Pike's Peak

[bac2therac]

that we had a RU team peaking at the end of the year.

Definitely not in the Jordan era
Perhaps in the Rice first year you can say but the team was consistent at not being good enough to win
Not in the Hill era as if they ever did
Waters teams always finished regular season poorly missing out on 2 NCAA tourneys
Bannons first team that made the BE semis may be the last time we substantially were better at the end of the year then the beginning


Definitely I can say this team is playing its best basketball as a team on both sides of the ball as it heads into the 2nd round of the Big 10 tourney. Its two best games back to back both resulting in victories. Tough grind it out defense in both, opportunistic on the offensive end, just enough to get them by.

What was great to see about tonight is that after getting down 15-5 early, RU dominated the rest of the game. RU outscored OSU 61-42 after those first 5 minutes. RU controlled the pace, RU played their better offense, RU played the better defense, RU hit the foul shots. RU closed it out. RU was in similar spots vs Wisconsin and Northwestern and couldnt finish melting down, they barely lasted against PSU, but tonight, tonight RU not only finished but they won going away. It was a 2 point game with 5 minutes left and RU outscored OSU 11-4 in the last 5 minutes.Its one thing to eek out last second shot wins vs Nebby and Illinois. Its taking another GIGANTIC step forward in learning how to play with a lead and extending a lead.

Win or lose tomorrow night, this week will go down in history as the coming of age moments for this program under Coach Pike. RU beat two legit programs with talent that on paper is better than them. RU proved better tonight and that is not a one off fluke. RU did it with a full team effort (in spite of Corey Sanders dreadful stat line but I will keep it positive tonight).

Nigel Johnson who has been known to disappear at times including the Illinois game and who has been known to not hit his foul shots was the man tonight, connecting on all 8 of his free throws helping to seal the deal tonight. His first performance of 12 points was the catalyst for RU coming back after a slow start. 21 points on 5-11 shooting, 3-6 from 3, 8-8 ft, 21 points

Freeman...warrior the past few games. Its a shame he had all those fouls toward the end but he was doing all the little things to contribute cleaning up under the rim for putbacks. 5-12, 8 boards 10 points

CJ Gettys....6 points/9 boards...in and out with foul trouble but he did a yeomans job in the second half of the second half.

Mike Williams...pretty poor first half and only 4 points but 9 boards...9 boards! He was making his presence felt....struggling but played his role tonight to contribute anything he could

Thiam...X Factor for this team, thought he would progress more this year but hit a funk but showing signs now....big confidence boost tonight, hit a couple of important 3s but more importantly he is a guy they now have to guard which can open up the rest of the offense. 3-6, 2-4 from 3 8 points.

Laurent 13 minutes, 3-4, 7 points, role player playing his role, we need guys like him to do thi

Doorson only 9 minutes but again role player doing his role 4 boards, Sa and Eugene...when these 3 make positive contributions without hurting the team, how much better is this team

and to Coach Pike and staff, just a brilliant job preparing the team and making them feel hungry for this one. He has had them buying in all year and there were specific timeouts today where RU hit shots or staved off bad play or OSU runs after the timeout. Might have been his been job this year as well.

Tomorrow will be tough, for starters ANYTHING can happen tournament time. RU played close with Northwestern 2x this year. They are not a team that will overwhelm you or blow you out but they are just as well coached and work as a well oiled machine. They are a much tougher challenge than OSU tonight who didnt want to be here. Northwestern is riding high going to make the NCAA for the first time, playing for seed, a legit threat to win the Big 10 tourney outright. RU is going to need Corey Sanders to get his head on straight because while RU was able to overcome a Corey no show tonight, they will not against Northwestern. RU will need their A plus effort, they will be jacked for sure and sometimes the team that played a game has an advantage early on against a team playing their first game. All about putting forth the Rutgers effort...do that and RU will be in striking range to win, cannot ask for anything else.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Pike switches to zone early in the game when we couldn't get stops. Completely changed momentum. He gout out of it at the right time to.

I loved his substitutions. Loved them!

 

[bac2therac]

some stats that are shocking

RU outrebounded OSU 47-31...wow

RU took 17 more fgs than OSU and shot only 37% to OSU 40%

OSU only 15-28 at the line..and a few missed one and ones...horrible, RU was okay for them at 13-19

Marc Loving a senior is his last game....2-7, 5 points, are you kidding me...the OSU board must be melting down tonight

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

The scouting by this staff is on par with pretty much everyone else in Power 5 leagues that are committed to playing defense....Ohio State wanted to pick our guards when we played zone, we adjusted......They wanted to double team CJ or Freeman when we posted up and instead of a couple of sloppy turnovers, we escaped making a poor turnover that gives a team free points.

The strides made from January to March is a shaving down of what we do well and eliminating what we can't....that's the offensive side....on defense, the lapses are less and less each game....players are not missing assignments like we did in early to mid January.

One of bac's biggest sticking points over the years is not necessarily RU's ability at times to play good basketball....but there have been periods of time where any success has not been followed up with another good effort or an important W......that changed tonight, because after the Illinois game, many fans were not quite sure if they could get on that ledge or highwire....Right now, RU has Cinderella, the national story of NW and most everyone is expecting a pretty solid W by the Wildcats tomorrow night.

Can RU regain their composure and play within the swagger and confidence being built and be disciplined enough to compete in the first half tomorrow....more often than not, in order to spring an upset in back to back nights, it starts on the glass and with defense, so RU should be alive....

Will NW feel the pressure again to escape RU...????.......I can tell you that although the team is happy with 2 consecutive B1G wins, I get the sense that RU didn't play it's best basketball tonight....they played hard as usual, but if RU gets off to a slow start tomorrow, don't worry....if RU gets off to a fast start, don't get overly excited.

I have a calmer feeling about where we are, moreso than any point ever, in my following RU basketball....that goes back to my freshman year, which was Wenzel's first year....I just sense a different vibe....phone is buzzing....social media is watching.....fans are excited......HS coaches and AAU folks are chatting.

If we get a fair whistle from the stripes tomorrow, we are in for a very fun Thursday night.....and the tri-state area and most of the Eastern Seaboard will really have one true story for all day Friday if RU pulls off three in a row and defeats the national story of Northwestern.........it won't be the Big East Tournament.....not the ACC tournament at Barclays....it could be all about RU for another 24-48 hours....more curious to how we handle success, more than the success itself....

 

[bac2therac]

RU has an opportunity to have an opportunity tomorrow night. Been in the same spot before in the BE tourney where RU wins the first game but runs up against a tourney team that is just too tough in the 2nd round. Going to be a tough game and I do not think I am pulling the trigger on this one unfortunately but no doubt as you said following up a big win with another win is important. The timing could not be better going into the offseason. The attitude is so right...imagine being Ohio State or Nebraska heading into their off seasons.

Key to the game is rebounding...47-31 advantage tonight obviously it will be tough to repeat that but if RU can have only a slight advantage it will stay in this game. Lindsay was just coming back from illness the last time they played so they will be tougher with all the cogs back at full strength

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Notice the last 10 minutes they stopped doubling the low box? I think that contributed to the waxing on the offensive glass