Pump the brakes

[RU72]

First,on the Top 25 because it is an unmitigated popularity contest. I will say that Duke will and must not be in it. Also,the chatter here about NET is fun,but it is a sorting criteria and the 6th most significant selection device.Many think it is dispositive.It isn't.The national teams I don't want to play,in order:
Kansas,Houston,Alabama,UCLA and Xavier.All far different styles, all who would present Rutgers with match-up issues.

 

[ScooterSports]

First,on the Top 25 because it is an unmitigated popularity contest. I will say that Duke will and must not be in it. Also,the chatter here about NET is fun,but it is a sorting criteria and the 6th most significant selection device.Many think it is dispositive.It isn't.The national teams I don't want to play,in order:
Kansas,Houston,Alabama,UCLA and Xavier.All far different styles, all who would present Rutgers with match-up issues.

I’d put Bama at 1 for who I definitely don’t want to play. Their 3 point shooting is ridiculous and the one thing our defense struggles with is leaving guys open behind the arc.

 

[goru7]

You must not be watching. We match up well with Houston , Kansas , Alabama . Houston is a mirror image of us but I think our defense is just as elite or a tad better. Our guys will stick to their guards like glue. They have to defend all 5 spots plus we can match them on the glass this time. Kansas doesn’t have a traditional big and our length can stay with Harris ,Wilson and Dick. They have to guard us as well. Kansas has been winning a lot of close games like us and has been behind a lot. Not the juggernaut compared to past Kansas teams. If Alabama is not making their 3’s they will be in trouble against us and since we defend it almost better than anyone, like our chances of slowing them down from 3. Brandon Miller is the best freshman but Sensabaugh is not slouch and we made him earn his points. Caleb or Mag will get the assignment. The rest of their guys are not a matchup problem at all. Right now the way we play defense , 2nd in Kenpom , we can play with and beat any team in the country. No truly elite teams like years past.

 

[wheezer]

You must not be watching. We match up well with Houston , Kansas , Alabama . Houston is a mirror image of us but I think our defense is just as elite or a tad better. Our guys will stick to their guards like glue. They have to defend all 5 spots plus we can match them on the glass this time. Kansas doesn’t have a traditional big and our length can stay with Harris ,Wilson and Dick. They have to guard us as well. Kansas has been winning a lot of close games like us and has been behind a lot. Not the juggernaut compared to past Kansas teams. If Alabama is not making their 3’s they will be in trouble against us and since we defend it almost better than anyone, like our chances of slowing them down from 3. Brandon Miller is the best freshman but Sensabaugh is not slouch and we made him earn his points. Caleb or Mag will get the assignment. The rest of their guys are not a matchup problem at all. Right now the way we play defense , 2nd in Kenpom , we can play with and beat any team in the country. No truly elite teams like years past.

we have to shoot better to advance more than a game or so....we are not going to 35% our way very far, too many very good teams that will just shoot well, no matter how well we defend, someone will just do it...

 

[Rokodesh]

watched Alabama destroy LSU over the weekend. They're damn good, especially Brandon Miller

 

[Scangg]

we have to shoot better to advance more than a game or so....we are not going to 35% our way very far, too many very good teams that will just shoot well, no matter how well we defend, someone will just do it...

Or will they?

 

[richthedentist]

First,on the Top 25 because it is an unmitigated popularity contest. I will say that Duke will and must not be in it. Also,the chatter here about NET is fun,but it is a sorting criteria and the 6th most significant selection device.Many think it is dispositive.It isn't.The national teams I don't want to play,in order:
Kansas,Houston,Alabama,UCLA and Xavier.All far different styles, all who would present Rutgers with match-up issues.

Top 25 is a joke Clemson is leading the ACC undefeated and was not even ranked last week

 

[fluoxetine]

Top 25 is a joke Clemson is leading the ACC undefeated and was not even ranked last week

Clemson isn't that good.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

1. Could care less about Top 25
2. I am not concerned about matchups. Teams don't see the type of defense we bring.
3. My biggest concern has been and always will be is what type of shape we will be in March. No team, that i see, plays like us. I am very very very concerned that we will run out of gas in March. We need Simpson to be good enough to eat minutes AND Pike to be willing to lose games in the regular season in order to keep us fresh.

Yesterday's win was enormous, but it took some of our money out of our bank account (figuritive).

 

[Local Shill]

Top 25 is a joke Clemson is leading the ACC undefeated and was not even ranked last week

It’s not totally crazy. They have two Quad 4 losses and the ACC is like the 7th or 8th best conference.

 

[RUisB1Gtime]

Pump the Brakes on what? Being a fan? Forget that.. Enjoy the ride.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

we have to shoot better to advance more than a game or so....we are not going to 35% our way very far, too many very good teams that will just shoot well, no matter how well we defend, someone will just do it...

we need to keep being a below average offensive team and stay elite defensively. On days or halves where we aren't elite defensively we need to be good offensively (see MD half 2 and NW)

 

[Scangg]

Pump the Brakes on what? Being a fan? Forget that.. Enjoy the ride.

People telling fans to pump the breaks is a pet peeve of mine. It's so ridiculous. Pump the breaks for the players. Fans should enjoy the ride and get super pumped when good things are happening. If not what's the point of even being a fan?

 

[ScarletDave]

Pump the brakes on winning the national championship? That seems to be the message here. That said, respectfully, no. :)

 

[RUisB1Gtime]

People telling fans to pump the breaks is a pet peeve of mine. It's so ridiculous. Pump the breaks for the players. Fans should enjoy the ride and get super pumped when good things are happening. If not what's the point of even being a fan?

Exactly. Also if not for the over the top enthusiasm of this fan base we are likely not trending the way we are. It's a huge factor.

 

[Proud NJ Sports Fan]

watched Alabama destroy LSU over the weekend. They're damn good, especially Brandon Miller

Bama just lost a roster player

 

[RU72]

Bama just lost a roster play

Pump the brakes on winning the national championship? That seems to be the message here. That said, respectfully, no.

Pump the Brakes on what? Being a fan? Forget that.. Enjoy the ride.

First,on the Top 25 because it is an unmitigated popularity contest. I will say that Duke will and must not be in it. Also,the chatter here about NET is fun,but it is a sorting criteria and the 6th most significant selection device.Many think it is dispositive.It isn't.The national teams I don't want to play,in order:
Kansas,Houston,Alabama,UCLA and Xavier.All far different styles, all who would present Rutgers with match-up issues.

Pump the brakes on the Top 25 and on the NET. Not on Rutgers! My goodness.

 

[bac2therac]

well we are in at #23

 

[goru7]

we have to shoot better to advance more than a game or so....we are not going to 35% our way very far, too many very good teams that will just shoot well, no matter how well we defend, someone will just do it...

No they won’t. Sample size is big enough. 18 games and 1 team shot well both halves and that was Iowa. Houston is not a great shooting team. Kansas and Alabama are but they will be seeing defense they have not seen.

 

[Roy_Faulker]

1. Could care less about Top 25
2. I am not concerned about matchups. Teams don't see the type of defense we bring.
3. My biggest concern has been and always will be is what type of shape we will be in March. No team, that i see, plays like us. I am very very very concerned that we will run out of gas in March. We need Simpson to be good enough to eat minutes AND Pike to be willing to lose games in the regular season in order to keep us fresh.

Yesterday's win was enormous, but it took some of our money out of our bank account (figuritive).

Agree. Relied on the top 5 most of the 2nd half and OT and only 2 pts from the bench. That formula doesn’t work in the long run.

 

[Big boy stan]

 

[wheezer]

No they won’t. Sample size is big enough. 18 games and 1 team shot well both halves and that was Iowa. Houston is not a great shooting team. Kansas and Alabama are but they will be seeing defense they have not seen.

respect your opinion
I previously said I would like to have played Houston, this when I think they made it to number one.....

if we can make a deep run and still not be a good shooting team percentage wise,...... I Will take it

 

[RUisB1Gtime]

Pump the brakes on the Top 25 and on the NET. Not on Rutgers! My goodness.

Haha..I'm too revved up to pump the brakes on anything lol ...

 

[RU-ROCS]

Clemson isn't that good.

True, but still probably top-25 material despite OOC loses to bad Loyola Chicago and South Carolina teams and a loss to Iowa.

 

[rufeelinit]

Our margin for error remains small against conference competition. We have been very good in tight games and we must understand that can turn quickly. I think we are one fairly consistent solid contributor short of being able to do serious damage. Pike has been very good at making the sum of the team exceed the individual parts up to this point. It will not get any easier as we move along. We need to pretty much everyone keep improving and adapting. Given the conference parity, I would be pleased to see us finish around 13-7 or even 12-8. Winning home games remains the key.

 

[G- RUnit]

Agree. Relied on the top 5 most of the 2nd half and OT and only 2 pts from the bench. That formula doesn’t work in the long run.

You know what though we beat OSU with Caleb shooting 4-13 and Paul shooting 2-12. Hyatt was 0-4. Those guys are going find their stroke. If we improve our offense just a little….

This is why we follow college sports. No pump the breaks. Push the accelerator and enjoy the ride.

 

[FrankZ]

No stranger to the written word, but I admittedly had to Google dispositive, lol

 

[AreYouNUTS]

dear Lord wtf is wrong with people?

ENJOY THE RIDE ALL YOU WANT!!!

 

[rubjk]

Agree. Relied on the top 5 most of the 2nd half and OT and only 2 pts from the bench. That formula doesn’t work in the long run.

How many years will we hear this. Worked the last 3 years at least in b10 schedule.

 

[ecojew]

Top 25 is a joke Clemson is leading the ACC undefeated and was not even ranked last week

It is ranked this week and knocked out the Dookies in the process.

The Top 25 polls serve many purposes. They're great help in recruiting wars. They generate excitement among fan bases. And they generate controversy as fans everywhere can disagree as to who should be ranked and who is better than whom, etc. The impact they have on players can be debated. In some cases, players might become full of themselves and not play as well afterward. In others, probably most cases, being ranked is a source of pride and serve as a motivating force to play even harder. I virtually never agree with a good part of the rankings each week but I still check on them. And when a team cracks the rankings, it's usually good for ticket sales, attendance, etc.

If they're so useless, why do so many of us look for them every Monday?

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

People telling fans to pump the breaks is a pet peeve of mine. It's so ridiculous. Pump the breaks for the players. Fans should enjoy the ride and get super pumped when good things are happening. If not what's the point of even being a fan?

My brakes work plenty fine, but sleeping bag has a rip.

 

[yesrutgers01]

I’m lost- why am I pumping the breaks on being happy to crack the top 25?

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Agree. Relied on the top 5 most of the 2nd half and OT and only 2 pts from the bench. That formula doesn’t work in the long run.

Bench, collectively, was real bad. I think/hope Pike will have a stretch where he gets Miller/Simpson 20 and WolfReiber 12 minutes and Hyatt/Mag 50. This will get the starters at least down to 32 minutes.

Pike knows it. I'll take a fresh 9 seed over a tired 4 seed without any hesitation. A 8 seed is 1 win away from a 1 seed. A 10 seed is 1 win away from a 2 seed.

 

[BillyC80]

RU72, you make your case for pumping the brakes by naming 5 of the top 8 ranked teams in the country, that you say we should be afraid to play. But you did not name the #3 team, Purdue, who we beat on their court.

We’ve earned our current status and may in fact be under-ranked when you factor in the ref debacle at OSU. I say to those 5 teams — bring it on.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

RU72, you make your case for pumping the brakes by naming 5 of the top 8 ranked teams in the country, that you say we should be afraid to play. But you did not name the #3 team, Purdue, who we beat on their court.

We’ve earned our current status and may in fact be under-ranked when you factor in the ref debacle at OSU. I say to those 5 teams — bring it on.

The ref debacle is only 1 possession. The games early in the season without Paul and/or Caleb is the bigger story.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Since 12/2.....
9th overall
1.05 adjusted o eff (123rd)
.84 adjusted d eff (2nd)
1.4 wins above bracket

Before 12/2
51st overall
.992 adjusted off e (220nd)
.858 adjusted d (9th)
-.8 wins above bracket

bart #s

 

[RUisB1Gtime]

Our margin for error remains small against conference competition. We have been very good in tight games and we must understand that can turn quickly. I think we are one fairly consistent solid contributor short of being able to do serious damage. Pike has been very good at making the sum of the team exceed the individual parts up to this point. It will not get any easier as we move along. We need to pretty much everyone keep improving and adapting. Given the conference parity, I would be pleased to see us finish around 13-7 or even 12-8. Winning home games remains the key.

I agree with this 100% . We are one guy away from being a legit force. That said it's not impossible for guys on the roster to find a groove for a few games and then pass the torch to someone else...ie maybe Caleb has a couple of 20 point games In a row. ....Simpson maybe has a few more Indiana type games in him etc..

 

[cm_13]

Haha..I'm too revved up to pump the brakes on anything lol ...

 

[SirPerceval]

I think it’s pretty clear that being ranked 23 in mid January is meaningless as far as getting to the tournament but in the big picture having Rutgers on an ESPN scroll with a number next to its name is really good for the national perception of the program.

 

[BOCA93]

Instead of thinking about potential bad matchups for RU, we should be talking about what a matchup nightmare RU will be. The level they are playing D, no team is going to want to see RU in their bracket.