Rutgers Offense Dismal in Loss to Syracuse

by ibleedscarlet on Mar 3, 2009 11:57 PM EST in Basketball Comment 0 comments

The New Mascot of the Rutgers University Men's Basketball team....

With 15:39 to play in the second half of Rutger's game against #25 Syracuse the score was SU 29-RU 28, and a possible upset was brewing. Then as quickly as that thought crossed the minds of the RU faithful, it was gone.

Syracuse used a 14-0 run to quiet the Knights, and outscored RU 41-12 from that point forward in a 70-40 victory tonight at the Carrier Dome. The 40 point total marks the Knights lowest offensive production of the year, and their lowest scoring total since a 62-40 loss at South Florida on January 24, 2007.

Here's a breakdown of the (ugly) stats from the game:

Rutgers	Stats	Syracuse
40	Points	70
25.4%	FG%	54.9%
66.7%	FT %	57.1%
14	Offensive Rebounds	10
13	Defensive Rebounds	25
16.7%	3-Point %	31.6%
9	Steals	12

Obviously the stats tell it all. When you shoot 25.4% from the floor, and let the other team hit over half of their shots you stand NO chance to win. The scary thing is that Syracuse shot only 30% in the first half!!! How is it possible to let a team that shot 30% in the 1st half to finish at 54% for the game??? When Rutgers shot near 25% in the 1st half I figured they would adjust against the Orange defense and shoot a little better in the 2nd half. Clearly I was wrong, since they actually shot worse! 25.4%??! What a joke!

Rutgers was led in scoring by Mike Rosario with 16 points on 6-21 shooting. He was the only Knight to score in double figures. Hamady N'Diaye grabbed 9 boards for the Knights, and contributed 8 points as well, but that's about all the positives there were for Rutgers in this game. It wasn't just the starters who were ineffective, as the bench was non-existant getting outscored 30-1 by the Syracuse reserves.

Paul Harris scored 18 points, and Andy Rautins chipped in with 11 as the Orange improved to 10-7 in Big East play (22-8 overall).

With the loss Rutgers drops to 1-16 in the Big East (10-20 overall). The Knights next game will be a Sunday matinee at the RAC against South Florida. The tip is scheduled for 2:00, and the game will be covered by ESPN 360.

***Note: Barring a bizarre scenario (2 Depaul Wins coupled with a RU loss Sunday), Rutgers will be the #15 seed in the Big East Tournament. If this holds true, Rutgers will play on Tuesday, March 10th against the #10 seed at 7PM at Madison Square Garden***

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