Seth Greenberg on ESPN calls us Sweet 16 team

[ScarletDave]

Watching the late night Hawaii tournament on ESPN2. At halftime they do a highlight reel and recap our game against Bucknell (and Indiana’s game).

- called it the RAC
- Steve Pikiell is a top-tier coach in the country (other analyst agreed)
- said we have gotten old and are still old
- if Paul and Caleb continue to get healthier we are a “second weekend team” in the NCAA tournament

 

[GoodOl'Rutgers]

We are certainly capable of that... and we are clearly capable of.. the Temple game, the SHU game.. the Miami game.. (which wasn't as bad as the other 2).

When we look good.. we look DAMN GOOD... capable of beating ANYONE on any given night. Capable of embarrassing a good team on occasion.

But in our last 2 NCAA games we lost to Houston and Notre Dame and should have beaten both.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

2 questions I need answers to

1. Can we just be OK offensively against teams that bring it defensively on the perimeter

2. In the middle of February on a weekday road game in the MidWest can we continue to play with the same intensity defensively.

I feel better about 2 than 1, Pike needs to use his bench.

 

[RUTrack94]

Can I see RU make the Sweet 16? Yes, if the team is healthy, hits their shots, and prove they can win close games. RU being RU, really need elite talent (ex. Ashnault, Lalas, Frazier, Suriano, Cappie, Rice). Talking All-American caliber. Maybe Caleb or Cliff hit another gear the 2nd half of the season. As you know, the NCAAs are not hosted at the RAC.

 

[RUBlackout]

Let’s win on the road and in fact win games we are supposed to win(ie SHU/Temple) before we start talking NCAA tourney first.
I would LOVE to see this team surprise Purdue for an upset to start the new year off with a bang

 

[rucoe89]

2 questions I need answers to

1. Can we just be OK offensively against teams that bring it defensively on the perimeter

2. In the middle of February on a weekday road game in the MidWest can we continue to play with the same intensity defensively.

I feel better about 2 than 1, Pike needs to use his bench.

This. Still lots of unsettled questions. One game at a time.

 

[bowlgoal]

Pikiell is respected by basically everyone in the industry. Winning on the road is the only knock against him. Its hard to win on the road but you need to show you can do it.

 

[Scangg]

Stop bringing up Temple as if it's some indicator of this team. No Paul or Caleb. It's irrelevant in predicting the future success of this team unless they both get hurt again

 

[Degaz-RU]

Stop bringing up Temple as if it's some indicator of this team. No Paul or Caleb. It's irrelevant in predicting the future success of this team unless they both get hurt again

It’s not only missing Paul and Caleb in that Temple game, but it was the FIRST GAME missing both of them.

That was a HUGE adjustment, and it took us a half to figure it out. Unfortunately, that one half was an egregiously bad half, and despite playing well in the second half, it was too little, too late.

Our four losses have been by 6, 7, 1, and 2 points. We do need to show that we can win a close game, but there were “reasons” for each of these losses that are explainable and likely won’t reoccur.

 

[mikeyo]

It’s not only missing Paul and Caleb in that Temple game, but it was the FIRST GAME missing both of them.

That was a HUGE adjustment, and it took us a half to figure it out. Unfortunately, that one half was an egregiously bad half, and despite playing well in the second half, it was too little, too late.

Our four losses have been by 6, 7, 1, and 2 points. We do need to show that we can win a close game, but there were “reasons” for each of these losses that are explainable and likely won’t reoccur.

And as long as Cliff stays out of foul trouble, we can beat anyone. He's still the critical piece

 

[Scarlet83]

Let’s win on the road and in fact win games we are supposed to win(ie SHU/Temple) before we start talking NCAA tourney first.
I would LOVE to see this team surprise Purdue for an upset to start the new year off with a bang

We can talk NCAAs anytime we want. So hilarious when people say this has to happen before we talk about that. So silly.

And if you can comprehend what the OP said, ESPN2 announcers said we are a 2nd weekend NCAA team.

That said, this team is very good and if we stay healthy we will go far in March. Far.

 

[Iselin Scarlet]

Rutgers lost to the Hall at home. Seth are you kidding ? Must be smoking the
Devils grass.

 

[bitnez]

Rutgers lost to the Hall at home. Seth are you kidding ? Must be smoking the
Devils grass.

Makes sense if you believe one game in December versus a rival defines your season. I look forward to you checking back in March to show how all 16 teams in the sweet 16 didn’t stub their toe once the entire season. Haha.

 

[zebnatto]

Stop bringing up Temple as if it's some indicator of this team. No Paul or Caleb. It's irrelevant in predicting the future success of this team unless they both get hurt again

If we play Temple today even without Paul and Caleb we beat them by double digits.

 

[biazza38]

This team plays very very good defense. Once again, we look like the type of team that is very difficult to put away.
We have some heartbreaking losses this year, but we’re a very capable. Let’s worry about making the tournament first. We have a tough schedule and nothing is guaranteed.

 

[RUJMM78]

Pikiell is respected by basically everyone in the industry. Winning on the road is the only knock against him. Its hard to win on the road but you need to show you can do it.

Yes, its very hard to win on the road especially with poor 3 point shooting and missed layups.The defense must be stellar and the offense needs go to scorers at crunch time.The RAC crowd can't be ignored in how Rutgers performs at home versus away.

 

[fluoxetine]

It’s not only missing Paul and Caleb in that Temple game, but it was the FIRST GAME missing both of them.

That was a HUGE adjustment, and it took us a half to figure it out. Unfortunately, that one half was an egregiously bad half, and despite playing well in the second half, it was too little, too late.

Our four losses have been by 6, 7, 1, and 2 points. We do need to show that we can win a close game, but there were “reasons” for each of these losses that are explainable and likely won’t reoccur.

Not only this, but we were also throwing a freshman into the fire to run the point and he didn't handle it well in what was only his 4th college game ever.

 

[RutgersSouthFL]

If we had finished what looked like a sure win at Miami (I was there) and/or taken care of business against The Hall, I would agree with Seth. At this point, though, I don't think there's enough of a resume to predict this team will go further than the superior '21 and '22 teams. Yet.

 

[RUChoppin]

And as long as Cliff stays out of foul trouble, we can beat anyone. He's still the critical piece

I'd argue a healthy Mulcahy is a more critical piece than a foul free Omoruyi

 

[Yeah Baby]

If we had finished what looked like a sure win at Miami (I was there) and/or taken care of business against The Hall, I would agree with Seth. At this point, though, I don't think there's enough of a resume to predict this team will go further than the superior '21 and '22 teams. Yet.

I watched that game but never felt it was a sure win. Maybe my memory is not precise for that game but I thought we had a really good chance of winning but also thought Miami was a solid team and it was on their court and we didn’t have everyone. Caleb played pretty well but first game back vs guys who played a handful of games. Not a bad loss at all even if we were at full strength.

 

[Yeah Baby]

I'd argue a healthy Mulcahy is a more critical piece than a foul free Omoruyi

Cliff owns the paint. He allows guys to extend on D and he even gets out and covers guards well. Paul is as critical for our Offense. He makes it flow minus the Hall game.

 

[Saint Puppy]

If we play Temple today even without Paul and Caleb we beat them by double digits.

I look at the Temple game a little differently - yes we may have performed differently against Temple, but then how do you explain SHU? I think we are scary good on defense, but on the flip side I think we are capable of being scary bad on offense which is something we've seen happen twice now. Our season starts on January 2nd so we will see what happens, but I think the success of our season is all about avoiding going into an abyss on offense at times.

 

[Scarlet Blind]

2019-20 20-11(11-9)
40+ wins vs Niagara & Caldwell, 27 vs NJIT, 25 Vs UMass, 20 vs Seton
2020-21 16-12(10-10)
23 vs Sacred Heart, 21 vs FDU, 30 vs Mich St(off 20+ day pause)
2021-22 18-14(12-8)
31 vs 7 man CCSU, 28 vs Neb, 21 vs Mich. St

22-23 8-4(1-1) *2-0
40pt vs Columbia, 38 Sacred Heart, 30 Rider, 34 CCSU, 24 Wake, 35 Bucknell
We still have 19 games to play.

Defensively
3rd in Ken Pom Defense Efficiency
4th at 41.4% Effective FG%
54.3 PA/G- 6th/363
19.8 FGM- 9th
54.5 FGA- 67th
36.2% FG%- 8th
14.2 2pt FGM- 17th
32.3 2pt FGA- 57th
43.8% 2pt FG%- 37th
5.6 3pt FGM- 35th
22.2 3pt FGA- 202nd
25.2% 3pt FG%- 4th
9.2 FTM- 28th
14.1 FTA- 49th
65.7% FT%- 39th

10.3 steals/GM 13th best
Opponents average 17.5TOs- 337th/363
Only 26 defenses cause more TOs
10th in TO% at 25.6%
41st in Blk% at 12.9%

This year is different, this year is special. It will only get better as we add better more elite recruits on this team. High major recruits are paying attention to this next level of play we are showing in 22-23.

 

[MiloTalon13]

Other than this board it’s tough to find anyone who says anything negative about Coach Steve Pikiell we are lucky to have him

 

[shields]

We are certainly capable of that... and we are clearly capable of.. the Temple game, the SHU game.. the Miami game.. (which wasn't as bad as the other 2).

When we look good.. we look DAMN GOOD... capable of beating ANYONE on any given night. Capable of embarrassing a good team on occasion.

But in our last 2 NCAA games we lost to Houston and Notre Dame and should have beaten both.

Houston was in final four good team

 

[GoodOl'Rutgers]

Houston was in final four good team

But we lost that game.. we were better than they were.. we blew it... we gave it away. Surely you saw the game and thought the same thing.

I will add the refs helped Houston.. allowed them to be very physical the whole game. We earned foul calls and did not get them. yeah.. we should have matched the physicality and forced the refs to give us the same leeway or show their bias. Like the SHU game this year.. it was asymmetric warfare.. they got physical and we did not... and the rules of the game were not enforced properly. Miami was similar. I expect more such games in Big Ten play.

 

[Mr_Twister]

Rutgers lost to the Hall at home. Seth are you kidding ? Must be smoking the
Devils grass.

Body of work. Not one game.

 

[mikeyo]

Houston was in final four good team

Yep. And Quentin Grimes, their leading scorer, starts for the Knicks these days

 

[Scarlet Shack]

Watching the late night Hawaii tournament on ESPN2. At halftime they do a highlight reel and recap our game against Bucknell (and Indiana’s game).

- called it the RAC
- Steve Pikiell is a top-tier coach in the country (other analyst agreed)
- said we have gotten old and are still old
- if Paul and Caleb continue to get healthier we are a “second weekend team” in the NCAA tournament

My take! Let’s now DO IT!

 

[Scarlet83]

Yes, its very hard to win on the road especially with poor 3 point shooting and missed layups.The defense must be stellar and the offense needs go to scorers at crunch time.The RAC crowd can't be ignored in how Rutgers performs at home versus away.

It is hard to win on the road but remember just last year we won 4 B1G away games out of 10.

 

[Scarlet83]

Other than this board it’s tough to find anyone who says anything negative about Coach Steve Pikiell we are lucky to have him

Truth!

 

[Scangg]

I look at the Temple game a little differently - yes we may have performed differently against Temple, but then how do you explain SHU? I think we are scary good on defense, but on the flip side I think we are capable of being scary bad on offense which is something we've seen happen twice now. Our season starts on January 2nd so we will see what happens, but I think the success of our season is all about avoiding going into an abyss on offense at times.

How do you explain SHU? I'm sure you can answer that yourself. Come on

 

[fluoxetine]

How do you explain SHU? I'm sure you can answer that yourself. Come on

We played badly. SHU is not that bad such that we can get away with playing that badly. SHU has a good defensive team and they also had a good game plan for us.

 

[goru7]

Some more good news today and some respect. We get 4 votes in the coaches poll. The AP voting is ridiculously bad at spots but Coaching has been more consistent. We were getting 7 votes and 2 votes even after Seton Hall loss. Then no votes last week and after 1 blowout win , back with 4 votes. Shocked at Indiana and Wisconsin ranked 15 and 16 without full reality check. How Duke loses to Wake and moves no where is mind boggling ?Miami moving up to 14 and getting more respect. BetweenSeth Greenberg and the coaches around the country , we are finally being respected as a top 40 program

 

[rudad02]

Can I see RU make the Sweet 16? Yes, if the team is healthy, hits their shots, and prove they can win close games. RU being RU, really need elite talent (ex. Ashnault, Lalas, Frazier, Suriano, Cappie, Rice). Talking All-American caliber. Maybe Caleb or Cliff hit another gear the 2nd half of the season. As you know, the NCAAs are not hosted at the RAC.

Forgot Lloyd, probably the best of them all.

 

[garyrc70]

Sagarin now has OSU 14, RU 15, UNC 16 and Kentucky 17...

 

[robjknight]

BTW , Parx has RU as 31-1 to be regular season conference winner. 4th longest conference odds. Worth a bet.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

We played badly. SHU is not that bad such that we can get away with playing that badly. SHU has a good defensive team and they also had a good game plan for us.

We turned the ball over 19 times. That’s how we lost.

 

[colbert17]

I remember a few weeks ago there being thread here with the title "Cancel Da Season!!!"

 

[newell138]

Let’s win on the road and in fact win games we are supposed to win(ie SHU/Temple) before we start talking NCAA tourney first.
I would LOVE to see this team surprise Purdue for an upset to start the new year off with a bang

As a fan why would we be limited in what we can discuss? Isn’t that the reason for message boards?