Of the questions we had about this team which ones were answered tonight?

[Rutgersray1]

1. Can Cam Spencer play at this level.

Absolutely

2. How will this team handle the final 4 minutes on the road in a tight game.

Looked fine to me.

3. Can we find a way to get quality shots with the game on the line.

Looked good to me.

4. Can our defensive intensity show up on the road. Yes especially in the 2nd half.

5. Can Simpson show up in a big spot on the road as a freshman. Yes

6. Do we have someone other than Paul run the offense in the half court and get quality shots. Spencer showed poise under fire.

Things I loved

Floor spacing
Shot quality
Sets run out of time outs
Substitution pattern switch in 2nd half.
Less junk defense in 2nd half

 

[Rutgersray1]

1. Can Cam Spencer play at this level.

Absolutely

2. How will this team handle the final 4 minutes on the road in a tight game.

Looked fine to me.

3. Can we find a way to get quality shots with the game on the line.

Looked good to me.

4. Can our defensive intensity show up on the road. Yes especially in the 2nd half.

5. Can Simpson show up in a big spot on the road as a freshman. Yes

6. Do we have someone other than Paul run the offense in the half court and get quality shots. Spencer showed poise under fire.

Things I loved

Floor spacing
Shot quality
Sets run out of time outs
Substitution pattern switch in 2nd half.
Less junk defense in 2nd half

 

[Degaz-RU]

Agreed with these.

But we are a terrible 3-Pt shooting team, so unfortunately that question has been answered in the negative. We’re going to struggle to score more than 65 points most nights, so our margin for error will be very small.

 

[RU82]

We did what we needed to do to win tonight. Sometimes you just are on the wrong end of these wild finishes.

 

[RUJMM78]

Agreed with these.

But we are a terrible 3-Pt shooting team, so unfortunately that question has been answered in the negative. We’re going to struggle to score more than 65 points most nights, so our margin for error will be very small.

Spot on comments.In the 3 Rutgers losses the team has scored 66,61 and 66 points.In the Indiana game Rutgers scored 63 points and there was a margin for error.

 

[GORU2014]

Can Spencer compete against high level talent? (Yes)

Will the B1G refs finally cut us a break this year? (No)

 

[ScarletDave]

Simpson showed up in his few minutes. Made some killer shots, showed no fear. This team will be fun at the RAC, and decent on the road especially against the bottom half of the conference

 

[knight82]

This is a good basketball team. They will bounce back from this

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

If we can play like this and rebound like we did vs. Miami and Indiana we can be very good and will score more.

 

[Rutgers25]

1. Can Cam Spencer play at this level.

Absolutely

2. How will this team handle the final 4 minutes on the road in a tight game.

Looked fine to me.

3. Can we find a way to get quality shots with the game on the line.

Looked good to me.

4. Can our defensive intensity show up on the road. Yes especially in the 2nd half.

5. Can Simpson show up in a big spot on the road as a freshman. Yes

6. Do we have someone other than Paul run the offense in the half court and get quality shots. Spencer showed poise under fire.

Things I loved

Floor spacing
Shot quality
Sets run out of time outs
Substitution pattern switch in 2nd half.
Less junk defense in 2nd half

Despite being robbed I agree that this game is a good sign for the rest of the year. Beat the hall and wake and take care of business against 2 cupcakes and we’ll be well positioned

 

[bethlehemfan]

If we play like this every night we will be fine.

 

[ScarletDave]

The question some had (not many but some) of whether this is an NCAA team should be answered by now. 2 ranked wins in a row and one on the road. Now go beat SHU by 30 and hold the trophy Sunday

 

[RU-ROCS]

All true, but just a brutal loss nonetheless. Of course, if the Refs make the proper call, we win. But also, if Caleb doesn’t fumble an easy pass for a layup in the last minute and then makes the second FT with 5 seconds left, we probably win too. Painful on so many levels. Hopefully the team is resilient and builds on this!

 

[Night Man]

As the sting wears off, I realize the main takeaway, other than the fact that you have to be a legit national title contender to go .500 on the road in this conference, is that this team is actually pretty good. I'm the last to realize it, I know.

 

[Scangg]

2-0 with wins against Indiana and @OSU would have set us up soooo well in B1G play this year

If we were healthy we beat Temple and Miami and now the refs stole this one. Frustrating "what could have been" start to the season

 

[bac2therac]

1. Can Cam Spencer play at this level.

Absolutely

2. How will this team handle the final 4 minutes on the road in a tight game.

Looked fine to me.

3. Can we find a way to get quality shots with the game on the line.

Looked good to me.

4. Can our defensive intensity show up on the road. Yes especially in the 2nd half.

5. Can Simpson show up in a big spot on the road as a freshman. Yes

6. Do we have someone other than Paul run the offense in the half court and get quality shots. Spencer showed poise under fire.

Things I loved

Floor spacing
Shot quality
Sets run out of time outs
Substitution pattern switch in 2nd half.
Less junk defense in 2nd half

good thread

Cam did shine....started strong, leveled off but some big plays down the stretch

RU was pretty composed late especially defensively.

Got good shots, some went in easy, even the misses like Hyatts were good in theory

yep our defense got better as the game wore on

Derek did his job tonight and I like that Pike didnt push him too much. It was just the right amount on the road which is very different than home

I loved Pike winning halftime again with Cliff. This team is going to get better each game Paul plays

 

[RedTeam1994]

We did what we needed to do to win tonight. Sometimes you just are on the wrong end of these wild finishes.

I was totally fine either way

I thought we played well (not great but very solid) against a very good team with tons of talent

They made a miracle shot… aided by the refs

No issue with what I saw from RU

 

[MiloTalon13]

I agree. Brutal loss but shows with everyone healthy we are a top 30 team.

 

[goru7]

All true, but just a brutal loss nonetheless. Of course, if the Refs make the proper call, we win. But also, if Caleb doesn’t fumble an easy pass for a layup in the last minute and then makes the second FT with 5 seconds left, we probably win too. Painful on so many levels. Hopefully the team is resilient and builds on this!

Your blaming Caleb for missing a foul shot but the clock doesn’t start for 1 to 1.5 seconds after his miss so the last shot would never been attempted in time if clock operator and refs reviewed the clock which they could have. Then he didn’t sulk but played defense on Thornton and forced him to step out of bounds which the refs also missed. Yeah he fumbled Paul’s pass and wasn’t perfect tonight but he is invaluable to our team going far this year.

 

[OriginalKnight]

1. Can Cam Spencer play at this level.

Absolutely

2. How will this team handle the final 4 minutes on the road in a tight game.

Looked fine to me.

3. Can we find a way to get quality shots with the game on the line.

Looked good to me.

4. Can our defensive intensity show up on the road. Yes especially in the 2nd half.

5. Can Simpson show up in a big spot on the road as a freshman. Yes

6. Do we have someone other than Paul run the offense in the half court and get quality shots. Spencer showed poise under fire.

Things I loved

Floor spacing
Shot quality
Sets run out of time outs
Substitution pattern switch in 2nd half.
Less junk defense in 2nd half

@madchuck was correct. Pike sucks.

 

[RU-ROCS]

Your blaming Caleb for missing a foul shot but the clock doesn’t start for 1 to 1.5 seconds after his miss so the last shot would never been attempted in time if clock operator and refs reviewed the clock which they could have. Then he didn’t sulk but played defense on Thornton and forced him to step out of bounds which the refs also missed. Yeah he fumbled Paul’s pass and wasn’t perfect tonight but he is invaluable to our team going far this year.

All true. I don’t blame Caleb for the loss. I love the guy. Just pointing out how thin the margin is on the road.

 

[RutgersClassof2004]

The question some had (not many but some) of whether this is an NCAA team should be answered by now. 2 ranked wins in a row and one on the road. Now go beat SHU by 30 and hold the trophy Sunday

In March, this will only look like a road L. Not good enough. Need to throw a f*cking fit with conference over this disgusting result.

 

[goru7]

The positive thing lost in this reffed f—-ked up game was that we got a ton of contributions from almost everyone. Not 1 or 2 players but 5-6. Cam to start and then late , then Hyatt was steady and hit big shots in both halves , Paul steady directing team 4 assists with a 3 and couple of big buckets late and hit both foul shots , Wolf gave us good minutes and a big bucket and rebound. Dean I could not believe shot 3’s on 3 straight possessions and thankfully hit the last one. He did not get abused any worse than Cliff by Key , Derek although was shaky early and his defense was not good hit 2 big buckets for 4 points despite missing that layup ; Then Cliff with the Jekyll and Hyde hideous first half and tremendous second half with the clutch bucket and hitting the and 1 to give us the lead. ; Caleb and Mag not great offensive nights but a number of defensive plays.

We have a number of options at the end of the game and not 1 guy that is make or break. That bodes well for our team concert on offense. We are becoming a really good team. Despite this still devastated by the loss and robbery.

 

[goru7]

All true. I don’t blame Caleb for the loss. I love the guy. Just pointing out how thin the margin is on the road.

You are not going to have a perfect night. People are less happy with Mag tonight compared to Indiana but he made 2 great defensive plays in the middle of the second half on Seuing to steal the ball and block his shot on back to back trips that totally had Ohio State in a funk on offense for a while. They got extremely lucky tonight and not just with the last shot or the refs help , as they hit 2-3 threes late in the shot clock and from way downtown that were like desperation shots , Thornton 28 foot three pointer , Seuing ‘s late corner 3 and Sensabaugh’s turnaround 2 as the shot clock was expiring. They got extremely lucky tonight