Just a Purdue fan and alumni who lived in the New Brunswick area for several years after college and became a Rutgers fan via osmosis. That was in the 2000s when I lived in that area (almost the entire decade).
Always liked the school (in general, a good academic school), the sports fanbase was very loyal, friendly and knowledgeable despite some tough years and really showed up to create some great atmospheres at games and tough for opposing teams. A lot of similarities to Purdue actually. Also both are public universities with good Engineering programs that when you get further out of state, people think they are private schools (since it doesn't have the state name in the university).
I said this a couple years ago and I'll say it again, I really like Coach Pikiell. Even 3 years ago, you had to respect how the teams played even though you didn't have the quality of players you have now. Seeing the success you had starting last year was not surprising and now this year it is getting even better. Being from Indiana, the fundamentals of basketball are, in general, taught pretty well even in junior high and high school level, so it was easy to see that Pikiell was a really good coach and he got his teams to play good solid basketball and also they played really, really hard and together. I think with so much talent in the tri-state area, just getting even 2nd or 3rd tier type players to stay home (1st tier seem to always get snagged up by the blue bloods) and not go out of state will have you guys doing well for a long time.
Now, with the guys you have now and the development they've had, you'll be favored in more games than not and rightfully so. We're (Purdue) a bit inconsistent this year in closing out games and we'll need to bring our A game tonight for a full 40 minutes to have a chance to win.
Good luck tonight and it should be a fun game to watch.
Every time we play you guys, it makes me crave to get a chicken and broccoli boli from Stuff Yer Face. I watched a lot of games there and the food was so amazing (and there is no place like it anywhere else I've lived). Hopefully they are still around and surviving the lockdown. It would be a shame if a place like that had to close (unfortunately like a lot of other small businesses).
Always liked the school (in general, a good academic school), the sports fanbase was very loyal, friendly and knowledgeable despite some tough years and really showed up to create some great atmospheres at games and tough for opposing teams. A lot of similarities to Purdue actually. Also both are public universities with good Engineering programs that when you get further out of state, people think they are private schools (since it doesn't have the state name in the university).
I said this a couple years ago and I'll say it again, I really like Coach Pikiell. Even 3 years ago, you had to respect how the teams played even though you didn't have the quality of players you have now. Seeing the success you had starting last year was not surprising and now this year it is getting even better. Being from Indiana, the fundamentals of basketball are, in general, taught pretty well even in junior high and high school level, so it was easy to see that Pikiell was a really good coach and he got his teams to play good solid basketball and also they played really, really hard and together. I think with so much talent in the tri-state area, just getting even 2nd or 3rd tier type players to stay home (1st tier seem to always get snagged up by the blue bloods) and not go out of state will have you guys doing well for a long time.
Now, with the guys you have now and the development they've had, you'll be favored in more games than not and rightfully so. We're (Purdue) a bit inconsistent this year in closing out games and we'll need to bring our A game tonight for a full 40 minutes to have a chance to win.
Good luck tonight and it should be a fun game to watch.
Every time we play you guys, it makes me crave to get a chicken and broccoli boli from Stuff Yer Face. I watched a lot of games there and the food was so amazing (and there is no place like it anywhere else I've lived). Hopefully they are still around and surviving the lockdown. It would be a shame if a place like that had to close (unfortunately like a lot of other small businesses).
