If Pikiell gets fired, Schiano should go with him

[fluoxetine]

Also I can tell Ace’s shot selection is bad without needing to dig that deep because
(1) I have been assured he is an elite level shooter and yet
(2) his efficiency is terrible

 

[BillyC80]

Where are you guys getting the “long two” stats? Because if it is from Bart and counting everything except “at the rim” it is counting too many shots.

Floaters in the lane and open foul line jumpers are very different from 1-2 foot inside the line shots.

If some team were shooting 35% from three and 55% from one foot inside the line it wouldn’t indicate they need to shoot more from one foot inside the line it would just indicate they had weird stats over a small sample.

I used Greenie’s stats on long 2-pointers.

 

[Rutgers1987]

Ok. And that’s alright. I’m don’t care what ya think — it’s entirely outside of my sphere of impact. If you looked at some of the broader indicators (like fan attendance at games) there’s a clear story there.

Nobody outside of the hardcore fans cared about this football season following the 4-game losing streak. The attitude was "same old Rutgers" and the casuals checked out. As you noted, attendance (which wasn't great to begin with) plummeted for the Minnesota and Illinois games.

I also don't think I've ever seen the fanbase (even the hardcore fans) less excited about a bowl game than this one. It will be our worst turnout by far in school history tomorrow in Phoenix. Yes, Christmas and travel issues have an impact but people figured it out back in 2005. Two decades later the excitement and optimism surrounding the football program simply isn't there.

That's why I find it insane that the coach who finally brought Rutgers back to the NCAA Tournament and won a game there, then made it back again, is on the "hot seat" according to some on this board. It's completely ridiculous. One March Madness appearance is better than ten "Rate Bowls."

 

[rufan4ever]

Nobody outside of the hardcore fans cared about this football season following the 4-game losing streak. The attitude was "same old Rutgers" and the casuals checked out. As you noted, attendance (which wasn't great to begin with) plummeted for the Minnesota and Illinois games.

I also don't think I've ever seen the fanbase (even the hardcore fans) less excited about a bowl game than this one. It will be our worst turnout by far in school history tomorrow in Phoenix. Yes, Christmas and travel issues have an impact but people figured it out back in 2005. Two decades later the excitement and optimism surrounding the football program simply isn't there.

That's why I find it insane that the coach who finally brought Rutgers back to the NCAA Tournament and won a game there, then made it back again, is on the "hot seat" according to some on this board. It's completely ridiculous. One March Madness appearance is better than ten "Rate Bowls."

Rutgers has had one NCAA tourney win over the past 40 years! Let that sink in. Obviously, that's not on Pike.
However, I don't think getting a Tourney bid 50% of our seasons is asking too much.

 

[Randal7]

Nobody outside of the hardcore fans cared about this football season following the 4-game losing streak. The attitude was "same old Rutgers" and the casuals checked out. As you noted, attendance (which wasn't great to begin with) plummeted for the Minnesota and Illinois games.

I also don't think I've ever seen the fanbase (even the hardcore fans) less excited about a bowl game than this one. It will be our worst turnout by far in school history tomorrow in Phoenix. Yes, Christmas and travel issues have an impact but people figured it out back in 2005. Two decades later the excitement and optimism surrounding the football program simply isn't there.

That's why I find it insane that the coach who finally brought Rutgers back to the NCAA Tournament and won a game there, then made it back again, is on the "hot seat" according to some on this board. It's completely ridiculous. One March Madness appearance is better than ten "Rate Bowls."

Thank you for representing the silent majority here. Merry Christmas

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

Nobody outside of the hardcore fans cared about this football season following the 4-game losing streak. The attitude was "same old Rutgers" and the casuals checked out. As you noted, attendance (which wasn't great to begin with) plummeted for the Minnesota and Illinois games.

I also don't think I've ever seen the fanbase (even the hardcore fans) less excited about a bowl game than this one. It will be our worst turnout by far in school history tomorrow in Phoenix. Yes, Christmas and travel issues have an impact but people figured it out back in 2005. Two decades later the excitement and optimism surrounding the football program simply isn't there.

That's why I find it insane that the coach who finally brought Rutgers back to the NCAA Tournament and won a game there, then made it back again, is on the "hot seat" according to some on this board. It's completely ridiculous. One March Madness appearance is better than ten "Rate Bowls."

Yes Selection for March Madness has more meaning than a low tier bowl game but that doesn’t prove that it’s exponentially harder year in and out to earn an At large bid in basketball than it is to get to 6-6 playing in the BIG.

Take 2021-22 hoops for example. We got in to the tournament with an 18-13 record. 8 of those games 25% of the schedule were complete cupcakes and should’ve been automatic wins in which case 10-13 against the “real teamsl would’ve gotten us that record. We play 2 cupcakes 15% of the schedule in football and need to be 4-6 in the rest. Achievement wise - the difficulty levels seems fairly similar, no? At least the gap is not closely aligned with the excitement level of attaining each feat.

 

[winfield102]

Being 54th most efficient out of 59 BIG starters (guys playing 24+ minutes) does not make any sort of a case that Dylan Grant or any other utility player on our roster should be playing over Ace.

You say we “have to be better” on offense. Yes - we do. 45.8% shooting inclusive of 33.3% from 3 IS better - and it’s likely a lot better than Dylan Grant can do for us right now. He’s not going to improve our rebounding over Ace, and he’s not going to make our offense better. Are you suggesting that the rest of his D as a true frosh also should be presumed to be that much better than Ace’s? Ace does some good things sometimes on D by the way with highlight reel blocks and such. Hes no Jaden Jones. I’m just not seeing

In 12 games Alabama has taken 78 long 2 point attempts. In 10 games Ace has taken 80

I want to scream. A piece of my soul is destroyed on every long 2 we take, especially early in the shot clock. I really enjoy watching Alabama games this year. Cliff has probably taken 2 poor-quality shots all year. Oats cut that shit out IMMEDIATELY.

Ace's efficiency could improve dramatically with proper coaching. Maybe Pike didn't realize that Ace would have almost no ability to get to the rim in a half court set.


We'd be terrible if Dylan wasn't so special with his ability to get all the way to the rim and score. Despite receiving no coaching, you have to look hard to nitpick at any of his faults on offense. Ace has talent but requires coaching. The staff is absolutely failing him.

Not much opportunity for Bailey to pass in my opinion. He's usually shooting over his guy in a one-on-one situation. I don't see him getting doubled often. Since he can't drive, he isn't drawing a crowd and creating kick out opportunities.

 

[biazza38]

Nobody outside of the hardcore fans cared about this football season following the 4-game losing streak. The attitude was "same old Rutgers" and the casuals checked out. As you noted, attendance (which wasn't great to begin with) plummeted for the Minnesota and Illinois games.

I also don't think I've ever seen the fanbase (even the hardcore fans) less excited about a bowl game than this one. It will be our worst turnout by far in school history tomorrow in Phoenix. Yes, Christmas and travel issues have an impact but people figured it out back in 2005. Two decades later the excitement and optimism surrounding the football program simply isn't there.

That's why I find it insane that the coach who finally brought Rutgers back to the NCAA Tournament and won a game there, then made it back again, is on the "hot seat" according to some on this board. It's completely ridiculous. One March Madness appearance is better than ten "Rate Bowls."

The attendance for the Minnesota and Illinois’s games did not plummet. I was there and it was filled. You also mention that the attendance “wasn’t great to begin with.”. Attendance for UCLA and Washington were 53K and 54K. The last two games were 44K and 47K. That’s not bad for late games. And fans aren’t excited about the bowl game because it’s the day after Christmas.

Our fan base is hilarious. Basketball fans have always hated Schiano. I don’t get it. It’s to the point where they have to lie in order to make their point. It really isn’t that difficult to make the tournament.

 

[fluoxetine]

Yes Selection for March Madness has more meaning than a low tier bowl game but that doesn’t prove that it’s exponentially harder year in and out to earn an At large bid in basketball than it is to get to 6-6 playing in the BIG.

Take 2021-22 hoops for example. We got in to the tournament with an 18-13 record. 8 of those games 25% of the schedule were complete cupcakes and should’ve been automatic wins in which case 10-13 against the “real teamsl would’ve gotten us that record. We play 2 cupcakes 15% of the schedule in football and need to be 4-6 in the rest. Achievement wise - the difficulty levels seems fairly similar, no? At least the gap is not closely aligned with the excitement level of attaining each feat.

If we had beaten all of the cupcakes and gone 10-13 against the “real teams” in 2021-22 we wouldn’t have made the tournament. We only got in because of which specific teams we beat.

(This doesn’t really have anything to do with your larger point)

 

[fluoxetine]

The attendance for the Minnesota and Illinois’s games did not plummet. I was there and it was filled. You also mention that the attendance “wasn’t great to begin with.”. Attendance for UCLA and Washington were 53K and 54K. The last two games were 44K and 47K. That’s not bad for late games. And fans aren’t excited about the bowl game because it’s the day after Christmas.

Our fan base is hilarious. Basketball fans have always hated Schiano. I don’t get it. It’s to the point where they have to lie in order to make their point. It really isn’t that difficult to make the tournament.

I still don’t know why this comparison even matters.

There are 82 teams that made bowls out of 134 eligible teams. There are 68 teams that make the tournament out of 355 eligible teams.

There are some mitigating factors that make it not as different as those numbers make it sound but it still seems like the bar of “make any bowl” is far lower.

Making a bowl really only requires you to go 3-6 in the Big Ten. Most years making the NCAA tournament will require you at least be .500 in conference.

 

[winfield102]

What is considered a long 2?

I hate the 18 or longer, dislike the 16-18 for most.

Alabama is shooting a VERY impressive percentage from long 2. That's probably the ceiling percentage for a long two. And it looks like they're basically at the floor for their three-point shooting. I wonder what the full season from last year looked like.

The rest of RU is 42 for 114 from long 2 if I read that right? Hmmmm. I must have a different definition of a long 2 because I think would have broken multiple TV's if we were firing 15+ long 2's a game.

 

[knight82]

No matter what happens, no coach is getting fired until the new president and the new AD are in place.

 

[biazza38]

I still don’t know why this comparison even matters.

There are 82 teams that made bowls out of 134 eligible teams. There are 68 teams that make the tournament out of 355 eligible teams.

There are some mitigating factors that make it not as different as those numbers make it sound but it still seems like the bar of “make any bowl” is far lower.

Making a bowl really only requires you to go 3-6 in the Big Ten. Most years making the NCAA tournament will require you at least be .500 in conference.

While I agree with that, Pike really does make it difficult on himself with his OOC history. Seriously, stop losing to the likes of Lehigh, DePaul, KSU, Princeton. Obviously getting to a bowl game is easier. But making the tournament wouldn’t seem so hard if we didn’t screw up every damn year in OOC play

 

[fluoxetine]

What is considered a long 2?

I hate the 18 or longer, dislike the 16-18 for most.

Alabama is shooting a VERY impressive percentage from long 2. That's probably the ceiling percentage for a long two. And it looks like they're basically at the floor for their three-point shooting. I wonder what the full season from last year looked like.

The rest of RU is 42 for 114 from long 2 if I read that right? Hmmmm. I must have a different definition of a long 2 because I think would have broken multiple TV's if we were firing 15+ long 2's a game.

I think it’s any two that is not “at the rim”. I think it is too broad a category to be useful.

 

[needmorecowbell]

Greg and Pike are here as long as they want.

 

[rume]

Greg and Pike are here as long as they want.

No!

 

[ancienthooper]

No matter what happens, no coach is getting fired until the new president and the new AD are in place.

No new President or new AD is going to fire either of them.

 

[needmorecowbell]

No!

Their contracts state differently

 

[rume]

Their contracts state differently

Good luck with that

 

[knight82]

Good luck with that

who's going to pay the buyouts?

 

[needmorecowbell]

Good luck with that

Not a Rutgers fan? 🤔

 

[rume]

Not a Rutgers fan? 🤔

😂

 

[rume]

who's going to pay the buyouts?

Who pays all the previous buyouts?

 

[rume]

No new President or new AD is going to fire either of them.

Ever?

 

[hinson32]

That’s literally not true?
2007 - 3-4
2008 - 5-2
2009 - 3-4
2010 - 1-6
2011 - 4-3

We know what happened in 2010 so I’m not sure if you really want to count that
But, he had two other seasons below .500 in conference play his last five seasons here
The other two was above .500
What’s the point of lying, why is it hard for you two to understand that if it wasn’t for Greg having success during his first time we would be in the AAC right now

It kind of is true. He was 3 games under.

 

[knights1212]

I don't want either to get fired but in my opinion Pike has done a much better job. There are about 78 teams in bowl games out of only about 120 D-1 teams in football. Our team didn't play Oregon, Ohio State, Penn State, Iowa, Indiana or Michigan. They were probably the best 6 teams in football in the Big. Schiano has never had a winning season in the BIg. I feel he would have a good season when they win at least 5 of our 9 games in Big Ten games in a season. Next year we play Ohio University, Miami (Ohio) and Norfolk State in our OOC games. That should be an easy 3-0 and all are home games. All we have to do is go 3-6 in BIG Ten games to make a bowl. That is a joke so we can brag we went to a bowl and we will lose money again going to the bowl. Schiano never won a title in the Big East or the AAC as well. He is a lifetime record of less than .500. He also makes many more millions than Pike.
As for basketball there are over 360 teams in D-1 and 68 make the NCAA Tournament. Half of them are winners of Mid Major conferences as well. Several years Steve led us to at least a .500 record in basketball games several seasons whereas Greg still has not had a winning record in Big Ten games in any season. Once we made the NCAA and the year before with Covid we were rated I believe four straight years between 28-42 in the final national rankings at the end of those seasons out of over 360 D-1 teams. That is impressive. That means we were in the top 10 % to about 12 % of all D-1 teams in the country those years. Football has not been near those numbers in any of Greg's years coaching in the BIG. It is a joke. Greg claimed he knows every school in NJ and he also coached in the NFL for two seasons. I just don't see the team showing much improvement. Schiano promised National Championships for RU when he was hired. I don't see it happening. Again I don't want to see either coach getting fired but I feel the constant criticism of Pike is uncalled for. Schiano got into the BIG 10 mostly because of Tim Pernetti. He got everything he wanted like two expansions to the football field and got a new practice facility and now demands a newer revised Hale Center. RU also let him have a home on our campus for millions of dollars. He is treated like a god. Steve represents RU by being a class act and he makes many of us proud that he is our coach. I just wish the negative comments would cease.

 

[rume]

who's going to pay the buyouts?

Starting in 2026 Rutgers will be getting approximately $80 million from Big 10 media deal and approximately $20 million from the college football playoff contract. Those are conservative numbers. The comparison between coaches is silly. I don’t want to see either coach fired, but it’s small time to accept mediocre results and plead poverty.

 

[rume]

I don't want either to get fired but in my opinion Pike has done a much better job. There are about 78 teams in bowl games out of only about 120 D-1 teams in football. Our team didn't play Oregon, Ohio State, Penn State, Iowa, Indiana or Michigan. They were probably the best 6 teams in football in the Big. Schiano has never had a winning season in the BIg. I feel he would have a good season when they win at least 5 of our 9 games in Big Ten games in a season. Next year we play Ohio University, Miami (Ohio) and Norfolk State in our OOC games. That should be an easy 3-0 and all are home games. All we have to do is go 3-6 in BIG Ten games to make a bowl. That is a joke so we can brag we went to a bowl and we will lose money again going to the bowl. Schiano never won a title in the Big East or the AAC as well. He is a lifetime record of less than .500. He also makes many more millions than Pike.
As for basketball there are over 360 teams in D-1 and 68 make the NCAA Tournament. Half of them are winners of Mid Major conferences as well. Several years Steve led us to at least a .500 record in basketball games several seasons whereas Greg still has not had a winning record in Big Ten games in any season. Once we made the NCAA and the year before with Covid we were rated I believe four straight years between 28-42 in the final national rankings at the end of those seasons out of over 360 D-1 teams. That is impressive. That means we were in the top 10 % to about 12 % of all D-1 teams in the country those years. Football has not been near those numbers in any of Greg's years coaching in the BIG. It is a joke. Greg claimed he knows every school in NJ and he also coached in the NFL for two seasons. I just don't see the team showing much improvement. Schiano promised National Championships for RU when he was hired. I don't see it happening. Again I don't want to see either coach getting fired but I feel the constant criticism of Pike is uncalled for. Schiano got into the BIG 10 mostly because of Tim Pernetti. He got everything he wanted like two expansions to the football field and got a new practice facility and now demands a newer revised Hale Center. RU also let him have a home on our campus for millions of dollars. He is treated like a god. Steve represents RU by being a class act and he makes many of us proud that he is our coach. I just wish the negative comments would cease.

I don't want either to get fired but in my opinion Pike has done a much better job. There are about 78 teams in bowl games out of only about 120 D-1 teams in football. Our team didn't play Oregon, Ohio State, Penn State, Iowa, Indiana or Michigan. They were probably the best 6 teams in football in the Big. Schiano has never had a winning season in the BIg. I feel he would have a good season when they win at least 5 of our 9 games in Big Ten games in a season. Next year we play Ohio University, Miami (Ohio) and Norfolk State in our OOC games. That should be an easy 3-0 and all are home games. All we have to do is go 3-6 in BIG Ten games to make a bowl. That is a joke so we can brag we went to a bowl and we will lose money again going to the bowl. Schiano never won a title in the Big East or the AAC as well. He is a lifetime record of less than .500. He also makes many more millions than Pike.
As for basketball there are over 360 teams in D-1 and 68 make the NCAA Tournament. Half of them are winners of Mid Major conferences as well. Several years Steve led us to at least a .500 record in basketball games several seasons whereas Greg still has not had a winning record in Big Ten games in any season. Once we made the NCAA and the year before with Covid we were rated I believe four straight years between 28-42 in the final national rankings at the end of those seasons out of over 360 D-1 teams. That is impressive. That means we were in the top 10 % to about 12 % of all D-1 teams in the country those years. Football has not been near those numbers in any of Greg's years coaching in the BIG. It is a joke. Greg claimed he knows every school in NJ and he also coached in the NFL for two seasons. I just don't see the team showing much improvement. Schiano promised National Championships for RU when he was hired. I don't see it happening. Again I don't want to see either coach getting fired but I feel the constant criticism of Pike is uncalled for. Schiano got into the BIG 10 mostly because of Tim Pernetti. He got everything he wanted like two expansions to the football field and got a new practice facility and now demands a newer revised Hale Center. RU also let him have a home on our campus for millions of dollars. He is treated like a god. Steve represents RU by being a class act and he makes many of us proud that he is our coach. I just wish the negative comments would cease.

I think the negative comments will cease if the basketball team wins games. I respect Steve and I am rooting for him.

 

[RUGiddy777]

Ace isn't really even good now at the college level. He shows instances of brilliance, but his game is raw and he is woefully underdeveloped in every aspect. It's all just freaky raw skills that outshine the flaws at times. He will get drafted high because of the talent and I hope he eventually crushes it. We will just never really experience it here.

Agree with that. Ace is a physical freak. He is thriving in spite of the lack of offensive system.

Wait - is he not good or is he thriving?

 

[biazza38]

This thread is hilarious

 

[kt124]

I think the negative comments will cease if the basketball team wins games. I respect Steve and I am rooting for him.

i respect him as a man but can also acknowledge that the past 3 seasons including this one have shown he isnt a very good college basketball coach

 

[biazza38]

I don't want either to get fired but in my opinion Pike has done a much better job. There are about 78 teams in bowl games out of only about 120 D-1 teams in football. Our team didn't play Oregon, Ohio State, Penn State, Iowa, Indiana or Michigan. They were probably the best 6 teams in football in the Big. Schiano has never had a winning season in the BIg. I feel he would have a good season when they win at least 5 of our 9 games in Big Ten games in a season. Next year we play Ohio University, Miami (Ohio) and Norfolk State in our OOC games. That should be an easy 3-0 and all are home games. All we have to do is go 3-6 in BIG Ten games to make a bowl. That is a joke so we can brag we went to a bowl and we will lose money again going to the bowl. Schiano never won a title in the Big East or the AAC as well. He is a lifetime record of less than .500. He also makes many more millions than Pike.
As for basketball there are over 360 teams in D-1 and 68 make the NCAA Tournament. Half of them are winners of Mid Major conferences as well. Several years Steve led us to at least a .500 record in basketball games several seasons whereas Greg still has not had a winning record in Big Ten games in any season. Once we made the NCAA and the year before with Covid we were rated I believe four straight years between 28-42 in the final national rankings at the end of those seasons out of over 360 D-1 teams. That is impressive. That means we were in the top 10 % to about 12 % of all D-1 teams in the country those years. Football has not been near those numbers in any of Greg's years coaching in the BIG. It is a joke. Greg claimed he knows every school in NJ and he also coached in the NFL for two seasons. I just don't see the team showing much improvement. Schiano promised National Championships for RU when he was hired. I don't see it happening. Again I don't want to see either coach getting fired but I feel the constant criticism of Pike is uncalled for. Schiano got into the BIG 10 mostly because of Tim Pernetti. He got everything he wanted like two expansions to the football field and got a new practice facility and now demands a newer revised Hale Center. RU also let him have a home on our campus for millions of dollars. He is treated like a god. Steve represents RU by being a class act and he makes many of us proud that he is our coach. I just wish the negative comments would cease.

I don’t want either fired but this whole thing stems from Pike not building around Harper and Bailey. People take shots at GS. Some are fair. But good lord, we have Harper and Bailey and lost to KSU and Princeton. You point out that Schiano’s OOC schedule is a joke next year. Well, those are the types of teams that’s Pike has been losing to in OOF play for years. All we want as basketball fans is to not be behind the 8 ball before Christmas.
I didn’t think it was possible, but Pike is somehow more stubborn than GS. We continue to make the same mistakes in schedule making and OOC play.

Side note, do we really need to rehash how depleted the depth chart was due to injuries this year and the impact it had? Also, not that it really matters, but both Minny and Illinois were better than Umich.

 

[Randal7]

I don’t want either fired but this whole thing stems from Pike not building around Harper and Bailey. People take shots at GS. Some are fair. But good lord, we have Harper and Bailey and lost to KSU and Princeton. You point out that Schiano’s OOC schedule is a joke next year. Well, those are the types of teams that’s Pike has been losing to in OOF play for years. All we want as basketball fans is to not be behind the 8 ball before Christmas.
I didn’t think it was possible, but Pike is somehow more stubborn than GS. We continue to make the same mistakes in schedule making and OOC play.

We had Britt, underwood and teel and lost to navy. Our qb then punched our safety in the face to end the game. It happens. Sometimes ya lose games to crap opponents.

 

[biazza38]

We had Britt, underwood and teel and lost to navy. Our qb then punched our safety in the face to end the game. It happens. Sometimes ya lose games to crap opponents.

That Navy team was 8-4. Hardly even remotely close to a Q3 Kennesaw State team that had a ton of roster turnover. When 40% of your starting lineup is going to be a lottery pick, it should not be difficult to not sleep walk in OOC play. That’s what everyone is upset about. How does that continue to be an issue

The thing about Pike’s teams is whenever you think they’re out, they do fight. Think about the 2021-22 season. We beat #1 Purdue and had 4 straight wins against 4 ranked opponents towards the end of the season. That’s incredible!! But we still ended up in Dayton, because we floundered against Lafayette, DePaul, and Umass. All I’m asking for is to enter B1G play without being in this situation year after year after year.

 

[RutgersClassof2004]

Pike should be run out of town if unable to make Tournament with Harper and Bailey. Simple as that. His basketball coaching abilities really have to be questioned with this disaster of a season so far.

 

[RutgersClassof2004]

Captain Martini should also be cut.

 

[needmorecowbell]

i respect him as a man but can also acknowledge that the past 3 seasons including this one have shown he isnt a very good college basketball coach

Comments like this just make me wonder what the hell some of you are thinking. So Pike was a good coach for 2019-2021 and then he isn’t a good coach from 2022-2024? Or did you always believe he wasn’t a good coach even at his previous jobs? Coaching is hard and its very rare that a team (non blue blood) has sustained success every year. You want to argue that Pike hasn’t made the right moves with the changes to the portal and NIL? Sure, that is up for debate but to say the guy isn’t a good coach tells me you have no idea about basketball or sports in general. He has rebuilt two horrible programs into winning programs and generally has done it with class and the respect of everyone in the basketball community. Garbage post.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

If we had beaten all of the cupcakes and gone 10-13 against the “real teams” in 2021-22 we wouldn’t have made the tournament. We only got in because of which specific teams we beat.

(This doesn’t really have anything to do with your larger point)

I get that not every combo of 10-13 would’ve gotten us in but it was possible. Lose to Michigan, Nebraska and Iowa instead of Lafayette, UMass and DePaul. Similar caliber resume. Regardless - my post was intended at those making it seem like coaching a team to have a body of work that lands on the right side of the bubble is exponentially more difficult than going 6-6 or better every year in football and that’s just not true.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

I still don’t know why this comparison even matters.

There are 82 teams that made bowls out of 134 eligible teams. There are 68 teams that make the tournament out of 355 eligible teams.

There are some mitigating factors that make it not as different as those numbers make it sound but it still seems like the bar of “make any bowl” is far lower.

Making a bowl really only requires you to go 3-6 in the Big Ten. Most years making the NCAA tournament will require you at least be .500 in conference.

Let’s just quantify a sort of parallel then ok - because when you put it this way it makes the gap seem like something it’s not. Or rather - what it’s not for major conference teams that play in the BIG. It’s MUCH easier for FBS mid-majors to make a bowl game than to qualify for the NCAA tournament as a D1 midmajor. Like different galaxy different. That much fits your description.

About 50 major conference teams qualified for bowl games each year. Figure the number is around 40 for the NCAA tournament with the next 10 ending up in the NIT. Alas that means making a bowl game is reasonably aligned resume wise with having a bubble caliber resume or better (you can’t compare record straight up because basketball teams play a higher percentage of cupcake games). We’ve never been higher than a 10 seed in the tournment - the right side of the bubble. That doesn’t exist in football - outside of the playoffs, it’s just bowl or nothing.

In 8 seasons as head coach Pike has had 4 bubble caliber teams - one landed in the NIT, two landed on the right side of the bubble and made the tournament, and one would’ve landed on the right side of the bubble but COVID cancelled the tournament that year. We finished with losing records in the other 4 seasons so for the avoidance of doubt, not just not selected for NIT but not even eligible for selection. Year 9 is trending towards nothing at the moment - we wouldn’t make the NIT if season ended today.

In 5 seasons at Rutgers - Greg qualified twice for bowls. He missed three times (though we got to go to the Gator bowl anyway, and his first year was a throwaway year - with zero OOC games attaining bowl eligibility was basically impossible in the BIG east).

Thats your resume comparison. Considering Pike failed to finish with a 500 record in his first 4 seasons, it appears on apples to apples Greg is performing well, or at least in line on a relative basis. Certainly not worse.

Some will point to Pike having bigger single game win accomplishments but that can’t be noted without pointing out the other end where Greg is has a perfect OOC record since his return. In a relative basis, that’s not “nothing”. You can’t pretend the collection of Lafayette, UMass, Kennesaw, and St Bonnies type losses never happened.

 

[Randal7]

That Navy team was 8-4. Hardly even remotely close to a Q3 Kennesaw State team that had a ton of roster turnover. When 40% of your starting lineup is going to be a lottery pick, it should not be difficult to not sleep walk in OOC play. That’s what everyone is upset about. How does that continue to be an issue

The thing about Pike’s teams is whenever you think they’re out, they do fight. Think about the 2021-22 season. We beat #1 Purdue and had 4 straight wins against 4 ranked opponents towards the end of the season. That’s incredible!! But we still ended up in Dayton, because we floundered against Lafayette, DePaul, and Umass. All I’m asking for is to enter B1G play without being in this situation year after year after year.

ok so clearly you’ll relent on nothing. Gotcha.

Just for good measure — we lost to a 4-8 Tulane team at home in 2010 while we had an nfl wide receiver and 4 star QB.

Let’s hear how good that squad was.