ST. BONA UPSETS RUTGERS FOR CHALLENGE TITLE

by Ray Floriani


PISCATAWAY, NJ – It was a ‘grind it out’ game in the words of St.Bonaventure coach Mark Schmidt. It was an accurate assessment as St.Bonaventure upset Rutgers 64-63 in overtime at the Rutgers Athletic Center. The loss was the Scarlet Knights’ first of the season.

Three keys to the contest:
1. Rebounding – Entering the game this was a concern for St.Bonaventure against a bigger Rutgers frontcourt. The Bonnies won the battle of the boards and even had a 23-13 edge on the offensive glass. Rutgers coach Fred Hill noted on numerous occasions his team had their hands on the ball and lost it. “Rebounds are crucial when the game is close and each possession is important,” Hill said. ”We have to be stronger with the ball.”

2. Offensive execution – Hill said that Rutgers did what was needed the final five minutes of the game and overtime. But the rest of the game was a different story. “We didn’t do a good job in our ‘sudden’ set,” Hill said. In that particular set the Rutgers offense is in transition and enters an offense designed for a quick and good shot opportunity. “Credit their (St.Bonaventure) defense,” Hill said. “Their defense was solid.”

3. Turnovers – Before the game Rutgers assistant Darren Savino remarked that keeping turnovers to a minimum was a Rutgers priority. Rutgers finished with 15 turnovers but had 11 the first half. That was crucial because those losses of the ball prevented Rutgers from going on any run. St.Bonaventure stayed even and trailed by one at the half. “The longer we hung around the more our confidence grew,” noted Bonnie coach Mark Schmidt.

The final numbers….
.................Possessions...................Efficiency
St.Bonaventure........69..........................93
Rutgers...............72..........................88

Stat of note: St. Bonaventure enjoyed an offensive rebounding percentage of 46%. That number is derived in this manner. OR PCT = OR / (OR = Opp Def RB)

A number of 40% or more is virtually off the charts and greatly increases your college basketball odds of winning.

Hill praised the work of J.R. Inman who began the year out with a suspension. Inman played 16 minutes and had 5 points but drew accolades from Hill for blocking a potential game winning shot by the Bonnies Jonathan Hall in regulation.

Mike Rosario and Greg Echenique led Rutgers with 14 points each. Echenique celebrated his birthday with a double double as he added 14 boards. Bonnies were paced by Hall’s 18 point 9 rebound effort.

Game was the last for both teams in the Garden State Challenge. The win gave the Bonnies the championship as they finished 3-1 as did Rutgers.

Savino also remarked that, ”Outside of North Carolina, St. Bonaventure has the best talent one through ten (players) of any non-conference team on our schedule."

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RUTGERS WIN OVER MARIST WRAP-UP

by Ray Floriani


Coach Fred Hill was pleased with the Scarlet Knight win noting, “we did the things and made the plays we needed to win. Corey Chandler in particular made a few big plays.”

Hill had Rutgers scrimmage UMASS specifically to prepare for the dribble drive motion offense. It is tough to defend especially if you have never played it. And seeing it on film is nowhere near playing it. UMASS is coached by Derek Kellogg. Both he and Marist coach Chucky Martin served as John Calipari assistants at Memphis before securing their present positions last Spring.

Mike Rosario led Rutgers with 17 points. Rosario did not force things and passed up a few early shot possibilities to look for team mates on screen and rolls. The Scarlet Knight freshman is a scorer but plays very well in the framework of the offense. He is also very dangerous in transition.

St.Anthony assistants were on hand. Ben Gamble, one of the Friar assistants, was shocked to hear Marist was picked for the bottom of their MAAC conference by some publications. Gamble also noted Dominic Cheek was visiting Memphis for the weekend.

Several players went down late in the game due to cramps as the unseasonable warm night was felt in the Rutgers Athletic Center.

Fred Hill was chatting informally after the game when it was pointed out the Big East team pennants behind the hanging from the rafters of the one baseline gave a formidable display of marquee programs. “When my guys let up in practice,” Hill said, “I just point to those banners and remind them of their competition. They get the message.”

Consensus at the RAC was this was a game Rutgers may have lost a year ago and their college basketball odds of winning have improved this season. A big reason for the win was the 16 blocks that tied a school record and negated a good part of Marist’s penetration. Hamady N'Diaye led with 8 while another impressive frosh Greg Echenique added 6.

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RUTGERS SURVIVES MAAC SCARE

by Ray Floriani

PISCATAWAY, NJ - Rutgers survived a scare against Marist on Friday evening. The Scarlet Knights held on for a 63-61 victory. On the positive side, the young Rutgers squad made the plays down the stretch to win, which could help their NCAA Basketball Odds of winning as the season moves along. Both clubs were turnover prone with more TO than field goals the first half. By the numbers…

............1st half TO.......1st half FG.......TO Rate

Marist.........9.................8................25%

Rutgers........10................9................27%


After intermission the miscues were decreased as the final game stats showed Marist with a 17% TO rate and Rutgers at 19%.

The Final totals were:
...........Poss.....efficiency
Marist......71.6.........85
Rutgers.....68.3.........92

Rutgers defended well overall. Marist’s dribble drive motion offense (new mentor Chuck Martin worked with John Calipari at Memphis) caused problems but the visitors had trouble penetrating. The Scarlet Knights tied a school record with 16 blocks. Hamady Ndaye led with 8 while freshman Gregory Echinique was impressive with 6.

Freshman Mike Rosario led all scorers with 17 points. Rosario was effective in the framework of the offense and started the contest looking to pass more off screen and rolls. He was 7 of 15 from the floor (3 of 8 from 3) and only forced two shots (at most)on errant drives.

The detractors say Rutgers struggled against a team picked near the bottom of the MAAC, The ‘half full’ crowd led by Rutgers coach Fred Hill pointed out that Marist posed a defensive problem with their style yet Rutgers , for the most part, gave a good defensive effort (as game efficiency bears out). And in the stretch Rutgers made the plays they needed to secure the win.

Be back with a follow up later in the weekend.

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BIG EAST FOOTBALL PREVIEW GAME #10: RUTGERS

November 15, 2008


The Rutgers Scarlet Knight put their three game win streak on the line Saturday at high noon when they travel to South Florida for a Big East showdown. The Bulls, on the other hand, look to stop their slide as they have lost three of four and right their season.

Rutgers started slowly last week, falling behind Syracuse 14-0, but rallied and dominated the Orange the rest of the way to win going away, 35-17. After scoring just 79 points in their first six games against Division 1-A opponents, RU has racked up 89 points in their last two games (54 against Pitt, 35 against SU) and find themselves at 3-2 in the Big East and 4-5 overall.

Quarterback Mike Teel has been the catalyst of the turnaround, throwing for 637 yards and nine touchdowns in the two games and his improved efficiency has helped running back Kordell Young find more room. Young gained 143 yards last week against Syracuse.

The Bulls will be glad to be home after two road losses against Cincinnati and Louisville, but the season is slipping away and Matt Groethe really struggled against the Bearcats, completing just 13 of 31 and being intercepted three times.

Both teams have their sights set on the college bowls and need to finish strong. The current NCAA Football Odds have South Florida as an 8 1/2-point favorite, which seems awfully high with the way the Bulls have been struggling. Look for a tight contest that could come down to the foot of a kicker.

Prediction:

South Florida 27
Rutgers 24

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BIG EAST FOOTBALL PREVIEW: GAME #9 RUTGERS

November 7, 2008


As improbable as it sounded just a few short weeks ago, the Rutgers football team is working on playing themselves into bowl contention. With their remaining schedule, having to win at least three of four to get eligible is not an improbable propisition, in fact, I would almost Bet on Rutgers to do it.

After a 1-5 start where they did not earn a win against a single 1-A football program, Rutgers has turned the ship around with an ugly 12-10 home win over UConn and a statment road win at Pittsburgh in which they scored 54 points on the Panthers. How remarkable was that outburst? In the previous six games against 1-A opponents, RU averaged a pathetic 13 points a game!

Syracuse also enters the game in a positive move. The Orange matched their conference win total of 2006 and 2007 last week when they upset Louisville in the Carrier Dome, 28-21, earning their first Big East win of 2008. It was also their first win against a 1-A club this year.

The latest college football odds indicate Rutgers as a 14 1/2 point favorite. Pittsburgh-explosion aside, that is a lot of points for a team that has tremendous trouble scoring. Syracuse has been playing a little better under Greg Robinson lately and they should be able to keep the game from getting out of control. Both teams will look to run the ball, so this should be a rather low scoring affair.

Prediction:

Rutgers 21
Syracuse 13

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