shot 46%...wow....7-16 from 3....yup its about shooting and scoring and RU finally had a day where they went in. What is stunning is they did it with only 6 players attempting shots. The loss of Nigel at least for today was a help offensively and defensively. Have to credit the players and staff for everyone buying into the game play today. Freeman, Sanders, Getty and Williams all were on the same page for the first time this year against a team with a pulse. Defensively PSU was largely shut down until they got hot at the end. First half they shut everyone down except for Garner. On the boards they cleaned up 39-27. Going to be a big confidence boost for this team going into a hot and cold Ohio State team that is young but vulnerable. Its a winnable game for sure if RU brings forth today's effort and strategy