RAPID REACTION - Penn State

[Degaz-RU]

Was away for the weekend, so wasn’t able to post after the Ohio State game, but Rapid Reaction is back tonight after a nail biting 80-76 win over Penn State.

1. We almost lost this game at the foul line. We were 8-10 in the first half but just 6-15 in the second half. If we hit 4 of those to go a below average 10-15, we’re not sweating this game out in the final minutes. I’ve said this before, but I am convinced that we shoot FTs poorly at home because we don’t practice in the RAC.

2. We were 8-18 on threes in the first half, and missed about four wiiiiiiiiiiiiddddeee open ones. We were then 0-4 on threes in the second half. I don’t mind Pike telling the team at half to not fall in love with the three in the second half, but there’s gotta be a happy medium here.

3. Part of the reason for the poor second half on offense is that Pike seemed to take the wind out of the offense about midway through the second half. Instead of running offense, our guards were just dribbling the ball out on the perimeter and chewing clock. You CANNOT go into a shell that early.

4. Brilliant decision by Pike to start JMike tonight against Ace Baldwin. JMike only played 19 minutes, but he was a huge reason PSU never got comfortable on offense in the first half, because he was disrupting Baldwin’s dribble penetration off of high screens.

5. Ace Bailey really played a gritty game and finished with a 15-15 double double. He really mixed it up in the paint and fought for rebounds and got a couple of blocks. He didn’t hit a single jump shot tonight but helped in every other facet of the game. I just wish he wouldn’t be so hesitant to take threes.

6. Separate paragraph for Ace just making a “winning” play in crunch time when he grabbed a rebound, drove the length of the court and got a layup to put us up by 4 points. That’s the kind of play stars are supposed to make on good teams. A winning play by a star on the winning team.

7. Dylan with another superb all-around game, with 24 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 blocks. He was rolling with three early 3s, and that helped the team gain confidence in the early going. After he missed a few jumpers, he then focused on getting down hill and getting to the foul line. Unfortunately he was just 5-9 from the line.

8. Ogbole played incredible defense in the first half, walling up on dribble drives and stuffing shots, ending up with 3 blocks.

9. Rebounding was much better tonight. We outrebounded PSU 46-32, and, more importantly, only gave up 6 offensive rebounds.

10. The stat of the night is Lathan Sommerville with 4 assists. Lathan grew up tonight, as there wasn’t a single time I thought he hogged the ball in the post. Instead, he passed from the high post and he passed out for kickout threes on offensive rebounds. He also picked his spots for attacking the basket in finishing with 6 points.

11. I’VE NEVER SEEN A WORSE BLOCKING CALL IN MY LIFE WHEN DERKACK GOT PLOWED INTO WITH BOTH FEET SET IN THE PAINT. THAT WAS THE MOST OBVIOUS CHARGE I’VE EVER SEEN.

12 Why can’t anything ever be “easy” with this team? We have a 17 point lead early in the second half and then let Penn State keep chipping away. I’m glad we won, and I guess we “learned how to win,” but being outscored 15-8 in the final 8:18 just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. But at least it’s a bad taste in a win.

13. Penn State is a good team, easily a top half team in the Big Ten. We were lucky we got Baldwin and their big man Neiderhauser in foul trouble.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

1. We played really hard in the 1st half. I thought we were a bit fatigued in 2nd half

3. Definitely agree here. It is a Pike thing, but….

8. YES!!!!

10. How do you not nention him taking charge

11. Defintely not worst ever. Like to see it again, probably a charge but far from a no doubter.

 

[winfield102]

We saw that we need Dylan and Ace to be involved with all aspects to win.

We still don't know how to get Ace quality looks. I guess it's about attacking the glass for him. We need him to be a double double guy.

Hit our foul shots and we don't sweat the victory.

Not a fan of LS repeatedly trying to post up when Dylan or Ace had the ball on the wing.

I still don't see Pike coaching the players on their offensive role. Still too many ill-advised shots, including EO trying to drive from the 3 point line and Ace with a turnaround fadeaway off of 1 foot early in the 2nd half.

 

[Degaz-RU]

1. We played really hard in the 1st half. I thought we were a bit fatigued in 2nd half

3. Definitely agree here. It is a Pike thing, but….

8. YES!!!!

10. How do you not nention him taking charge

11. Defintely not worst ever. Like to see it again, probably a charge but far from a no doubter.

Yes, good point about Lathan taking that charge. Excellent rotation and decision to take the charge instead of trying to block the shot.

Watch the Derkack “block” again. He had his feet set for at least a full second before getting barreled into. It was an obvious charge. Like, really obvious.

 

[PaKnight]

We saw that we need Dylan and Ace to be involved with all aspects to win.

We still don't know how to get Ace quality looks. I guess it's about attacking the glass for him. We need him to be a double double guy.

Hit our foul shots and we don't sweat the victory.

Not a fan of LS repeatedly trying to post up when Dylan or Ace had the ball on the wing.

I still don't see Pike coaching the players on their offensive role. Still too many ill-advised shots, including EO trying to drive from the 3 point line and Ace with a turnaround fadeaway off of 1 foot early in the 2nd half.

EO did go to the bench after the drive.

 

[RU23]

On #4, I don’t think JMike’s defense is that good. He’s so small - can’t be nearly as impactful as Caleb was.

#9 was my biggest takeaway - great job rebounding all around.

On #11, I thought we got a great whistle overall.

Other stuff:

Acuff’s jumper is so pure, need to find more shots for him and Hayes (and Martini when he gets out of the dog house).

Hope JWill is alright.

 

[RW90]

1. We played really hard in the 1st half. I thought we were a bit fatigued in 2nd half

3. Definitely agree here. It is a Pike thing, but….

8. YES!!!!

10. How do you not nention him taking charge

11. Defintely not worst ever. Like to see it again, probably a charge but far from a no doubter.

Dylan definitely seemed winded 2nd half and his tired legs may have contributed to his poor foul shooting down the stretch.

 

[Shelby65]

It’s always about matchups. Every opponent is different. The team didn’t necessarily improve at rebounding today. PSU is much more a perimeter offensive team and not one to crash the boards like other teams we’ve played of late.

 

[FIJI'83]

PSU was going to make a run in the 2nd half. We did clam up a bit, but the nailbiter is because of 11 MISSED FREE THROWS.

As to the charge call on Derkack, from my angle sitting close to the floor it appeared Derkack slightly moved his upper body forward into the PSU player.

Lastly, the referee crew allowed us to play physical defense. I wish it was always this way.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Yes, good point about Lathan taking that charge. Excellent rotation and decision to take the charge instead of trying to block the shot.

Watch the Derkack “block” again. He had his feet set for at least a full second before getting barreled into. It was an obvious charge. Like, really obvious.

Did the offensive player hit dercack in the body or more his arms?

Was dercacks body perpendicular to the floor or was he leaning towards the offense?

 

[rubjk]

It’s always about matchups. Every opponent is different. The team didn’t necessarily improve at rebounding today. PSU is much more a perimeter offensive team and not one to crash the boards like other teams we’ve played of late.

The effort was night and day different vs OSU as vs A&M and PSU. So with the effort/hustle they are much better.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

PSU was going to make a run in the 2nd half. We did clam up a bit, but the nailbiter is because of 11 MISSED FREE THROWS.

As to the charge call on Derkack, from my angle sitting close to the floor it appeared Derkack slightly moved his upper body forward into the PSU player.

Lastly, the referee crew allowed us to play physical defense. I wish it was always this way.

I kind of saw it that way, still probably a charge. But….

 

[Scangg]

Rutgers making 3's 1st half

PSU making 3's 2nd half

 

[Scangg]

We saw that we need Dylan and Ace to be involved with all aspects to win.

We still don't know how to get Ace quality looks. I guess it's about attacking the glass for him. We need him to be a double double guy.

Hit our foul shots and we don't sweat the victory.

Not a fan of LS repeatedly trying to post up when Dylan or Ace had the ball on the wing.

I still don't see Pike coaching the players on their offensive role. Still too many ill-advised shots, including EO trying to drive from the 3 point line and Ace with a turnaround fadeaway off of 1 foot early in the 2nd half.

That is a good shot for Ace

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

On #4, I don’t think JMike’s defense is that good. He’s so small - can’t be nearly as impactful as Caleb was.

#9 was my biggest takeaway - great job rebounding all around.

On #11, I thought we got a great whistle overall.

Other stuff:

Acuff’s jumper is so pure, need to find more shots for him and Hayes (and Martini when he gets out of the dog house).

Hope JWill is alright.

My concern was all 3 got dinged a bit during the game

Dylan iced shoulder plus i think sprained ankle

Jwill muktiple shots to his shoukder

Ace sprained ankle

 

[RUGiddy777]

On #4, I don’t think JMike’s defense is that good. He’s so small - can’t be nearly as impactful as Caleb was.

#9 was my biggest takeaway - great job rebounding all around.

On #11, I thought we got a great whistle overall.

Other stuff:

Acuff’s jumper is so pure, need to find more shots for him and Hayes (and Martini when he gets out of the dog house).

Hope JWill is alright.

On your response to 4 - that’s a damn high bar lol. I still can’t get enough of Caleb’s defensive highlights. Think Painter said it best with the nachos line.

“Because those two dudes are always paying attention. That's how we try to navigate and run stuff. Especially Caleb McConnell, get him over in the corner, eat a nacho, and we can play four-on-four because he is so good on the ball, man. He is so good. A lot of times it's not us running stuff to certain people as much as we're running stuff away from him”

 

[Shelby65]

Rutgers making 3's 1st half

PSU making 3's 2nd half

This, plus poor foul shooting

 

[winfield102]

That is a good shot for Ace

It's a terrible shot and we weren't at the end of the shot clock. If he was at 8-12 feet, I'd be ok with it. That might have been an 18-19 foot shot.

 

[Shelby65]

The effort was night and day different vs OSU as vs A&M and PSU. So with the effort/hustle they are much better.

They rebounded well today, sure. My point is, the other team’s style of offense and individual strengths are the reason why, not some lasting change in team rebounding prowess.

 

[Scangg]

It's a terrible shot and we weren't at the end of the shot clock. If he was at 8-12 feet, I'd be ok with it. That might have been an 18-19 foot shot.

For most players, yes. Its a quality shot for Ace who takes much much worse shots and hits them

 

[RUtrumpet92]

I thought foul #3 on Derkack was a worse missed call than the one in the paint. Dude went straight into his chest. ???

 

[Scangg]

I thought foul #3 on Derkack was a worse missed call than the one in the paint. Dude went straight into his chest. ???

They were both terrible calls

It's also just bailing out the offensive player. You shouldn't be rewarded for just lowering your shoulder and driving directly into the defender just standing there

 

[richthedentist]

I thought foul #3 on Derkack was a worse missed call than the one in the paint. Dude went straight into his chest. ???

And the ref who called it was on the side how can he make that call!!!
Next time down PSU player travels in the paint no call

 

[RW90]

Acuff’s jumper is so pure, need to find more shots for him and Hayes (and Martini when he gets out of the dog house).

I'm not so sure Martini will get out much more. Who's minutes is he going to take?

 

[Scangg]

I'm not so sure Martini will get out much more. Who's minutes is he going to take?

PSU is small and athletic so not a good matchup for him

Interestingly if you said Martini was getting a DNP tonight, I think most would assume that Grant would get some minutes and he didn't play either

 

[RW90]

PSU is small and athletic so not a good matchup for him

Interestingly if you said Martini was getting a DNP tonight, I think most would assume that Grant would get some minutes and he didn't play either

I'd agree except that Hayes gave us some really nice minutes and he's in a similar mold as Martini.

 

[Scarlet Shack]

Did the offensive player hit dercack in the body or more his arms?

Was dercacks body perpendicular to the floor or was he leaning towards the offense?

Right in front of me…..an absolute established position and charge .

 

[Scangg]

One scary thing is that it seems like this team needs Dylan to play like an All American Every. Single. Game.

How many bad games will Dylan have this year? How many ok games will Dylan have this year? How many of those games can we get wins in?

 

[High Quality H2O]

Was away for the weekend, so wasn’t able to post after the Ohio State game, but Rapid Reaction is back tonight after a nail biting 80-76 win over Penn State.

1. We almost lost this game at the foul line. We were 8-10 in the first half but just 6-15 in the second half. If we hit 4 of those to go a below average 10-15, we’re not sweating this game out in the final minutes. I’ve said this before, but I am convinced that we shoot FTs poorly at home because we don’t practice in the RAC.

2. We were 8-18 on threes in the first half, and missed about four wiiiiiiiiiiiiddddeee open ones. We were then 0-4 on threes in the second half. I don’t mind Pike telling the team at half to not fall in love with the three in the second half, but there’s gotta be a happy medium here.

3. Part of the reason for the poor second half on offense is that Pike seemed to take the wind out of the offense about midway through the second half. Instead of running offense, our guards were just dribbling the ball out on the perimeter and chewing clock. You CANNOT go into a shell that early.

4. Brilliant decision by Pike to start JMike tonight against Ace Baldwin. JMike only played 19 minutes, but he was a huge reason PSU never got comfortable on offense in the first half, because he was disrupting Baldwin’s dribble penetration off of high screens.

5. Ace Bailey really played a gritty game and finished with a 15-15 double double. He really mixed it up in the paint and fought for rebounds and got a couple of blocks. He didn’t hit a single jump shot tonight but helped in every other facet of the game. I just wish he wouldn’t be so hesitant to take threes.

6. Separate paragraph for Ace just making a “winning” play in crunch time when he grabbed a rebound, drove the length of the court and got a layup to put us up by 4 points. That’s the kind of play stars are supposed to make on good teams. A winning play by a star on the winning team.

7. Dylan with another superb all-around game, with 24 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 blocks. He was rolling with three early 3s, and that helped the team gain confidence in the early going. After he missed a few jumpers, he then focused on getting down hill and getting to the foul line. Unfortunately he was just 5-9 from the line.

8. Ogbole played incredible defense in the first half, walling up on dribble drives and stuffing shots, ending up with 3 blocks.

9. Rebounding was much better tonight. We outrebounded PSU 46-32, and, more importantly, only gave up 6 offensive rebounds.

10. The stat of the night is Lathan Sommerville with 4 assists. Lathan grew up tonight, as there wasn’t a single time I thought he hogged the ball in the post. Instead, he passed from the high post and he passed out for kickout threes on offensive rebounds. He also picked his spots for attacking the basket in finishing with 6 points.

11. I’VE NEVER SEEN A WORSE BLOCKING CALL IN MY LIFE WHEN DERKACK GOT PLOWED INTO WITH BOTH FEET SET IN THE PAINT. THAT WAS THE MOST OBVIOUS CHARGE I’VE EVER SEEN.

12 Why can’t anything ever be “easy” with this team? We have a 17 point lead early in the second half and then let Penn State keep chipping away. I’m glad we won, and I guess we “learned how to win,” but being outscored 15-8 in the final 8:18 just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. But at least it’s a bad taste in a win.

13. Penn State is a good team, easily a top half team in the Big Ten. We were lucky we got Baldwin and their big man Neiderhauser in foul trouble.

As for #2…I see your point but you got to like the attempt distribution from 3

Dylan 6
Ace 4
PJ 5
JWill 2
Acuff 4
Derkack 1

That’s about right….
Incrementally….maybe Ace takes 2 more, PJ 1-2, Acuff 1, and 1 more from somewhere?

 

[G- RUnit]

1. Winter fest is a great idea. All the RAC renovation talk is silly. Should have had a brand new entrance rotunda years ago on this same space and RU can do this every single game.
Having said that RU did a nice job.

2. We keep seeing Dylan making plays. He may not only be the best freshman in the country, he may be the best player period.

3. And how incredible is it that in a quiet game Ace has a 15 point, 15 rebound double double. Mind boggling. Like him going to the hoop, rebounding and getting easy put backs.

4. It was an actually J Williams and Dercack who brought the intensity and defense that made the difference. Each was also a good playmaker and some timely rebounding. Cant overlook Dylan’s steal near the end which was big. His defense also frustrated Baldwin.

5. Threes in the first were the reason we looked so good. Nice to see PJ and Acuff hitting some shots. Funny we missed three wide open three’s at the end of the half and the lead could have been 26 instead of 17. Having said that JWill’s buzzer beater was big.

6. Pike has to change whatever they are doing with free throws. Every year it’s an issue and we have not improved. It was supposed to be a strength. It’s the reason we could have lost today and one of the reasons we lost to Kennesaw. Get a free throw guru in here, get a psychologist, study visualization. Change whatever you are doing. No excuse to shoot this poorly year after year.

7. We only had two steals. PSU had nine. That’s a problem. Turnovers were basically identical. Sloppy on both sides but also good D and teams that like to run it up.

8. Having said that we won the game because of rebounding.

9. Sommerville didn’t turn over the ball and had four assists. A very nice game. Thought O did enough. Both seem to be improving.

10. PSU coach seems like a great coach and a good guy. Some humorous interactions with the fans. They have a good team and will be a hand up at their place or on a neutral court. Look like a tourney team to me.

11. Having just complimented him, I thought some bush league back screens in the back court like Willard and Seton Hall did all the time. If teams are going to do that to us, I’m setting up O in the backcourt to do the same.

12. Thought RAC was pretty pretty good.

13. The RU v PSU stuff on the scoreboard is amusing and gets the crowd going. Cheerleader on surfboard was creative.

14. This was a must win we had to have and we got it. It was a gritty win. We withstood their comeback.

15. I know we got the benefit of the calls but there were still some awful calls that could have been the difference in a close game. Officiating has to be better.

Hope JWill is okay, he looked explosive and was blowing by PSU in the first half.
Hope Dylan okay too. Fighting a cold or flu?

16. Any time you beat PSU it’s a good day. Very nice win. Now let’s beat the SHU!

 

[OntheBanks]

#5 Ace does very good in the paint and spends too much time hanging around waiting to take the corner 3. Get him inside more. Post him at the free throw line and let him work with our 2 headed center.

 

[RUisB1Gtime]

One scary thing is that it seems like this team needs Dylan to play like an All American Every. Single. Game.

How many bad games will Dylan have this year? How many ok games will Dylan have this year? How many of those games can we get wins in?

He can't have bad games on the road if we expect to win...We can probably survive a few clunkers at home but not many....

 

[Eagleton96]

Was away for the weekend, so wasn’t able to post after the Ohio State game, but Rapid Reaction is back tonight after a nail biting 80-76 win over Penn State.

1. We almost lost this game at the foul line. We were 8-10 in the first half but just 6-15 in the second half. If we hit 4 of those to go a below average 10-15, we’re not sweating this game out in the final minutes. I’ve said this before, but I am convinced that we shoot FTs poorly at home because we don’t practice in the RAC.

2. We were 8-18 on threes in the first half, and missed about four wiiiiiiiiiiiiddddeee open ones. We were then 0-4 on threes in the second half. I don’t mind Pike telling the team at half to not fall in love with the three in the second half, but there’s gotta be a happy medium here.

3. Part of the reason for the poor second half on offense is that Pike seemed to take the wind out of the offense about midway through the second half. Instead of running offense, our guards were just dribbling the ball out on the perimeter and chewing clock. You CANNOT go into a shell that early.

4. Brilliant decision by Pike to start JMike tonight against Ace Baldwin. JMike only played 19 minutes, but he was a huge reason PSU never got comfortable on offense in the first half, because he was disrupting Baldwin’s dribble penetration off of high screens.

5. Ace Bailey really played a gritty game and finished with a 15-15 double double. He really mixed it up in the paint and fought for rebounds and got a couple of blocks. He didn’t hit a single jump shot tonight but helped in every other facet of the game. I just wish he wouldn’t be so hesitant to take threes.

6. Separate paragraph for Ace just making a “winning” play in crunch time when he grabbed a rebound, drove the length of the court and got a layup to put us up by 4 points. That’s the kind of play stars are supposed to make on good teams. A winning play by a star on the winning team.

7. Dylan with another superb all-around game, with 24 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 blocks. He was rolling with three early 3s, and that helped the team gain confidence in the early going. After he missed a few jumpers, he then focused on getting down hill and getting to the foul line. Unfortunately he was just 5-9 from the line.

8. Ogbole played incredible defense in the first half, walling up on dribble drives and stuffing shots, ending up with 3 blocks.

9. Rebounding was much better tonight. We outrebounded PSU 46-32, and, more importantly, only gave up 6 offensive rebounds.

10. The stat of the night is Lathan Sommerville with 4 assists. Lathan grew up tonight, as there wasn’t a single time I thought he hogged the ball in the post. Instead, he passed from the high post and he passed out for kickout threes on offensive rebounds. He also picked his spots for attacking the basket in finishing with 6 points.

11. I’VE NEVER SEEN A WORSE BLOCKING CALL IN MY LIFE WHEN DERKACK GOT PLOWED INTO WITH BOTH FEET SET IN THE PAINT. THAT WAS THE MOST OBVIOUS CHARGE I’VE EVER SEEN.

12 Why can’t anything ever be “easy” with this team? We have a 17 point lead early in the second half and then let Penn State keep chipping away. I’m glad we won, and I guess we “learned how to win,” but being outscored 15-8 in the final 8:18 just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. But at least it’s a bad taste in a win.

13. Penn State is a good team, easily a top half team in the Big Ten. We were lucky we got Baldwin and their big man Neiderhauser in foul trouble.

Ace’s best game. D, passing and offensive flow, and rebounding. If we get more of this we will be much improved.

Ogbole clearly showing progress and that he has potential.

Even though we took almost triple the number of FT attempts, it should have been more. Other teams have decided the strategy is to mug us and assume the refs don’t have the guts to call them all.

Team D overall…best of the year? New floor or just one good game?

All the players played well and didn’t show up with the bad versions of themselves. JMike and Dercack: no charging into a crowd and getting stuffed (ok maybe one time). Acuff and Hayes made 3 point shots. Somerville passed the ball. Ace didn’t force on O.

 

[bac2therac]

Was away for the weekend, so wasn’t able to post after the Ohio State game, but Rapid Reaction is back tonight after a nail biting 80-76 win over Penn State.

1. We almost lost this game at the foul line. We were 8-10 in the first half but just 6-15 in the second half. If we hit 4 of those to go a below average 10-15, we’re not sweating this game out in the final minutes. I’ve said this before, but I am convinced that we shoot FTs poorly at home because we don’t practice in the RAC.

2. We were 8-18 on threes in the first half, and missed about four wiiiiiiiiiiiiddddeee open ones. We were then 0-4 on threes in the second half. I don’t mind Pike telling the team at half to not fall in love with the three in the second half, but there’s gotta be a happy medium here.

3. Part of the reason for the poor second half on offense is that Pike seemed to take the wind out of the offense about midway through the second half. Instead of running offense, our guards were just dribbling the ball out on the perimeter and chewing clock. You CANNOT go into a shell that early.

4. Brilliant decision by Pike to start JMike tonight against Ace Baldwin. JMike only played 19 minutes, but he was a huge reason PSU never got comfortable on offense in the first half, because he was disrupting Baldwin’s dribble penetration off of high screens.

5. Ace Bailey really played a gritty game and finished with a 15-15 double double. He really mixed it up in the paint and fought for rebounds and got a couple of blocks. He didn’t hit a single jump shot tonight but helped in every other facet of the game. I just wish he wouldn’t be so hesitant to take threes.

6. Separate paragraph for Ace just making a “winning” play in crunch time when he grabbed a rebound, drove the length of the court and got a layup to put us up by 4 points. That’s the kind of play stars are supposed to make on good teams. A winning play by a star on the winning team.

7. Dylan with another superb all-around game, with 24 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 blocks. He was rolling with three early 3s, and that helped the team gain confidence in the early going. After he missed a few jumpers, he then focused on getting down hill and getting to the foul line. Unfortunately he was just 5-9 from the line.

8. Ogbole played incredible defense in the first half, walling up on dribble drives and stuffing shots, ending up with 3 blocks.

9. Rebounding was much better tonight. We outrebounded PSU 46-32, and, more importantly, only gave up 6 offensive rebounds.

10. The stat of the night is Lathan Sommerville with 4 assists. Lathan grew up tonight, as there wasn’t a single time I thought he hogged the ball in the post. Instead, he passed from the high post and he passed out for kickout threes on offensive rebounds. He also picked his spots for attacking the basket in finishing with 6 points.

11. I’VE NEVER SEEN A WORSE BLOCKING CALL IN MY LIFE WHEN DERKACK GOT PLOWED INTO WITH BOTH FEET SET IN THE PAINT. THAT WAS THE MOST OBVIOUS CHARGE I’VE EVER SEEN.

12 Why can’t anything ever be “easy” with this team? We have a 17 point lead early in the second half and then let Penn State keep chipping away. I’m glad we won, and I guess we “learned how to win,” but being outscored 15-8 in the final 8:18 just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. But at least it’s a bad taste in a win.

1. FT are maddening because RU could have won this game perhaps by double digits if they made them all at key points...but they have been so good hard to beat them up..especially Dylan and even HD was 5-6 before bricking his last 2. Thank go Ace hit the winner.

2. I think first half 3s a bit of fools gold. Dylan was hot, J Will hit the one before half. Acuff and JP were huge shots but in the 2nd half, not sure Pike is confident in those 2 taking those shots. I like we didnt take many in the 2nd half

3. while he did that, I think he wasnt all that confident in our defense getting stops and wanted to limit PSU possessions and it seems like they were chipping and chipping away. The foul shooting should have helped but didnt but I get what Pike was doing...for this game he did thread the needle but also think the team was a bit gassed from the first half

4. big time move by Pike, risky and ballsy but it worked. Ace was throttled early and never recovered and RU was able to get out to that fast start we talked about

5. Ace's best game. The last couple minutes he won the game for RU with his rebounding, steal, basket and made free throws. Also loved when he parked himself near the basket to cleanup on misses. Pike had to have had a nice chat with him pregame

6. great to see Ace be the star for tonight and I know Dylan scored 24 with 12 boards and it was a team win but...

7. we are taking Dylan for granted...12 boards tonight to go along with 24 points and 5 assists. Another day at the office

8. EO pretty good in first half, less so in 2nd and had that one cringeworthy turnover and almost a 2nd later in the 2nd half

9. do you think there was emphasis put on rebounding in the last few days since OSU?

10. stunning number for Lathan and had some really nice moves to the hoop. Played within himself which is key

11. yeah bad call at bad time but thought overall the refs favored RU tonight

12. yeah i know what you mean BUT tonight was still an important step in learning how to win. They managed it, not pretty. I dont think we can say they turned a corner but they at least steered in the right direction and a collapse and loss would have put the season on life support.

 

[RU848789]

I kind of saw it that way, still probably a charge. But….

Edit: this is my comment on the call with 8+ minutes left: To me it was either a charge, as Derkack clearly had position and his feet set, or a no-call, since the contact wasn't significant. No way it should've been a block. Even Bardo said PSU was lucky to get that call, although having said that, I thought the game was reffed fairly and pretty consistently.

Edit: the call with 4 minutes left was absolutely 100% a charge.

 

[RU MAN]

Was away for the weekend, so wasn’t able to post after the Ohio State game, but Rapid Reaction is back tonight after a nail biting 80-76 win over Penn State.

1. We almost lost this game at the foul line. We were 8-10 in the first half but just 6-15 in the second half. If we hit 4 of those to go a below average 10-15, we’re not sweating this game out in the final minutes. I’ve said this before, but I am convinced that we shoot FTs poorly at home because we don’t practice in the RAC.

2. We were 8-18 on threes in the first half, and missed about four wiiiiiiiiiiiiddddeee open ones. We were then 0-4 on threes in the second half. I don’t mind Pike telling the team at half to not fall in love with the three in the second half, but there’s gotta be a happy medium here.

3. Part of the reason for the poor second half on offense is that Pike seemed to take the wind out of the offense about midway through the second half. Instead of running offense, our guards were just dribbling the ball out on the perimeter and chewing clock. You CANNOT go into a shell that early.

4. Brilliant decision by Pike to start JMike tonight against Ace Baldwin. JMike only played 19 minutes, but he was a huge reason PSU never got comfortable on offense in the first half, because he was disrupting Baldwin’s dribble penetration off of high screens.

5. Ace Bailey really played a gritty game and finished with a 15-15 double double. He really mixed it up in the paint and fought for rebounds and got a couple of blocks. He didn’t hit a single jump shot tonight but helped in every other facet of the game. I just wish he wouldn’t be so hesitant to take threes.

6. Separate paragraph for Ace just making a “winning” play in crunch time when he grabbed a rebound, drove the length of the court and got a layup to put us up by 4 points. That’s the kind of play stars are supposed to make on good teams. A winning play by a star on the winning team.

7. Dylan with another superb all-around game, with 24 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 blocks. He was rolling with three early 3s, and that helped the team gain confidence in the early going. After he missed a few jumpers, he then focused on getting down hill and getting to the foul line. Unfortunately he was just 5-9 from the line.

8. Ogbole played incredible defense in the first half, walling up on dribble drives and stuffing shots, ending up with 3 blocks.

9. Rebounding was much better tonight. We outrebounded PSU 46-32, and, more importantly, only gave up 6 offensive rebounds.

10. The stat of the night is Lathan Sommerville with 4 assists. Lathan grew up tonight, as there wasn’t a single time I thought he hogged the ball in the post. Instead, he passed from the high post and he passed out for kickout threes on offensive rebounds. He also picked his spots for attacking the basket in finishing with 6 points.

11. I’VE NEVER SEEN A WORSE BLOCKING CALL IN MY LIFE WHEN DERKACK GOT PLOWED INTO WITH BOTH FEET SET IN THE PAINT. THAT WAS THE MOST OBVIOUS CHARGE I’VE EVER SEEN.

12 Why can’t anything ever be “easy” with this team? We have a 17 point lead early in the second half and then let Penn State keep chipping away. I’m glad we won, and I guess we “learned how to win,” but being outscored 15-8 in the final 8:18 just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. But at least it’s a bad taste in a win.

13. Penn State is a good team, easily a top half team in the Big Ten. We were lucky we got Baldwin and their big man Neiderhauser in foul trouble.

Really good post. The Derkack "blocking foul" was total bullshit. TERRIBLE call. As some have already said, if we hit our FT's we wouldn't have had to sweat out this win. Still, a win, is a win, is a win. And there is no reason to not finish December 9-4 before we face Indiana on Jan. 2nd.

 

[seansherm]

1. We played really hard in the 1st half. I thought we were a bit fatigued in 2nd half

3. Definitely agree here. It is a Pike thing, but….

8. YES!!!!

10. How do you not nention him taking charge

11. Defintely not worst ever. Like to see it again, probably a charge but far from a no doubter.

On 1 I agree, PSU seemed in much better shape than us down the stretch. I didn't notice the heavy breathing or shorts clutching on them at each break. We put out great effort, but should we have been that tired. I know Dylan uses an inhaler, does anyone else?

 

[rubjk]

They rebounded well today, sure. My point is, the other team’s style of offense and individual strengths are the reason why, not some lasting change in team rebounding prowess.

A&M was one of the best rebounding teams and we out rebounded them. You heard Ace after the game about them focusing on it. It showed.

 

[Shelby65]

Edit: this is my comment on the call with 8+ minutes left: To me it was either a charge, as Derkack clearly had position and his feet set, or a no-call, since the contact wasn't significant. No way it should've been a block. Even Bardo said PSU was lucky to get that call, although having said that, I thought the game was reffed fairly and pretty consistently.

Edit: the call with 4 minutes left was absolutely 100% a charge.

You guys don’t know that refs are cognizant of the team fouls and will even them out ? Calls were lopsided in both halves in RU’s favor and while it was a bad block call on Derkack, the foul differential required the call going the other way at that point. Refs don’t want to decide games and will always try to balance calls. The next few were always going to go against us. Obvious for knowledgeable fans.

 

[RU-ROCS]

Yes, good point about Lathan taking that charge. Excellent rotation and decision to take the charge instead of trying to block the shot.

Watch the Derkack “block” again. He had his feet set for at least a full second before getting barreled into. It was an obvious charge. Like, really obvious.

Agred. PSU player also lowered his shoulder into Derkack which is usually another indictator of an offensive foul.