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THE OFFICIAL RUTGERS-PITTSBURGH PREDICTION THREAD

You guys really think RU will score less than 60?
Pitt 73, RU 68


look at the scores of the Pitt games. I expect an ugly half court game. They have a crappy offense and RU is pretty bad in the half court themselves. Thats why I dont like this matchup. I think the UMass game was great but RU won through transition, can we do that against a tough Pitt defense. If RU wins its going to be because they grinded it out on D
 
The second road game for Rutgers and there must be a far better offensive performance against Pitt.

Pitt 72 Rutgers 67
 
Pitt has been brutal from 3 point. With the exception of NW game they have been bad defensive rebounding. they have been pretty good defensively.

I see 62-64 possessions and it could be the 1st to 60 wins the game.
 
This is the Jacob Young game.....

I've stayed out of the prediction threads, because this roster is still sorting out it's roles. Jacob Young and Montez Mathis will need to bulldog Xavier Johnson, who can get to the basket....Young and Mathis need to keep him out of transition and out of the paint.

Offense helps the defense.....make shots, get to the FT line and get the defense set.....miss shots and if Johnson gets downhill in transition, Pitt will get to the line.

These are two programs still sorting out young rosters. If Jacob Young can take care of the ball and be a bulldog on defense, we can take Pitt out of what they want to do on offense....they're not efficient and will force up bad shots....they can be frustrated.

If RU can get Myles Johnson to an efficient 20-22 minutes and he alters a couple of shots per half, RU wins....I assume Jacob Young has bought into closing the loop on becoming a stopper with Mathis. if both can rotate and keep Johnson in check, I don't see consistent reliable scoring from Pittsburgh.....and Geo will have time to find shots and open shooters.

RU 70, Pittsburgh 62....
 
Pitt 69
Rutgers 60

We haven't played a legit road game yet and laid an egg in our only game away from the RAC.
 
This is the Jacob Young game.....

I've stayed out of the prediction threads, because this roster is still sorting out it's roles. Jacob Young and Montez Mathis will need to bulldog Xavier Johnson, who can get to the basket....Young and Mathis need to keep him out of transition and out of the paint.

Offense helps the defense.....make shots, get to the FT line and get the defense set.....miss shots and if Johnson gets downhill in transition, Pitt will get to the line.

These are two programs still sorting out young rosters. If Jacob Young can take care of the ball and be a bulldog on defense, we can take Pitt out of what they want to do on offense....they're not efficient and will force up bad shots....they can be frustrated.

If RU can get Myles Johnson to an efficient 20-22 minutes and he alters a couple of shots per half, RU wins....I assume Jacob Young has bought into closing the loop on becoming a stopper with Mathis. if both can rotate and keep Johnson in check, I don't see consistent reliable scoring from Pittsburgh.....and Geo will have time to find shots and open shooters.

RU 70, Pittsburgh 62....

I get and agree with your original take. What concerns me is this goes from our OOC 70 possession game to 62-63 possession half court game where mistakes offensively are maginfied.....same holds true on the other end which is why I am 100% in agreement that this is Jacob Young time.

Now the part with Myles playing 20-22 minutes.....that is in a perfect world, but our roster is not perfect. Last year it was terrible not having a backup PG and it was torture watching us with Geo on the bench. Although not nearly as bad, this year is the backup center that gets me really worried. Geo was our MVP last year without any hesitation, this year it is clear as day Myles is our MVP.
 
look at the scores of the Pitt games. I expect an ugly half court game. They have a crappy offense and RU is pretty bad in the half court themselves. Thats why I dont like this matchup. I think the UMass game was great but RU won through transition, can we do that against a tough Pitt defense. If RU wins its going to be because they grinded it out on D

My 3 main things that will determine if we win.....(in order)
1. 3 point shooting
2. Myles foul trouble
3. can we score in transition
 
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A win in this game would basically get us back to exactly on par with where we need to be to be a bubble team.

If we can find our way to 11-3 through Nebraska we would be on track, we probably need to go 19-12 through the regular season + win one in the B1G tourney
 
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I have no feel for Pittsburgh and the pace of play question by Greene is good, except I see no reason why Pitt won't turn the ball over 13 to 15 times.....and that will lead to leak outs by RU.

As the competition increases and games become more half court-esque, I think Caleb and Yeboah will become essential pieces to take 3s when presented to us. I feel fairly confident we will turn Pitt over and control the tempo for a good chunk of the game.

As long as we attack the defensive glass with all 5 players, RU will be OK.
 
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I’m confident we can win the turnover battle and out-shoot them from deep.

I think rebounding and FTs will be even.

We may have some trouble stopping them down low without fouling. Hamilton in particular could give us trouble — a 24yr old senior, 6’9 230, will grab a lot of rebounds (had 12 in each of his last two games including 4 ORebs) and score on put backs.

Score will likely be in the 60s for both teams. Home court will give Pitt a slight edge.

I’d like to see us pressing them, to get turnovers and run-outs and to push the pace. If we do that and make just enough threes, we win a close one.

RU 67-63
 
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I get and agree with your original take. What concerns me is this goes from our OOC 70 possession game to 62-63 possession half court game where mistakes offensively are maginfied.....same holds true on the other end which is why I am 100% in agreement that this is Jacob Young time.

Now the part with Myles playing 20-22 minutes.....that is in a perfect world, but our roster is not perfect. Last year it was terrible not having a backup PG and it was torture watching us with Geo on the bench. Although not nearly as bad, this year is the backup center that gets me really worried. Geo was our MVP last year without any hesitation, this year it is clear as day Myles is our MVP.

The Panthers are also guard/sf dependent and fairly thin on the front line. I actually think that this game will come down to effective guard play including our ability to defend the perimeter as well as productivity/efficiency from Harper.
 
This game is critically important because its a road game and the first of four games against opponents from the ACC,Big East and the B1G.Rutgers will be the under dog in three of the four games which just puts added pressure on the team.Every loss makes it more difficult to have a winning season.
 
From reading the Pitt board sounds like they are similiar to us and this will be an old fashioned rock fight
 
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First of all, I have no idea. But I think RU tends to outperform in these ACC/B1G games. Would be a good sign if the final score were something like
RU 66
Pitt 56
 
Rutgers cannot lose on Schiano hiring day CHOP

Pitt shoots 25% from 3... Unless they have their breakout game we take them down
 
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