Gutting losses

[kcg88]

As much as it sucks... A day later I'm thankful that we're relevant to the point of losses like last night and the Iowa home game hurting.

Not a whole lot of that recently. The Kansas and Buffalo losses in football were painful for a different reason. The last time we had a loss like today in football was Penn State in 2014. Aside from the Michigan win it's basically been years of numbness.

With basketball, even the Michigan State OT game last year didn't feel particularly painful. It sucked to lose but it didn't drain me the way the MSG Purdue loss or the heartbreakers this year have.

Before that? I guess it was the 2011 St. John's game the refs stole.

It's been a while. But this beats the alternative.

 

[shields]

Reminds me of my freshman year vs Duke at the RAC. Troy missed a couple shots at end and lost by one point I believe.

 

[blockm2]

As much as it sucks... A day later I'm thankful that we're relevant to the point of losses like last night and the Iowa home game hurting.

Not a whole lot of that recently. The Kansas and Buffalo losses in football were painful for a different reason. The last time we had a loss like today in football was Penn State in 2014. Aside from the Michigan win it's basically been years of numbness.

With basketball, even the Michigan State OT game last year didn't feel particularly painful. It sucked to lose but it didn't drain me the way the MSG Purdue loss or the heartbreakers this year have.

Before that? I guess it was the 2011 St. John's game the refs stole.

It's been a while. But this beats the alternative.

Personally I find when rooting for a young underdog team, losses are losses. Momentarily painful but that's about it. When your team is a little better and those wins and losses are the difference between making the tournament or not, they become 10x more emotionally draining.

The Rutgers program has a bright future so I wouldn't let a relatively meaningless loss get you overly down. Big Ten is brutally tough this season.

 

[goru7]

Personally I find when rooting for a young underdog team, losses are losses. Momentarily painful but that's about it. When your team is a little better and those wins and losses are the difference between making the tournament or not, they become 10x more emotionally draining.

The Rutgers program has a bright future so I wouldn't let a relatively meaningless loss get you overly down. Big Ten is brutally tough this season.

Although I agree partially with your sentiment, I do not think it was a meaningless loss. Losing Iowa and Penn State are the difference between being 16-13 and 14-15 and being in NIT contention. Plus it stopped our winning streak. Plus and I think even more importantly , we finished 4-6 against the Big 10 at home instead of at least 5-5 and probably should have been 6-4. If we ever are to climb the Big 10 standings we have to win our home games and be 13-2 , 14-1 at home . The RAC environment has been back for the last 3-4-5 games and the team has to make it so that teams know they will likely lose. Michigan , Iowa, and Penn State brought A level effort but our court advantage has to win out in the end. This win would have speeded up that process. Purdue is 15-0 at home but mediocre on the road or a neutral court and it has positioned them for a share of the Big 10 title.

 

[Degaz-RU]

I guess a crushing defeat with a BTT bye hanging in the balance is better than losing 92-31 in an otherwise forgettable season.

But I can't get over this loss, just a gut punch.

 

[bac2therac]

Rutgers fans will need to strap themselves in, toughen up and brace for the emotional rollcoaster that comes with being a program making a rise to be a NCAA type program

We have been so use to meaningless games and losses not mattering that we as fans will need to adjust...losses will be crushing and rip our hearts out...risk/reward but the wins..the wins will taste so sweet

 

[goru7]

I guess a crushing defeat with a BTT bye hanging in the balance is better than losing 92-31 in an otherwise forgettable season.

But I can't get over this loss, just a gut punch.

We have seen it with our own eyes the last 5-6-7 games , that the team has turned the corner, playing better on the road, the freshman have grown tremendously, and we are a good dangerous team, not the inconsistent team from earlier in the year. I think that is why it hurts so much, because our fan base has come to love our team, the chemistry, the 40 minutes of effort, the freshman , the steady hand of Geo and Eugene and Shaquille, the resiliency, and we do not want to wait until next year and really think this team right now can compete with anybody but might not get the chance (NIT). .

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

Winning at home vs Ohio State. Indiana and Minnesota....losing at home to Iowa, Northwestern and Penn State.

Winning at Penn State, Northwestern and Iowa, mixed with at Illinois is where the progress lies. At Indiana now doesn't seem out of reach. And the rally with the catalysts as Caleb and Harper expands the threshold of body blows.

If this stayed as a Eugene and Geo 2 man show, i would feel like these losses would be key. Instead it's like RU has had a growth spurt and still not sure how far things can go.

 

[RUskoolie]

It's upsetting but you can see the progress. Every single game you expect to be in it vs any team we play. This team and fanbase are ready to blow the lid off for next season. I have watched us since 2009 and bought tickets twice, I'm buying several games next year and I think we're going to come close to selling the season out, not joking.

 

[AshCatchEm]

I just hope our players feel the pain. They deserve this loss. We should've won by 20

 

[RUJMM78]

We have seen it with our own eyes the last 5-6-7 games , that the team has turned the corner, playing better on the road, the freshman have grown tremendously, and we are a good dangerous team, not the inconsistent team from earlier in the year. I think that is why it hurts so much, because our fan base has come to love our team, the chemistry, the 40 minutes of effort, the freshman , the steady hand of Geo and Eugene and Shaquille, the resiliency, and we do not want to wait until next year and really think this team right now can compete with anybody but might not get the chance (NIT). .

I agree with most of your comments except for the team not being inconsistent anymore.Game to game nobody knows where the points are coming from .Rutgers has a outstanding offensive performance against Iowa on the road and then comes home and plays one of the worse first halves of the season against Penn State.Players have scored double figures in one game and then are missing in action in the next game,Its happened throughout B1G games from the beginning of the season to the end.The end result is winnable games turn out to be gut wrenching losses.

 

[gef21]

As much as it sucks... A day later I'm thankful that we're relevant to the point of losses like last night and the Iowa home game hurting.

Not a whole lot of that recently. The Kansas and Buffalo losses in football were painful for a different reason. The last time we had a loss like today in football was Penn State in 2014. Aside from the Michigan win it's basically been years of numbness.

With basketball, even the Michigan State OT game last year didn't feel particularly painful. It sucked to lose but it didn't drain me the way the MSG Purdue loss or the heartbreakers this year have.

Before that? I guess it was the 2011 St. John's game the refs stole.

It's been a while. But this beats the alternative.

Actually I would say the Indiana, NW, and MSU football games all really felt this same way to me.

 

[JavaDunk18]

Win over Indiana, Minnesota and upset (or near) of Purdue could still get us in NIT..otherwise it’s Dayton next year (first four)...

 

[PiscatawayMike]

Win over Indiana, Minnesota and upset (or near) of Purdue could still get us in NIT..otherwise it’s Dayton next year (first four)...

[winking]

 

[YoucancallmeRay]

I just hope our players feel the pain. They deserve this loss. We should've won by 20

I'm sure the players felt the loss more than any fan, at least until this morning when they started preparing for Indiana. Btw, should've won by 20 is a ridiculous statement. PSU is a good team.

 

[srru86]

Playing a meaningful game in March.
Not something any of us have much recent experience with.

 

[BillyC80]

Compared to the Iowa game, much rather lose the way we did last night, chipping away at a 20-point deficit and getting it down to 1 point at the end, with our destiny in our own hands and three chances to rise up and win. Didn’t work out but we put ourselves in a position to win. There was no luck involved for either team in that ending.

 

[goru7]

I agree with most of your comments except for the team not being inconsistent anymore.Game to game nobody knows where the points are coming from .Rutgers has a outstanding offensive performance against Iowa on the road and then comes home and plays one of the worse first halves of the season against Penn State.Players have scored double figures in one game and then are missing in action in the next game,Its happened throughout B1G games from the beginning of the season to the end.The end result is winnable games turn out to be gut wrenching losses.

The beauty of this team is that we have expanded our scoring options. It is not just Geo and Eugene. It is Ron ,and Montez, and Myles and Caleb , so although some games Montez has 18 and then only 4-6 , is not always bad because Ron steps in with 20 or Caleb with 14. The team however has been more consistent offensively and when locked in defensively we are a handful for any team to play. Think about this for 1 second, that we really should have won yesterday ‘s game withGeo scoring 0. That would have been impossible earlier and probably we lose by 10-15 points. Finally, you and a lot of the posters are not giving Penn State enough credit for why we played such a miserable first half. Their defense and blocked shots had us totally out of synch. This was totally caused by the athleticism and effort of Penn State that we did not match in the first half but did in the second.