Leaving Las Vegas Edition – The Good, Bad, and Odd

The Bad

Mid-range Blues

Why Rutgers still shoots so many midrange shots is beyond explanation. No, I’m not talking about faking a three, losing your defender, and stepping in for a wide-open two-point jumper. It’s the ones Rutgers shoots when there’s no reason to shoot them, settling for low-percentage twos instead of attacking the rim or moving the ball beyond the arc for an open three.

Awful Starts

A pitiful first half against Tennessee, where the Volunteers led at halftime by 26 points. Yes, Rutgers outscored UT by 1 in the second half, mostly thanks to Volunteers coach Rick Barnes subbing in backups off the bench to keep his team fresh. Rutgers followed up that performance with another awful first half against the Fighting Irish, finding themselves down by 12 at halftime. The Scarlet Knights played a much stronger second half, but it was not enough to overcome that deficit.

The fact that the team is getting off to such poor starts, regardless of the competition, leads one to wonder when Head Coach Pikiell will finally solve the riddle of a starting rotation that can keep opponents at arm’s length.

This Leads to the Good

It’s clear the coaching staff is making the necessary halftime adjustments. It was evident against Notre Dame and even more so against UNLV, where the Knights outscored the Rebels 47-26 in a dominant second half, leaving Las Vegas with a much-needed win and some confidence before playing the top two teams in KenPom this coming week (Purdue and Michigan).

Emmanuel Ogbole, for all the criticism he’s taken the past couple of seasons as a physical specimen to behold who can’t do much of anything right on a basketball court, put together his most complete game. With UNLV’s starting center out, the Knights fed the ball to the big man, and he went to work. 29 points in 21 minutes, with 13 boards, and a stellar 7 for 11 at the free throw line for the big man.

Jamichael Davis, coming off a breakout game against the Fighting Irish with 21 points, had his most complete game to date against the Running Rebels. Davis only scored 6 points, but add his 4 rebounds and 6 assists against only 1 turnover, and you have exactly the type of stat line you are looking for from your leading point guard.

And the Odd…

This feels like a yearly exercise with Coach Pikiell and the staff – mixing and matching the rotation until he finally finds a lineup that works. This season is no different, but the Scarlet Knights may have left Vegas with a starting five:

Ogoble

Grant

Nwuli

Buchanan

Davis

Grant is clearly the best player on the team. True freshman Nwuli plays such tenacious defense that you almost have to start him moving forward, for the sake of providing resistance. Buchanan is the one guard who can force his way to the basket, and Davis is clearly the best point guard. Baye Fall won’t be challenging Ogbole for minutes anytime soon.

Tariq Francis provides shooting off the bench, and Bryce Dortch provides defense and rebounding. Lino Mark, often the fastest player on the court (and most definitely the best hair), brings much-needed hustle and a spark when Rutgers is in the full-court press.

This brings us to the greatest oddity of all: the European transfers. Denis Badalau is young, but I expected Harun Zrno, at 21, to have his game translate seamlessly to the college ranks. He’s not hitting his deep shots and making almost no impact. It was telling that Zrno logged only 5 minutes against UNLV, while Badalau logged just 10.