Danny’s 5 thoughts: After Iowa 2/16

By Danny Breslauer

1) @RutgersMBB found the proper tempo to beat Iowa at home. They did a lot of good things in the first half, pushing the basketball and getting Harper Jr. open looks at 3. I'm a bit disappointed he wasn't involved more in the 2nd, but Baker hit a clutch shot and Johnson rebounded.

2) I feel awful for the guys. They played hard, and well enough to steal a W without their A game. That says a lot about #Rutgers' improvement in the last few months. With that said, you just have to hit free throws to win a one-possession, Big Ten game. 2nd half misses are killer.

3) The press break was shaky, and caused RU to have very little time to get the ball to the FT line area & break down Iowa in the halfcourt, where they are vulnerable defensively. Credit to Bohanon for some difficult makes and Woieskamp I guess for hitting the proverbial one-outer.

4) I thought the substitution pattern at 12:25 of the 2nd half took a bit of the wind out of the sails of the RAC. The lineup didn't work. By the way, we need to work on reminding the RAC how hoops cheering cadences work. Pikiell shouldn't have to be the one to get the volume up.

5) At the end of the day, this is as crushed as I've felt leaving the RAC, ever. That's 25+ years. Most gutting Rutgers loss since at Va Tech in '04, despite it mattering much less for postseason. Would have loved the break for once, but hope the crew can refocus for next 4 weeks.

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