RAPID REACTION - Northwestern

[Degaz-RU]

1. Another game, another 30-point night for Tariq Francis (off the bench LOL). I think we have a big enough sample size to conclude that Francis is a “Big Ten-quality” guard. We don’t win this game without his offense and other contributions. 30 points on 10-22 from the field, 2-4 on threes, 8-9 FTs, 3 rebounds and 3 assists.

2. Pike doesn’t run an offense. We know that. It’s a little motion and then iso for the most part. BUT - he pushed the right buttons tonight with the rotations. Grant had the flu, so Buchanan gets the start. And with NW not having a strong inside presence at center, Pike starts Dortch to give us more mobility on defense. No, I didn’t like Zrno starting and playing enough to hoist 6 threes — all open shots, and all bricks — but Pike did pull him 3 minutes into the 2nd half, and I don’t think he returned. Instead, Pike rode JMike, Francis, Buchanan, Dortch, and alternating between Powers, Grant and Nwuli. I never thought, “why is HE in the game?” in the 2nd half.

3. Buchanan was a warrior tonight in 41 minutes. He scored 14 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, dished out 2 assists, and had ZERO turnovers. He was only 6-10 from the foul line, and missed one that could’ve sealed the victory with 2 seconds left in regulation. But he had the game-sealing block after missing a FT with just a few seconds left. He ran back down the court and perfectly timed his block, reminiscent of the Caleb McConnell block to propel Rutgers to that comeback win over Ohio State a few years ago. This was the third good game in a row for Buchanan, as he has finally started playing within himself and is not forcing things.

4. Nick Martinelli is a certified bucket. The guy is money in the mid range and at the line, finishing with a career high 34 points. But he didn’t get much help. Only Page (14 points) and West (9 points on 3 threes) provided any consistent help on offense. After hitting their first 4 threes, NW went 2 of their last 14 to finish a pedestrian 6-18 from deep.

5. Rutgers got contributions from a few guys. JMike proved once again to be our best 3-pt shooter (2-2), but he also finished with 10 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal on a night that he was in foul trouble and fouled out after only playing 26 minutes. He also ran the offense efficiently and had 0 TOs. Kaden Powers finished with 9 points on 4-8 shooting, plus 5 rebounds and 3 assists in just 23 minutes.

6. I also liked what I saw from Chris Nwuli in 13 minutes. He plays defense, but he also had 5 points (hit a 3 plus two FTs) and had 5 strong rebounds. He also made a sneaky good play on that final sequence. As the NW guy was driving toward the basket, he made a clear effort to AVOID fouling as the guy went by him. Most players — especially freshmen — would’ve attempted to make a heroic defensive play there, but the NW kid was already turning the corner, and Nwuli made the smart decision to avoid making contact, enabling Buchanan to fly down and get the game sealing block.

7. This was a critical win in the competition to stay out of the cellar. The bottom five will CLEARLY be Rutgers, Maryland, Oregon, Northwestern, and Penn State, and we now are 2-4 with both wins coming against two of those teams (Oregon, NW). Oregon is 1-4, but the others are 0-5. We play both Penn State and Maryland twice, but not until late February and early March.

8. The next seven games are going to be rough.

@ Wisconsin
@ Iowa
Indiana
MSU
@ USC
@ UCLA
Nebraska

Highly likely we go 0-7 in that stretch. Have to hope we can steal one against Indiana at home or maybe USC on the road.

Then the last 7 games consist of two each against MD and PSU, and single games @ Minnesota, home for Washington, and @msu.

 

[cubuffsdoug_rivals]

1. Another game, another 30-point night for Tariq Francis (off the bench LOL). I think we have a big enough sample size to conclude that Francis is a “Big Ten-quality” guard. We don’t win this game without his offense and other contributions. 30 points on 10-22 from the field, 2-4 on threes, 8-9 FTs, 3 rebounds and 3 assists.

2. Pike doesn’t run an offense. We know that. It’s a little motion and then iso for the most part. BUT - he pushed the right buttons tonight with the rotations. Grant had the flu, so Buchanan gets the start. And with NW not having a strong inside presence at center, Pike starts Dortch to give us more mobility on defense. No, I didn’t like Zrno starting and playing enough to hoist 6 threes — all open shots, and all bricks — but Pike did pull him 3 minutes into the 2nd half, and I don’t think he returned. Instead, Pike rode JMike, Francis, Buchanan, Dortch, and alternating between Powers, Grant and Nwuli. I never thought, “why is HE in the game?” in the 2nd half.

3. Buchanan was a warrior tonight in 41 minutes. He scored 14 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, dished out 2 assists, and had ZERO turnovers. He was only 6-10 from the foul line, and missed one that could’ve sealed the victory with 2 seconds left in regulation. But he had the game-sealing block after missing a FT with just a few seconds left. He ran back down the court and perfectly timed his block, reminiscent of the Caleb McConnell block to propel Rutgers to that comeback win over Ohio State a few years ago. This was the third good game in a row for Buchanan, as he has finally started playing within himself and is not forcing things.

4. Nick Martinelli is a certified bucket. The guy is money in the mid range and at the line, finishing with a career high 34 points. But he didn’t get much help. Only Page (14 points) and West (9 points on 3 threes) provided any consistent help on offense. After hitting their first 4 threes, NW went 2 of their last 14 to finish a pedestrian 6-18 from deep.

5. Rutgers got contributions from a few guys. JMike proved once again to be our best 3-pt shooter (2-2), but he also finished with 10 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal on a night that he was in foul trouble and fouled out after only playing 26 minutes. He also ran the offense efficiently and had 0 TOs. Kaden Powers finished with 9 points on 4-8 shooting, plus 5 rebounds and 3 assists in just 23 minutes.

6. I also liked what I saw from Chris Nwuli in 13 minutes. He plays defense, but he also had 5 points (hit a 3 plus two FTs) and had 5 strong rebounds. He also made a sneaky good play on that final sequence. As the NW guy was driving toward the basket, he made a clear effort to AVOID fouling as the guy went by him. Most players — especially freshmen — would’ve attempted to make a heroic defensive play there, but the NW kid was already turning the corner, and Nwuli made the smart decision to avoid making contact, enabling Buchanan to fly down and get the game sealing block.

7. This was a critical win in the competition to stay out of the cellar. The bottom five will CLEARLY be Rutgers, Maryland, Oregon, Northwestern, and Penn State, and we now are 2-4 with both wins coming against two of those teams (Oregon, NW). Oregon is 1-4, but the others are 0-5. We play both Penn State and Maryland twice, but not until late February and early March.

8. The next seven games are going to be rough.

@ Wisconsin
@ Iowa
Indiana
MSU
@ USC
@ UCLA
Nebraska

Highly likely we go 0-7 in that stretch. Have to hope we can steal one against Indiana at home or maybe USC on the road.

Then the last 7 games consist of two each against MD and PSU, and single games @ Minnesota, home for Washington, and @msu.

Piss me off, we blew that game against Ohio State.

 

[RUSCFORMERLYRULOU]

Glad for the kids. Francis is definitely better than I thought. Euros both unplayable as is Ogbole. Definitely not a good NW team, and agree that we’ll lose the next 7. As far as Pike and the long term future of this program it changes nothing.

 

[ancienthooper]

Glad for the kids. Francis is definitely better than I thought. Euros both unplayable as is Ogbole. Definitely not a good NW team, and agree that we’ll lose the next 7. As far as Pike and the long term future of this program it changes nothing.

What a bright ray of sunshine you are.

 

[G- RUnit]

Wish with our new found confidence that we had OSU back.
Like that team is improving.

When JMack when out we had a nice comeback from a 12 percent deficit with Francis, Mark and Powers in the first half. Saved the game.

With apologies to Degaz, but Francis is still our best shooter, three point or otherwise.

Powers has a pretty stroke too. JMike after a bad first half had a very nice 2nd half.

Buchanan growing and getting better before our eyes. So is Dortch. Worried a tiny bit about Grant.

Pike pressing all right buttons and adroitly managed a 12 point deficit. He deserves a lot of credit, the bashers aside. Another Nice comeback win as an underdog. Outcoached Collins and Altman in 10 days.

If Znro hits good wide open threes might have been an ez win. He has to start hitting.

Next games are tough but in a glass is full vein, three of our four losses are to three of the top teams in the league in Purdue, Michigan and Illinois.

In the words of Bob Wenzel, “Dream Big Dreams!”

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

Glad for the kids. Francis is definitely better than I thought. Euros both unplayable as is Ogbole. Definitely not a good NW team, and agree that we’ll lose the next 7. As far as Pike and the long term future of this program it changes nothing.

We’re a weak enough team without fans like you having to come on and exaggerate our reality inappropriately. NW wasn’t the best match up for Ogbole. Meanwhile he had 4 points on 2-3 shooting and 4 rebounds in only 14 minutes. that’s your definition of unplayable? Come on man. Nobody thinks he’s a good starting center but he does not fall into the unplayable category. Not close. Hes a utility caliber type thrust into a starting role on a bad team.

 

[fatsam98]

Good post/summary.

If this game doesn't cement it in Pike's mind that the Euros can't get minutes, I'm not sure what will. It feels like Zrno is 5-96 on the year with none of the 91 misses being close. No need for either to get minutes anymore unless it's an emergency.

Let the "true" freshmen develop.

 

[RU848789]

1. Another game, another 30-point night for Tariq Francis (off the bench LOL). I think we have a big enough sample size to conclude that Francis is a “Big Ten-quality” guard. We don’t win this game without his offense and other contributions. 30 points on 10-22 from the field, 2-4 on threes, 8-9 FTs, 3 rebounds and 3 assists.

2. Pike doesn’t run an offense. We know that. It’s a little motion and then iso for the most part. BUT - he pushed the right buttons tonight with the rotations. Grant had the flu, so Buchanan gets the start. And with NW not having a strong inside presence at center, Pike starts Dortch to give us more mobility on defense. No, I didn’t like Zrno starting and playing enough to hoist 6 threes — all open shots, and all bricks — but Pike did pull him 3 minutes into the 2nd half, and I don’t think he returned. Instead, Pike rode JMike, Francis, Buchanan, Dortch, and alternating between Powers, Grant and Nwuli. I never thought, “why is HE in the game?” in the 2nd half.

3. Buchanan was a warrior tonight in 41 minutes. He scored 14 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, dished out 2 assists, and had ZERO turnovers. He was only 6-10 from the foul line, and missed one that could’ve sealed the victory with 2 seconds left in regulation. But he had the game-sealing block after missing a FT with just a few seconds left. He ran back down the court and perfectly timed his block, reminiscent of the Caleb McConnell block to propel Rutgers to that comeback win over Ohio State a few years ago. This was the third good game in a row for Buchanan, as he has finally started playing within himself and is not forcing things.

4. Nick Martinelli is a certified bucket. The guy is money in the mid range and at the line, finishing with a career high 34 points. But he didn’t get much help. Only Page (14 points) and West (9 points on 3 threes) provided any consistent help on offense. After hitting their first 4 threes, NW went 2 of their last 14 to finish a pedestrian 6-18 from deep.

5. Rutgers got contributions from a few guys. JMike proved once again to be our best 3-pt shooter (2-2), but he also finished with 10 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal on a night that he was in foul trouble and fouled out after only playing 26 minutes. He also ran the offense efficiently and had 0 TOs. Kaden Powers finished with 9 points on 4-8 shooting, plus 5 rebounds and 3 assists in just 23 minutes.

6. I also liked what I saw from Chris Nwuli in 13 minutes. He plays defense, but he also had 5 points (hit a 3 plus two FTs) and had 5 strong rebounds. He also made a sneaky good play on that final sequence. As the NW guy was driving toward the basket, he made a clear effort to AVOID fouling as the guy went by him. Most players — especially freshmen — would’ve attempted to make a heroic defensive play there, but the NW kid was already turning the corner, and Nwuli made the smart decision to avoid making contact, enabling Buchanan to fly down and get the game sealing block.

7. This was a critical win in the competition to stay out of the cellar. The bottom five will CLEARLY be Rutgers, Maryland, Oregon, Northwestern, and Penn State, and we now are 2-4 with both wins coming against two of those teams (Oregon, NW). Oregon is 1-4, but the others are 0-5. We play both Penn State and Maryland twice, but not until late February and early March.

8. The next seven games are going to be rough.

@ Wisconsin
@ Iowa
Indiana
MSU
@ USC
@ UCLA
Nebraska

Highly likely we go 0-7 in that stretch. Have to hope we can steal one against Indiana at home or maybe USC on the road.

Then the last 7 games consist of two each against MD and PSU, and single games @ Minnesota, home for Washington, and @msu.

Francis has a good handle and decent quickness with a nice change of pace, which often gets him open shots and/or foul calls and he's scoring at all 3 levels, plus getting to the line and hitting his FTs. Definitely our best player, although he does struggle against bigger athletic defenders. Buchanan really coming into his own, which is great to see. Now if only the Euros were contributing - they've brought nothing, so far. JMike is a solid glue guy, who is shooting better and Powers/Mark/Nwuli are at least better than early in the year. Hopefully Grant can return to form and Dortch is improved, which helps. EO defends well at times, but is not much help on O.

Before the OSU game I was afraid we might not win more than 1-2 B1G games, but now I think we can get to my 5 win prediction, although more would be nice - would be really great to win one of the next 7 tough ones. IMO, Pike deserves one more season with better $$ support, given him being our first coach in 30 years to make the tourney and making it 3 straight years (2020 counts and we did get snubbed 3 years ago).

 

[Simce91]

plus he had a late block that led to 2 points at the other end.

 

[BIGRUBIGDBIGredmachine]

Somebody mentioned it in the game thread...it's like we spot the other team 7-10 pts starting the Euros out there throwing-up brick after brick.

 

[G- RUnit]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Last Paragraph of RU848789

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Many RU fans have short memories or ignore history. You know what happens to those who ignore history.

 

[Simce91]

Good post/summary.

If this game doesn't cement it in Pike's mind that the Euros can't get minutes, I'm not sure what will. It feels like Zrno is 5-96 on the year with none of the 91 misses being close. No need for either to get minutes anymore unless it's an emergency.

Let the "true" freshmen develop.

would like to see more lineups with Nwuli, Powers and Mark on the floor together.

would also like to see more of Nwuli, Buchanon, Dortch, Powers and Francis on the floor together.

 

[Degaz-RU]

Wish with our new found confidence that we had OSU back.
Like that team is improving.

When JMack when out we had a nice comeback from a 12 percent deficit with Francis, Mark and Powers in the first half. Saved the game.

With apologies to Degaz, but Francis is still our best shooter, three point or otherwise.

Powers has a pretty stroke too. JMike after a bad first half had a very nice 2nd half.

Buchanan growing and getting better before our eyes. So is Dortch. Worried a tiny bit about Grant.

Pike pressing all right buttons and adroitly managed a 12 point deficit. He deserves a lot of credit, the bashers aside. Another Nice comeback win as an underdog. Outcoached Collins and Altman in 10 days.

If Znro hits good wide open threes might have been an ez win. He has to start hitting.

Next games are tough but in a glass is full vein, three of our four losses are to three of the top teams in the league in Purdue, Michigan and Illinois.

In the words of Bob Wenzel, “Dream Big Dreams!”

Re: 3-pt shooting — Francis is our best “scorer” (and it’s not close), but the statistics prove that JMike is our best 3-point shooter. Our top three from deep are:

JMike 19-47 for 40.4%
Grant 15-41 for 36.6%
Francis 22-65 for 33.8%

JMike has been over 40% all year. Will that remain the rest of the year? Probably not, but right now he’s our best shooter from beyond the arc.

 

[Knight Shift]

Good post/summary.

If this game doesn't cement it in Pike's mind that the Euros can't get minutes, I'm not sure what will. It feels like Zrno is 5-96 on the year with none of the 91 misses being close. No need for either to get minutes anymore unless it's an emergency.

Let the "true" freshmen develop.

Zrno on the season: 3 Pt 3 pt

31-91

34.1

23-71

32.4

Re: 3-pt shooting — Francis is our best “scorer” (and it’s not close), but the statistics prove that JMike is our best 3-point shooter. Our top three from deep are:

JMike 19-47 for 40.4%
Grant 15-41 for 36.6%
Francis 22-65 for 33.8%

JMike has been over 40% all year. Will that remain the rest of the year? Probably not, but right now he’s our best shooter from beyond the arc.

Could ESPN have the wrong stats with Zrno at 32.4%???

 

[BIGRUBIGDBIGredmachine]

Zrno on the season: 3 Pt 3 pt

31-91

34.1

23-71

32.4

Could ESPN have the wrong stats with Zrno at 32.4%???

RU stats have him @.299 from 3, which still seems too high. I barely watched R's OOC games, so perhaps he wasn't AS bad then?
2025-26 Men's Basketball Cumulative Statistics

 

[Degaz-RU]

RU stats have him @.299 from 3, which still seems too high. I barely watched R's OOC games, so perhaps he wasn't AS bad then?
2025-26 Men's Basketball Cumulative Statistics

Zrno WAS much better from deep before this most recent 5 or 6 game stretch. He’s in a terrible slump now and is just not providing much value at all.

 

[djrc89]

Hopefully zrno is able to shoot himself out of the slump. Those were some good looks

 

[Degaz-RU]

I wrote this in the “Rotation going forward” thread on January 2, and I think it remains true:

There should be a 9-man rotation. Enough with playing 11 or 12 guys.

PG - JMike, Mark
SG - Powers, Francis
SF - Buchanan, Nwuli
PF - Grant, Nwuli
C - Ogbole, Dortch

Nwuli is listed twice. He’s the backup forward in a 9-man rotation. The kid plays defense. NO BADALAU.

As frustrating as Buchanan has been, he provides more than Badalau. [1/11 edit — Buchanan has clearly proved this point in the past three games]

Yes, Powers should start. He has a nice shot, he proved tonight he can dribble drive, and he’s 6-4 and plays pretty good defense. He just seems more comfortable than Zrno.

I would continue to use Francis as the 6th man microwave off the bench.

1/11 edit: I would add that Zrno and Badalau should be player nos. 10 and 11, in other words, outside of a 9-man rotation. Zrno can get spot minutes, and if he hits a three, ride him until he misses.

 

[bac2therac]

1. Another game, another 30-point night for Tariq Francis (off the bench LOL). I think we have a big enough sample size to conclude that Francis is a “Big Ten-quality” guard. We don’t win this game without his offense and other contributions. 30 points on 10-22 from the field, 2-4 on threes, 8-9 FTs, 3 rebounds and 3 assists.

2. Pike doesn’t run an offense. We know that. It’s a little motion and then iso for the most part. BUT - he pushed the right buttons tonight with the rotations. Grant had the flu, so Buchanan gets the start. And with NW not having a strong inside presence at center, Pike starts Dortch to give us more mobility on defense. No, I didn’t like Zrno starting and playing enough to hoist 6 threes — all open shots, and all bricks — but Pike did pull him 3 minutes into the 2nd half, and I don’t think he returned. Instead, Pike rode JMike, Francis, Buchanan, Dortch, and alternating between Powers, Grant and Nwuli. I never thought, “why is HE in the game?” in the 2nd half.

3. Buchanan was a warrior tonight in 41 minutes. He scored 14 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, dished out 2 assists, and had ZERO turnovers. He was only 6-10 from the foul line, and missed one that could’ve sealed the victory with 2 seconds left in regulation. But he had the game-sealing block after missing a FT with just a few seconds left. He ran back down the court and perfectly timed his block, reminiscent of the Caleb McConnell block to propel Rutgers to that comeback win over Ohio State a few years ago. This was the third good game in a row for Buchanan, as he has finally started playing within himself and is not forcing things.

4. Nick Martinelli is a certified bucket. The guy is money in the mid range and at the line, finishing with a career high 34 points. But he didn’t get much help. Only Page (14 points) and West (9 points on 3 threes) provided any consistent help on offense. After hitting their first 4 threes, NW went 2 of their last 14 to finish a pedestrian 6-18 from deep.

5. Rutgers got contributions from a few guys. JMike proved once again to be our best 3-pt shooter (2-2), but he also finished with 10 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal on a night that he was in foul trouble and fouled out after only playing 26 minutes. He also ran the offense efficiently and had 0 TOs. Kaden Powers finished with 9 points on 4-8 shooting, plus 5 rebounds and 3 assists in just 23 minutes.

6. I also liked what I saw from Chris Nwuli in 13 minutes. He plays defense, but he also had 5 points (hit a 3 plus two FTs) and had 5 strong rebounds. He also made a sneaky good play on that final sequence. As the NW guy was driving toward the basket, he made a clear effort to AVOID fouling as the guy went by him. Most players — especially freshmen — would’ve attempted to make a heroic defensive play there, but the NW kid was already turning the corner, and Nwuli made the smart decision to avoid making contact, enabling Buchanan to fly down and get the game sealing block.

7. This was a critical win in the competition to stay out of the cellar. The bottom five will CLEARLY be Rutgers, Maryland, Oregon, Northwestern, and Penn State, and we now are 2-4 with both wins coming against two of those teams (Oregon, NW). Oregon is 1-4, but the others are 0-5. We play both Penn State and Maryland twice, but not until late February and early March.

8. The next seven games are going to be rough.

@ Wisconsin
@ Iowa
Indiana
MSU
@ USC
@ UCLA
Nebraska

Highly likely we go 0-7 in that stretch. Have to hope we can steal one against Indiana at home or maybe USC on the road.

Then the last 7 games consist of two each against MD and PSU, and single games @ Minnesota, home for Washington, and @msu.

1. Francis has rapidly transitioned into team go to guy and team leader. RU will not win games if he is not delivering 25 points per game and playing over 30. Perhaps not starting him worked out tonight because he was still fresh for overtime but at Illinois he needed to start and I think he needs to start going forward and its really odd even if you dont start him first half, why is Pike not starting him in 2nd. I get you dont want to wear him down but.... As you so chance to win this one without him he was pivotal getting the line in the late stages of regulation and overtime. 10-22 fg...its alot of shot but he needs to take that many and 8-9 ft he is so money there. Francis 35 minutes plus 25 ppg is INGREDIENT #1 for a win.

2. Agree with you Pike pushing the right buttons with the lineup. He rode the hot players and lineup. With Grant ailing he didnt force too many minutes instead turning to Buchanan who took advantage of his opportunity, Opting less time for Mark even though Lino had played very well vs Oregon, trusting J Mike and J Mike came to play with that seasoned experienced in the late stages and into overtime. Zrno likely to see his minutes cut and tonight was a good start. I think Pike did a good job getting his team prepared and emphasis on taking care of the ball. NW usually plus 8 in turnovers but tonight both teams just with 6. RU getting to the line late drawing fouls in the last 4 minutes and in overtime was a big reason they won. The first 13:30 minutes of the 2nd half, RU had not taken one ft but took 10 in the last 6:30 minutes and then 5 more in overtime. Making 10-15ft vs NW going just 2-2 in the last 6:30 and no ft attempts in the last 4 and half minutes. NW would be just 4-8 in the 2nd half. Overall I thought after the shaky beginning Pikes D was strong and never let NW get into a flow. Tough to stop Martinelli and I think RU made him work for alot of tougher shots in the 2nd half and his percentage clearly fell off. RU was daring other players to step up and they seem a bit too hesitant at times. I thought Collins did not coach a good game. His team was up 12 in the first 10 minutes and never regained control. Game would go back and forth and there was some bad shots by NW late in regulation and then again in overtime.

3. Buchanan with a yeomens effort and just as many were writing him off after some really ineffective games where he was a non factor. 41 minutes of play and again not great shooting numbers at 4-13 fg and 6-10 ft but he was balls out tonight with 10 boards 4 of them on the offensive end and he made that important free throw to tie to force overtime and then not dwelling on that another miss later as he ran the court and made a game saving block at the buzzer to win the game. With Grant ailing a bit, he was next man up and credit to him and credit to Pike for giving him that trust and tapping into his ability. I think tonight was what many of us have been wanting fromm him so maybe this is a breakthrough. I am not sure because with Grant starting and Pike being loyal to him, its been hard for DB to find his role. Hopefully Pike can establish one going forward because he can legit ball in the B10 with an effort like tonight

4. I would love to have 10 Martinellis on my team. A guy who plays his heart with a weird stroke but deadly. He played 44 and was clearly gassed at times having trouble finishing some shots and missing that key free throw in overtime plus he threw that bad pass stolen by J Mike 34 points on 11-22fg but Northwestern is basically all him. Wasnt impressed with the others. Page shot 5-7fg but only 4-8ft and NW totally blew it at the line going 17-29 and only 4 of their last 10 I believe. NW easily has to be at the bottom few with RU and PSU in NIL. Now at 8-8 and they will not be making a NCAA run and the program seems to be sliding back again.

5. J Mike was sneaky good in this game and we needed every bit of his game. 10 points on a very efficient 3-4fg, 0 turnovers and a bigtime steal late that gave RU a chance to win or send the game into overtime rather than sending NW to the line to go up 3...huge there as was a big time sequence where he grabbed on offensive rebound, got fouled and hit both, then hit a monster 3 to cut the gap to 65-62 and then boarded a NW missed 3. Powers providing those much needed complimentary baskets at times. I am not convinced he should start especially vs the top half of the league like Illinois the other night but he held his own tonight and added things during the meat of the game. Lino Mark had limited minutes tonight and that will happen if Pike thinks others would be better suited. Zrno was atrocious for the 2nd game in a row missing wide open shots and Badalou barely played missing his only 3

6. Dortch and Nwulli held their own all night and came down with 12 rebounds combined. Good use by both by Pike over EO. I like the role being defined for them..tough D, rebounding. fouls to give, and emphasis on being defensive specialists, not offensive minded at all.

7. Important to get this won...2 out of 3 in a 3 game RAC stretch of winnable games. I dont think you can ask for anything more. Success by Pike here. Wins against 2 schools with a big time middle presence but vulnerable elsewhere and coaching and prep played a big role here. Savor these wins and relish that we have seen a few really enjoyable Big 10 games at the RAC this season. Wins will be tough to come by I agree in next 7. They all are several notches ahead of Oreg/NW who I agree are bottom 6 schools. 0-7 looks likely unless they can steal an Indiana upset. But after that chances for wins all over the place in the last 7 so you hope the team can weather the upcoming gauntlet and live to tell about it.

 

[bac2therac]

RU stats have him @.299 from 3, which still seems too high. I barely watched R's OOC games, so perhaps he wasn't AS bad then?
2025-26 Men's Basketball Cumulative Statistics

i think he was decent in vegas and maybe the shu game

 

[Atlasxal]

Good post/summary.

If this game doesn't cement it in Pike's mind that the Euros can't get minutes, I'm not sure what will. It feels like Zrno is 5-96 on the year with none of the 91 misses being close. No need for either to get minutes anymore unless it's an emergency.

Let the "true" freshmen develop.

It pains me to agree that there is no justification for playing the Euros.

 

[goru7]

It pains me to agree that there is no justification for playing the Euros.

Despite Zrno’s 0-6 tonight , he has shown he can hit a three. He is trying really hard on defense so he is not a liability there. That game and the Oregon and Ohio State games just needed 1 more 3 to not go to the wire and if you got 2 , then win happens against Ohio Stste as well. Zeno’s looks were good looks . You need 3 point buckets in today’s game and cannot let the 3 point differential take you out of a game like Illinois . You cannot be outscored 30-12 from 3 and win most games . Similarly Powers has to shoot them , JMike has to shoot them and Dylan if he somehow can get his confidence back must shoot them.

Badalau gives you nothing and should not play. I said that 5-6 games ago . I do not put Zrno in his category.

 

[RU-ROCS]

Zrno WAS much better from deep before this most recent 5 or 6 game stretch. He’s in a terrible slump now and is just not providing much value at all.

Zerno was 3-5 from 3 last game at Illinois and 2-5 v. Oregon so he has had even recent success.

 

[goru7]

1. Another game, another 30-point night for Tariq Francis (off the bench LOL). I think we have a big enough sample size to conclude that Francis is a “Big Ten-quality” guard. We don’t win this game without his offense and other contributions. 30 points on 10-22 from the field, 2-4 on threes, 8-9 FTs, 3 rebounds and 3 assists.

2. Pike doesn’t run an offense. We know that. It’s a little motion and then iso for the most part. BUT - he pushed the right buttons tonight with the rotations. Grant had the flu, so Buchanan gets the start. And with NW not having a strong inside presence at center, Pike starts Dortch to give us more mobility on defense. No, I didn’t like Zrno starting and playing enough to hoist 6 threes — all open shots, and all bricks — but Pike did pull him 3 minutes into the 2nd half, and I don’t think he returned. Instead, Pike rode JMike, Francis, Buchanan, Dortch, and alternating between Powers, Grant and Nwuli. I never thought, “why is HE in the game?” in the 2nd half.

3. Buchanan was a warrior tonight in 41 minutes. He scored 14 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, dished out 2 assists, and had ZERO turnovers. He was only 6-10 from the foul line, and missed one that could’ve sealed the victory with 2 seconds left in regulation. But he had the game-sealing block after missing a FT with just a few seconds left. He ran back down the court and perfectly timed his block, reminiscent of the Caleb McConnell block to propel Rutgers to that comeback win over Ohio State a few years ago. This was the third good game in a row for Buchanan, as he has finally started playing within himself and is not forcing things.

4. Nick Martinelli is a certified bucket. The guy is money in the mid range and at the line, finishing with a career high 34 points. But he didn’t get much help. Only Page (14 points) and West (9 points on 3 threes) provided any consistent help on offense. After hitting their first 4 threes, NW went 2 of their last 14 to finish a pedestrian 6-18 from deep.

5. Rutgers got contributions from a few guys. JMike proved once again to be our best 3-pt shooter (2-2), but he also finished with 10 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal on a night that he was in foul trouble and fouled out after only playing 26 minutes. He also ran the offense efficiently and had 0 TOs. Kaden Powers finished with 9 points on 4-8 shooting, plus 5 rebounds and 3 assists in just 23 minutes.

6. I also liked what I saw from Chris Nwuli in 13 minutes. He plays defense, but he also had 5 points (hit a 3 plus two FTs) and had 5 strong rebounds. He also made a sneaky good play on that final sequence. As the NW guy was driving toward the basket, he made a clear effort to AVOID fouling as the guy went by him. Most players — especially freshmen — would’ve attempted to make a heroic defensive play there, but the NW kid was already turning the corner, and Nwuli made the smart decision to avoid making contact, enabling Buchanan to fly down and get the game sealing block.

7. This was a critical win in the competition to stay out of the cellar. The bottom five will CLEARLY be Rutgers, Maryland, Oregon, Northwestern, and Penn State, and we now are 2-4 with both wins coming against two of those teams (Oregon, NW). Oregon is 1-4, but the others are 0-5. We play both Penn State and Maryland twice, but not until late February and early March.

8. The next seven games are going to be rough.

@ Wisconsin
@ Iowa
Indiana
MSU
@ USC
@ UCLA
Nebraska

Highly likely we go 0-7 in that stretch. Have to hope we can steal one against Indiana at home or maybe USC on the road.

Then the last 7 games consist of two each against MD and PSU, and single games @ Minnesota, home for Washington, and @msu.

As good as Francis has been as the go to scorer , he has to pass the ball more. He makes up his mind making his moves and the ball is going up. You cannot argue with 30 points tonight and against Oregon and Penn all wins. But like Martinelli getting 34 tonight and only the center in double figures , you will have a hard time winning games and in life and death struggles with no margin for error down the stretch. You need at least 3 players with big impacts to win consistently. Are we going to get that now from Buchanan. Maybe. Who else ? Dylan regardless of being ill has lost his confidence and he would be capable if it returned. Can Zrno and Powers get you double figures or at least 1 of them ? I am thinking they can.

Encouraged by the defense after the first 10 minutes . Still getting killed on allowing offensive rebounds which are killing us on second chance points. Dorsch although serviceable offensively and nothing offensively is getting killed on the backboards. Manny , Buchanan , Grant and Nwuili have to crash the defensive boards along with all the guards. No watching the shot go up and standing still but immediate crash and chasing down the long rebounds. Every game that has gotten away from us was because of second and third chance points. Even in the wins , second chance points gave the opposition the chance to win or get a last shot .

Really do not know why road games have been so disparate to these 3 games against Ohio State, Oregon and northwestern . We have brought energy even when getting down early like Northwestern tonight . One really noticeable thing is the great job with turnovers. Only 6 tonight , 7 against Oregon and manageable against Ohio state. Even when shooting is bad cannot compound problem on the road with excessive turnovers. Will be the key to staying with these teams on the road.

 

[Atlasxal]

Despite Zrno’s 0-6 tonight , he has shown he can hit a three. He is trying really hard on defense so he is not a liability there. That game and the Oregon and Ohio State games just needed 1 more 3 to not go to the wire and if you got 2 , then win happens against Ohio Stste as well. Zeno’s looks were good looks . You need 3 point buckets in today’s game and cannot let the 3 point differential take you out of a game like Illinois . You cannot be outscored 30-12 from 3 and win most games . Similarly Powers has to shoot them , JMike has to shoot them and Dylan if he somehow can get his confidence back must shoot them.

Badalau gives you nothing and should not play. I said that 5-6 games ago . I do not put Zrno in his category.

I hope you are right about Zrno. I’d like nothing more than for him to be successful.

 

[Bill 86]

1. Another game, another 30-point night for Tariq Francis (off the bench LOL). I think we have a big enough sample size to conclude that Francis is a “Big Ten-quality” guard. We don’t win this game without his offense and other contributions. 30 points on 10-22 from the field, 2-4 on threes, 8-9 FTs, 3 rebounds and 3 assists.

2. Pike doesn’t run an offense. We know that. It’s a little motion and then iso for the most part. BUT - he pushed the right buttons tonight with the rotations. Grant had the flu, so Buchanan gets the start. And with NW not having a strong inside presence at center, Pike starts Dortch to give us more mobility on defense. No, I didn’t like Zrno starting and playing enough to hoist 6 threes — all open shots, and all bricks — but Pike did pull him 3 minutes into the 2nd half, and I don’t think he returned. Instead, Pike rode JMike, Francis, Buchanan, Dortch, and alternating between Powers, Grant and Nwuli. I never thought, “why is HE in the game?” in the 2nd half.

3. Buchanan was a warrior tonight in 41 minutes. He scored 14 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, dished out 2 assists, and had ZERO turnovers. He was only 6-10 from the foul line, and missed one that could’ve sealed the victory with 2 seconds left in regulation. But he had the game-sealing block after missing a FT with just a few seconds left. He ran back down the court and perfectly timed his block, reminiscent of the Caleb McConnell block to propel Rutgers to that comeback win over Ohio State a few years ago. This was the third good game in a row for Buchanan, as he has finally started playing within himself and is not forcing things.

4. Nick Martinelli is a certified bucket. The guy is money in the mid range and at the line, finishing with a career high 34 points. But he didn’t get much help. Only Page (14 points) and West (9 points on 3 threes) provided any consistent help on offense. After hitting their first 4 threes, NW went 2 of their last 14 to finish a pedestrian 6-18 from deep.

5. Rutgers got contributions from a few guys. JMike proved once again to be our best 3-pt shooter (2-2), but he also finished with 10 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal on a night that he was in foul trouble and fouled out after only playing 26 minutes. He also ran the offense efficiently and had 0 TOs. Kaden Powers finished with 9 points on 4-8 shooting, plus 5 rebounds and 3 assists in just 23 minutes.

6. I also liked what I saw from Chris Nwuli in 13 minutes. He plays defense, but he also had 5 points (hit a 3 plus two FTs) and had 5 strong rebounds. He also made a sneaky good play on that final sequence. As the NW guy was driving toward the basket, he made a clear effort to AVOID fouling as the guy went by him. Most players — especially freshmen — would’ve attempted to make a heroic defensive play there, but the NW kid was already turning the corner, and Nwuli made the smart decision to avoid making contact, enabling Buchanan to fly down and get the game sealing block.

7. This was a critical win in the competition to stay out of the cellar. The bottom five will CLEARLY be Rutgers, Maryland, Oregon, Northwestern, and Penn State, and we now are 2-4 with both wins coming against two of those teams (Oregon, NW). Oregon is 1-4, but the others are 0-5. We play both Penn State and Maryland twice, but not until late February and early March.

8. The next seven games are going to be rough.

@ Wisconsin
@ Iowa
Indiana
MSU
@ USC
@ UCLA
Nebraska

Highly likely we go 0-7 in that stretch. Have to hope we can steal one against Indiana at home or maybe USC on the road.

Then the last 7 games consist of two each against MD and PSU, and single games @ Minnesota, home for Washington, and @msu.

Good post. Martinelli reminds me of Larry Bird.

 

[Bill 86]

Wish with our new found confidence that we had OSU back.
Like that team is improving.

When JMack when out we had a nice comeback from a 12 percent deficit with Francis, Mark and Powers in the first half. Saved the game.

With apologies to Degaz, but Francis is still our best shooter, three point or otherwise.

Powers has a pretty stroke too. JMike after a bad first half had a very nice 2nd half.

Buchanan growing and getting better before our eyes. So is Dortch. Worried a tiny bit about Grant.

Pike pressing all right buttons and adroitly managed a 12 point deficit. He deserves a lot of credit, the bashers aside. Another Nice comeback win as an underdog. Outcoached Collins and Altman in 10 days.

If Znro hits good wide open threes might have been an ez win. He has to start hitting.

Next games are tough but in a glass is full vein, three of our four losses are to three of the top teams in the league in Purdue, Michigan and Illinois.

In the words of Bob Wenzel, “Dream Big Dreams!”

Zrno seems to shoot best when he cuts to the ball, turns and shoots vs stationary...even if wide open

 

[Loyal_2RU]

Zrno seems to shoot best when he cuts to the ball, turns and shoots vs stationary...even if wide open

His feet drift a lot on many of his misses not well set under him

 

[RC80]

Nice size crowd for a late day Sunday - and not many NW fans. Heard that someone posted that Paul got a mixed reaction when shown on the scoreboard; actually thought he got a very nice ovation (maybe others feel differently); And was Geo hiding until the very end of the game; I don't recall if they showed him earlier - but good timing to put him up when they did. Maybe they remembered his heroics against NW in 2020. Not a fan of the iso ball from TF - but they also didn't have anyone to stop him. Buchanan's best all-around game. Had to work going against Martinelli (real nice player) - and stayed under control on the other end. And (of course) game saving block. Funny that he apologized for missing the FT during the on-court post-game interview. Will read the comments and see what else I missed watching.

 

[shields]

Thought Paul had a nice ovation.

 

[RW90]

Thought Paul had a nice ovation.

I thought the reaction was somewhat subdued but didn't hear any discernible boos.

 

[fatsam98]

I thought the reaction was somewhat subdued but didn't hear any discernible boos.

This. I clapped politely while at the same time saying to my son...that guy screwed us over.

Didn't hear any boos at all. Fonseca had tweeted it was a mixed reaction but I think he must have deleted it.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

Zrno WAS much better from deep before this most recent 5 or 6 game stretch. He’s in a terrible slump now and is just not providing much value at all.

Unfortunately - we have 17 games worth of data showing that to this point he’s only “found his deep stroke” in garbage time situations of blow out losses. 15 of his 23 made threes came in the Purdue, Michigan, Illinois, SHU and Tenn games (most with the game well in hand and the opponent going through the motions). He also had 2 threes in the Rider blow out win.

In the other 11 games he’s made a grand total of 6 threes. The only time he hit more than one 3 in a game was vs Oregon (he had 2 in that one). On the season he’s taken the most 3s of anyone on the team by a decent margin and is hitting under 30% of them.

 

[RC80]

Funny that I was thinking same watching him yesterday; we are more than halfway thru and even his open looks don't go in. His D has gotten better, which is keeping him on the court. And he has tried to drive more at times - but usually gets shut down quickly. He is going to continue to get his minutes - and maybe one of these days -- 4 for 8; 3 for 6. With Powers being more athletic (and improving) and D. Jones coming in next year - don't see Zrno with the team next season.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

As good as Francis has been as the go to scorer , he has to pass the ball more. He makes up his mind making his moves and the ball is going up. You cannot argue with 30 points tonight and against Oregon and Penn all wins. But like Martinelli getting 34 tonight and only the center in double figures , you will have a hard time winning games and in life and death struggles with no margin for error down the stretch. You need at least 3 players with big impacts to win consistently. Are we going to get that now from Buchanan. Maybe. Who else ? Dylan regardless of being ill has lost his confidence and he would be capable if it returned. Can Zrno and Powers get you double figures or at least 1 of them ? I am thinking they can.

Encouraged by the defense after the first 10 minutes . Still getting killed on allowing offensive rebounds which are killing us on second chance points. Dorsch although serviceable offensively and nothing offensively is getting killed on the backboards. Manny , Buchanan , Grant and Nwuili have to crash the defensive boards along with all the guards. No watching the shot go up and standing still but immediate crash and chasing down the long rebounds. Every game that has gotten away from us was because of second and third chance points. Even in the wins , second chance points gave the opposition the chance to win or get a last shot .

Really do not know why road games have been so disparate to these 3 games against Ohio State, Oregon and northwestern . We have brought energy even when getting down early like Northwestern tonight . One really noticeable thing is the great job with turnovers. Only 6 tonight , 7 against Oregon and manageable against Ohio state. Even when shooting is bad cannot compound problem on the road with excessive turnovers. Will be the key to staying with these teams on the road.

I mean - it’s hard to argue that a kid who is shooting 45% from the field and 34% from 3 should be passing more. Especially of late when our only other true offensive weapon has been battling the flu. Who should he be passing to? He tried to dish twice in the paint off penetration - one wasn’t fielded cleanly by Dortch down low and was deflected out of bounce. Ogbole missed the other one - not Tariq’s fault.

In terms of kick outs to the outside. Remember - J Mike, Powers and Zrno were on the floor the 10 min without Francis at (beginning of each half). So Tariq only played about 16 minutes with J Mike and assisted 2 of his shots. During the time Powers and Zrno played with Francis (13 min and 7 min) the two of them went 0 of 6 or 7 from 3 so the argument he should’ve been feeding them more during those minutes I’m not sure I buy. Francis assisted Nwuli’s 3 point attempt. Who else should he have been kicking it to?

 

[goru7]

I mean - it’s hard to argue that a kid who is shooting 45% from the field and 34% from 3 should be passing more. Especially of late when our only other true offensive weapon has been battling the flu. Who should he be passing to? He tried to dish twice in the paint off penetration - one wasn’t fielded cleanly by Dortch down low and was deflected out of bounce. Ogbole missed the other one - not Tariq’s fault.

In terms of kick outs to the outside. Remember - J Mike, Powers and Zrno were on the floor the 10 min without Francis at (beginning of each half). So Tariq only played about 16 minutes with J Mike and assisted 2 of his shots. During the time Powers and Zrno played with Francis (13 min and 7 min) the two of them went 0 of 6 or 7 from 3 so the argument he should’ve been feeding them more during those minutes I’m not sure I buy. Francis assisted Nwuli’s 3 point attempt. Who else should he have been kicking it to?

Come on , as good as he has been in his mid range and getting by defenders with the step thru and drawing fouls , he is not passing more. You cite 1 whole pass to Dorsch and 1 whole pass to Manny. It appeared they were open for 5-6 pick and rolls and he never passed on a pick and roll . Not once. He seems to make up his mind that he can beat his man and there is no stopping him. If he starts to break down his man and help is coming it would be nice to dish to the wing for a 3 . We are doing too much standing around when Francis goes iso. You excuse it when the shots are going in but when they are not , there is another avenue that he has to consider . I am a sticker for guards making good passes to put their teammates in the best position to succeed. I am saying this is a part of his game he has to get better at. No one will complain about his 30 point games, and he should applauded for being able to be very impactful in conference but this passing skill which he lacks would really improve his game. Yes , Zrno or Powers or Buchanan or Dylan or even the bigs can benefit from his passing after penetration.

 

[bac2therac]

This. I clapped politely while at the same time saying to my son...that guy screwed us over.

Didn't hear any boos at all. Fonseca had tweeted it was a mixed reaction but I think he must have deleted it.

i didnt hear boos but I think it was more so a non reaction...some applause but alot of indifference

 

[BillyC80]

i didnt hear boos but I think it was more so a non reaction...some applause but alot of indifference

I heard one applau

 

[Knight Shift]

I heard one applau

And an incomplete cla too!

 

[Knight Shift]

i didnt hear boos but I think it was more so a non reaction...some applause but alot of indifference

Carino said he heard boos. Maybe it was his vantage point, or just trying to stir a pot.