The last 2 games have been eye opening.
A) Pike sped the game up and freed up Nebraska to take and make 3s.....a team with nothing to lose and playing an up tempo game, helped fuel this result.
B) Mulcahy has to be burned out. He's logged a lot of minutes and the fatigue is showing. He needs to recharge and I would cut his minutes down to around 18 to 22 minutes, if the Wisconsin game is another game where he refuses to attack and take the easy floaters or pull up shots. His defense is only decent when he's scoring.
C) Cam Spencer is probably better suited with a quicker guard to drive and kick to him.....the only option is Simpson at this stage.
D) Start Simpson vs Wisconsin. We are in for another low scoring game in the 50s and we really need something off the dribble, to match Hepburn and Essigian of Wisconsin.
E) Cliff is doing the best he can, but Mulcahy isn't the answer for Cliff on offense. Other than floating a couple of passes for dunks, Cliff is still a work in progress and would be better suited with another quick guards who just takes the pull up jumpers and hope Cliff cleans up the misses. There should be offensive rebounds, but Mulcahy hesitates and allows the defense to catch up and then box Cliff out. If Mulcahy attacked the basket and shoots the ball within the rhythm of the game, Cliff would have more rebounds and put backs.
Overall, I thought Nebraska was well prepared for the press, torched it and Pike stayed with it....and it was costly.
But the tempo of the next 2 games of Wisconsin and Michigan, will not look like both Iowa games or this Nebraska game.
The last summary of losing Mag is not solving the Cam Spencer refusal to draw contact or Paul Mulcahy refusing to shoot the ball. And if Mag actually played more, that would mean less Hyatt, since they occupy the same position. RU would have lost 72-62 with Mag playing tonight and played much stronger defense, but lost the 10 to 14 extra points Hyatt provided in his 30 minutes of play.
As fans, Mag is not coming back.....we need to move on, adjust, man up and ask our starting backcourt, to man up and take some time to get focused. If Mulcahy has another passive 1st half at Wisconsin, I'd sit him to start the 2nd half.
If Pike and Knight had the stones they had 3 years ago, they'd pull the plug on Mulcahy starting and elevate Simpson.....it was the same thing when we sent Mathis and Young to the bench and elevated Mulcahy and Caleb to the starting lineup, after losing 5 straight games before winning at Indiana. That turned that season around and salvaged things. It may be time to pull the same thing on Saturday at Wisconsin. Start Simpson, Hyatt, Cliff, Cam and Caleb and let Mulcahy come off the bench with Reiber, Woolfolk and Palmquist to lead the bench.
A) Pike sped the game up and freed up Nebraska to take and make 3s.....a team with nothing to lose and playing an up tempo game, helped fuel this result.
B) Mulcahy has to be burned out. He's logged a lot of minutes and the fatigue is showing. He needs to recharge and I would cut his minutes down to around 18 to 22 minutes, if the Wisconsin game is another game where he refuses to attack and take the easy floaters or pull up shots. His defense is only decent when he's scoring.
C) Cam Spencer is probably better suited with a quicker guard to drive and kick to him.....the only option is Simpson at this stage.
D) Start Simpson vs Wisconsin. We are in for another low scoring game in the 50s and we really need something off the dribble, to match Hepburn and Essigian of Wisconsin.
E) Cliff is doing the best he can, but Mulcahy isn't the answer for Cliff on offense. Other than floating a couple of passes for dunks, Cliff is still a work in progress and would be better suited with another quick guards who just takes the pull up jumpers and hope Cliff cleans up the misses. There should be offensive rebounds, but Mulcahy hesitates and allows the defense to catch up and then box Cliff out. If Mulcahy attacked the basket and shoots the ball within the rhythm of the game, Cliff would have more rebounds and put backs.
Overall, I thought Nebraska was well prepared for the press, torched it and Pike stayed with it....and it was costly.
But the tempo of the next 2 games of Wisconsin and Michigan, will not look like both Iowa games or this Nebraska game.
The last summary of losing Mag is not solving the Cam Spencer refusal to draw contact or Paul Mulcahy refusing to shoot the ball. And if Mag actually played more, that would mean less Hyatt, since they occupy the same position. RU would have lost 72-62 with Mag playing tonight and played much stronger defense, but lost the 10 to 14 extra points Hyatt provided in his 30 minutes of play.
As fans, Mag is not coming back.....we need to move on, adjust, man up and ask our starting backcourt, to man up and take some time to get focused. If Mulcahy has another passive 1st half at Wisconsin, I'd sit him to start the 2nd half.
If Pike and Knight had the stones they had 3 years ago, they'd pull the plug on Mulcahy starting and elevate Simpson.....it was the same thing when we sent Mathis and Young to the bench and elevated Mulcahy and Caleb to the starting lineup, after losing 5 straight games before winning at Indiana. That turned that season around and salvaged things. It may be time to pull the same thing on Saturday at Wisconsin. Start Simpson, Hyatt, Cliff, Cam and Caleb and let Mulcahy come off the bench with Reiber, Woolfolk and Palmquist to lead the bench.