UNLOAD

[freewillie07]

As promised, I will UNLOAD my thoughts from the RAC last night. Warning: This is a long post.

I will break this down into three parts:
1) The game last night
2) The 2019-20 NU basketball season
3) The future of the program

1) For the first 33 minutes of the game, NU silenced the RAC. It was just an impressive display. The open 3s were falling and the beautiful backdoor cuts had some Rutgers fans in my vicinity in awe. Jared Jones was playing as confidently as I've seen all season. It was the NU offense that was moving the ball and cutting confidently off the ball. Virtually no turnovers. Even when the RAC tried to get back into it when the lead was cut to 10-12 points, someone would step up and make a bucket. Again, just incredibly impressive. I was there with a few NU friends who don't follow the team at all, and they were shocked when I told them NU's dismal record...

And then... collapse.

In my opinion, the turning point in the game came at the 8:43 mark in the second half. NU was still up 58-44. Geo went to the free throw line and missed the front end. But, he somehow got his own rebound, dribbled out to the 3-point line, and drained a 3 to cut the lead to 11. It might not have seemed like a turning point, looking at the play-by-play -- Spencer proceeded to make two layups and get the lead back to 14. But up until that point Geo was relatively quiet and Rutgers was cold from beyond the arc. That gave them a jolt of momentum that carried them to an 18-4 run to end regulation, once they realized Spencer wasn't good enough to keep winning one-on-one matchups. It also must be said that Geo was just ridiculous at the end of the game, and in many ways you have to live with him taking contested step-back long jumpers. I thought A.J. did the best he could on defense.

However, we must talk about the end-of-game offense. It was as bad in person as I'm sure it looked on TV. There was no movement off the ball. I was foolishly confident that NU would have one great set up their sleeve with 11 seconds to play and the fact that the best-case scenario was a win, worst-case was OT. I saw Brian James talking at length with Ryan Young. Perhaps a double screen for Kopp, with an option for Young rolling to the basket? But, of course, no. Just Buie holding the ball too damn long and getting an awful look.

Which brings me to...

2) I'm torn about what to make of this season. I've long held the opinion that the overall record this year doesn't matter, it's about the growth of the young guys and setting the program up for success next year and especially in 2021-22. I've been encouraged that among Buie, Beran, Jones, Young, Kopp and Nance, there's a ton of promise and not a clear "bust" among them.

HOWEVER, at a certain point, you have to win some of these games. Even the 2014-15 team, which suffered brutal losses during a 10-game conference losing streak, found a way to finally get over the hump in a hard-fought OT win against Iowa. You might recall in that game Jarrod Uthoff hit a game-tying 3-pointer with 3 seconds left in regulation. This squad has had any number of chances for that breakthrough moment, including last night, and hasn't sealed the deal.

No, this does not mean the roster is made up of "losers." And no, this is not all on Collins. The truth is somewhere in the middle. The main problem I see is that Boo Buie is the team's only true shot creator at the moment. Kopp is a legit Big Ten player but he more or less needs to be set up to catch-and-shoot, or catch-and-fake-and-dribble-and-shoot. And he's worn out by the end of the game so Collins feels more comfortable with the low-risk option of seeing what Buie can do. The RAC was crazy and I could understand the risk-aversion.

It. Just. Does. Not. Work. Though.

The definition of insanity isn't technically "doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result," but that's basically what Collins has been doing in late-game situations. Boo has a lot of Tre Demps in him, but he is not yet Tre Demps. Collins should recognize this by now. The fact that he hasn't is a problem that’s worth talking about.

And so...

3) The future. Is Collins the right coach for this program?

I would say yes*.

The * signifies that I am ready to start warming up Collins's seat. If I were Phillips, I would expressly state I expect to see tangible improvement next season to somewhere in the middle of the conference. Call it 7th-11th. IF Collins can't even deliver that, I would be ready to replace him after the 2021-22 season, barring an NCAA Tournament appearance or a strong NIT run.

The 2021 recruiting class will be telling. Yes, we can all dream about PBJ and Christie coming in and having a One Shining Moment year, but what if that doesn't pan out? Who are the four-year guys that NU brings in? NU will not have a sustainable program without consistently bringing in freshmen who can immediately compete for playing time. Can Collins lock in a few Top 150 guys given the display this season? We will see.

I want to believe in Collins and this program. If you just cut out the ends of games, this team has been without a doubt more enjoyable to watch than either of the past two years.

Are these big leads and brutal losses a sign that Pounding the Rock is working, or a sign that the chisel is broken? That's the question that will be answered in the next 13 months. It hurts, but I'm hopeful.

Go Cats

 

[GatoLouco]

Are these big leads and brutal losses a sign that Pounding the Rock is working, or a sign that the chisel is broken? That's the question that will be answered in the next 13 months. It hurts, but I'm hopeful.

Great post, lots of really good insight there. And wise to unload the day after cause, in the moment, we are all so frustrated we tend to over react to the situation

I am starting to hate the Pound the Rock thing. It was cute and all before we made the tournament. Keep fighting, don't give up, bla, bla, bla. By now it feels more like we are little old NU, we have to keep pounding the rock 1000 times when, realistically, maybe we just needed to pound it 100 times. Some more ammunition to the "there's nothing anyone can do, it's just the way it is at NU". One more excuse to lose games we should have realistically won.

 

[Hungry Jack]

Good post. You show remarkable emotional constraint. I was expecting some sort of Waterloo type post where women and children need to be kept away.

I missed the game. Little Hungry and I were vexed with the task of building a flying machine out of some cheap battery-powered electrical motors, some cheap model grade plastic propellers, and whatever materials we could scavenge from his craft box. Needless to say, the Wright brothers we are not...

But I just don't know what to make of these big blown leads. My guess is that teams sleep on NU, we race out ahead, then they wake up and put us in the sleeper hold. And we succumb meekly.

If that is the case, our coaches have to do a better job. Losing like that should be a good (but painful) teacher, but the coaches have to turn these lessons into skills. And the play-calling, if you can call it that, has to be better.

 

[GatoLouco]

But I just don't know what to make of these big blown leads. My guess is that teams sleep on NU, we race out ahead, then they wake up and put us in the sleeper hold. And we succumb meekly.

The commentators were saying the Rutgers' coach had told them his message to his team, ahead of the game, was to not be fooled by NU's record. That we were much more competitive than our record shows.

He did his part, but ultimately it's very hard to drill that into the psyche of players who have not lost at home, are very young themselves and, for the most part, know only the 1-11 record of the opposing team.

Rutgers is, imo, second only to Purdue on defense in the B1G. And for the 1st 15 minutes or so in the 1H, their defense was just not that great. It clearly tightened towards the end of the 1H. When it was harder to stop us as our players had already built some impressive confidence.

 

[go cats go]

Very nice post. I am coming around on this team actually being pretty good--an not just randomly competitive here and there.

I hated that we blew a big lead again, but I liked that we didn't just go to "stall ball" again. Still, I would have liked to have seen better set plays to create an open layup/potential foul or the right guy in the right spot with an open shot. It was clear that the team was playing scared, and that is something that I do believe can be attributed a bit to youth and a bit to coaching...but it is also something that the team will ultimately overcome.

From a coaching standpoint, the statistics about our dreadful record in close games is not random chance--it is problematic and telling. Further, there is definitely something to the stat regarding NU's "luck" per kenpom as among the absolute worst in the nation in three consecutive seasons. Again, this is not a random coincidence. The coaches simply need to better prepare the team, call better plays and perhaps do things like better use of timeouts (and say effective things/call effective plays) while the game is slipping away. There are problems here that need to be addressed.

That said, it's not all on the coaches. And I am oddly encouraged that the late-game collapses have been full-team efforts. I can point to just about every player in the rotation as having blown multiple opportunities in these late-game situations: missed free throws, turnovers, offensive fouls, missing open shots, taking bad shots... We've had it all, and everyone has contributed. I am hopefully that everyone involved will take it personally and try to improve their part of the equation...and, better yet, figure out full team solutions to reverse the curse.

I have to believe that being so close so many times will compel everyone to work that much harder to get over the hump.

--
I am going to make a prediction right now... NU will wind up as the #13 seed in the BTT...and then burst the bubble of the #12 seed with a first-round upset. (11 B1G Teams will make the NCAA Tournament.) We won't feel very good about this season, but we will feel pretty good about our team going into next season.

 

[NUCat320]

I thought NU was going to break through and get the win based on one sequence, just over 12 minutes left. Kopp got the ball near the baseline, missed and got his own rebound, missed again and then won the scramble. Possession continued and closed with Kopp finding Turner, who came in from the left and scored, making it 54-41 with 12:23 left. It looked different from before, like Kopp wouldn’t let NU lose.

But, of course, still 12 minutes left, and NU was out scored 25-12 the rest of the half.

Kopp only got two more shots the rest of the way — both misses, it should be noted. But I want him — the guy who had the want-to and hustle to make that play — to be the guy getting the big shots.

There’s gotta be a triple screen curl somewhere on some chalk board that NU can bring out at crunch time. Miller Time!

 

[freewillie07]

I thought NU was going to break through and get the win based on one sequence, just over 12 minutes left. Kopp got the ball near the baseline, missed and got his own rebound, missed again and then won the scramble. Possession continued and closed with Kopp finding Turner, who came in from the left and scored, making it 54-41 with 12:23 left. It looked different from before, like Kopp wouldn’t let NU lose.

But, of course, still 12 minutes left, and NU was out scored 25-12 the rest of the half.

Kopp only got two more shots the rest of the way — both misses, it should be noted. But I want him — the guy who had the want-to and hustle to make that play — to be the guy getting the big shots.

There’s gotta be a triple screen curl somewhere on some chalk board that NU can bring out at crunch time. Miller Time!

Kopp actually made two 3-pointers down the stretch that were called back, if memory serves. One for an offensive foul on an NU player setting a screen, one for a foul called on Rutgers on the pass to Kopp. If one of those whistles were swallowed...

 

[CappyNU]

From a coaching standpoint, the statistics about our dreadful record in close games is not random chance--it is problematic and telling. Further, there is definitely something to the stat regarding NU's "luck" per kenpom as among the absolute worst in the nation in three consecutive seasons. Again, this is not a random coincidence. The coaches simply need to better prepare the team, call better plays and perhaps do things like better use of timeouts (and say effective things/call effective plays) while the game is slipping away. There are problems here that need to be addressed.

My problem with people bringing up the luck issue over the last 3 seasons is what has changed since Collins' first 4 years as coach where we were middle-of-the-pack in regards to luck? Did he suddenly forget how to coach? Are our players mentally weak compared to earlier recruits?

I think part of it has to do with how strong the conference has been the last two seasons.

Tourney bids by year, top-4 seeds, relative conference strength:
2014 - 6 of 12, 3 top-4 seeds, 3rd
2015 - 7 of 14, 2 top-4 seeds, 6th
2016 - 7 of 14, 1 top-4 seed, 7th
2017 - 7 of 14, 1 top-4 seed, 5th
2018 - 4 of 14, 3 top-4 seeds, 4th
2019 - 8 of 14, 3 top-4 seeds, 2nd
2020 - projected 11 of 14, 2 top-4 seeds, 1st

2018 was a whole other mess which has been discussed ad nauseum. It's also worth noting that the 3 games when we collapsed in 2018 were the ones where BMac got hurt and then missed, followed by Law missing the final three games of the season.

While 2015 has been discussed as a comparable to this year based on the number of close games that ended up as losses, most of those close losses were games where we fought back from being down big. The fact that most of the losses this year are from games where we were up big shows the potential of the talent on this team.

I think we're all looking for answers here as we watch the same game week after week, but this team has talent, and it is a young team. Sometimes teams can get old fast, and sometimes it might take an offseason. We have 4 freshmen who have all flashed serious talent and hopefully after an offseason they can have a similar leap like Miller Kopp, who went from shooting 28% from 3 in conference last year to 41% so far this year. And before you say "but Nance", he has also improved, but he has a much longer way to go. Last year he shot 35% from 2 and 19% from 3 in conference, this year it's up to 40% from 2 and 24% from 3. He has also upped his assist rate and dropped his turnover rate, though Collins clearly made the right move in dropping him from the starting lineup. The other missing piece is Gaines. I think more than a few of these L's turn into W's if Gaines is on the floor with Turner in crunch time on defense.

This ended up being a lot longer than I expected, but if there's any year in which Pound the Rock is applicable, I certainly think this one applies. The schedule has been brutal so far, but the next few home games offer opportunities to break through, starting with Wednesday night against Michigan, though of course they just got their best player back from injury.

 

[go cats go]

My problem with people bringing up the luck issue over the last 3 seasons is what has changed since Collins' first 4 years as coach where we were middle-of-the-pack in regards to luck? Did he suddenly forget how to coach?

I never suggested Collins doesn't know how to coach or forgot how to coach. That's just obtuse. However, here's what math says:

Season - kenpm rank in luck
2017-18 - 340th out of 351
2018-19 - 348th out of 353
2019-20 - 348th out of 353

If is truly is "luck" and random chance. There is about a 1 in 160,000 chance that we would rank this low in consecutive years. I'm suggesting maybe there are some areas the coaches ought to consider having another look at.

 

[go cats go]

We have 4 freshmen who have all flashed serious talent and hopefully after an offseason they can have a similar leap like Miller Kopp...The other missing piece is Gaines...

Next year's team is looking something like:

Buie/Greer
Gaines/Audige/Berry
Kopp/Gaines/Grad Transfer?
Beran/Nance
Young/Jones/Nicholson

Pat Spencer has been surprisingly good for us this season, but I am excited about some combination of Gaines/Audige/Berry to replace him... Meanwhile, I have to hope most of the remaining guys will get a little better--with at least one breakout returnee. And maybe the grad transfer to be named later and one of the freshmen can be contributors... Sounds promising. Is it fantasy?

It might assume everyone is healthy, there are no unexpected transfers or usual scenarios regarding eligibility and so on. That's probably not realistic.

Still, we could be pretty solid.

 

[NJCat]

It might assume everyone is healthy, there are no unexpected transfers or usual scenarios regarding eligibility and so on. That's probably not realistic.

Probably not. There has been an average of 1 transfer per year since Collins recruited his first class.

And NU gets hit with injuries EVERY year. Planning on an injury free season is planning on a low probability event.

Still, 2020-21 should be a better season than the last two.

 

[haywood jahblowme]

i knew this was going to come up so i paid particular attention to each. collins was consistently urging and calling the plays with 16 seconds on the clock the ENTIRE game. definintely different than what we saw with "stall ball" i actually thought NU took shots much earlier in the shot clock than in the "stall ball games". they did get demolished on the glass when those shots didn't go in - unfortunately i didn't DVR it but i would love to go back and pay closer attention to that. i defintely did not see spencer or boo dribbling at half court swiveling their hips to kill time. i just didn't see that this game.

it reminded me of maybe 2013 NU football - when this happenend alot most notably in the night game against ohio state. it seemed like the cats would have a 3 touchdown lead in everygame and then hit a "here we go again" moment when a team made a run.

it also looked like they called the same plays through out the game. one was a play where they swiped their hand down like a knife, one where they pointed to the side of their head, and one where they made an "L" - so i don't think they changed their offense. again just my opinon.

also - to some up the orgiinal poster - Rutgers won not because Pickel called better plays done the road, they won because the Rutgers guys, most notably baker, hit big shots.

players need to hit shots. or step up and get a defensive shots. what was the final tally run for rutgers? had to be like 12-2?

 

[CappyNU]

i knew this was going to come up so i paid particular attention to each. collins was consistently urging and calling the plays with 16 seconds on the clock the ENTIRE game. definintely different than what we saw with "stall ball" i actually thought NU took shots much earlier in the shot clock than in the "stall ball games". they did get demolished on the glass when those shots didn't go in - unfortunately i didn't DVR it but i would love to go back and pay closer attention to that. i defintely did not see spencer or boo dribbling at half court swiveling their hips to kill time. i just didn't see that this game.

it reminded me of maybe 2013 NU football - when this happenend alot most notably in the night game against ohio state. it seemed like the cats would have a 3 touchdown lead in everygame and then hit a "here we go again" moment when a team made a run.

it also looked like they called the same plays through out the game. one was a play where they swiped their hand down like a knife, one where they pointed to the side of their head, and one where they made an "L" - so i don't think they changed their offense. again just my opinon.

also - to some up the orgiinal poster - Rutgers won not because Pickel called better plays done the road, they won because the Rutgers guys, most notably baker, hit big shots.

players need to hit shots. or step up and get a defensive shots. what was the final tally run for rutgers? had to be like 12-2?

18-4 over the last 7:30ish of the 2nd half. Over the last 10 minutes of the 2nd half, Rutgers scored on 13 of their last 15 possessions. Over that same span, we scored on 5 of our first 7 possessions and then only on 1 of our last 8.

 

[haywood jahblowme]

18-4 over the last 7:30ish of the 2nd half. Over the last 10 minutes of the 2nd half, Rutgers scored on 13 of their last 15 possessions. Over that same span, we scored on 5 of our first 7 possessions and then only on 1 of our last 8.

yeah - they definitely were not playing "stall ball that early"

 

[go cats go]

Over the last 10 minutes of the 2nd half, Rutgers scored on 13 of their last 15 possessions.

Wow. Thanks for calling this out. I didn't realize it was so bad on defense.

 

[haywood jahblowme]

18-4 over the last 7:30ish of the 2nd half. Over the last 10 minutes of the 2nd half, Rutgers scored on 13 of their last 15 possessions. Over that same span, we scored on 5 of our first 7 possessions and then only on 1 of our last 8.

brutal

what were the figures for the start of the game?

 

[CappyNU]

brutal

what were the figures for the start of the game?

Looks like we scored on 12 of 17 possessions to get to 29-11, while they scored on 6 of their first 17.

 

[PurpleFaze]

As promised, I will UNLOAD my thoughts from the RAC last night. Warning: This is a long post.

I will break this down into three parts:
1) The game last night
2) The 2019-20 NU basketball season
3) The future of the program

1) For the first 33 minutes of the game, NU silenced the RAC. It was just an impressive display. The open 3s were falling and the beautiful backdoor cuts had some Rutgers fans in my vicinity in awe. Jared Jones was playing as confidently as I've seen all season. It was the NU offense that was moving the ball and cutting confidently off the ball. Virtually no turnovers. Even when the RAC tried to get back into it when the lead was cut to 10-12 points, someone would step up and make a bucket. Again, just incredibly impressive. I was there with a few NU friends who don't follow the team at all, and they were shocked when I told them NU's dismal record...

And then... collapse.

In my opinion, the turning point in the game came at the 8:43 mark in the second half. NU was still up 58-44. Geo went to the free throw line and missed the front end. But, he somehow got his own rebound, dribbled out to the 3-point line, and drained a 3 to cut the lead to 11. It might not have seemed like a turning point, looking at the play-by-play -- Spencer proceeded to make two layups and get the lead back to 14. But up until that point Geo was relatively quiet and Rutgers was cold from beyond the arc. That gave them a jolt of momentum that carried them to an 18-4 run to end regulation, once they realized Spencer wasn't good enough to keep winning one-on-one matchups. It also must be said that Geo was just ridiculous at the end of the game, and in many ways you have to live with him taking contested step-back long jumpers. I thought A.J. did the best he could on defense.

However, we must talk about the end-of-game offense. It was as bad in person as I'm sure it looked on TV. There was no movement off the ball. I was foolishly confident that NU would have one great set up their sleeve with 11 seconds to play and the fact that the best-case scenario was a win, worst-case was OT. I saw Brian James talking at length with Ryan Young. Perhaps a double screen for Kopp, with an option for Young rolling to the basket? But, of course, no. Just Buie holding the ball too damn long and getting an awful look.

Which brings me to...

2) I'm torn about what to make of this season. I've long held the opinion that the overall record this year doesn't matter, it's about the growth of the young guys and setting the program up for success next year and especially in 2021-22. I've been encouraged that among Buie, Beran, Jones, Young, Kopp and Nance, there's a ton of promise and not a clear "bust" among them.

HOWEVER, at a certain point, you have to win some of these games. Even the 2014-15 team, which suffered brutal losses during a 10-game conference losing streak, found a way to finally get over the hump in a hard-fought OT win against Iowa. You might recall in that game Jarrod Uthoff hit a game-tying 3-pointer with 3 seconds left in regulation. This squad has had any number of chances for that breakthrough moment, including last night, and hasn't sealed the deal.

No, this does not mean the roster is made up of "losers." And no, this is not all on Collins. The truth is somewhere in the middle. The main problem I see is that Boo Buie is the team's only true shot creator at the moment. Kopp is a legit Big Ten player but he more or less needs to be set up to catch-and-shoot, or catch-and-fake-and-dribble-and-shoot. And he's worn out by the end of the game so Collins feels more comfortable with the low-risk option of seeing what Buie can do. The RAC was crazy and I could understand the risk-aversion.

It. Just. Does. Not. Work. Though.

The definition of insanity isn't technically "doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result," but that's basically what Collins has been doing in late-game situations. Boo has a lot of Tre Demps in him, but he is not yet Tre Demps. Collins should recognize this by now. The fact that he hasn't is a problem that’s worth talking about.

And so...

3) The future. Is Collins the right coach for this program?

I would say yes*.

The * signifies that I am ready to start warming up Collins's seat. If I were Phillips, I would expressly state I expect to see tangible improvement next season to somewhere in the middle of the conference. Call it 7th-11th. IF Collins can't even deliver that, I would be ready to replace him after the 2021-22 season, barring an NCAA Tournament appearance or a strong NIT run.

The 2021 recruiting class will be telling. Yes, we can all dream about PBJ and Christie coming in and having a One Shining Moment year, but what if that doesn't pan out? Who are the four-year guys that NU brings in? NU will not have a sustainable program without consistently bringing in freshmen who can immediately compete for playing time. Can Collins lock in a few Top 150 guys given the display this season? We will see.

I want to believe in Collins and this program. If you just cut out the ends of games, this team has been without a doubt more enjoyable to watch than either of the past two years.

Are these big leads and brutal losses a sign that Pounding the Rock is working, or a sign that the chisel is broken? That's the question that will be answered in the next 13 months. It hurts, but I'm hopeful.

Go Cats

I definitely prefer watching this group to the last two seasons as well- other than pardon. Too bad pardon had to step in due to injuries his first year- this team would be a lot better with him down the stretch this season.

 

[PurpleFaze]

i knew this was going to come up so i paid particular attention to each. collins was consistently urging and calling the plays with 16 seconds on the clock the ENTIRE game. definintely different than what we saw with "stall ball" i actually thought NU took shots much earlier in the shot clock than in the "stall ball games". they did get demolished on the glass when those shots didn't go in - unfortunately i didn't DVR it but i would love to go back and pay closer attention to that. i defintely did not see spencer or boo dribbling at half court swiveling their hips to kill time. i just didn't see that this game.

it reminded me of maybe 2013 NU football - when this happenend alot most notably in the night game against ohio state. it seemed like the cats would have a 3 touchdown lead in everygame and then hit a "here we go again" moment when a team made a run.

it also looked like they called the same plays through out the game. one was a play where they swiped their hand down like a knife, one where they pointed to the side of their head, and one where they made an "L" - so i don't think they changed their offense. again just my opinon.

also - to some up the orgiinal poster - Rutgers won not because Pickel called better plays done the road, they won because the Rutgers guys, most notably baker, hit big shots.

players need to hit shots. or step up and get a defensive shots. what was the final tally run for rutgers? had to be like 12-2?

i knew this was going to come up so i paid particular attention to each. collins was consistently urging and calling the plays with 16 seconds on the clock the ENTIRE game. definintely different than what we saw with "stall ball" i actually thought NU took shots much earlier in the shot clock than in the "stall ball games". they did get demolished on the glass when those shots didn't go in - unfortunately i didn't DVR it but i would love to go back and pay closer attention to that. i defintely did not see spencer or boo dribbling at half court swiveling their hips to kill time. i just didn't see that this game.

it reminded me of maybe 2013 NU football - when this happenend alot most notably in the night game against ohio state. it seemed like the cats would have a 3 touchdown lead in everygame and then hit a "here we go again" moment when a team made a run.

it also looked like they called the same plays through out the game. one was a play where they swiped their hand down like a knife, one where they pointed to the side of their head, and one where they made an "L" - so i don't think they changed their offense. again just my opinon.

also - to some up the orgiinal poster - Rutgers won not because Pickel called better plays done the road, they won because the Rutgers guys, most notably baker, hit big shots.

players need to hit shots. or step up and get a defensive shots. what was the final tally run for rutgers? had to be like 12-2?

SInce we don’t have a real go to penetrator I’d prefer to see Collins going big at the end so we can -pound the glass. If you’ve got boo, Spencer, turner, and Kopp out there as 4 of your 5 there aren’t going to be many offensive boards. Jones had his best game so far- put him out there with young and nance or Beran. As I recall we also let Rutgers get several big offensive boards including at least one off a FT miss.

 

[cedricmelons]

i knew this was going to come up so i paid particular attention to each. collins was consistently urging and calling the plays with 16 seconds on the clock the ENTIRE game. definintely different than what we saw with "stall ball" i actually thought NU took shots much earlier in the shot clock than in the "stall ball games". they did get demolished on the glass when those shots didn't go in - unfortunately i didn't DVR it but i would love to go back and pay closer attention to that. i defintely did not see spencer or boo dribbling at half court swiveling their hips to kill time. i just didn't see that this game.

it reminded me of maybe 2013 NU football - when this happenend alot most notably in the night game against ohio state. it seemed like the cats would have a 3 touchdown lead in everygame and then hit a "here we go again" moment when a team made a run.

it also looked like they called the same plays through out the game. one was a play where they swiped their hand down like a knife, one where they pointed to the side of their head, and one where they made an "L" - so i don't think they changed their offense. again just my opinon.

also - to some up the orgiinal poster - Rutgers won not because Pickel called better plays done the road, they won because the Rutgers guys, most notably baker, hit big shots.

players need to hit shots. or step up and get a defensive shots. what was the final tally run for rutgers? had to be like 12-2?

They should stop calling the play where they make an "L", I'm no college basketball coach, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night