We can get into several subjective items such as preparation, will to win, effort, etc, but tonight was the classic case of a team exposing our flaws and Rutgers did it very well. I have said many times heading into the season that our success will be contingent upon our guard play and ability to hit open shots when they are available. Credit to Miller Kopp tonight. I have consistently been very critical of him but so far through 8 games, he has definitely stepped up his game and done the very thing we need from him, hit threes! He played extremely well today. Now, let’s take a look at our guards.
Not having Fino really hurt. He is the only player who can actually create a shot. No other player on our team can do it. Between starters X and Galloway, they combined for 2-14 shooting and 1-6 from three. They went 3-6 from the FT line and had 5 assists to 6 turnovers. Galloway really was not active at all on offense and the bulk of these stats belong to X. These two starting guards contributed 8 points, all from X on his 2-11 shooting in 34 minutes.
Now, let’s look at our bench guard play. Tamar and Gunn combined for 20 minutes, 18 minutes from Tamar, and combined for 1-8 from the field, 0-4 from three totaling 2 points.
So, our guards combined production tonight was:
3-22 FG’s / 13.6%
1-10 3p / 10%
6 assists / 7 turnovers
10 points
Now, let’s look at Rutgers. Rutgers starter guards:
5-17 FG’s / 29%
3-7 3 PT / 42.9%
6-6 FT / 100%
2 assists / 4 turnovers
19 combined points.
Combined starting guards and bench combined for:
13-34 FG’s / 38.2%
5-12 3 PT / 41.7%
8-10 FT’s / 80%
6 assists / 7 turnovers
39 totals points
So, Rutgers guards Outscored IU by 29 points. This combined with the +14 rebounding advantage including 18 offensive rebounds is why we lost. And so long as teams continue to pack the lane and force TJD to pass and not get his 20 inside, teams will continue to play us tight and force our guards to win games.
Not having Fino really hurt. He is the only player who can actually create a shot. No other player on our team can do it. Between starters X and Galloway, they combined for 2-14 shooting and 1-6 from three. They went 3-6 from the FT line and had 5 assists to 6 turnovers. Galloway really was not active at all on offense and the bulk of these stats belong to X. These two starting guards contributed 8 points, all from X on his 2-11 shooting in 34 minutes.
Now, let’s look at our bench guard play. Tamar and Gunn combined for 20 minutes, 18 minutes from Tamar, and combined for 1-8 from the field, 0-4 from three totaling 2 points.
So, our guards combined production tonight was:
3-22 FG’s / 13.6%
1-10 3p / 10%
6 assists / 7 turnovers
10 points
Now, let’s look at Rutgers. Rutgers starter guards:
5-17 FG’s / 29%
3-7 3 PT / 42.9%
6-6 FT / 100%
2 assists / 4 turnovers
19 combined points.
Combined starting guards and bench combined for:
13-34 FG’s / 38.2%
5-12 3 PT / 41.7%
8-10 FT’s / 80%
6 assists / 7 turnovers
39 totals points
So, Rutgers guards Outscored IU by 29 points. This combined with the +14 rebounding advantage including 18 offensive rebounds is why we lost. And so long as teams continue to pack the lane and force TJD to pass and not get his 20 inside, teams will continue to play us tight and force our guards to win games.
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