Game lost on last offensive series

[rutgersal_rivals139582]

The last offensive series is a microcosm of our offensive troubles, and further illustrates why we need a true point guard. The moving screen should not have mattered. Bottomline is, We had 26.7 seconds, down 1, which should have been an eternity, and more than enough time to win the game.

A key factor was that we had no timeouts left, so rather than having a set play, our offense was scattershot. We should have been attacking the rim. But what did, we do? We pass the ball along the perimeter, ultimately throwing up, an off balance desperation three at the end.

so let’s review exactly what happened:

- Geo brings the ball up, dribbles right, draws the double team, then passes off to Harper, who is on the perimeter, with 13.4 seconds left. Thought he took too long and ate up too much clock, here.

- Harper immediately passes to Johnson, who is beyond the 3 point line, 12.8 seconds are left

- Johnson immediately hands back to Harper, with about 10 seconds left

- Harper dribbles right, then left, gives the ball off to Yeaboah with about 4 seconds left

- Yeboah puts up an off balance desperation 3.

thought this last series was horrendous. You want to go to the tournament, you’ve got to be able to execute, here. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to.

 

[AreYouNUTS]

We know what happened Al.

 

[RUChoppin]

Pretty good argument to be made that the game was lost on our first 20 or so offensive series.

 

[dpwhite]

Here’s what I thought happened on the last two possessions of the game:

Like last year against Iowa at the RAC and Bohannon, Pikiell decided Lamar Stevens wasn’t going to beat us. So, when Stevens cuts through the lane, Yeboah leaves his man to bump Stevens off his course. Harper then bumps Stevens again. However, that caused Myles D to get free and gave PSU enough time to set up a screen (that was moving, but it was there.) Because MD is a 30% shooter, I don’t think Pikiell minded the shot, but wished Yeboah got there quicker. He makes it.

So okay, we have approx 30 second left to get the last shot (hey we went 2 for 1 wow!). They try to iso Geo, and PSU double teams him and we try to run the same play we ran at the end of the NW game, to get Harper free for a shot off the double. However, PSU is better defensively than NW, and keeps Harper close to Geo, and gets terrible spacing. Harper tries to reset by passing to Johnson—who should have gotten it to Geo… but he got it back to Harper. At that point, I think Harper should have driven to the hoop, but didn’t see a lane so he passed to Yeboah. There was a better chance Yeboah makes that shot than Harper getting fouled, the way the refs were calling it.

It’s not a terrible strategy, just Penn State executed their strategies better than we did.

 

[dpwhite]

- Yeboah puts up an off balance desperation 3.

That three was not off balance. It was desperation because we needed it.. but it was well defended.

 

[BillyC80]

The whole premise of Al’s argument assumes that a team scores on every possession. Even if we get a really good shot off (and Kwasi got a decent look), the odds are still better that we miss than make it.

 

[rutgersal_rivals139582]

The whole premise of Al’s argument assumes that a team scores on every possession. Even if we get a really good shot off (and Kwasi got a decent look), the odds are still better that we miss than make it.

the premise of my argument is that there is zero reason to hoist up a 3 point shot when you’re down 1.
It makes no sense.

 

[rutgersal_rivals139582]

That three was not off balance. It was desperation because we needed it.. but it was well defended.

it was understandable but off balance because he landed on his backside after taking the shot.
He had time to drive to the basket, but I guess he didn’t realize it, and to be fair, it was a pressure situation.

 

[rutgersal_rivals139582]

Here’s what I thought happened on the last two possessions of the game:

Like last year against Iowa at the RAC and Bohannon, Pikiell decided Lamar Stevens wasn’t going to beat us. So, when Stevens cuts through the lane, Yeboah leaves his man to bump Stevens off his course. Harper then bumps Stevens again. However, that caused Myles D to get free and gave PSU enough time to set up a screen (that was moving, but it was there.) Because MD is a 30% shooter, I don’t think Pikiell minded the shot, but wished Yeboah got there quicker. He makes it.

So okay, we have approx 30 second left to get the last shot (hey we went 2 for 1 wow!). They try to iso Geo, and PSU double teams him and we try to run the same play we me. of the t at the end of the NW game, to get Harper free for a shot off the double. However, PSU is better defensively than NW, and keeps Harper close to Geo, and gets terrible spacing. Harper tries to reset by passing to Johnson—who should have gotten it to Geo… but he got it back to Harper. At that point, I think Harper should have driven to the hoop, but didn’t see a lane so he passed to Yeboah. There was a better chance Yeboah makes that shot than Harper getting fouled, the way the refs were calling it.

It’s not a terrible strategy, just Penn State executed their strategies better than we did.

I don’t even care about what happened with the moving screen and 3 point shot. Crap happens.

What I’m disappointed about is that down 1 point, we should have been doing everything possible to attack the rim, and we didn’t do that, instead hurriedly settling for a rushed three point shot, despite having 26 seconds to get a quality look. To me, that’s inexcusable. We simply didn’t take advantage of an opportunity which presented itself.

if we’re planning to live or die based on our outside shooting, we’re going to Die most of the time.
and that’s one of my biggest complaints about our offense, we don’t do enough to work towards getting a quality shot.

Since Geo was doubled, someone was open. But we simply missed that opportunity, because we lack vision, situational awareness, and our ball movement isn’t the greatest.

Something else which disappointed me was that our center let himself get boxed out by #21 of Penn State,
On our last 3 point try. Yikes.

 

[dpwhite]

I don’t even care about what happened with the moving screen and 3 point shot. Crap happens.

What I’m disappointed about is that down 1 point, we should have been doing everything possible to attack the rim, and we didn’t do that, instead hurriedly settling for a rushed three point shot, despite having 26 seconds to get a quality look. To me, that’s inexcusable. We simply didn’t take advantage of an opportunity which presented itself.

if we’re planning to live or die based on our outside shooting, we’re going to Die most of the time.
and that’s one of my biggest complaints about our offense, we don’t do enough to work towards getting a quality shot.

Since Geo was doubled, someone was open. But we simply missed that opportunity, because we lack vision, situational awareness, and our ball movement isn’t the greatest.

Something else which disappointed me was that our center let himself get boxed out by #21 of Penn State,
On our last 3 point try. Yikes.

It was not a "rushed" three point shot. It was what the defense gave us. There wasn't a lane for Harper. I don't know the passing angles for whomever was open. Harper should have tried to drive, but he didn't see a lane. But watch the shot again, when Akwasi catches it it's a good look. The defender reacts very well to the pass.

The open player when Geo gets double teamed is Yeboah and it's the kind of pass you might throw away. Imagine Geo threw it out of bounds? You're wrong Al. Penn State just executed better.

 

[BillyC80]

the premise of my argument is that there is zero reason to hoist up a 3 point shot when you’re down 1.
It makes no sense.

I read your OP twice and that’s not what you said Al. You said our lack of a true point guard is why we didn’t score on the last possession, and that we should have tried to attack the rim. Both of those assertions are incorrect.

Any player who tried to drive the lane, point guard or not, would have been fouled before shooting and we would have had to inbound the ball and start our offense again, more than once, because they had more than one foul to give. Can’t dump it down low to Myles either because they’d just keep fouling him.

Our best bet would have been to get Geo inside the arc for his patented jumper, but they took that away by double-teaming him. Our next best shooting options were Harper and Yeboah, and they each had possession of the ball during that last play, with Kwasi getting a decent look.

 

[LETSGORU91_]

The team played their butts off in the second half. I wish they were 50% as effective in the first half as they were in the second. Lost is the fact Rutgers did not have a time out for the last couple of minutes of the game. PSU took a time out and then promptly smacked Rutgers in the face with the three point shot immediately after. The icing on the cake was the double team pressure applied to Geo and then keeping everyone else outside the 3 point line. Rutgers would have benefited greatly with one timeout which would have given them time to calm down from the three and draw up 2 or 3 plays to combat whatever was thrown at them. I was sick to my stomach after they lost the game.

 

[rutgersal_rivals139582]

It was not a "rushed" three point shot. It was what the defense gave us. There wasn't a lane for Harper. I don't know the passing angles for whomever was open. Harper should have tried to drive, but he didn't see a lane. But watch the shot again, when Akwasi catches it it's a good look. The defender reacts very well to the pass.

The open player when Geo gets double teamed is Yeboah and it's the kind of pass you might throw away. Imagine Geo threw it out of bounds? You're wrong Al. Penn State just executed better.

Geo made the correct pass to Harper. Harper should have immediately swung the ball to Yeboah, as he had an open lane to the basket, with #21 of Penn State playing close to the basket. That was the opportunity missed.

akwasi did the best he could with the situation he was presented. What I didn’t like was what happened between the 26 second mark and when Akwasi got the ball.

 

[ruready4somefootball_rivals]

The game was lost because no "upset alert" was given~~~~

 

[rutgersal_rivals139582]

Lost is the fact Rutgers did not have a time out for the last couple of minutes of the game. PSU took a time out and then promptly smacked Rutgers in the face with the three point shot immediately after.

I mentioned this in the 2nd paragraph of my original post. I agree that It greatly contributed to our lack of being able to get a quality look at the basket.

 

[RUBigFrank]

Spacing and movement was terrible by RU.
AND it was a bad shot given you only needed two.

Reason Harper had no Lane to drive he was too close to Geo when he received the pass.

 

[Caliknight]

The last offensive series is a microcosm of our offensive troubles, and further illustrates why we need a true point guard. The moving screen should not have mattered. Bottomline is, We had 26.7 seconds, down 1, which should have been an eternity, and more than enough time to win the game.

A key factor was that we had no timeouts left, so rather than having a set play, our offense was scattershot. We should have been attacking the rim. But what did, we do? We pass the ball along the perimeter, ultimately throwing up, an off balance desperation three at the end.

so let’s review exactly what happened:

- Geo brings the ball up, dribbles right, draws the double team, then passes off to Harper, who is on the perimeter, with 13.4 seconds left. Thought he took too long and ate up too much clock, here.

- Harper immediately passes to Johnson, who is beyond the 3 point line, 12.8 seconds are left

- Johnson immediately hands back to Harper, with about 10 seconds left

- Harper dribbles right, then left, gives the ball off to Yeaboah with about 4 seconds left

- Yeboah puts up an off balance desperation 3.

thought this last series was horrendous. You want to go to the tournament, you’ve got to be able to execute, here. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to.

I'd say it was lost on the 15 possessions in the first half where we couldn't throw a rock into the ocean.

 

[rutgersal_rivals139582]

I read your OP twice and that’s not what you said Al. You said our lack of a true point guard is why we didn’t score on the last possession, and that we should have tried to attack the rim. Both of those assertions are incorrect.

Any player who tried to drive the lane, point guard or not, would have been fouled before shooting and we would have had to inbound the ball and start our offense again, more than once, because they had more than one foul to give. Can’t dump it down low to Myles either because they’d just keep fouling him.

Our best bet would have been to get Geo inside the arc for his patented jumper, but they took that away by double-teaming him. Our next best shooting options were Harper and Yeboah, and they each had possession of the ball during that last play, with Kwasi getting a decent look.

both assertions can be true, they’re not mutually exclusive. We don’t shoot well, which is why it’s especially important for us to get to the rim.

even with their foul to give, 26 seconds should have been enough to drive to the basket, draw that foul, and then get a quality look. That’s what teams with good point guards do. The announcers even said that Penn State should foul when Rutgers tries to drive to the basket, as that was theirs and my expectation.

but Geo took too long to bring the ball up, 13 seconds. this did contribute to our less than quality look at the basket. A quality point guard brings the ball up much more quickly, imo, and gets us a better opportunity.

when your down 1, you don’t need to take a three point shot. Akwasi is a 36.4% shooter, so he’s going to miss more than he makes, on average.

Nevertheless, As I told Dave, the opportunity missed, was when Harper first got the ball, he should have swung it to a wide open Yeboah, who if nothing else, would have been able to get a much easier look at the basket, than what he eventually wound up getting, with only 4 seconds left.

Even if Harper had put the ball on the floor, when he first got it, and turned the ball over, I would have felt better cause, hey, at least he tried.

 

[Pancho1939_rivals]

The last offensive series is a microcosm of our offensive troubles, and further illustrates why we need a true point guard. The moving screen should not have mattered. Bottomline is, We had 26.7 seconds, down 1, which should have been an eternity, and more than enough time to win the game.

A key factor was that we had no timeouts left, so rather than having a set play, our offense was scattershot. We should have been attacking the rim. But what did, we do? We pass the ball along the perimeter, ultimately throwing up, an off balance desperation three at the end.

so let’s review exactly what happened:

- Geo brings the ball up, dribbles right, draws the double team, then passes off to Harper, who is on the perimeter, with 13.4 seconds left. Thought he took too long and ate up too much clock, here.

- Harper immediately passes to Johnson, who is beyond the 3 point line, 12.8 seconds are left

- Johnson immediately hands back to Harper, with about 10 seconds left

- Harper dribbles right, then left, gives the ball off to Yeaboah with about 4 seconds left

- Yeboah puts up an off balance desperation 3.

thought this last series was horrendous. You want to go to the tournament, you’ve got to be able to execute, here. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to.

geo should have calmed us down and got the guys set. He didn’t so we got what we got...

 

[rutgersal_rivals139582]

I'd say it was lost on the 15 possessions in the first half where we couldn't throw a rock into the ocean.

None of that matters. We were down 1, had 26 seconds to win the game. The game came down to our last possession. We had the opportunity. What more could we ask for given that we were down 21? Just couldn’t finish. That’s the bottom line.

 

[Caliknight]

None of that matters. We were down 1, had 26 seconds to win the game. The game came down to our last possession. We had the opportunity. What more could we ask for given that we were down 21? Just couldn’t finish. That’s the bottom line.

I'd argue we finished great. What we didn't do was start great.

And if you really want to get down to it. Not stopping them was the one play you should point to, considering defense is our thing.

 

[NickRU714]

the premise of my argument is that there is zero reason to hoist up a 3 point shot when you’re down 1.
It makes no sense.

This is a huge problem across all CBB.
Everyone wants to hit a last second 3.

Wait until the NCAA tourney.
So many wasted games trying for the highlight 3 pointer when tied or only down 1 or 2.

 

[rutgersal_rivals139582]

I'd argue we finished great. What we didn't do was start great.

And if you really want to get down to it. Not stopping them was the one play you should point to, considering defense is our thing.

we didn’t finish great because we didn’t win. The fact that we came back and erased the large deficit, cancels out our poor start. We did the best we could on that one play, yet they still scored. So that doesn’t bother me.

I’m more upset about the fact that we blew a Golden opportunity more than the fact that we lost.
Typical Rutgers, victory was in our grasp, yet we let it slip away.

 

[satnom]

That moving pick was so fing egregious and should have been called. Refs saw it and had no ballz to call.

Kudos to the team for coming back from an awful first half and down 21 pts.

GO RU

 

[ScarletLongIsland_rivals]

They should have gotten the ball back in Geo’s hands and spaced the floor...I’m not sure why but Geo faded out of the play after giving up the ball. I don’t care about being down 21, fact is we had the ball down 1 and we did not get the ball back to our closer.