@Rutgers, Fri. Nov. 16, 7pm, BTN / 970 WNYM

St. John's has to disrupt Rutgers backcourt big time and make this a very fast game. I am looking for an excellent game from Simon. I stick with my earlier prediction of Johnnies by 5.
 
Paul's key to the game: Turnovers.
Rutgers limits turnovers and they will win. We force turnovers and limit our own and we will win.
 
Paultzman wrote: Down to 2 point favorite. Bet the rent on the Johnnies.

So long as we hit our free throws down the stretch. :)
 
[quote="Paultzman" post=302304]Down to 2 point favorite. Bet the rent on the Johnnies. :)[/quote]

Maybe if the rent were in a small town in Idaho or North Dakota...wouldn't advise it in NYC/LI/Westchester ;)

These next few games IMO will tell us if we have any real chance at the tournament or if it's more of the same. These are bottom barrel F5 teams in Georgia Tech, Cal, and Rutgers. Would be nice to show clear separation from them but I'm pretty nervous. How about we finally blow Rutgers out and do the opposite of what's expected in a positive way? I keep waiting for our obvious talent advantage to show against some of these less talented teams, but for some reason it seems the talent discrepancy doesn't matter when we run into well-coached teams. Let's hope our coaches prepared the team.
 
I don't have a good feeling about this game at all. I hope I am very wrong. As Mike Zaun said, well coached teams give us problems. Rutgers is well coached now, playing at the RAC , no Keita, Mullin's seemingly unwillingness to extend the bench at all, still have trouble defending the three, Lack of rebounding prowess and they have a lot of size, just seems like a recipe for disaster.
 
Hoping to see progress with this team tonight. Need to see better defense, rebounding and coaching. Gotta get Josh Roberts involved.
 
[quote="Knight" post=302338]Hoping to see progress with this team tonight. Need to see better defense, rebounding and coaching. Gotta get Josh Roberts involved.[/quote]

We all have this backup QB tendency. I do as well. Except coach and staff have seen Roberts in practice for over a month. They have had a chance to evaluate him, and know what he can and can't do. It's obvious, as desperate as we are for size, that they would like to go with an undersized roster before using him. At some point, because of another injury or foul troubles, they may have to roll the dice.Mullin may not be an accomplished coach, but I'm sure he can evaluate talent.
 
[quote="Mean Gene" post=302331]I don't have a good feeling about this game at all. I hope I am very wrong. As Mike Zaun said, well coached teams give us problems. Rutgers is well coached now, playing at the RAC , no Keita, Mullin's seemingly unwillingness to extend the bench at all, still have trouble defending the three, Lack of rebounding prowess and they have a lot of size, just seems like a recipe for disaster.[/quote]

I just don't understand this "well coached teams give us problems". Which teams are not well coached?
 
[quote="Room112" post=302343][quote="Mean Gene" post=302331]I don't have a good feeling about this game at all. I hope I am very wrong. As Mike Zaun said, well coached teams give us problems. Rutgers is well coached now, playing at the RAC , no Keita, Mullin's seemingly unwillingness to extend the bench at all, still have trouble defending the three, Lack of rebounding prowess and they have a lot of size, just seems like a recipe for disaster.[/quote]

I just don't understand this "well coached teams give us problems". Which teams are not well coached?[/quote]
Why would you tee that one up?
 
Slightly off topic, but a couple of interesting tourney games on ESPN2 this afternoon for the retirees among us:

St. Joe's vs. UCF at 1:30 and Cuse vs. Oregon at 4:30.
 
I think if we get the big game version of this team where there is energy defensively, commitment to pushing pace, and our best players play like they have a chip to demonstrate they are the best players on the court, SJU will get this important game. Can't just bring this intensity against Novas and Dukes of the world.

I think if we get the pre-season version of this team it will be a frustrating and sloppy loss in a winnable game and the margin for future OOC error between now and Cameron Indoor becomes almost non-existent :)
 
80 -74 good guys
Ponds and Heron combine for 57 points
Simon and Figs combine for almost around 20 boards.
Dixon closes out on a three point shooter
Roberts duplicates Keita production-o points 2 boards 1 block 3 fouls in 5 mins.
 
The reality is that this is a Big Ten team and if you hope to compete strongly in the Big East, these are games you must win. If they can't beat Rutgers, they either need to improve a heck of a lot over the next month, or our season is likely to be rough.

Injury to Keita or not, we put 5 athletic guys on the floor who must take advantage of their superior quickness, athleticism and talent. Cannot be afraid of games like this. A loss would be a wakeup call, so our guys had better be ready. A win is not assured, and tonight is an opportunity to serve notice that even without a center this is a pretty good squad
 
[quote="Beast of the East" post=302360]The reality is that this is a Big Ten team and if you hope to compete strongly in the Big East, these are games you must win. If they can't beat Rutgers, they either need to improve a heck of a lot over the next month, or our season is likely to be rough.

Injury to Keita or not, we put 5 athletic guys on the floor who must take advantage of their superior quickness, athleticism and talent. Cannot be afraid of games like this. A loss would be a wakeup call, so our guys had better be ready. A win is not assured, and tonight is an opportunity to serve notice that even without a center this is a pretty good squad[/quote]

Very well said, agree across the board. Important game on a number of fronts.
 
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