No excuses for this one. Rutgers is AWFUL. Harangody showed some terrible leadership with his shot selection and the rest of the team was dominated on the boards and played really poor defense. Give Rutgers credit for winning this one, they deserved it. The only positive aspect of this outcome may be a change in the future of the program. Time will tell.
The most frustrating aspects of this game come down to hustle. While the Irish certainly display really poor fundamentals with regards to boxing out and switching on defense, much of Rutgers' success on the boards and getting to the foul line just came from the fact that they wanted this one more. Don't tell me that Fred Hill is some coaching genius or that Rutgers has a strong talent advantage. This team will be lucky to win more than one or two more Big East games this season. All that mattered last night was that they outworked the Irish for 40 minutes on both ends of the floor.
Tory Jackson played the entire contest before fouling out with 19 seconds remaining. He was one of the four starters to be on the floor for at least 37 minutes. That's an insane distribution of playing time. He performed fairly well, with 11 points and 6 rebounds, but you cannot possibly convince me that a tired Jackson in crunch time is worth avoiding playing a freshman for 5 or 6 minutes in the middle of the contest.
Ben Hansbrough had a very impressive night statistically. 18 points on 6-12 shooting, 5 assists, 5 rebounds, 4 steals. Unfortunately, two of his three-pointers did nothing more than reduce the margin in the final ten seconds. The high number of steals was due to Rutgers' poor decision making and ball handling ability (that's been a real issue for them all year) and Hansbrough's surprising talent for on-the-ball D. His real Achilles heel, however, comes when we need a guy to chase a shooter around get a hand in his face. Hansbrough may force the most turnovers on the team, but he isn't the guy you can call on to lock down someone like Mike Rosario.
A double-double for Abromaitis. He played 39 minutes and earned 4 fouls while going for 17 and 10. Again, I really have to question the intelligence of keeping so many guys in foul trouble on the floor. While most of Jackson's fouls came at the end of the game, Abromaitis picked up two in the first eight minutes of the contest. Most coaches would sit a star player for much of the rest of the half after that, but Mike Brey needlessly risked our number two scorer in an asinine attempt to keep a six man rotation.
Ty Nash had 6 points, 1 rebound, and 4 fouls. He is the biggest reason why Notre Dame was so dominated on the glass. Of course, my biggest beef with this has less to do with Nash's playing time (he only was on the floor for 26 minutes), but who replaced him when he came out of the game. Instead of turning to the second-best rebounder on the team, Coach Brey put in a backup point guard whose rebounding average barely bests Jack Cooley's. Carleton Scott's per-minute rebounding average puts him just below Harangody. Though he is abysmal on offense, he could hardly have performed worse than Peoples last night. Awful coaching by Brey.
If Luke Harangody plays like that for the rest of the year, Notre Dame will be better next season without him. I truly believe that. I like the comparison to Chris Thomas after last night's performance. Brey will never take the big man out for poor shot selection, which just allows him to continue to waste possessions and keep the Irish from performing to their potential as a balanced attack. He had twice as many attempts as any other player for Notre Dame, yet managed just two more points than Abromaitis and one more than Hansbrough. There were plenty of other problems with the Irish last night, but our All-American was a huge reason for why we lost to the worst team in the conference.
Off the bench, Peoples somehow earned 16 minutes. He didn't do much of anything but foul when he got the chance. I didn't catch the postgame quotes, but if there was an honest reason for why Carleton Scott didn't play until the final minute, please let me know. If this was simply an attempt to show Scott we could win without him, Mike Brey should be fired on the spot.
A lot of times, I try to diffuse some criticism after bad losses. It is a long season, but sometimes the team performs so poorly that I cannot disagree with the conclusions of many. Last night was the final straw. Though I like him a lot as a person and believe that he has done a tremendous job in bringing the program out of the mess of the '90s and putting us back on the college basketball landscape, there is no further doubt in my mind about what needs to happen at the end of the year. With any hope of the NCAA tournament gone and one of the best players in program history turning into a shadow of his former self, let me finally say it.
Fire Mike Brey.
Showing posts with label Rutgers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rutgers. Show all posts
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Rutgers Questions
From On the Banks of the Raritan:
1. It's been a rough month for Rutgers. What has gone wrong during this nine game losing streak?
RU is averaging 56.6 ppg through nine Big East games and its opposition is putting up 73.6 ppg. Mike Rosario is the team's only proven scorer and he's pretty easy to shut down when opposing teams know he's the only player that can explode offensively. As a result, Rosario has been pressing. He's shooting 27.5% from the floor. The team is turning the ball over way too much, averaging around 14 a game in league games. By the time they start to take better care of the basketball, they're often down 20 or more points.1. It's been a rough month for Rutgers. What has gone wrong during this nine game losing streak?
2. How will the rest of the year go? Please tell me this isn't the second coming of 2009 DePaul.
Expectations aren't high. At least we have two games with DePaul this year. It worries me that DePaul somehow figured out to beat Marquette. Marquette has some real athletes. I hope we can manage at least a split with the Blue Demons, but a winless season in the Big East is a real possibility. Fred Hill won't be let go before the season ends, but he's losing the kids a bit more with each loss. He may have completely lost them at this point and that is sad for all involved.
3. Mike Rosario seems to be carrying the team with Echenique out. What has made him successful?
3. Mike Rosario seems to be carrying the team with Echenique out. What has made him successful?
Rosario is struggling and until we get another guy to step up and consistently put points on the board, Rosario will continue to have a tough season. Mike has been scoring of late, 15 against Georgetown and 16 against Marquette, but he's still only shooting 41% from the floor. Unfortunately, we need him to drain shots with more efficiency. Teams are content to let him go 6-18 from long range.
4. Who else can step up to the plate to provide some additional scoring?
4. Who else can step up to the plate to provide some additional scoring?
Junior Jonathan Mitchell and freshman Dane Miller have had big games. Miller went for 26 points against both Providence and Villanova while Mitchell struck for 21 against Georgetown. The problem is we can't get Rosario, Miller, and Mitchell to have solid games at the same time. Consistency is the problem. I expect one of them to lead the team in scoring while at least one of them will be a non-factor.
5. With no Echenique, does Rutgers have what it takes to stop Harangody in the post?
Hamady Ndiaye will give it all he's got, but if Notre Dame continually pounds the ball inside to Harangody it may get ugly. Harangody will likely get Ndiaye in foul trouble forcing RU to go to freshman Brian Okam. Okam will be overmatched and Harangody could have a monster game. Hopefully, Harangody will fall in love with the long-distance jumper against RU. In all likelihood, Harangody will have a great inside/out game. I just wonder who will be on hand to witness it. The team was selling $5 tickets. Never a good sign.
5. With no Echenique, does Rutgers have what it takes to stop Harangody in the post?
Rutgers Preview
Villanova-
Pomeroy Ranking- 177th
Record- 9-11 (0-8)
Best Win- Drexel (124th)
Worst Loss- Vermont (173rd)
Pomeroy Prediction- ND 80-74
Key Players-
#3 Mike Rosario- 15.3 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 32.4% 3PA- Not the biggest shooting guard in the world, and not a very good shooter. Has 90 more attempts than any other guy on the team in spite of these facts. Pass it a bit, bud.
#24 Jonathan Mitchell- 10.9 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 34.6% 3PA- Florida transfer has added a decent perimeter shooter to the team. Only player besides Rosario to earn more than 25 minutes a game.
#5 Hamady Ndiaye-9.1 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 4.7 BPG- Bigtime senior shock blocker. Can disappear on offense at times but has blocked as many as ten shots in a game this year.
Scouting Report-
Give up plenty of offensive rebounds.
Turn the ball over a lot.
Currently struggling through a nine game losing streak.
Pomeroy Ranking- 177th
Record- 9-11 (0-8)
Best Win- Drexel (124th)
Worst Loss- Vermont (173rd)
Pomeroy Prediction- ND 80-74
Key Players-
#3 Mike Rosario- 15.3 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 32.4% 3PA- Not the biggest shooting guard in the world, and not a very good shooter. Has 90 more attempts than any other guy on the team in spite of these facts. Pass it a bit, bud.
#24 Jonathan Mitchell- 10.9 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 34.6% 3PA- Florida transfer has added a decent perimeter shooter to the team. Only player besides Rosario to earn more than 25 minutes a game.
#5 Hamady Ndiaye-9.1 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 4.7 BPG- Bigtime senior shock blocker. Can disappear on offense at times but has blocked as many as ten shots in a game this year.
Scouting Report-
Give up plenty of offensive rebounds.
Turn the ball over a lot.
Currently struggling through a nine game losing streak.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Notre Dame 61, Rutgers 50
Win. That's all that matters in March. Survived tonight and now it's a four-game tournament just like last year.
Pretty solid D all night helped out by really bad Rutgers shooting all night. Our offense operated in fits and starts, however. Three or four cold stretches won't cut it against good teams.
Harangody got a lot of rest, leaving him ready to go the rest of the way. Unfortunately, part of the bench time was due to poor play. He kills us on offense when he falls in love with the fadeaway and the shots aren't falling. I love Luke as much as the next guy, but would it kill him to follow his shot once in a while? Why is the best rebounder int he Big East the first guy back on defense?
ESPN gave Tom Kopko an offensive rebound and a basket during the game, so no promises on these stats being correct.
Tory Jackson played really well and was so effective that Rutgers starting giving him the McAlarney treatment. Being faceguarded down the stretch kept Tory from handling the ball and really hurt our ability to kill the clock. Jackson finished with 12 points, 7 rebounds. Add in 2 assists with a nice shooting night from the floor.
Kyle McAlarney has an annoying tendency to make easy shots inside more difficult. Nice shooting night beyond the arc, 3-6 for 11 points, but he missed four makeable looks inside. One was a floater in the lane with too much arc. Just finish with a finger-roll or bank it off the glass, no need to use a low-percentage shot in a high-percentage situation. The other that really sticks out was a blocked layup after a great backdoor cut. With defenders guarding Mac so heavily on the perimeter, that cut will always be available. He did a nice job taking advantage but really has to learn how to finish. Those negative examples aside, solid game by Mac getting a couple open looks and not forcing anything.
Ayers had 10 points and 7 rebounds. Same story here, good shooting outside with nothing inside the arc. With Ryan the missed shots were midrange jumpers off the dribble. Once he actually posted up and tried to hit a turnaround in the lane. Poor two point shooting, but a very nice final stat line for Ryan. He'll need to rebound like that against a West Virginia team that relies so much on the offensive glass.
Zach Hillesland got some points on early midrange jumpers, but disappeared after the first few minutes. 6 points, 2 rebounds in 19 minutes. Good job by Coach Brey benching him down the stretch for a much more effective Ty Nash.
As mentioned, Harangody was really off tonight. Luke is great but his game really relies on a hot jumper. 3-17 will not cut it. 7 points, 11 rebounds. Only 24 minutes, so he should be fresh tomorrow, but he really has to come out and play well.
Off the bench, a great game by Ty Nash. 9 points, 4 rebounds in 21 minutes. Made both his shots. The most important stat tonight, however, was his 5-6 line shooting free throws. He was on the floor in crunch time and extended our lead to seven with a minute remaining. I yelled at the computer screen for Ty to get rid of the ball, but he really impressed with two clutch foul shots. Add in 3 assists (and a nice pass to a wide open Zeller who should have hit the three) and Nash was fantastic all around. Threw his weight around under the basket, picked up a few boards, knocked down shots from the line, and passed out of the low post to the open man. Great job, Ty. Zeller hit two clutch three pointers to keep Rutgers from really taking over the momentum. Jonathan Peoples struggled a bit with 2 turnovers in 12 minutes.
Avoided the first round loss that killed Cincy and G'town's chances. Now we have probably have to win two more. Last game against West Virginia was decided on the offensive glass. If we can cut into the ten offensive rebound advantage that the Mountaineers held in Morgantown and keep Alex Ruoff from taking over on offense, we have a shot.
Pretty solid D all night helped out by really bad Rutgers shooting all night. Our offense operated in fits and starts, however. Three or four cold stretches won't cut it against good teams.
Harangody got a lot of rest, leaving him ready to go the rest of the way. Unfortunately, part of the bench time was due to poor play. He kills us on offense when he falls in love with the fadeaway and the shots aren't falling. I love Luke as much as the next guy, but would it kill him to follow his shot once in a while? Why is the best rebounder int he Big East the first guy back on defense?
ESPN gave Tom Kopko an offensive rebound and a basket during the game, so no promises on these stats being correct.
Tory Jackson played really well and was so effective that Rutgers starting giving him the McAlarney treatment. Being faceguarded down the stretch kept Tory from handling the ball and really hurt our ability to kill the clock. Jackson finished with 12 points, 7 rebounds. Add in 2 assists with a nice shooting night from the floor.
Kyle McAlarney has an annoying tendency to make easy shots inside more difficult. Nice shooting night beyond the arc, 3-6 for 11 points, but he missed four makeable looks inside. One was a floater in the lane with too much arc. Just finish with a finger-roll or bank it off the glass, no need to use a low-percentage shot in a high-percentage situation. The other that really sticks out was a blocked layup after a great backdoor cut. With defenders guarding Mac so heavily on the perimeter, that cut will always be available. He did a nice job taking advantage but really has to learn how to finish. Those negative examples aside, solid game by Mac getting a couple open looks and not forcing anything.
Ayers had 10 points and 7 rebounds. Same story here, good shooting outside with nothing inside the arc. With Ryan the missed shots were midrange jumpers off the dribble. Once he actually posted up and tried to hit a turnaround in the lane. Poor two point shooting, but a very nice final stat line for Ryan. He'll need to rebound like that against a West Virginia team that relies so much on the offensive glass.
Zach Hillesland got some points on early midrange jumpers, but disappeared after the first few minutes. 6 points, 2 rebounds in 19 minutes. Good job by Coach Brey benching him down the stretch for a much more effective Ty Nash.
As mentioned, Harangody was really off tonight. Luke is great but his game really relies on a hot jumper. 3-17 will not cut it. 7 points, 11 rebounds. Only 24 minutes, so he should be fresh tomorrow, but he really has to come out and play well.
Off the bench, a great game by Ty Nash. 9 points, 4 rebounds in 21 minutes. Made both his shots. The most important stat tonight, however, was his 5-6 line shooting free throws. He was on the floor in crunch time and extended our lead to seven with a minute remaining. I yelled at the computer screen for Ty to get rid of the ball, but he really impressed with two clutch foul shots. Add in 3 assists (and a nice pass to a wide open Zeller who should have hit the three) and Nash was fantastic all around. Threw his weight around under the basket, picked up a few boards, knocked down shots from the line, and passed out of the low post to the open man. Great job, Ty. Zeller hit two clutch three pointers to keep Rutgers from really taking over the momentum. Jonathan Peoples struggled a bit with 2 turnovers in 12 minutes.
Avoided the first round loss that killed Cincy and G'town's chances. Now we have probably have to win two more. Last game against West Virginia was decided on the offensive glass. If we can cut into the ten offensive rebound advantage that the Mountaineers held in Morgantown and keep Alex Ruoff from taking over on offense, we have a shot.
Monday, March 09, 2009
Rutgers BET Preview
Rutgers-
Pomeroy Ranking- 142nd
Record- 11-20 (2-16)
Quality Wins- South Florida!
Bad Losses- St. Bonaventure, Lehigh, Binghamton
Previous Result- ND 70-65
Key Players-
#3 Mike Rosario- 6'3", 180 lbs.- 16.3 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 30.2% 3PA
#00 Gregory Echenique- 6'9", 260 lbs.- 8.5 PPG, 8.4 RPG
#2 Anthony Farmer- 6'1", 190 lbs.- 9.2 PPG, 2.7 APG, 29.4% 3PA
Previous Matchup-
Rutgers jumped out to a quick lead and was ahead by eight at the half.
Harangody's 20 and 15 led the team, helped by 18 points for Jackson and 13 for McAlarney.
Mike Rosario paced the Scarlet Knights with 20 points.
Pomeroy Ranking- 142nd
Record- 11-20 (2-16)
Quality Wins- South Florida!
Bad Losses- St. Bonaventure, Lehigh, Binghamton
Previous Result- ND 70-65
Key Players-
#3 Mike Rosario- 6'3", 180 lbs.- 16.3 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 30.2% 3PA
#00 Gregory Echenique- 6'9", 260 lbs.- 8.5 PPG, 8.4 RPG
#2 Anthony Farmer- 6'1", 190 lbs.- 9.2 PPG, 2.7 APG, 29.4% 3PA
Previous Matchup-
Rutgers jumped out to a quick lead and was ahead by eight at the half.
Harangody's 20 and 15 led the team, helped by 18 points for Jackson and 13 for McAlarney.
Mike Rosario paced the Scarlet Knights with 20 points.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Notre Dame 70, Rutgers 65
It counts as a win so I will treat it as such.
A first half of really uninspired basketball set the stage for a great second period. The lackluster final 4:15 put a damper on what should have been a pretty good story. In the end, however, we're one win closer to the postseason.
The ugly stuff first. That first half was just pathetic basketball. A Notre Dame team should never look so uninspired and get pushed around as much as this squad did for half of the game. Luke Harangody relied too heavily on a jumper that was not working and the rest of the team let a really bad group of Scarlet Knights outhustle and outwork them on both ends of the floor.
The last few minutes of the contest saw the Irish nearly squander away a well-earned twelve point lead. A two minute 9-0 run by Rutgers made the game competitive once again with just over two minutes left. The Irish then had to rely on poor free throw shooting and decision making to keep Rutgers off the board as ND could not buy a basket down the stretch. With a chance to ice the game, a really dumb offensive foul by Harangody (it was a bad call, but Luke shouldn't have even made it a possibility) gave Rutgers one last chance. Twenty-four minutes of really bad basketball all around.
That said, I'll focus on the positives a little more now. I'm not sure what Coach Brey said to the team at halftime (the speech would have included a lot of four-letter words and finger pointing if it had been me), but it worked. 14-4 run before the first TV timeout turned an eight point deficit into our first lead since the 17:35 mark of the first half. We usually come out flat at halftime, so it was nice to see the team hustle when we most needed it.
After trading baskets for a while, the Irish played ten consecutive minutes of hard-nosed basketball on both ends of the floor to turn a one-point deficit into a twelve point lead. Luke Harangody and Ty Nash took the ball to the rim inside, setting a physical tone that was missing the rest of the game.
Tory Jackson played very well, taking the ball to the hoop on a few occasions. 18 points on 6-10 shooting. Only four assists and three rebounds, but he kept the offense going on a couple second half drives.
Kyle McAlarney finished with 13 points, 4 assists, and 6 rebounds. He turned the ball over 4 times, a problem since he took over a lot of the ball handling from Jackson. However, he made his open looks and did not force anything tonight.
If you just told me Ryan Ayers went 0-6 from the floor, I would have responded that the senior had a terrible game. However, he played some strong defense, including a game-changing block early in the second half that set the tone for our run. That play was the most athletic sequence I have seen by anyone on the team this year. He got so high in the air that he was able to palm Hamady N'Diaye's layup and bring it down with one hand.
The only thing Zach Hillesland really did right tonight was sit on the bench for 28 minutes. While on the floor, he managed just one assist with two turnovers and two fouls. I'm glad Coach Brey took him out, but I question the substitution for Peoples over Nash.
Harangody forced the jumper all night. It was not falling, but he just kept at it. His 7-25 shooting nearly brought down the Irish tonight. Watch the tape and you'll see that at least four of those made baskets came on layups where he actually challenged the defender. I love Luke, but he falls in love with that baby hook and jumper too often. It almost killed us.
Ty Nash showed Harangody how to play on offense in 8 great minutes. 7 points, didn't miss a shot from the field. He does need to work on those free throws though. Not sure why he didn't earn more second half playing time because he sure showed some much-needed toughness on the floor. Luke Zeller was solid in 11 minutes. 7 points, 2 assists, no misses. Jonny Peeps grabbed 5 boards and played pretty well in 21 minutes. No complaint with him, I just wish we could have seen more Nash.
Off to Ash Wednesday mass. "Remember man, you are dust and to dust you shall return."
We're not dust yet, but definitely could have been the way we played most of the night. A 2-1 finish sets us up well for the BET. Go Irish, knock off the Huskies, and throw everyone's predictions out the window.
A first half of really uninspired basketball set the stage for a great second period. The lackluster final 4:15 put a damper on what should have been a pretty good story. In the end, however, we're one win closer to the postseason.
The ugly stuff first. That first half was just pathetic basketball. A Notre Dame team should never look so uninspired and get pushed around as much as this squad did for half of the game. Luke Harangody relied too heavily on a jumper that was not working and the rest of the team let a really bad group of Scarlet Knights outhustle and outwork them on both ends of the floor.
The last few minutes of the contest saw the Irish nearly squander away a well-earned twelve point lead. A two minute 9-0 run by Rutgers made the game competitive once again with just over two minutes left. The Irish then had to rely on poor free throw shooting and decision making to keep Rutgers off the board as ND could not buy a basket down the stretch. With a chance to ice the game, a really dumb offensive foul by Harangody (it was a bad call, but Luke shouldn't have even made it a possibility) gave Rutgers one last chance. Twenty-four minutes of really bad basketball all around.
That said, I'll focus on the positives a little more now. I'm not sure what Coach Brey said to the team at halftime (the speech would have included a lot of four-letter words and finger pointing if it had been me), but it worked. 14-4 run before the first TV timeout turned an eight point deficit into our first lead since the 17:35 mark of the first half. We usually come out flat at halftime, so it was nice to see the team hustle when we most needed it.
After trading baskets for a while, the Irish played ten consecutive minutes of hard-nosed basketball on both ends of the floor to turn a one-point deficit into a twelve point lead. Luke Harangody and Ty Nash took the ball to the rim inside, setting a physical tone that was missing the rest of the game.
Tory Jackson played very well, taking the ball to the hoop on a few occasions. 18 points on 6-10 shooting. Only four assists and three rebounds, but he kept the offense going on a couple second half drives.
Kyle McAlarney finished with 13 points, 4 assists, and 6 rebounds. He turned the ball over 4 times, a problem since he took over a lot of the ball handling from Jackson. However, he made his open looks and did not force anything tonight.
If you just told me Ryan Ayers went 0-6 from the floor, I would have responded that the senior had a terrible game. However, he played some strong defense, including a game-changing block early in the second half that set the tone for our run. That play was the most athletic sequence I have seen by anyone on the team this year. He got so high in the air that he was able to palm Hamady N'Diaye's layup and bring it down with one hand.
The only thing Zach Hillesland really did right tonight was sit on the bench for 28 minutes. While on the floor, he managed just one assist with two turnovers and two fouls. I'm glad Coach Brey took him out, but I question the substitution for Peoples over Nash.
Harangody forced the jumper all night. It was not falling, but he just kept at it. His 7-25 shooting nearly brought down the Irish tonight. Watch the tape and you'll see that at least four of those made baskets came on layups where he actually challenged the defender. I love Luke, but he falls in love with that baby hook and jumper too often. It almost killed us.
Ty Nash showed Harangody how to play on offense in 8 great minutes. 7 points, didn't miss a shot from the field. He does need to work on those free throws though. Not sure why he didn't earn more second half playing time because he sure showed some much-needed toughness on the floor. Luke Zeller was solid in 11 minutes. 7 points, 2 assists, no misses. Jonny Peeps grabbed 5 boards and played pretty well in 21 minutes. No complaint with him, I just wish we could have seen more Nash.
Off to Ash Wednesday mass. "Remember man, you are dust and to dust you shall return."
We're not dust yet, but definitely could have been the way we played most of the night. A 2-1 finish sets us up well for the BET. Go Irish, knock off the Huskies, and throw everyone's predictions out the window.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Rutgers Preview
This (along with St. John's) is one of the two "easy" games we need to finish 3-1. Take care of business, I don't care what it looks like.
Rutgers-
Pomeroy Ranking- 136th
Record- 10-17 (1-13)
Quality Wins- None (I guess beating Robert Morris doesn't count...)
Bad Losses- St. Bonaventure, Lehigh, Binghamton
Pomeroy Prediction- ND 80-65
Key Players-
#3 Mike Rosario- 6'3", 180 lbs.- 17.0 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 31.5% 3PA
#00 Gregory Echenique- 6'9", 260 lbs.- 8.8 PPG, 8.2 RPG
#2 Anthony Farmer- 6'1", 190 lbs.- 9.3 PPG, 2.8 APG, 30.9% 3PA
Scouting Report-
Really bad offense, scoring exactly one point per possession (191st in the country).
300th from beyond the arc at 30.9%.
Defending the three is the only thing they do especially well (30.6%- 18th).
Rutgers-
Pomeroy Ranking- 136th
Record- 10-17 (1-13)
Quality Wins- None (I guess beating Robert Morris doesn't count...)
Bad Losses- St. Bonaventure, Lehigh, Binghamton
Pomeroy Prediction- ND 80-65
Key Players-
#3 Mike Rosario- 6'3", 180 lbs.- 17.0 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 31.5% 3PA
#00 Gregory Echenique- 6'9", 260 lbs.- 8.8 PPG, 8.2 RPG
#2 Anthony Farmer- 6'1", 190 lbs.- 9.3 PPG, 2.8 APG, 30.9% 3PA
Scouting Report-
Really bad offense, scoring exactly one point per possession (191st in the country).
300th from beyond the arc at 30.9%.
Defending the three is the only thing they do especially well (30.6%- 18th).
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Notre Dame 71, Rutgers 68
Way too close, but a road win in this league is always something to celebrate. Irish are firmly in the driver's seat for a bye with a two-game lead over #5.
The statistics make this look like an easy win for Notre Dame. It was certainly anything but. Outshooting the Scarlet Knights 42% to 38% (47% to 36% from three), the Irish also controlled the glass with 43 rebounds to Rutgers' 35. Free throw totals were the same, but both teams handled the ball well, with Rutgers turning it over 9 times to Notre Dame's 12.
Of course, the numbers only tell part of the story. Rutgers, in losing their sixth straight, held a monopoly on hustle. It's always a tough game at the RAC, but the home team certainly seemed to want this one more. I blame the blue jerseys... don't want to see those things again.
The first half was decent, though not dominant, taking a 8 point lead into the break. The second half (almost all of which I saw, thanks to BW3's big screens), looked like a drawn out boxing match between two middleweights- solid D with stretches of poor offense marred by missed shots and turnovers. When I entered the restaurant, a Tory Jackson free throw put the Irish up 7 with 15:48 remaining. The next 2:27 saw Rutgers score on ever possession save one and turn it into a 50-48 lead for the home team.
Both teams continued to struggle for the next five and a half minutes, Notre Dame unable to retake the lead and Rutgers unable to put it away. A 90 second stretch by ND controlled by Tory Jackson and highlighted by two big three pointers gave the Irish an eight point advantage with six minutes to go.
The rest of the game, the Irish only managed six points, but were able to hang on just barely. Thank a bonehead move by Rutgers in deflecting a missed Harangody free throw out of bounds for keeping Notre Dame ahead.
Tory Jackson was the player of the game, no question. With Luke Harangody out of rhythm and Kyle McAlarney held in check, Jackson took control of the offense. His drives to the basket netted him 17 points, but the 10 assists came on great looks running up the floor. Kept the Notre Dame offense from getting completely out of synch and was able to put Scarlet Knights defenders on their heels with his penetration. 2-5 from the charity stripe, still a big weakness. However, he very nearly became the second Irish player to earn a triple double (Chris Thomas) with his eight rebounds. Glad to see the Tory from last year's Georgetown game back. We'll need to see that more often.
Kyle McAlarney couldn't figure out how to make those driving runners fall today. 4-7 from beyond the arc, but only 1-5 inside. The Rutgers defense did a great job stepping out on him and keeping Mac from taking over the contest. That three-point shooting line normally means more than 16 points for him. Did drain the two free throws at the end to keep it a three point contest.
Zach Hillesland had five points and six rebounds and gave the Irish some added life on the floor. His diving to grab and offensive rebound and subsequent timeout allowed Notre Dame to keep its four point lead and the momentum. While the team was unable to convert on the following possession, a quick Rutgers basket at that time would have been demoralizing after two Tory Jackson missed free throws.
Luke Harangody got into foul trouble and was out of synch most of the game. 10 points, 8 rebounds, but only 5-16 from the field. He was unable to get the jump hook to fall and was pushed around a bunch on defense (though some of his fouls were questionable and the foul trouble kept him a little passive). His point total marks the lowest of the year since Monmouth- the second game of the season. While 10 and 8 are nice games for most power forwards, it is insteresting to reflect on how dominant the big man has been. Only his second game of less than twenty points in the last seven contests. First game without a double-double in that span.
Many people wondered what had happened to Rob Kurz over the last two games. Some even called for Luke Zeller to start in his place, stating that Kurz was only getting the nod as the only senior. Rob Kurz was back today. 11 points, 14 rebounds. Not a great day shooting the ball, but his one made three pointer was a big one with 6:35 to play. His eighth double-double of the year and highest rebounding total of the season. Blocked three shots, a undervaled part of his game. Certainly looks to be back from the flu and stepped up with a disappointing performance by Luke Harangody.
Only Ryan Ayers picked up serious minutes off the bench. His 28 on the floor were more than what all but three players received on the team. 7 points, 4 rebounds. 1-2 from beyond the arc. Luke Zeller hit a good three pointer, but picked up only one rebound and two fouls in his eight minutes of action. Jonathan Peoples had two points in seven minutes.
Obviously, this was not a great trip to Piscataway, but there are few easy contests in the RAC. Rutgers has been pretty bad this year, but played Cincinnati tough and beat Villanova at home. Also won at Pittsburgh. Clearly they can rise to the occasion here and there. That's the great thing about college basketball and this league. Good teams can play poorly and bad teams can play well for 40 minutes, making for plenty of good drama.
Next week, we need to get Luke Harangody on a roll early. Games against Pittsburgh and Syracuse will certainly not be easy wins. If Tory Jackson can provide another great performance or two, we should be able to keep the streak going.
The statistics make this look like an easy win for Notre Dame. It was certainly anything but. Outshooting the Scarlet Knights 42% to 38% (47% to 36% from three), the Irish also controlled the glass with 43 rebounds to Rutgers' 35. Free throw totals were the same, but both teams handled the ball well, with Rutgers turning it over 9 times to Notre Dame's 12.
Of course, the numbers only tell part of the story. Rutgers, in losing their sixth straight, held a monopoly on hustle. It's always a tough game at the RAC, but the home team certainly seemed to want this one more. I blame the blue jerseys... don't want to see those things again.
The first half was decent, though not dominant, taking a 8 point lead into the break. The second half (almost all of which I saw, thanks to BW3's big screens), looked like a drawn out boxing match between two middleweights- solid D with stretches of poor offense marred by missed shots and turnovers. When I entered the restaurant, a Tory Jackson free throw put the Irish up 7 with 15:48 remaining. The next 2:27 saw Rutgers score on ever possession save one and turn it into a 50-48 lead for the home team.
Both teams continued to struggle for the next five and a half minutes, Notre Dame unable to retake the lead and Rutgers unable to put it away. A 90 second stretch by ND controlled by Tory Jackson and highlighted by two big three pointers gave the Irish an eight point advantage with six minutes to go.
The rest of the game, the Irish only managed six points, but were able to hang on just barely. Thank a bonehead move by Rutgers in deflecting a missed Harangody free throw out of bounds for keeping Notre Dame ahead.
Tory Jackson was the player of the game, no question. With Luke Harangody out of rhythm and Kyle McAlarney held in check, Jackson took control of the offense. His drives to the basket netted him 17 points, but the 10 assists came on great looks running up the floor. Kept the Notre Dame offense from getting completely out of synch and was able to put Scarlet Knights defenders on their heels with his penetration. 2-5 from the charity stripe, still a big weakness. However, he very nearly became the second Irish player to earn a triple double (Chris Thomas) with his eight rebounds. Glad to see the Tory from last year's Georgetown game back. We'll need to see that more often.
Kyle McAlarney couldn't figure out how to make those driving runners fall today. 4-7 from beyond the arc, but only 1-5 inside. The Rutgers defense did a great job stepping out on him and keeping Mac from taking over the contest. That three-point shooting line normally means more than 16 points for him. Did drain the two free throws at the end to keep it a three point contest.
Zach Hillesland had five points and six rebounds and gave the Irish some added life on the floor. His diving to grab and offensive rebound and subsequent timeout allowed Notre Dame to keep its four point lead and the momentum. While the team was unable to convert on the following possession, a quick Rutgers basket at that time would have been demoralizing after two Tory Jackson missed free throws.
Luke Harangody got into foul trouble and was out of synch most of the game. 10 points, 8 rebounds, but only 5-16 from the field. He was unable to get the jump hook to fall and was pushed around a bunch on defense (though some of his fouls were questionable and the foul trouble kept him a little passive). His point total marks the lowest of the year since Monmouth- the second game of the season. While 10 and 8 are nice games for most power forwards, it is insteresting to reflect on how dominant the big man has been. Only his second game of less than twenty points in the last seven contests. First game without a double-double in that span.
Many people wondered what had happened to Rob Kurz over the last two games. Some even called for Luke Zeller to start in his place, stating that Kurz was only getting the nod as the only senior. Rob Kurz was back today. 11 points, 14 rebounds. Not a great day shooting the ball, but his one made three pointer was a big one with 6:35 to play. His eighth double-double of the year and highest rebounding total of the season. Blocked three shots, a undervaled part of his game. Certainly looks to be back from the flu and stepped up with a disappointing performance by Luke Harangody.
Only Ryan Ayers picked up serious minutes off the bench. His 28 on the floor were more than what all but three players received on the team. 7 points, 4 rebounds. 1-2 from beyond the arc. Luke Zeller hit a good three pointer, but picked up only one rebound and two fouls in his eight minutes of action. Jonathan Peoples had two points in seven minutes.
Obviously, this was not a great trip to Piscataway, but there are few easy contests in the RAC. Rutgers has been pretty bad this year, but played Cincinnati tough and beat Villanova at home. Also won at Pittsburgh. Clearly they can rise to the occasion here and there. That's the great thing about college basketball and this league. Good teams can play poorly and bad teams can play well for 40 minutes, making for plenty of good drama.
Next week, we need to get Luke Harangody on a roll early. Games against Pittsburgh and Syracuse will certainly not be easy wins. If Tory Jackson can provide another great performance or two, we should be able to keep the streak going.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Rutgers Preview
UCONN needed overtime to beat South Florida by one. Truly the most surprising game of the year in the Big East. A Craig Austrie runner with 0.2 seconds left kept the Bulls from picking up conference win #3.
Speaking of surprising, how about Syracuse? Knocked off #8 Georgetown at the Carrier Dome. Their 16 point halftime lead was more than enough to help the Orange coast to the upset.
Now, tomorrow's contest. The Irish travel to New Jersey to take on the 10-16 Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Only 2-11 in the conference, Rutgers does boast wins over Villanova and Pittsburgh.
Starters:
#15 JR Inman- 12.9 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 32% 3PA
#2 Anthony Farmer- 10.3 PPG, 2.3 APG, 38% 3PA
#31 Mike Coburn- Freshman, 8.3 PPG, 2.3 APG, 36% 3PA
#32 Jaron Griffin- 7.8 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 25% 3PA
#5 Hamady N'Diaye- 6'11"- 5.4 PPG, 6.4 RPG
Bench-
#1 Corey Chandler- Freshman, 12.0 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 32% 3PA, 24.5 MPG
#21 Byron Joynes- 2.5 PPG, 5.2 RPG 19.1 MPG
#11 Earl Pettis- Freshman, 2.5 PPG, 1.8 RPG, 30.4% 3PA, 11.8 MPG
Rutgers has the lowest scoring offense in the conference at 62.9 PPG. Notre Dame has the highest at 80.7 PPG. Both allow 68.5 PPG on defense, exactly midway through the Big East.
Rutgers is a terrible shooting team, making only 40% of their attempts. 31% from beyond the arc. They allow 38 rebounds a game and have the worst turnover margin in the league. Assist/turnover ratio is 0.61 (Notre Dame is second highest at 1.38).
There really is little positive to say about the opponent. Ranked 205th in the RPI, Rutgers has no more than a 35% chance to win one of its last games (according to kenpom.com) and is the underdog by double digits in its next three contests.
The Irish should expect nothing less than a victory tomorrow. Need to get another Seton Hall-type win and avoid any possibility of a letdown, as UCONN found out today.
Speaking of surprising, how about Syracuse? Knocked off #8 Georgetown at the Carrier Dome. Their 16 point halftime lead was more than enough to help the Orange coast to the upset.
Now, tomorrow's contest. The Irish travel to New Jersey to take on the 10-16 Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Only 2-11 in the conference, Rutgers does boast wins over Villanova and Pittsburgh.
Starters:
#15 JR Inman- 12.9 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 32% 3PA
#2 Anthony Farmer- 10.3 PPG, 2.3 APG, 38% 3PA
#31 Mike Coburn- Freshman, 8.3 PPG, 2.3 APG, 36% 3PA
#32 Jaron Griffin- 7.8 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 25% 3PA
#5 Hamady N'Diaye- 6'11"- 5.4 PPG, 6.4 RPG
Bench-
#1 Corey Chandler- Freshman, 12.0 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 32% 3PA, 24.5 MPG
#21 Byron Joynes- 2.5 PPG, 5.2 RPG 19.1 MPG
#11 Earl Pettis- Freshman, 2.5 PPG, 1.8 RPG, 30.4% 3PA, 11.8 MPG
Rutgers has the lowest scoring offense in the conference at 62.9 PPG. Notre Dame has the highest at 80.7 PPG. Both allow 68.5 PPG on defense, exactly midway through the Big East.
Rutgers is a terrible shooting team, making only 40% of their attempts. 31% from beyond the arc. They allow 38 rebounds a game and have the worst turnover margin in the league. Assist/turnover ratio is 0.61 (Notre Dame is second highest at 1.38).
There really is little positive to say about the opponent. Ranked 205th in the RPI, Rutgers has no more than a 35% chance to win one of its last games (according to kenpom.com) and is the underdog by double digits in its next three contests.
The Irish should expect nothing less than a victory tomorrow. Need to get another Seton Hall-type win and avoid any possibility of a letdown, as UCONN found out today.
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