Uh, Rutger, you had but one job...
Up 9 with less than five minutes left, give up 14-2 run, losing the ball on their penultimate possession, and bricking a potentially game tying three at the buzzer.
B1G basketball, it's fantastic!
March 21st, 2021 at 11:30 PM ^
That's kind of the point though.
With a minute and half left and only a 3 point lead, you probably are going to have to score again to win.
Given that you need to score, it makes more sense to set up a play to attempt to get off your best shot. The worst that could happen is that you score "too soon" and force Houston to keep pace.
Running down 20 seconds and throwing up some off balance junk at the end of the clock that has no chance of going in, just wastes a possession.
This was a meltdown.
One for the ages
All came down to that missed dunk that would have put them up 10. That would have sealed it.
Somewhere EJ Liddell shivered.
March 21st, 2021 at 10:22 PM ^
Somewhere, but not in Indianapolis
Not only did he miss the dunk, but Houston grabbed the rebound and ran down for a transition 3. It was a 5-pt swing that turned the game.
I only watched the last 5-10 min, but those refs basically gave the game to Houston. Rutgers players were getting some serious contact on most offensive possessions and no calls - same contact on Houston's possessions ended in FTs.
The refs alao missed an incredibly obvious kicked ball call on Houston which led directly to a Houston dunk.
March 21st, 2021 at 10:00 PM ^
Speaking of refs, did anyone see the last two possessions Texas Tech had trying to tie the game? Missed two layups but obvious fouls on both plays and no calls. I would be incensed if I were Beard.
All I could do is shake my head and think, "that is soooo Rutger."
The joys of experiencing a win in the tourney only for the eventual, inevitable heartbreaking loss. Rite of passage.
Example number 5,634,852 of how killing the clock generally just kills your chances of winning.
It didn't help, but also Rutgers isn't particularly good at scoring and they just hit a bad stretch when Houston started getting some questionable FT attempts thrown in. This tournament has done a good job at showing us all that single-elimination basketball may not be the best barometer for determining who's the best team in the country.
They definitely suck at offense.
Dont worry 90% of college basketball coaches will always do this until the sun finally explodes.
Also true.
Agree, takes the offense out of rhythm. But the thing I hate even more is when the team is up and the player *chooses* to get fouled instead of passing up ahead to his teammate with the open layup.
If the player keeps the ball and gets fouled then the clock immediately stops and there is no guaranty that both free throws are made. If player passes to his teammate, more time can be burned off and layups are higher percentage shots.
It's a sad state of affairs when we're relying on Rutger to fight for the honor of the B1G. Sigh.
Does anyone really care about the honor of the Big Ten? Illinois making a Final Four run or Rutgers making the Sweet Sixteen would have no bearing on how I will feel tomorrow if Michigan wins or loses.
I agree. Who in this conference roots for us when we play?
March 21st, 2021 at 10:18 PM ^
O, o, o, I can answer that one.
Not a f’ng single one of those bastards.
March 21st, 2021 at 10:38 PM ^
I have no loyalty to the big 10 conference in the tournament! I just care about Michigan! I figure if a big 10 team goes far I think it will help there recruiting and brand which obviously I don't want!
Tough day for the Big10
I think the Big Ten is being cursed for moving their conference tournament to Indianapolis and having their teams camp out there a week early to try gain an advantage. Is being isolated in Indianapolis for so long affecting the play of the teams?
Biggest choke job in tournament history ?
Up 9 -- 1:40 left ,shooting the ball with 22 left on shot clock . Get a steal then tries an alley oop with 21 on shot shot .
14-2 run in the final 2:07
That timeline isn’t quite right. The alley-oop was with about 4 minutes left.
By the time there were 2 minutes left, the Rutgers lead was down to 2 or 4.
March 21st, 2021 at 10:20 PM ^
Rutgers' blown lead was bad, but it is definitely not the worst "come from ahead loss" in NCAA history.
Northern Iowa vs. Texas A&M a few years ago (2016).
Northern Iowa led by 12 points with 35 seconds left. They lost.
March 21st, 2021 at 11:49 PM ^
Is this true? That's fucking astounding.
Also, important to remember- never over till it's over, eh?
Good antidote to the complacency bug.
March 21st, 2021 at 11:58 PM ^
Yep, it was stunning (I was watching this one live).
+1 for proper use of penultimate.
I mean Wisconsin and Rutgers held their own in games they were outgunned granted Houston has some injury issues to sort out. Our story is yet to be written. We can still be the standard bearer for the conference and make a run. Who knows but yeah so far the conference has not done the greatest. But as the announcers have said in the game it’s how you finish not how you start.
Myles Johnson is going to be beside himself after this one. Missed wide open alley oop, missed tip in, could have dropped the ball on the Houston guy’s head instead of trying to take his head off. The guy was already standing out of bounds.
how do you miss a guy that close to you ? and Johnson threw both the backcourt passes that led to direct layups for Houston in the final 90 seconds
This is my fault. I turned the game on thinking it might be neat to see Sampson and his cheating get sent home early. Johnson proceeded to doink that alley-oop and the rest was history. It was bad enough that I went back to look at Rutger’s stats for the season. I figured several players must’ve been hurt for that guy to be out there for that crunch time gong show. Nope, turns out it’s just Rutger.
After all the accolades, the B1G is turning out to be the worse conference in the tourney. I'm already looking at an LSU upset. I hope I'm wrong but just part of the B1G.
Meh, if we win tomorrow (which is no certainty), this will be the best/most fun first weekend of the tournament i can remember. Fuck osu, msu and illinois. Don’t care about Rutgers or wisky. Maybe us and Iowa can make a run
March 21st, 2021 at 10:34 PM ^
I could see Iowa making a run. Us? Not so much. Our tourney hopes went down with Isiah’s foot.
March 21st, 2021 at 11:17 PM ^
Get these negative vibes out of here. Christ.
March 21st, 2021 at 10:07 PM ^
Which of the major conferences have covered themselves in glory so far?
March 21st, 2021 at 10:58 PM ^
I was just about to write something like this. I think only the Pac-12 can really puff their chest out right now, and does anyone really believe any of their teams have a realistic shot of winning the National Championship? I guess the way things have been going in this tournament who knows.
March 22nd, 2021 at 12:33 AM ^
Furthermore, the whole "B1G is exposed as overrated" narrative is ephemeral and meaningless in the long term. Without looking it up, who can tell me which conference performed worst relative to expectations in the 2019 tourney? And how much will this year's results affect seeding next year?
That was an epic collapse, even for Rutger
Very disappointing, I must say
Florida just lost to ORU, so both of Urban Meyer's most recent stops have been defeated by a...let's just say, controversial, figure's self-named college.
Why do people care about how the conference does? I want every B10 team to lose except Michigan.
March 21st, 2021 at 10:01 PM ^
I agree. But it does make me more nervous about Michigan's chances.
March 21st, 2021 at 11:03 PM ^
I think losing Livers has more to do with that than how the Big Ten teams have played. Illinois got a criminally underseeded Loyola as an #8 seed and had a terrible gameplan today. I think Rutgers, Wisconsin, and Maryland have more than held their own in this tournament so far. MSU played like MSU. OSU was the real major disappointment, but Oral Roberts did just beat Florida too.
March 21st, 2021 at 10:16 PM ^
This is my thought too. It’s not like anyone else in the big ten is rooting for us out of some stupid (incredibly esssss-eeeeee-ceeeeeee) sense of conference loyalty. If we win tomorrow, this will be my all-time favorite first weekend of the tournament probably ever. MSU loses to a shit UCLA team and fails to actually make the tourney when they would’ve had an easy path to a deep run otherwise. Then OSU gacks one away as a 2 seed. Then Illinois gets owned by Loyola. It’s been glorious - fuck all those teams.
What kind of Michigan fan roots for osu, msu or illinois to win?
And we were counting on Rutger to defend the honor of the Big Ten? Yikes.
Really terrible coaching in the last minute and a half.