9 Games decided by 3 points or less

[bac2therac]

Saw this stat last night. Rutgers has been involved in 9 games decided by 3 points or less, most in the country. 4 wins, 5 losses. These things tend to even out. The real good teams win the majority of them, the bad teams lose them all. Rutgers is a team in the middle. Not great but not bad. Disappointing because a veteran team should be better because it "knows". Leadership and poise in crunch time. We have at times. We have in our wins. In our losses not so much, not being able to get the needed stops. Last night was disappointing considering we forced overtime. That was Rutgers game. They had torched Northwestern with a 42-18 run where the Wildcats were intimidated to do anything on offense. That we blinked and allowed two open 3s and then made a costly turnover says it all about our season.

Wins

Lehigh 73-70
Purdue 70-68
Iowa 48-46
Nebraska 63-61

Losses

Lafayette 53-51
De Paul 73-70
UMass 85-83
Minnesota 68-65
Northwestern 79-78

 

[theRU]

Saw this stat last night. Rutgers has been involved in 9 games decided by 3 points or less, most in the country. 4 wins, 5 losses. These things tend to even out. The real good teams win the majority of them, the bad teams lose them all. Rutgers is a team in the middle. Not great but not bad. Disappointing because a veteran team should be better because it "knows". Leadership and poise in crunch time. We have at times. We have in our wins. In our losses not so much, not being able to get the needed stops. Last night was disappointing considering we forced overtime. That was Rutgers game. They had torched Northwestern with a 42-18 run where the Wildcats were intimidated to do anything on offense. That we blinked and allowed two open 3s and then made a costly turnover says it all about our season.

Wins

Lehigh 73-70
Purdue 70-68
Iowa 48-46
Nebraska 63-61

Losses

Lafayette 53-51
De Paul 73-70
UMass 85-83
Minnesota 68-65
Northwestern 79-78

Is there a stat on how big of a hole a team digs? I feel like we're always falling behind massively

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

As I posted last week. Razor thin the difference between a disaster, where we are now, and where we want to be.

My eye balls and computer models I follow tell me this is a team not nearly as good as the overall record. Worst team since the 2017-18 team that went 3-15. (I expect this team to have a better record than '18-19)

To your point...looked back the past 2 years and there weren't nearly as many games whose outcome ended in the balance of a possession.

 

[bac2therac]

Is there a stat on how big of a hole a team digs? I feel like we're always falling behind massively

nothing offhand but I do know its not a blueprint to win. RU has now been down double digits 15 minutes into the first half in 6 of its last 7 games

 

[bethlehemfan]

I think the bottom line is inconsistent effort. When they dial it up they can make huge runs but they only seem interested after digging a hole. Unfortunate given the age of the roster.

 

[RUfromSoCal?]

best 1 half team in the country

unfortunately, someone decided games should be 40 minutes or so...

 

[kcg88]

As I posted last week. Razor thin the difference between a disaster, where we are now, and where we want to be.

My eye balls and computer models I follow tell me this is a team not nearly as good as the overall record. Worst team since the 2017-18 team that went 3-15. (I expect this team to have a better record than '18-19)

To your point...looked back the past 2 years and there weren't nearly as many games whose outcome ended in the balance of a possession.

The 18-19 team had a -8.0 efficiency rating in Big Ten games. This year's team is at -1.5 but has only played the easy half of their schedule. We'll see how it shakes out. I suspect they'll wind up close to that year's team from an efficiency standpoint.

That year's team seemed to want to prove something in non-conference play, though. At least early on (they lost to Fordham and got taken to OT by Columbia in December).

 

[bac2therac]

Jonathan Mitchell talking about Mike Rice after a win over SHU.....

“We have to be comfortable in chaos, and that’s been Mike Rice’s favorite line from Day 1,” Mitchell said

this current Rutgers team IS NOT comfortable in chaos. True they tend to regroup and give it a go after halftime but its clear that they seem to lack any poise or toughness when another team makes a run and the shots go down. Its 6 of 7 games now where they wilt on both ends.

 

[PiscatawayMike]

Jonathan Mitchell talking about Mike Rice after a win over SHU.....

“We have to be comfortable in chaos, and that’s been Mike Rice’s favorite line from Day 1,” Mitchell said

this current Rutgers team IS NOT comfortable in chaos. True they tend to regroup and give it a go after halftime but its clear that they seem to lack any poise or toughness when another team makes a run and the shots go down. Its 6 of 7 games now where they wilt on both ends.

Always loved that quote from Rice. It is certainly a quality the current RU team lacks.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Jonathan Mitchell talking about Mike Rice after a win over SHU.....

“We have to be comfortable in chaos, and that’s been Mike Rice’s favorite line from Day 1,” Mitchell said

this current Rutgers team IS NOT comfortable in chaos. True they tend to regroup and give it a go after halftime but its clear that they seem to lack any poise or toughness when another team makes a run and the shots go down. Its 6 of 7 games now where they wilt on both ends.

We are 6-5 in B1G play.

 

[DHajekRC84]

We are 6-5 in B1G play.

Against the bottom of the barrel. Save this and come back after the next 9 games.

 

[bac2therac]

We are 6-5 in B1G play.

INCOMING!

 

[rubjk]

Against the bottom of the barrel. Save this and come back after the next 9 games.

Purdue, Iowa and Michigan aren’t bottom of the barrel on any planet.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

INCOMING!

I know. Gun to my head we finish either 8-12 or 9-11

 

[DHajekRC84]

Purdue, Iowa and Michigan aren’t bottom of the barrel on any planet.

Yeah but I guess you missed the 4 losses to PSU, Minn, Northwestern, and Maryland. You know those 4 of 5 in last place plus the last minute win over winless Nebby.

 

[rubjk]

Yeah but I guess you missed the 4 losses to PSU, Minn, Northwestern, and Maryland. You know those 4 of 5 in last place plus the last minute win over winless Nebby.

Yup we are a Jekyl and Hyde middle of the pack team. We had head scratchers the last two years also. We have been worse than last year. We also had a 5 game loosing streak that we recovered from last year. We will see if we can turn it around a bit.

 

[DHajekRC84]

Yup we are a Jekyl and Hyde middle of the pack team. We had head scratchers the last two years also. We have been worse than last year. We also had a 5 game loosing streak that we recovered from last year. We will see if we can turn it around a bit.

Ok. Agree!

 

[SantaFeScarlet]

Purdue, Iowa and Michigan aren’t bottom of the barrel on any planet.

Agreed....how about the 5 losses...pretty close to D1 bottom feeders

 

[SantaFeScarlet]

Jonathan Mitchell talking about Mike Rice after a win over SHU.....

“We have to be comfortable in chaos, and that’s been Mike Rice’s favorite line from Day 1,” Mitchell said

this current Rutgers team IS NOT comfortable in chaos. True they tend to regroup and give it a go after halftime but its clear that they seem to lack any poise or toughness when another team makes a run and the shots go down. Its 6 of 7 games now where they wilt on both ends.

That's coaching....do you think Pike ever told his team that, and the competition is much tougher these days than when Mike Rice coached

 

[bac2therac]

players are soft these days, stuff that coaches would do in the past now will get them fired and not even Rice level stuff, melting snowflakes

CVS probably would have been fired if what she did 15 years ago to her team was known on twitter

 

[SantaFeScarlet]

players are soft these days, stuff that coaches would do in the past now will get them fired and not even Rice level stuff, melting snowflakes

CVS probably would have been fired if what she did 15 years ago to her team was known on twitter

bac.. telling your players constantly that you have to be comfortable in chaos....quit making excuses for our mediocre coach who's a lousy recruiter.

 

[SBP]

best 1 half team in the country

unfortunately, someone decided games should be 40 minutes or so...

Recently tge WORST 1st half team!

 

[Scarlet Shack]

Saw this stat last night. Rutgers has been involved in 9 games decided by 3 points or less, most in the country. 4 wins, 5 losses. These things tend to even out. The real good teams win the majority of them, the bad teams lose them all. Rutgers is a team in the middle. Not great but not bad. Disappointing because a veteran team should be better because it "knows". Leadership and poise in crunch time. We have at times. We have in our wins. In our losses not so much, not being able to get the needed stops. Last night was disappointing considering we forced overtime. That was Rutgers game. They had torched Northwestern with a 42-18 run where the Wildcats were intimidated to do anything on offense. That we blinked and allowed two open 3s and then made a costly turnover says it all about our season.

Wins

Lehigh 73-70
Purdue 70-68
Iowa 48-46
Nebraska 63-61

Losses

Lafayette 53-51
De Paul 73-70
UMass 85-83
Minnesota 68-65
Northwestern 79-78

Problem is ...with the exception of Purdue and Iowa, the other 7 are games we expected to win

 

[fluoxetine]

The real good teams win the majority of them, the bad teams lose them all.

The real good teams win comfortably and the bad teams lose by more. The lucky teams win a lot of close games and the unlucky teams lose them all. We would be substantially the same team going forward whether we were 7-2 in those games or 2-7.

 

[bac2therac]

The real good teams win comfortably and the bad teams lose by more. The lucky teams win a lot of close games and the unlucky teams lose them all. We would be substantially the same team going forward whether we were 7-2 in those games or 2-7.

no not really

 

[goru7]

no not really

What do you mean not really ? We wouldn’t be the same inconsistent team we have been ?

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

no not really

YES.

Actually not a full YES. Northwestern is absolutely scarred from their losses. Give them credit for winning the OT, but they played like absolute losers once the game appeared to be in hand. They were so tight down the stretch.

 

[bethlehemfan]

Gotta side with bac here. Winning or losing these close ones often comes down to guard play. Obviously luck is involved but if your guards can keep their composure and make a couple of plays you have a pretty good chance. Having Geo back for year 5 I would hope we’d win more of these than lose.

 

[goru7]

Gotta side with bac here. Winning or losing these close ones often comes down to guard play. Obviously luck is involved but if your guards can keep their composure and make a couple of plays you have a pretty good chance. Having Geo back for year 5 I would hope we’d win more of these than lose.

It is clear as day Geo not playing up to his capability has cost us a few games and in the game he did Minnesota , Ron and the rest didn’t do much. Geo it appears to me is releasing his shot differently from shot to shot. He has messed up mechanics and not sure why. I sit close to the court and watch warmups and the action and during the Michigan game , where he had 27 and it appeared he could not miss, his rotation and release was flawless and identical every time. Since then , he keeps on changing it which has led to these missed shots. A little film study would do wonders because we really need him as some of these losses have demonstrated.
The inconsistency from game to game is what is driving us nuts.

 

[goru7]

YES.

Actually not a full YES. Northwestern is absolutely scarred from their losses. Give them credit for winning the OT, but they played like absolute losers once the game appeared to be in hand. They were so tight down the stretch.

Losers do not show up every night and take the top teams in this conference to the wire home and away. Northwestern has play really decent ball and then in the last few minutes they miss foul shots( and they normally shoot well) take a number of I’ll advised shots . They have had late leads that they have screwed up. So putting or labeling this Northwestern team losers , like you would Nebraska , is not close to how they have played this year.

 

[Yeah Baby]

The bottom line is in four losses we had guys making shots they had no business making against us. It was fun when we were the underdogs and Geo and Sanders and more recently RHJ and JY made some very tough shots but it’s not so fun when you lose teams you should beat. We are what we are. Let’s see if we have any magic left this year against better teams. In reflection if this year happened 3 years ago we would be happy. Since it’s happening after 2 Tourney seasons it kind of sucks. Probably sucks worse for the players than for us. Ya think?

 

[jordkap]

Saw this stat last night. Rutgers has been involved in 9 games decided by 3 points or less, most in the country. 4 wins, 5 losses. These things tend to even out. The real good teams win the majority of them, the bad teams lose them all. Rutgers is a team in the middle. Not great but not bad. Disappointing because a veteran team should be better because it "knows". Leadership and poise in crunch time. We have at times. We have in our wins. In our losses not so much, not being able to get the needed stops. Last night was disappointing considering we forced overtime. That was Rutgers game. They had torched Northwestern with a 42-18 run where the Wildcats were intimidated to do anything on offense. That we blinked and allowed two open 3s and then made a costly turnover says it all about our season.

Wins

Lehigh 73-70
Purdue 70-68
Iowa 48-46
Nebraska 63-61

Losses

Lafayette 53-51
De Paul 73-70
UMass 85-83
Minnesota 68-65
Northwestern 79-78

The reality of being a Rutgers sports fan

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

The debate is……

Is NW unlucky or are they losing games for a reason.

I think the real debate is have NW past close loses make them a team that is more likely to lose a close one?

I said somewhere before the game NW is probably a better team than us

 

[fluoxetine]

Gotta side with bac here. Winning or losing these close ones often comes down to guard play. Obviously luck is involved but if your guards can keep their composure and make a couple of plays you have a pretty good chance. Having Geo back for year 5 I would hope we’d win more of these than lose.

Nah. I’m not going to say there’s no skill in winning close games (obviously there is, having good free throw shooters is the most obvious advantage). But for the most part the real skill is not being in 1 point games in the first place.

 

[bac2therac]

What do you mean not really ? We wouldn’t be the same inconsistent team we have been ?

teams that win makes the plays in crunch time, there are teams that play alot of close games, thats just who they are, they do not dominate

yes a team 7-2 in close games is better than one 2-7

you keep trying to think Rutgers is some very good team...its a mediocre team that will win some and looks some...I think im talking more to Flux than you here

 

[bac2therac]

Losers do not show up every night and take the top teams in this conference to the wire home and away. Northwestern has play really decent ball and then in the last few minutes they miss foul shots( and they normally shoot well) take a number of I’ll advised shots . They have had late leads that they have screwed up. So putting or labeling this Northwestern team losers , like you would Nebraska , is not close to how they have played this year.

Northwestern are exactly what their record is....they are losers

 

[bethlehemfan]

Nah. I’m not going to say there’s no skill in winning close games (obviously there is, having good free throw shooters is the most obvious advantage). But for the most part the real skill is not being in 1 point games in the first place.

Michael Jordan says hi

 

[fluoxetine]

Michael Jordan says hi

You found an outlier? Boy do I look dumb..

 

[goru7]

The debate is……

Is NW unlucky or are they losing games for a reason.

I think the real debate is have NW past close loses make them a team that is more likely to lose a close one?

I said somewhere before the game NW is probably a better team than us

No doubt when you blow a lot of late leads , then doubt starts creeping in , here we go again, and that maybe has happened to them , but I watched their Illinois game Saturday , which is after 5-6 of their tough losses , and they had that game won , until a ref missed a clear double dribble on Illinois’ Granderson with about 2 minutes left and Northwestern up 4 , which Illinois eventually converted on the possession. So bad luck , ****** refs as well as doubt creeps in . The Michigan State game on the road they had a late 2 point lead. The refs literally called 3 ******** fouls on NW, to give MSU a chance to win the game and luckily MSU still missed their shot. But that was criminal and would have been more bad luck or ****** refs than doubt.

 

[bethlehemfan]

No doubt when you blow a lot of late leads , then doubt starts creeping in , here we go again, and that maybe has happened to them , but I watched their Illinois game Saturday , which is after 5-6 of their tough losses , and they had that game won , until a ref missed a clear double dribble on Illinois’ Granderson with about 2 minutes left and Northwestern up 4 , which Illinois eventually converted on the possession. So bad luck , ****** refs as well as doubt creeps in . The Michigan State game on the road they had a late 2 point lead. The refs literally called 3 ******** fouls on NW, to give MSU a chance to win the game and luckily MSU still missed their shot. But that was criminal and would have been more bad luck or ****** refs than doubt.

This brings up another topic which is the ru road record and also to a degree shifting from a cellar dweller to an upper tier team and that is the whistle. I think we get a decent whistle at this point overall but the conference blue bloods on the road. Let’s just say there’s an added element to overcome.