#Unfinishedbusiness

[Scarlet Shack]

That’s the motto for this very experienced team. While others have been saying drop off ...I think we have additional by subtraction and love how this is coming together and putting together a TEAM that is ready to make a deep run in the 2022 NCAA tournament

“Job NOT finished “

“How last year finshed didn’t sit well with me”

#unfinishedbusiness

#GoRU

 

[Plum Street]

No matter what we do in the regular season, it’s going to be harder to get a better draw for a deep ncaa run than what slipped through our fingers this year.

 

[RU82]

No matter what we do in the regular season, it’s going to be harder to get a better draw for a deep ncaa run than what slipped through our fingers this year.

No doubt. That was a once in a lifetime golden opportunity for an accurately placed 10 seed to play into the final four. We’ll never have another chance like that.

 

[Mr. Magoo1]

No doubt. That was a once in a lifetime golden opportunity for an accurately placed 10 seed to play into the final four. We’ll never have another chance like that.

You are correct. I take solace, however, in knowing that truthfully, we were nowhere near the caliber of a legit Final-4 team.

 

[RUHouston]

Not sure how we can say “never” to a path leading to the Final Four… kinda sounds like we don’t trust Pike to lead us to the promised land…

I think success breeds success and keeps building on itself… if we are to ever rise to the top of the B1G (which I believe can happen) then those teams generally get into the Elite 8 and Final 4 convo…

 

[RU82]

You are correct. I take solace, however, in knowing that truthfully, we were nowhere near the caliber of a legit Final-4 team.

Agreed.

It would have been nice to get to the sweet 16. And it hurt that we blew that opportunity the way we did.

That said, for a team like us who hadn’t been to the tourney for a generation, we really should be pleased that we got that first round win against Clemson. That was a nice thrill.

 

[Plum Street]

Not sure how we can say “never” to a path leading to the Final Four… kinda sounds like we don’t trust Pike to lead us to the promised land…

I think success breeds success and keeps building on itself… if we are to ever rise to the top of the B1G (which I believe can happen) then those teams generally get into the Elite 8 and Final 4 convo…

Who said “never”? What are you talking about

 

[RUHouston]

Who said “never”? What are you talking about

I should have quoted RU82 saying “we’ll never have another chance like that…” and Magoo agreeing…

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Easy roads to final 4 are often made not by the draw itself, but the upsets within the draw.

we have seen a few 12/13 games over the past few years.

how about winning the play in game and grab the 11 seed, beat the 6 seed. Play and beat the 14 seed who upset the 3 seed. Play and beat the 7 seed who beat the 2 seed. Play the 5 seed in the elite 8 who beat the 1 seed after knocking out the 4.

 

[kcg88]

I should have quoted RU82 saying “we’ll never have another chance like that…” and Magoo agreeing…

If we had beaten Houston our next two opponents would've been the #11 seed and the #12 seed. THAT is the situation that will not happen again. We might be a 4-5-6 seed someday and have a different path to a Final Four, but we're never almost certainly going to get a 9 or 10 seed and only have one game out of four be against a top-6 seed again.

 

[soundcrib]

If we had beaten Houston our next two opponents would've been the #11 seed and the #12 seed. THAT is the situation that will not happen again. We might be a 4-5-6 seed someday and have a different path to a Final Four, but we're never almost certainly going to get a 9 or 10 seed and only have one game out of four be against a top-6 seed again.

We were right there. Damnit.

 

[JavaDunk18]

people seem to forget that Houston was a 2 seed..It was a game we should have won, but getting a 2 seed in the second round is not an easy draw..the opportunities were there had we held on to win that game, but I would not say that opportunities won't arise again. We got breaks in '76 with Depaul, Virginia & Tennessee losing. We also got to face teams in the first two rounds that we had already beaten. The premature freeze in '79 prevented us from facing a very beatable Penn team in the regional finals..so we will get golden opportunities again, without the decades of waiting, now that we should have an NCAA caliber team yearly..also Geo was never 100% last year, and Ron was never in his December form after the ankle injury. There are still some intangibles, but I am optimistic about this season.

 

[Plum Street]

people seem to forget that Houston was a 2 seed..It was a game we should have won, but getting a 2 seed in the second round is not an easy draw..the opportunities were there had we held on to win that game, but I would not say that opportunities won't arise again. We got breaks in '76 with Depaul, Virginia & Tennessee losing. We also got to face teams in the first two rounds that we had already beaten. The premature freeze in '79 prevented us from facing a very beatable Penn team in the regional finals..so we will get golden opportunities again, without the decades of waiting, now that we should have an NCAA caliber team yearly..also Geo was never 100% last year, and Ron was never in his December form after the ankle injury. There are still some intangibles, but I am optimistic about this season.

Houston was a weak 2 . They should have lost to us and look what happened when they played Baylor . We could have easily been seeded one line higher and had Gonzaga or Baylor in the second round .
We had a great draw as a 10 seed . We can be a 4 seed next year and have a tougher draw.

 

[Scarlet Shack]

I’m a firm belief that you make your own destiny in the tournament ...and you can throw a lot of the stuff out there about the seed (with one exception ...in a second) out the door and focus on matchups . Some teams just match up better than others

the one exception is really avoiding the 8-9. You always get the 1 seed in the second round (okay one exception )...and have to get through a war to get there. Of course, a lot of years a one seed goes down in the round 32...but that’s the one bracket to avoid if possible

just get us to the tourney...and our style and with most teams...we will be a really tough out

that’s all you can ask for...

 

[Plum Street]

I’m a firm belief that you make your own destiny in the tournament ...and you can throw a lot of the stuff out there about the seed (with one exception ...in a second) out the door and focus on matchups . Some teams just match up better than others

the one exception is really avoiding the 8-9. You always get the 1 seed in the second round (okay one exception )...and have to get through a war to get there. Of course, a lot of years a one seed goes down in the round 32...but that’s the one bracket to avoid if possible

just get us to the tourney...and our style and with most teams...we will be a really tough out

that’s all you can ask for...

Yes, agree mostly . But I still don’t think we will get a better draw next year. That’s not saying we can’t advance, but you couldn’t have drawn up the bracket any better in March as a double digit seed.

 

[RUtrumpet92_rivals498139]

You are correct. I take solace, however, in knowing that truthfully, we were nowhere near the caliber of a legit Final-4 team.

If we held on vs. Houston and made the Final Four, I wouldn't have cared if people felt we deserved it every time they saw "Final Four 2021" on a banner in the rafters of RAC. A golden opportunity slipped through our fingers.

 

[JavaDunk18]

Baylor beat Gonzaga, the tournament favorite, worse than Houston. You cannot judge their performance in Final Four to declare them a Weak 2..facing Syracuse again, I do not know how we would have fared, give Boeheim's regular overachievement in the NCAA..

 

[jordkap]

Baylor beat Gonzaga, the tournament favorite, worse than Houston. You cannot judge their performance in Final Four to declare them a Weak 2..facing Syracuse again, I do not know how we would have fared, give Boeheim's regular overachievement in the NCAA..

Obviously nobody knows what would have happened had we held on. However, it’s very believable we make the final 4 with that draw. Even in our future best years, making the final 4 will not be the expectation, need to make the most of the opportunity when it presents itself.

Rutgers could be a 3 seed this year and the seed for seed pick would be a loss in the sweet 16. Think about what a final 4 run would have meant for this team and school.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

We have selective memory about Houstons 2nd best player with a bad hip injury, limping around the court. It's not like Houston escaped RU and lost in the next round. They made the Final Four.

And I could argue that Oregon State was playing much better basketball than RU in the Pac 12 tournament and in their games in the NCAAs.

There is no such thing as a once in a lifetime draw or opportunity. If you're a good program, you make a few tournaments and have surprises and disappointments that never tie into where your seeded. That's why it is the best sporting event.

 

[MADHAT1]

Houston made the final four.
RU might be faulted for not stepping up and beating them in round 2,
but the Cougars shown that they were a good team by making the final 4.

Like him or not, think he crosses the line or not, Kelvin Sampson Houston's HC its one of the top College basketball coaches ad his teams come to play.
That is what makes it hard to expect a win when you play the Houston Cougars anytime.

#unfinishedbusiness it it, but he lass was to a real good program.

 

[Mr. Magoo1]

Houston made the final four.
RU might be faulted for not stepping up and beating them in round 2,
but the Cougars shown that they were a good team by making the final 4.

Like him or not, think he crosses the line or not, Kelvin Sampson Houston's HC its one of the top College basketball coaches ad his teams come to play.
That is what makes it hard to expect a win when you play the Houston Cougars anytime.

#unfinishedbusiness it it, but he lass was to a real good program.

Yes, Houston was a good team but they probably should have been around a 5 or 6 seed instead of a 2…just like we should have been around an 8 seed. Houston wouldn’t have finished much higher than .500 in the B1G. The road to the Final Four is much easier as a 2-seed…especially when there are some upsets along the way.

 

[RU MAN]

That’s the motto for this very experienced team. While others have been saying drop off ...I think we have additional by subtraction and love how this is coming together and putting together a TEAM that is ready to make a deep run in the 2022 NCAA tournament

“Job NOT finished “

“How last year finshed didn’t sit well with me”

#unfinishedbusiness

#GoRU

I like your thinking Shack. I think we're going to surprise this year, especially with our substitutions off the bench.

 

[JavaDunk18]

Hopefully some of these 3 or 4 seed predictions for RU are correct, and we can prove some of these "too early top 25" Polls wrong. None even have Rutgers in top 35!
I am optimistic if Ron & Geo return to their top form.
Cliff could see J Bailey type progress this year.
Backup Bigs still a concern...