4th Big 10 win, be happy.....Much needed win today for the players, coaching staff and fans. Players and coaches have been working hard with nothing to show for in league play. Some games RU were not competitive in simply because the talent overmatched them. Other games RU played well at times but were in the end done in by lack of shooting. Despite all that the one constant was defense. Today Rutgers won by persevering and winning on its 3 strengths....coaching, defense and Corey Sanders.
I thought Coach Pikiell did a very good job today. His switch to zone flummoxed the Cornhuskers as they couldnt buy a basket in the last 10 minutes of the first half. I didnt see the coaching staff panic when RU lost the lead in the 2nd half. There were a couple of set plays later in the game that were nicely drawn up and executed. Pikiell had almost a full week to prepare for Nebraska and keying on defense which is the big strength of RU did wonders. It has allowed RU to stay in games against better competition with better talent and better shooters.
The RU defense was excellent in the first half. Granted, RU didnt get Nebraska best shot in the first half but they did in the second and were able to hang tough especially late. Nebby's last couple of possessions resulted in turnovers caused by tough defense. RU also got in some foul trouble early in the 2nd half but then really cut back on the fouling and played better defense. RU outrebounded 37-30 and its a major reason they were able to squeak by today. Major credit to the players for not panicking and sticking to their game.
While RU shot well today overall, the offense and win belonged to Corey Sanders...great stat line 11-18, 25 points, finally lived up to his hype and reminiscient of some games from last season., Corey was hot and RU had to ride them and he was unstoppable and such a heady play to grab his rebound for the winning putback. Having Corey unleashed will at times open up some shots for some others and makes RU tougher to defend and that makes Corey tougher to defend. Major kudos to him for his Big 10 player of the week type performance. Plus his defense was outstanding on the Nebby guards.
What impressed me about this win was not that RU won but its they won after a huge Nebby run took them from down 12 to up 7. I didnt think RU had it in them to comeback and then suddenly RU tied it up and then Nebby went up 5,, it once agains looked like RU was finished. Even more impressive that the win itself was the sticktuitivness and relentlessness in the 2nd half and fighting through adversity. This team did this against weaker opponents but nver opponent better than them and so its a huge breakthrough for the team this season. And Nebby is good, they have wins at Maryland and at Indiana, they didnt play their best in the first half but in the 2nd half, that was Nebby playing at their top level. Coaches and players really deserve alot of credit today
Fans needed this win because I could tell that frustration was setting in, definitely with me as thoughts crept of a winless season again. Not alot of talk on the board this week as it was getting tough to see the losses mount. Important to get the first and monkey off their back, lets see how many more we can get it but its going to take superlative efforts, this team still will never be a good shooting team. Hopefully we can find a way to win 3 or 4 more.
RAC was good today at times, Long way to go but its a start given how much lack of atmosphere has been there the last few years and yes Im comparing it to what the RAC used to be so yes its good but not great yet.
I thought Coach Pikiell did a very good job today. His switch to zone flummoxed the Cornhuskers as they couldnt buy a basket in the last 10 minutes of the first half. I didnt see the coaching staff panic when RU lost the lead in the 2nd half. There were a couple of set plays later in the game that were nicely drawn up and executed. Pikiell had almost a full week to prepare for Nebraska and keying on defense which is the big strength of RU did wonders. It has allowed RU to stay in games against better competition with better talent and better shooters.
The RU defense was excellent in the first half. Granted, RU didnt get Nebraska best shot in the first half but they did in the second and were able to hang tough especially late. Nebby's last couple of possessions resulted in turnovers caused by tough defense. RU also got in some foul trouble early in the 2nd half but then really cut back on the fouling and played better defense. RU outrebounded 37-30 and its a major reason they were able to squeak by today. Major credit to the players for not panicking and sticking to their game.
While RU shot well today overall, the offense and win belonged to Corey Sanders...great stat line 11-18, 25 points, finally lived up to his hype and reminiscient of some games from last season., Corey was hot and RU had to ride them and he was unstoppable and such a heady play to grab his rebound for the winning putback. Having Corey unleashed will at times open up some shots for some others and makes RU tougher to defend and that makes Corey tougher to defend. Major kudos to him for his Big 10 player of the week type performance. Plus his defense was outstanding on the Nebby guards.
What impressed me about this win was not that RU won but its they won after a huge Nebby run took them from down 12 to up 7. I didnt think RU had it in them to comeback and then suddenly RU tied it up and then Nebby went up 5,, it once agains looked like RU was finished. Even more impressive that the win itself was the sticktuitivness and relentlessness in the 2nd half and fighting through adversity. This team did this against weaker opponents but nver opponent better than them and so its a huge breakthrough for the team this season. And Nebby is good, they have wins at Maryland and at Indiana, they didnt play their best in the first half but in the 2nd half, that was Nebby playing at their top level. Coaches and players really deserve alot of credit today
Fans needed this win because I could tell that frustration was setting in, definitely with me as thoughts crept of a winless season again. Not alot of talk on the board this week as it was getting tough to see the losses mount. Important to get the first and monkey off their back, lets see how many more we can get it but its going to take superlative efforts, this team still will never be a good shooting team. Hopefully we can find a way to win 3 or 4 more.
RAC was good today at times, Long way to go but its a start given how much lack of atmosphere has been there the last few years and yes Im comparing it to what the RAC used to be so yes its good but not great yet.
