Huge win tonight for RU over #20 PSU. We're now in 2nd place in the B1G and that's not a fluke, as we're 3-1 with 3 good wins, including a road win and a top 20 win, just a few games after another top 25 win against SHU. And will be ranked if we beat IL on Saturday and even if we don't, we'll still be on a great trajectory to have a legitimate shot at the Dance for the first time since the guy in the pic below was coaching here back in 1991.
Long way to go, although we also won these last 2 without arguably our best player. So like I said, this is no fluke. We're a good team and we look to be improving, which is a bit of a scary thought for the rest of the B1G, most of whom are used to penciling us in as a win. Not this year - not that we're not going to lose some games, but nobody is going to beat us without a good effort.
Off the top of my head, here are my highlights. Harper scoring 22 including 12 of 12 from the line and playing point forward at the end, which was a brilliant move by Pike. Onions!! Young continuing his improving play with some great drives and defense and that miracle trey. Mathis doing some similar things as JY especially with some big offensive rebounds near the end (needs to do better from the line, though). Myles doing well, but Carter doing just as well really, as they combined for 16/8, which was a wash with Watkins, which was ok in my book. Caleb had a tough game, but others stepped up, like Mulcahy, who had probably his best all-around game against a very good team (4/4 with 5 assists, a block, 2 steals and 0 TOs and that pass to Myles!). Similarly, Yeboah didn't have his best game, but he contributed a couple of big buckets on drives early in the 2nd half. What a team win.
Bottom line is that this was a huge win against a very good team when we didn't play our best offensively, although much of that was due to good defense by PSU, but we played very well defensively, especially as a team on help defense, and simply refused to lose this one - and this was a game that I don't think we come back from and win last year - and was certainly not a game we would've won going away. We outscored them 44-28 in the 2nd half!
Great crowd too with tons of noise at the right times. Also very cool to see Schiano there, along with some of the assistants, Goodale, Hobbs, and celebrity guests, Todd Frazier and Sebastien Joseph - love having famous alums coming back for games.
Pic below is of Bob Wenzel interviewing Ron Harper Jr after the game - kind of fitting to have Bob there doing the game against the team that made him a legend when we beat them in '89 to finish that improbable run to the Dance after only winning 7 games the year before under Littlepage.
Great night to be a Rutgers fan.
Long way to go, although we also won these last 2 without arguably our best player. So like I said, this is no fluke. We're a good team and we look to be improving, which is a bit of a scary thought for the rest of the B1G, most of whom are used to penciling us in as a win. Not this year - not that we're not going to lose some games, but nobody is going to beat us without a good effort.
Off the top of my head, here are my highlights. Harper scoring 22 including 12 of 12 from the line and playing point forward at the end, which was a brilliant move by Pike. Onions!! Young continuing his improving play with some great drives and defense and that miracle trey. Mathis doing some similar things as JY especially with some big offensive rebounds near the end (needs to do better from the line, though). Myles doing well, but Carter doing just as well really, as they combined for 16/8, which was a wash with Watkins, which was ok in my book. Caleb had a tough game, but others stepped up, like Mulcahy, who had probably his best all-around game against a very good team (4/4 with 5 assists, a block, 2 steals and 0 TOs and that pass to Myles!). Similarly, Yeboah didn't have his best game, but he contributed a couple of big buckets on drives early in the 2nd half. What a team win.
Bottom line is that this was a huge win against a very good team when we didn't play our best offensively, although much of that was due to good defense by PSU, but we played very well defensively, especially as a team on help defense, and simply refused to lose this one - and this was a game that I don't think we come back from and win last year - and was certainly not a game we would've won going away. We outscored them 44-28 in the 2nd half!
Great crowd too with tons of noise at the right times. Also very cool to see Schiano there, along with some of the assistants, Goodale, Hobbs, and celebrity guests, Todd Frazier and Sebastien Joseph - love having famous alums coming back for games.
Pic below is of Bob Wenzel interviewing Ron Harper Jr after the game - kind of fitting to have Bob there doing the game against the team that made him a legend when we beat them in '89 to finish that improbable run to the Dance after only winning 7 games the year before under Littlepage.
Great night to be a Rutgers fan.
