Can’t make up the difference without Mag

[Scangg]

Mag absence is a loss for the team but not the reason why Rutgers was defeated against Illinois.They have been a mediocre offensive team for the duration of the B1G Ten schedule.A scoring drought allowing Illinois to go on a 15-0 run was the deciding part of the game.The continual struggle to even score 60 points is a telling indicator why results like today occur.Moving forward Rutgers must win the three remaining home games and defeat Minnesota on the road.Wisconsin and Penn State are also winnable games on the road.

It's highly unlikely that 15-0 run happens with Mag

 

[zappaa]

Zappa are you a miserable loser saying that?? Nah , just like myself I fear you may not be far from accurate . Hope not

I sat one foot from the RU bench against Indiana at home, I can’t even remember if Mag scored and I know he had some bone head turnovers.
But what he did defensively was so alarmingly good it stood out like a sore thumb, he alone tied up The Indiana center in knots when the game was still undecided, it wasn’t Cliff.

 

[bethlehemfan]

His impact on the opposition in the paint, making it difficult for them to score, his ability to trap and press is too much to overcome

Huge loss. Mag is good.

 

[RUChoppin]

I sat one foot from the RU bench against Indiana at home, I can’t even remember if Mag scored and I know he had some bone head turnovers.
But what he did defensively was so alarmingly good it stood out like a sore thumb, he alone tied up The Indiana center in knots when the game was still undecided, it wasn’t Cliff.

Vs. Indiana at home, Mag had 7 pts, 9 rbs, 2 blks, and 1 stl in 31 minutes.... on top his trapping double teams and frustrating TJD.

 

[RU-ROCS]

We really miss Mag's ability to get a few easy buckets around the rim a game. Those baskets are so important for a team that doesn't shoot the ball well

Exactly. Someone will need to step up the next 6 games to take up the slack. Reiber and Hyatt missing a few bunnies today really hurt.

 

[Loyal-Son]

I think you have a mental illness. We’re gonna finish 13-7 in the BIG and get a 6 seed. We don’t need fans like you with loser mentalities.

We ?

You are obviously a troll , most likely an Indiana fan - since you suddenly appeared after that game.

I know you were upset because we kicked your *** for 5 straight games. It is time to grow up and handle it like a man - although that may be difficult for a pansy like you.

 

[Scangg]

Vs. Indiana at home, Mag had 7 pts, 9 rbs, 2 blks, and 1 stl in 31 minutes.... on top his trapping double teams and frustrating TJD.

It's not a coincidence TJD had such a dominate game without Mag. He was an animal trapping him first game and completely took him out of the game

 

[S_Janowski]

Mag meant much, much more to the success of this team than his stats suggested.

Anyone who was watching this season and being realistic knew Mag was a major loss that would be difficult (but possible) to overcome.

Unfortunately the past 2 games have proved how much we miss him on both sides of the court. There’s a reason some of the other players (Dean, Woolfolk, Oscar, Simpson) minutes were limited.

I’m not ready to throw the towel in but our leaders need to step up and 2 to 3 of the 4 guys mentioned above need to take the next step and seize the opportunity, otherwise it could be a disappointing ending to the season.

 

[Shelby65]

It's highly unlikely that 15-0 run happens with Mag

Maybe, maybe not. Easy to say, but that run happened with other experienced players unable to stop it. And, how many fouls would Mag have had ? Would he be on the bench in foul trouble ? No idea, right ? You can’t assume anything.

 

[S_Janowski]

Miss Mag but loss was all on offense not the D. We won MSU in 2nd half without Mag. It was no offense. Same at Indy. D was fine the whole first half. Reiber and Hyatt bunny misses hurt so much. I think Simpson will be great but awful shooting and hitting backboard. He can’t do that mid February.

Bigger factor is ridiculous palming call which took Paul out of game. Bad job by Pike who should have gotten the technical of all technicals for that call.

Three games away from home in February is awful and so unfair to RU. Will people finally admit emotional toll and traveling on RU sucks? I doubt it.

Officiating wasn’t great. Thought Illini player traveled before Cliff ticky tack foul.

I’m pretty confident we don’t let them go on a 19-0 run if we have Mag today.

 

[zappaa]

Maybe, maybe not. Easy to say, but that run happened with other experienced players unable to stop it. And, how many fouls would Mag have had ? Would he be on the bench in foul trouble ? No idea, right ? You can’t assume anything.

Mag turned centers and drive attempts away from the basket, sometimes 3s killed us.
But he influenced momentum away from the basket

 

[The RUT]

Cam needs to wear a gold thong during our next game

 

[Scangg]

Maybe, maybe not. Easy to say, but that run happened with other experienced players unable to stop it. And, how many fouls would Mag have had ? Would he be on the bench in foul trouble ? No idea, right ? You can’t assume anything.

Well yea but then you also can say you don't know that Mag wouldn't have had a career game the way he had been playing lately. He was on pace for maybe his best game against MSU

 

[G- RUnit]

Mag’s missed bunnies and turnovers were part of problem too. He was never great offensively and only better recently. Yes we miss him but the reason we lost last two games was the lack of production offensively. Paul can not disappear. Far bigger factor. Hyatt, Reiber and Simpson can’t miss good easy shots or hit backboards on passes. Cam had two points? None of that anything to do with Mag. Cliff can’t commit stupid fouls 20 feet from the basket. Cliff can’t start his offensive sets 20 feet from the basket. We have to run a decent fast break. Pike needs to get a T on that palming violation. Illini coach laughing/smirking. That’s on Pike. Know Paul is sensitive, that call took him out of game and changed complexion. Nothing to do with Mag

Three games away from home in a week frankly sucks and so emotionally taxing. Shame on Hobbs for agreeing to this crap. He should have raised a fit. Not finest moment. Spare me the Garden crap.

 

[Shelby65]

Well yea but then you also can say you don't know that Mag wouldn't have had a career game the way he had been playing lately. He was on pace for maybe his best game against MSU

yes that’s true too. point is, it’s illogical to claim UI wouldnt have that kind of run if Mag werent hurt. it might even have been a 25 pt run, or maybe he gets hot like you say and we win. you’re just guessing

 

[FinalFourOrBust_rivals142702]

We ?

You are obviously a troll , most likely an Indiana fan - since you suddenly appeared after that game.

I know you were upset because we kicked your *** for 5 straight games. It is time to grow up and handle it like a man - although that may be difficult for a pansy like you.

Who’s this clown?

 

[rudad02]

Brutal, Brutal, Brutal.

 

[RUChoppin]

Mag’s missed bunnies and turnovers were part of problem too.

Mag has the best 2P% in our rotation at .577.... he's missed a couple of bunnies, but that wasn't really his problem as much as it was for some others.

As far as turnovers, he has a better assist/turnover ratio than other C/F players in Omoruyi and Hyatt.

 

[G- RUnit]

I’m pretty confident we don’t let them go on a 19-0 run if we have Mag today.

No doubt but the zero just as important as the 19 and watching the game it was the zero that was more glaring than the 19.

 

[Scangg]

yes that’s true too. point is, it’s illogical to claim UI wouldnt have that kind of run if Mag werent hurt. it might even have been a 25 pt run, or maybe he gets hot like you say and we win. you’re just guessing

It's pretty logical to think if we had maybe our best defender this season and one of our best athletes who was playing better than anyone recently that a 19-0 run wouldn't have happened

How many 19-0 runs have we given up with Mag? How many 10 min scoring droughts?

 

[Scangg]

Mag’s missed bunnies and turnovers were part of problem too. He was never great offensively and only better recently. Yes we miss him but the reason we lost last two games was the lack of production offensively. Paul can not disappear. Far bigger factor. Hyatt, Reiber and Simpson can’t miss good easy shots or hit backboards on passes. Cam had two points? None of that anything to do with Mag. Cliff can’t commit stupid fouls 20 feet from the basket. Cliff can’t start his offensive sets 20 feet from the basket. We have to run a decent fast break. Pike needs to get a T on that palming violation. Illini coach laughing/smirking. That’s on Pike. Know Paul is sensitive, that call took him out of game and changed complexion. Nothing to do with Mag

Three games away from home in a week frankly sucks and so emotionally taxing. Shame on Hobbs for agreeing to this crap. He should have raised a fit. Not finest moment. Spare me the Garden crap.

Mag has probably been our best finisher around the rim minus Cliff dunks

 

[bac2therac]

they have no choice, you either make up for Mag or you end up in the NIT

 

[Shelby65]

It's pretty logical to think if we had maybe our best defender this season and one of our best athletes who was playing better than anyone recently that a 19-0 run wouldn't have happened

How many 19-0 runs have we given up with Mag? How many 10 min scoring droughts?

too many variables to assert that. things happen.

 

[Shelby65]

if we rank reasons for this loss, missing Mag is not in the first few.

 

[bac2therac]

RU was up 6 with 15 minutes, up 4 at half and really could have been up more

Not valuing possessions and a complete no show by Cam followed by some immaturity by Cliff were 3 biggest reasons

 

[G- RUnit]

if we rank reasons for this loss, missing Mag is not in the first few.

We all miss Mag and it hurts… immensely.

But not reason we are losing. Winnable games slipped away. Missed dunk by Hyatt. Missed Layup by Reiber. Awful palming call on Paul, botched fast break on Caleb, three away games in a week. All adds up. Paul has to get in right head space. 1st half MSU, Indiana comatose and 2nd half of this game. He is the key.

 

[RUTrack94]

I think you have a mental illness. We’re gonna finish 13-7 in the BIG and get a 6 seed. We don’t need fans like you with loser mentalities.

11-9 … 3-3 more likely than 5-1

 

[FinalFourOrBust_rivals142702]

11-9 … 3-3 more likely than 5-1

 

[FinalFourOrBust_rivals142702]

if we rank reasons for this loss, missing Mag is not in the first few.

Mag only 15 minutes each in both wins at Purdue and at NW. The overreaction to his loss is amazing. I guess when you can’t blame the refs you have to blame something. Oh well.

 

[BigEastPhil]

We don’t have the depth to compensate for the loss of Mag. May get away with it against bad teams or a one off - but it’s not sustainable for balance of season.

Same can be said had another starter gone down.

2 must valuable guys on team are Cliff and Paul. Drop off with them out of the lineup is immeasurable

 

[RutgersClassof2004]

they have no choice, you either make up for Mag or you end up in the NIT

If they go 2-4 down stretch with no big BIG Ten Tournament run, they will be in NIT.

 

[RutgersClassof2004]

If they go 2-4 down stretch with no big BIG Ten Tournament run, they will be in NIT.

Very unlikely, but not all that unthinkable either. Probably 10-20% chance.

 

[FrankZ_RU93]

Heart sank when he grabbed his knee. Didn’t even enjoy the W fearing the worst with that injury and the impact it would have on the rest of the year. Unfortunately, just not enough pieces to lose a player like him.

 

[anon1753890747]

Stop. The Knicks play 41 games a year on that floor. ACL injuries can happen literally anywhere

I appreciate your opinion and your stop command is not something I will adhere to

 

[Scarlet Shack]

Understanding how important Mag is to this team has absolutely nothing to do with being a Homer

If you think Mag's absence is not a huge loss, you simply do not understand basketball. That's all there is to it. You're just losing credibility trying to act like he isn't important

This

Without mag , our 40 minutes of defense has gone from outstanding to very good. And our team rebound has gone from above average to average

Which…to a team scoring 60-65 ppg , is worth, in my estimation, 5-6 points a gam…a significant difference

 

[FinalFourOrBust_rivals142702]

Mag played in 4 road conference games. Against Michigan state and Iowa we lost by double digits in and the wins against Purdue and NW he only played 15 minutes each and didn’t play key stretches of the game. Stop overrating him. It’s weird.

 

[Ru-baby]

The OMP cant be replaced.

What is required is a rethinking of the D not trying to plug into the Mag role. This squad overall had an atrocious second half. Yes some issues were exposed like the freshmans looseness with the ball and post D wout cliff.

Not panic time but must rething schemes and roles w out the OMP.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

With Omoruyi on the floor, they outscored us by 1. With him off the floor, they outscored us by 12. The thing they figured out is that we're a very different team with our center on the bench.

This - and it’s not even accounting for things like Caleb having to play 36 minutes because we have no competent defenders on the bench without Mag. It’s not that he’s an all star player per se that we lost. It’s that the depth below him is a major drop off.

 

[CERU00]

Miss Mag but loss was all on offense not the D. We won MSU in 2nd half without Mag. It was no offense. Same at Indy. D was fine the whole first half. Reiber and Hyatt bunny misses hurt so much. I think Simpson will be great but awful shooting and hitting backboard. He can’t do that mid February.

Bigger factor is ridiculous palming call which took Paul out of game. Bad job by Pike who should have gotten the technical of all technicals for that call.

Three games away from home in February is awful and so unfair to RU. Will people finally admit emotional toll and traveling on RU sucks? I doubt it.

Officiating wasn’t great. Thought Illini player traveled before Cliff ticky tack foul.

It was a good call but they could make the same call 20 times a game on every team. It has to be extremely blatant for them to call that.

 

[Nycrusupporter]

Just about every team is dealing with injuries. Other players need to step up and our coaches need to adapt to helping the players who are available be successful.