THE OFFICIAL RUTGERS-IOWA PREDICTION THREAD
- Thread starter bac2therac
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RU 76-73.
We very nearly came all the way back against a much better team than this the other night on the road. We are allowed to win this game
We very nearly came all the way back against a much better team than this the other night on the road. We are allowed to win this game
Similar to RU, Iowa has lost to every team with a pulse other than SHU.
A common theme in all their losses is that they give up more than 40 points in the second half, and in their last two losses, both to B1G teams, they’ve surrendered over 50 points in the second half.
As always, Iowa can score (over 100 points four times this year, against cupcakes, but still), and this year they have Krikke, the All MVC graduate transfer from Valpo who seemingly scores at will from inside. The good news is that he leaves fewer shots for the 3-point marksmen that Iowa usually has.
Cliff has to be careful not to get in foul trouble trying to stop Krikke. If we keep it close in the first half, we should win the second half and the game.
Will be a tight finish. If we make just enough shots (let’s say 45% overall including 30% from three, and 67% of our FTs) we should get the victory.
Rutgers wins, 74-71
A common theme in all their losses is that they give up more than 40 points in the second half, and in their last two losses, both to B1G teams, they’ve surrendered over 50 points in the second half.
As always, Iowa can score (over 100 points four times this year, against cupcakes, but still), and this year they have Krikke, the All MVC graduate transfer from Valpo who seemingly scores at will from inside. The good news is that he leaves fewer shots for the 3-point marksmen that Iowa usually has.
Cliff has to be careful not to get in foul trouble trying to stop Krikke. If we keep it close in the first half, we should win the second half and the game.
Will be a tight finish. If we make just enough shots (let’s say 45% overall including 30% from three, and 67% of our FTs) we should get the victory.
Rutgers wins, 74-71
Iowa(0-3), @ Purdue 67-86, Vs Michigan 80-90, @ Wisconsin 72-83
Vs
Rutgers(0-2), vs Illinois 58-76, @ Ohio St 72-76
We've both lost to the top teams in the conference twice, but Iowa lost to Michigan at home. Iowa's defense is bad and Gavin breaks out of his slump, we increase our offense by another 14. 😂😂
Iowa 76
Rutgers 86
Vs
Rutgers(0-2), vs Illinois 58-76, @ Ohio St 72-76
We've both lost to the top teams in the conference twice, but Iowa lost to Michigan at home. Iowa's defense is bad and Gavin breaks out of his slump, we increase our offense by another 14. 😂😂
Iowa 76
Rutgers 86
There's no way to know how this game can go, but there has to be some matchups that typically favor Iowa, that probably don't look so promising now.
In the last 2 years, this was not a good matchup for RU. Iowa guards would carve up our bigger guards, that just never had the footspeed to keep their guards out of the paint. So players like Caleb McConnell who are all B1G defenders, get caught in matchups where he would be forced to help slow down guards getting into the paint and the "kick-outs", to the Sandforts or McCaffery types, just seemed like daggers.
The last reasonable matchup we played well in Iowa, felt like the Ohio State game the other night.....RU falls behind by double digits, takes a half or more to get acclimated to the pace and RU starts to rally back and make it a close game.....that last competitive game in Iowa City, had Jacob Young, going crazy and killing Iowa off the dribble.....he had an excellent drive and missed a bunny layup, that would have tied the game, and Iowa escaped.
This is the 1st matchup where our smaller guards, are somewhat able to stick with Iowa guards. Tony Perkins is still the big guard, who gets into the paint and can back down a Simpson, Davis or Fernandes, but Austin Williams being active and available, can help offset that. But I am not necessarily overly concerned if Perkins scores this time around.
RU guards now are going to see players that they should feel confident in scoring against.....and while fans aren't sure if they want to root for Simpson taking 13 to 15 shots a game, this is another game where those shots should be available, as well as attacking the basket.....same with Davis and Fernandes.
Gavin Griffiths was the original target of Iowa that RU landed in recruiting and he fits the profile of what Iowa and McCaffery like to run and gun with.....shoot 3s quickly, ask questions about defense or other things later.
Well, now we have a player who can potentially, give Iowa some doses of what they blitzed RU with in years past.......Gavin should find room for some quick shots in transition and room to roam, while driving to the paint or basket. Gavin could shoot 2 for 12 vs Iowa, if he plays 26 to 28 minutes, or go 7 for 13 and put up 18 to 20 points, very quickly. A couple of layups in transition or open looks, could spell trouble for Iowa. He is too talented and I'm keeping all my chips on the table with Gavin and this revamped backcourt.
The other matchups are not overly complicated....Cliff has to catch passes and not turn it over and should get putbacks against Iowa up front. Hyatt and Mag, should be able to stay attached to Sandfort and others and make them play defense on the other end. Mag, specifically should see plenty of room to post up and score, as well as wide open baseline 2s and corner 3s.....this should be a breakout game for Mag as well.
This one is really about making layups and mid range shots against Iowa....because if both teams shoot well, RU ultimately plays better defense and rebounds better for 40 minutes than Iowa does....RU past teams, just never shot enough quality 3s or had the quickness at guard to drive and kick for shots...., this roster matches up much better than past years, even though it's not as tall or lengthy.
I see a game in the high 70s to low 80s....give me RU in a shootout, with 5 Knights in double figures....
RU 85, Iowa 81
In the last 2 years, this was not a good matchup for RU. Iowa guards would carve up our bigger guards, that just never had the footspeed to keep their guards out of the paint. So players like Caleb McConnell who are all B1G defenders, get caught in matchups where he would be forced to help slow down guards getting into the paint and the "kick-outs", to the Sandforts or McCaffery types, just seemed like daggers.
The last reasonable matchup we played well in Iowa, felt like the Ohio State game the other night.....RU falls behind by double digits, takes a half or more to get acclimated to the pace and RU starts to rally back and make it a close game.....that last competitive game in Iowa City, had Jacob Young, going crazy and killing Iowa off the dribble.....he had an excellent drive and missed a bunny layup, that would have tied the game, and Iowa escaped.
This is the 1st matchup where our smaller guards, are somewhat able to stick with Iowa guards. Tony Perkins is still the big guard, who gets into the paint and can back down a Simpson, Davis or Fernandes, but Austin Williams being active and available, can help offset that. But I am not necessarily overly concerned if Perkins scores this time around.
RU guards now are going to see players that they should feel confident in scoring against.....and while fans aren't sure if they want to root for Simpson taking 13 to 15 shots a game, this is another game where those shots should be available, as well as attacking the basket.....same with Davis and Fernandes.
Gavin Griffiths was the original target of Iowa that RU landed in recruiting and he fits the profile of what Iowa and McCaffery like to run and gun with.....shoot 3s quickly, ask questions about defense or other things later.
Well, now we have a player who can potentially, give Iowa some doses of what they blitzed RU with in years past.......Gavin should find room for some quick shots in transition and room to roam, while driving to the paint or basket. Gavin could shoot 2 for 12 vs Iowa, if he plays 26 to 28 minutes, or go 7 for 13 and put up 18 to 20 points, very quickly. A couple of layups in transition or open looks, could spell trouble for Iowa. He is too talented and I'm keeping all my chips on the table with Gavin and this revamped backcourt.
The other matchups are not overly complicated....Cliff has to catch passes and not turn it over and should get putbacks against Iowa up front. Hyatt and Mag, should be able to stay attached to Sandfort and others and make them play defense on the other end. Mag, specifically should see plenty of room to post up and score, as well as wide open baseline 2s and corner 3s.....this should be a breakout game for Mag as well.
This one is really about making layups and mid range shots against Iowa....because if both teams shoot well, RU ultimately plays better defense and rebounds better for 40 minutes than Iowa does....RU past teams, just never shot enough quality 3s or had the quickness at guard to drive and kick for shots...., this roster matches up much better than past years, even though it's not as tall or lengthy.
I see a game in the high 70s to low 80s....give me RU in a shootout, with 5 Knights in double figures....
RU 85, Iowa 81
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When was the last put back Cliff had?
He’s setting picks above the foul line. When he’s not, his back is to the basket way to far out to receive a pass and dunk
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Good points all around. Iowa is very tough to beat at home, but their only home loss this year is to a mediocre Michigan team, which at least gives RU realistic hope. Having said that, this year's RU team has given little indication that they are capable of winning a conference game on the road. The OSU game was a step in the right direction with RU's great FT shooting and rebounding. RU will have to replicate those stats and also shoot much better from the field (especially from 3) to pull off the upset.
Is Pike going to manage the game to maximize the chance of victory over Iowa OR is he going to try and win under the confines of getting minutes to those he wants to "develop"?
We are 0-2 and staring at 0-3. Is winning the only thing that matters?
The answer to this question could go a long way to determining how much of a chance we have. The needle might not have enough room to get the thread in.
We are 0-2 and staring at 0-3. Is winning the only thing that matters?
The answer to this question could go a long way to determining how much of a chance we have. The needle might not have enough room to get the thread in.
For me, this is an easy question. We should be maximizing the chances of winning every single game RIGHT NOW, development be damned. I'm not giving up on this year, despite signs CURRENTLY pointing to a .500 or worse finish overall and a bottom 4 finish in the B1G.
If trying to win each individual game means GG and JMike don't play as much as they might if all we cared about was "development," so be it.
That said, I'm confident that GG and JMike are both among the top 10 players on this team and SHOULD be playing just to help us win. The trick is to manage their time to both maximize their production while minimizing how much their presence on the floor might hurt the team in a given game.
2 desperate teams. We need to shoot the 3 at a decent clip to keep up with Iowa. We need to finish better around the rim
If Williams can do to Perkins what he did to Thorton, we may be able to limit Iowa's offense enough to pull out the W
Let's see this 80 points a game team Pike has talked about and get this W
If Williams can do to Perkins what he did to Thorton, we may be able to limit Iowa's offense enough to pull out the W
Let's see this 80 points a game team Pike has talked about and get this W
Let’s put it this way — I think there’s a role for both of them to help us “win”.
JaMike yes
Gavin is so bad defensively right now and will get exposed. How many possessions do we try and hope Gavin does something on offense.
When a rookie QB NFL struggles or a rookie in MLb struggles sitting a few games and watching sometimes does wonders.
Are we helping Gavins development by putting him out there and failing and wondering if we would have won playing other guys.
Princeton, illinois and OSU maybe we win one of those games if Austin would have had Gavins minutes.
If Gavin isn’t shooting he has no business being out there, even if he misses every shot.
Eventually Gavin will break out offensively. We need it to happen sooner than later
Jok. I remember that guy. Lol.
How about Ronnie Lester?
Or I’m sure a big favorite of yours : Luke Garza.
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