GAME 22 Michigan: Courageous Effort

[bac2therac]

Nothing to be ashamed about tonight, nothing to be complaining about. Its not a moral victory but it certainly was a courgeous effort against a legit national title holder. There is a reason why Rutgers lost tonight and it had nothing to do with their performance. Michigan is just about a complete of a team that you can get when you factor in their coach and their system. They are an extremely difficult team to match up with how they move the ball and how they play stifling defense. Michigan plays the kind of game that could exploit all the RU weaknesses, poor transition defense, poor perimeter defense, poor half court game. Credit Michigan because mission accomplished in the first 8 minutes. They had been struggling a bit lately but today all focus, all business and they just jumped on RU early effectively winning the game. They had 23 points in just 8 and half minutes. RU just cannot play at that pace and later the lead bulged to 38-21. RU appeared overwhelmed and overmatched and it appeared that this one was going to be blowout city.

But like they seemingly have all year long after digging themselves a big early hole, this team continues to plug away working and hard, so resilient and so willing to fight back. It started innocently with a Kiss 3, then all of sudden Mathis and Geo made some shots and RU was crashing the boards and playing much better D on Michigan even causing a few turnovers which led to easier transition opportunities. To go in half down 43-31 was a victory for RU...a 10-5 run in the last 4 minutes to go into halftime feeling good about themselves.

Alas I do not really feel like RU ever threatened to win this game. Michigan repellled every RU run as great teams do. But its not about that. Its about the fight that RU had in them. Make no mistake RU basically played Michigan even for the entire 2nd half. While RU may have been intimidated early in the game, RU showed great courage in standing up to Michigan. RU's offense challenged Michigan and succeeded. Eugene was dominant at times in the paint, RU seemed to get alot of what they wanted inside and this is a great Michigan defense. Defensively RU really brought more pressure on the ball and the bigs seemed to shut down scoring in the paint and did a fine job limiting 2nd chance opportunities. Albeit they did get burned from 3, Michigan was 6-12 in the 2nd half, sometimes you can play solid D and it will not matter. Michigan just moved the ball so well and had the answers when they needed it.

Let us step back....Michigan is a complete team. RU is playing one senior, one junior, 2 sophs, and 4 frosh significant minutes. To do what they did in the 2nd half battling and scrapping is a minor miracle. RU had no business being in this game after the way it started. A look at the final stats would say otherwise. Its is remarkable to see that the stat line is fairly even close3 for one thing. The ability of the Wolverines to knock down a whole slew of 3s....11-23 to just 5-12 for RU which actually is a decent percentage for them.

Michigan fg 26-58 Michigan FT 14-17
Rutgers fg 24-58 Rutgers FT 12-16

Michigan Reb 34 Off 7
Rutgers Reb 37 Off 9

Michigan Asst 14 Michigan 7
Rutgers Asst 12 Rutgers 9

Make no mistake about Rutgers as a program is cutting the gap. This was a game that RU would have lost by 30 two years ago. RU has learned to win against some of the middling to bottom teams in the league which is how you judge the program...but one thing to look for is how competitive against the top teams. RU played both Michigan and Michigan State very tough this year. Without Eugene they got blown away at Purdue.

Youth grows up and we have to wait for that. I thought today we once again so some great flashes and moves from Myles Johnson who was 4-8 for 8 points...huge for him to get back to finishing and staying strong after a couple of quieter games. Montez Mathis an under the radar solid performance tonight...huge huge bounceback after two games where he really struggled. Major credit to him and credit to Pike for believing in him. 33 minutes, 4-8 shooting, he wasnt forcing and loved his coast to coast layup in the 2nd half. We need Montez to produce but he has to play within himself and everyone has to love what he did vs the Michigan guards tonight. Harper was a step too slow today and lost minutes to Kiss, again its not a knock on him, just trying to find the consistency with him. Kiss hit that nice 3, quiet other than that but did think he gave important minutes. Caleb gave minutes and hustle but this was a game he was going to be overmatched.

Shaq Doorson...i mean you can only ask what he is giving....4-4 fg, 8 points, 6 boards. He really is taking an advantage of being healthy and contributing to this team.

Eugene..what else can you say. Battled with Brazdeikis all night. 8-17 fg, 21 pts, Eugene warrior as always giving his all on both ends and seemed to keep RU within range all night with his presence on both ends.

Geo Baker...a really bad night shooting...1-9 but one thing very interesting in the stat line....8 boards, our leading rebounder and a couple of them in that key run where RU got back in before halftime where he also made his only 3. Michigan keyed on the guards all night, nothing was going to come easy. Beilien said controlling Geo was key and they sacrficed the paint somewhat. Geo did do a good job at getting the ball in the paint or to Eugene. I see its now becoming common to heavily criticize Geo..saw it in the game thread but I am going to say..please STOP. Geo obviously is struggling with his shot, he is being keyed on by other teams defenses. He has a lot on his plate to try and be floor general for such a young team who also leans heavily on him for points. He will be back, I am confident of that.

RAC crowd...was worried early but filled in, we in NJ are truly late arrivers no matter what the time of the game. Michigan had a huge turnout..maybe 1500 plus and except for an early roar were kept out of the game and I actually found them to be pleasant in demeanor. RAC loud at times but I mean I cannot say it was anything other than a good not great and there was not that feeling of buzz which I thought would be in the building before tipoff.

Illinois is going to be tough especially flying high after beat MSU and now looking to complete a trifecta on a rare 3 game homestand. Its going to take a similar effort tonight and also protecting the ball. Its certainly a judgment game against a similar program looking to move up the ranks. Both schools 4-8 and an Illinois win and with their favorable schedule ahead would put them in the drivers seat to finish ahead of RU. Its an important two game road stretch for the program for sure.

 

[S_Janowski]

Nothing to be ashamed or complain about but if we made just a couple of those point blank layups or short uncontested shots 4-6 feet from the basket we could of had ourselves a finish.

Eugene dominated them in the paint all night, if he could have just made a few more of those easy baskets!

Crowd was a little disappointing tonight tbh. Students were late arriving and didn’t fill their section in. 200 level was kind of dead except for a few moments and the 300 level was basically 90% Michigan fans (but fairly quiet all night). I’ve stuck up for the students in the past but no excuse not to fill that damn section on a warm February night against the #5/#7 team in the country.

The RAC has been electric for weekend games but has to do better for these weekday games.

Also there were still a lot of empties for claiming that was a sellout. I think that the building was only at 90-95% capacity.

 

[RUChoppin]

Michigan came out on fire, and it seemed like we weathered the initial barrage a bit, but could never get traction to claw back into a close game.

It really felt like we could have been right there with them at the end if we could have converted a handful more of the bunnies.

 

[bac2therac]

Michigan came out on fire, and it seemed like we weathered the initial barrage a bit, but could never get traction to claw back into a close game.

It really felt like we could have been right there with them at the end if we could have converted a handful more of the bunnies.

the slow starts and poor defense early is becoming a common pattern with this team....remember MSU and SHU early in the season...Nebby, Indy, Michigan of late. Michigan isnt a team you can come back on. The positive is that this team is finding there way to be resilient and fight back and get back into the game. That counts for something. Its all about defense IMO but this team constantly is slow out of the gate and needs time to get adjusted. Not sure how the coaching staff can fix this

 

[Degaz-RU]

Once again we start out a "big" sold out game with early game jitters and dig ourselves a major hole. The game was basically over when UM went up 34-17, although it was good to see we played them about even for the last 30 minutes of the game. Can't spot a Final Four team this kind of lead and expect to win.

Lots to like in this game - the fight, the energy, Eugene again leading the team with 21 points and looking unstoppable at times in the paint, Mathis with a bounce back game (not just the 12 points but the 5 assists, he was really dishing tonight), Doorson with great minutes and production.

Lots to dislike too, but it's the familiar refrain of poor 3-pt defense, difficulty guarding the high ball-screens which lead to drives toward the hoop or "pick and pop" open threes, and inability to get over the hump when we cut the lead to 8 several times, always getting sloppy at that point. And for crying out loud, USE THE DAMN BACKBOARD ON THE BUNNIES!!! We seemed downright allergic to the backboard tonight, with about 7 or 8 misses that clanged off the iron or rolled around and out, because they didn't use the backboard. Maddening how many short shots we missed.

We're not going to win many games only hitting 4 threes (the 5th one was meaningless at the buzzer). If Geo hits a couple of those step back threes in the 2nd half, this game goes right down to the wire. I feel bad for Geo having to shoulder the load as the PG. He's #1 on every opponent's scouting report, and as Geo goes, so we go. With the way Mathis is driving and dishing, I wonder if Pike should play HIM at the point for long stretches, and allow Geo to play off the ball.

Anyway, a really solid effort against a likely Elite 8 team. The boys can hold their heads up high. But a MUST WIN coming up against a difficult Illinois team that is riding high after their win over MSU. We're both 4-8, so if we want to finish above the bottom four, we have to win this game. Maybe Illinois will fall flat after a big emotional win.

 

[RU MAN]

In Michigan, we are looking at a team that IMO is better than last year's squad that reached the finals. Brazdeikas (sp?) may be a freshman, but he's really not. He's 20 years old and is a 5 star recruit. He plays inside and out better than a lot of upper class men who have gone on to be All Americans. What makes Michigan so hard to defend is that 4 out of 5 players (Teske aside) are threats to drill a 3 at any time. After Michigan played poorly against Iowa, Belien stated, it was his team's mission to get out fast and keep shooting the ball well from the perimeter, which they did. They shot 48%, shooting 11/ 23. They took 23 shots from beyond the arc. We shot a very respectable 42% but only made 5 out of 12 shots. So they doubled us on 3 point shot attempts and scored an additional 18 points from beyond the arc.

I love the resiliency we showed after it looked as if we were going to get blown out of our own building midway through the first half. I really wish Pike would consider putting Geo in his natural 2 guard spot and have McConnell bring the ball up. I think that would take extra pressure off of Geo, because as the game wears on, he doesn't have enough spring in his jump shots and leaves many shots short. That's a sign of a tired player having to essentially play two roles on offense. I thought Michigan did a great job on him. I would also like to see Montez learn how to stop on a dime and take a short jump shot instead of always going to the hole where the trees are. He did that a few times tonight, where if he had just stopped and popped, he would have been more effective taking an 8 foot jump shot.

I don't like moral victories anymore. I want wins. But IMO, this is the best team we've faced all season, even better than Michigan State with Langford healthy. They just have so many weapons throughout their lineup, and it wouldn't surprise me to see them make the Final Four. I think in the tourney, they will be that good. So moral victories aside, we were just beaten by a more talented team that happens to be 21-2. And tonight they showed why the sit atop the B1G conference.

 

[JQRU91]

Michigan was shooting threes like we sometimes shoot free throws.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

For the future sake....

We need someone to step up at the 3 and give us something.

 

[mikefla]

I didnt expect to win this game
but I was secretly ray:HOPINGray: for that late run where we threatened

GEO at the 3 ....GOOD!:cool2:
MYLES rebounds and flings it like a rocket to Kiss under the basket:uzi:
EUGENE stands his ground [thumb2]OFFENSIVE FOUL !![thumb2]
[banana]The RAC is going CRAZY[banana]
[cheers]its RUTGERS 68...Michigan 71 with 1:50 to go![cheers]

Sadly...
:joy:that never happened:joy:

 

[RUChoppin]

This was a team that was better than us last night - and we needed a perfect game to pull out a win.

A few thoughts...
- They made some really high difficulty shots, especially in the first half, while we missed some really low difficulty ones
- When a defensive lapse gave them an open look, they shot at a high percentage and made us pay for it... while when a defensive lapse gave us an open look, we had a much lower percentage
- When they needed a stop or a bucket to kill a mini-run, they found one... while when we needed a stop or a bucket to continue a mini-run, we either tried to force something that wasn't there or had a defensive lapse
- I felt there was a lack of intensity from the starters in the first 5-8 minutes, and liked that Pike essentially made a "line change" and put four backups in. I think that helped jump start the starters to play with more fire the rest of the way, but by that point a lot of the damage was done.
- Omoruyi is a really good post defender, but he got exposed a bit on the perimeter against Brazdeikis - a few times by playing help defense and leaving Braz open for a catch and shoot (a couple of those "over the head pass" threes were because Omoruyi left Braz to help Baker, for instance).
- Baker was harassed all night and spending a ton of energy on both ends of the floor, and I wonder if fatigue had started to get to him a bit late in the game when he was coming up short on three point attempts

 

[RU206]

Team can’t make lay ups.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

The post game interview with Beilien essentially was a coaching job decision on how RU wanted to play and they went at times with 2 bigs...which he mentioned that we would not be able to get out on their shooters. RU went with the bigs and if we make more 3 to 5 footers, the game is different.

I also think the minutes distributed is fine if every starter shoots at a high level but I don't believe this is a Geo Baker discussion as much as he could've forced more shots up but we ran the offense and the bigs had opportunities.

I don't know what the solution is but 9 minutes for Carter, who played sloppy and 16 minutes for Harper, just doesn't seem like a formula for balanced scoring and making teams account for everyone. We did get points and should have gotten more from Myles Johnson, the gameplan was excellent, the execution at point blank range was not good.

The difference between beating a Michigan and MSU in scenarios like last night is finding players that can score inside and have the footspeed to step out on shooters. That's not solved with a grad transfer or fixed with coaching. It literally comes down to footspeed and athletic ability of the players and can you close out on shooters quicker, rotate faster on defense and have the length to bother players flairing out on 3s.

All things considered with the matchup not in RUs wheelhouse, they did OK. I scanned some of the game thread and while some fans are annoyed or believe Geo should hit 50% from 3 every night, the staff has to do more to expand the roles off the bench.

If we review the stat line of the bench, it's not going to wow you, but if Eugene or Geo hiccup at all over 30 to 34 minutes, RU isn't going to win games like last night. There has to be a path of development and opportunities for Harper, Carter, McConnell and Myles Johnson that is consistent and allows them to play through mistakes/turnovers or a blown assignment.

If and when that happens, RU takes some steps forward.

 

[RUJMM78]

Michigan is a model for the way a highly successful college basketball should perform.Its starts with outstanding coaching as seen in execution of basic fundamentals like dribbling and passing.Add in players that can create and make shots off the dribble and you have a top ten basketball team.Brazdukis was the best player on the court and he is a freshmen which just shows how Michigan reloads and there is very little drop off in performance.

Eugene was the only reason Rutgers didn't lose by 20 plus points.He was a warrior making spin moves around the basket that results in foul shots or baskets.The Rutgers slow starts is primarily caused by the opponent taking Baker out of the offense and there is no other player that can consistently make 3 point shots.Rutgers had some success feeding the inside players but there still were too many missed layups to cut the lead to under 10 points.

Illinois will be a bad match up because they play a up tempo game creating turnovers and layups which results in consistently scoring 70 plus points.Another Rutgers slow start offensively will be difficult to overcome on the road.

 

[Jackson206:)]

Michigan was lights out shooting early on. Some of that may be attributable to defense but the way they were shooting 3's was crazy, guy in their face or not. Once their shooting came back to a normal level (and some of that was attributable to defense too), it was a fairly even matched contest. In the overall scheme of things, I am extremely happy where Rutgers stands in terms of improvement. Keep trending that way and there will be a lot of happy Rutgers fans in the future. Of course some will never be happy but so be it.

 

[TDIrish27]

Going all the way back to his teams at Canisius and Richmond John Beilein teams can always shoot.

 

[bac2therac]

For the future sake....

We need someone to step up at the 3 and give us something.

Yes..soon it wont be about effort. In fact we need playmakers these next two games

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Kiss Issa Harper Jr.

40 min
1-3 from 2
1-2 from 3
0-0 from 1
0 oreb
5 dreb
1 stl
0 blk
5 fouls
5 points

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Kiss Issa Harper Jr. vs OSU
41 min
1-1 from 2
1-5 from 3
0-2 from 1
1 oreb
3 dreb
0 stl
0 blk
1 foul
5 points

numbers were good vs. Indiana
47 min
4-5 from 2
3-8 from 3
0-2 from 1
0 oreb
9 dreb
2 stls
1 blk
4 fouls
17 points

 

[RUskoolie]

What I enjoy about watching Pike's teams is that I never feel like we're going to get manhandled. If this was football I would be DREADING going. Pike has his team believing they can win every game and I think he is starting to get fans to believe that we have the opportunity to win every game. Things are trending right with this program and the team is so young still. They were going blow for blow with a team in the national title game last year but just couldn't close the gap enough.

 

[RUDead]

Doorson had a great game. I think that's why you didn't see Carter much.

Pike wanted to take it down low early and try to get them in foul trouble. It didn't work as they played good D and didn't foul much.

Team looked tight to begin the game. Need to be past that at this point in the season. Good effort overall. Tough team to beat.

 

[RUforJERSEY]

I don't think a lot of Michigan's made threes were contested. Everyone knows Michigan leans heavily on the 3 point shot. They've been that way for years. RU did a poor job of defending it.

 

[RUChoppin]

Doorson had a great game. I think that's why you didn't see Carter much.

For Carter to see the floor meant that Omoruyi had to come out, more than Doorson. Carter wasn't going to be able to guard Teske.

Doorson 22 / Johnson 18 = 40 min at the 5
Omoruyi 31 / Carter 9 = 40 min at the 4
Kiss 20 / Harper 16 / Thiam 4 = 40 min at the 3
Baker 33 / Mathis 33 / McConnell 14 = 80 min at the 1/2

Rarely works out this exactly, but it did last night.

 

[blockm2]

I don't think a lot of Michigan's made threes were contested. Everyone knows Michigan leans heavily on the 3 point shot. They've been that way for years. RU did a poor job of defending it.

while Michigan normally leans heavily on the 3, this is the worst 3 pt shooting team (35.0% for the season) Beilein has had since the 2009-10 season and they rank 129th nationally in % of points scored from 3s which is far and away the worst they've ever had under Beilein (usually finish top 25 nationally in depending on 3s). Poole, Livers, and Brazdeikis are all good shooters from outside, but nobody else has made more than 32% of their 3s this season.

But watching the game Rutgers is clearly continuing to improve from previous seasons. Defense is still solid but they move the ball around a bit more on offense, just lack elite talent on that end. Omoruyi is a tough cover. A true PG that could free up Baker to play off the ball and maybe either a consistent post or wing scorer (either from a new recruit or improvement from guys on the roster) could elevate them to .500 ish Big Ten team and NCAA bubble level.

 

[RUChoppin]

while Michigan normally leans heavily on the 3, this is the worst 3 pt shooting team (35.0% for the season) Beilein has had since the 2009-10 season and they rank 129th nationally in % of points scored from 3s which is far and away the worst they've ever had under Beilein (usually finish top 25 nationally in depending on 3s). Poole, Livers, and Brazdeikis are all good shooters from outside, but nobody else has made more than 32% of their 3s this season.

Felt a little like the SJU games a bit, where it felt at times like they couldn't miss no matter how much the shot was contested.

 

[ru66]

2 or three tres away from really having a chance to win against some of the best/better teams in the country

 

[RU-ROCS]

Great points as usual Bac. I only saw two real negatives last night. First, RU's defensive effort for the first 6-7 minutes was NOT good and cost RU the game. They allowed UM to get comfortable shooting and that decided the outcome. Sure, RU's offense started slowly, but there is no excuse for the lack of defensive effort out of the gait. Pike emphasized that fact in the radio post game.

Second, the RU student section. It is by-far the smallest section to fill in the entire Big10 and still it was NOT full last night. The students who came were great, but it is mind-boggling to me that RU cannot fill the entire student section for a game against a top-10 opponent to support a team that plays hard.

 

[kcg88]

Great points as usual Bac. I only saw two real negatives last night. First, RU's defensive effort for the first 6-7 minutes was NOT good and cost RU the game. They allowed UM to get comfortable shooting and that decided the outcome. Sure, RU's offense started slowly, but there is no excuse for the lack of defensive effort out of the gait. Pike emphasized that fact in the radio post game.

Second, the RU student section. It is by-far the smallest section to fill in the entire Big10 and still it was NOT full last night. The students who came were great, but it is mind-boggling to me that RU cannot fill the entire student section for a game against a top-10 opponent to support a team that plays hard.

Most of the students parent's weren't even married the last time Rutgers made the tournament. There's no emotional investment beyond the name of the school.

Start winning and competing for real things and they'll show up. Look at the football student section in 2006 against Illinois and then look at it against UConn or Louisville.

 

[RU-ROCS]

Most of the students parent's weren't even married the last time Rutgers made the tournament. There's no emotional investment beyond the name of the school.

Start winning and competing for real things and they'll show up. Look at the football student section in 2006 against Illinois and then look at it against UConn or Louisville.

I understand the reasons, but even with all that the fact that RU can't even get 1500 kids to show up for a big game is disappointing. They still manage to get 7,500 to go to see an awful football team early in the season.

 

[PiscatawayMike]

A true PG that could free up Baker to play off the ball and maybe either a consistent post or wing scorer (either from a new recruit or improvement from guys on the roster) could elevate them to .500 ish Big Ten team and NCAA bubble level.

Paul Mulcahy can't get here quick enough.

Myles Johnson will improve in the post and be much more dependable.

The future is so bright for RU hoops, I gotta wear shades. :sunglasses:

 

[RU-ROCS]

The post game interview with Beilien essentially was a coaching job decision on how RU wanted to play and they went at times with 2 bigs...which he mentioned that we would not be able to get out on their shooters. RU went with the bigs and if we make more 3 to 5 footers, the game is different.

I also think the minutes distributed is fine if every starter shoots at a high level but I don't believe this is a Geo Baker discussion as much as he could've forced more shots up but we ran the offense and the bigs had opportunities.

I don't know what the solution is but 9 minutes for Carter, who played sloppy and 16 minutes for Harper, just doesn't seem like a formula for balanced scoring and making teams account for everyone. We did get points and should have gotten more from Myles Johnson, the gameplan was excellent, the execution at point blank range was not good.

The difference between beating a Michigan and MSU in scenarios like last night is finding players that can score inside and have the footspeed to step out on shooters. That's not solved with a grad transfer or fixed with coaching. It literally comes down to footspeed and athletic ability of the players and can you close out on shooters quicker, rotate faster on defense and have the length to bother players flairing out on 3s.

All things considered with the matchup not in RUs wheelhouse, they did OK. I scanned some of the game thread and while some fans are annoyed or believe Geo should hit 50% from 3 every night, the staff has to do more to expand the roles off the bench.

If we review the stat line of the bench, it's not going to wow you, but if Eugene or Geo hiccup at all over 30 to 34 minutes, RU isn't going to win games like last night. There has to be a path of development and opportunities for Harper, Carter, McConnell and Myles Johnson that is consistent and allows them to play through mistakes/turnovers or a blown assignment.

If and when that happens, RU takes some steps forward.

I agree that Carter was bad last night. Shaq D. and Johnson were much better. Johnson had a great first half, but fell down a bit in the in the 2nd half when he did not use the glass to bank home too close-in looks at the basket. Harper has been in a funk the last 2 games - very passive. I thought maybe he's been under the weather, but who knows? Early foul trouble hurt him last night. McConnel was not a factor on offense last night either, which hurt.

 

[bowlgoal]

It's where we are. That's a good team and we held our own. Myles and Gene use the glass a bit more and convert on some of these shots plus we hit the FTs and this is a very close game. When you play a top 10 team; a real top 10 team; that's about what happens. They have exceptional shooters who make big baskets and they don't miss their FTs. I'm sick and tired of talking about the refs but they absolutely stink. I'm sure other fans say the same thing but it's very frustrating. If they aren't throwing moving picks; it has to be right on the edge. They boxed out Geo better than any other team. Lastly, I really despise Michigan fans. I don't like them, their kids dressing up in blown out yellow, etc., etc., etc.!!! I look forward to the day we beat them so I can watch their fans walk out in despair. Only other fan base I hate more is Penn State. It's really neck and neck though.

 

[BIGRUBIGDBIGredmachine]

Michigan made the big shots every time it seemed. We missed the chippies, put backs and FTs in the big moments every time it seemed.