Good effort on the road;unfortunately the same result

A while back, all I asked for was for the Rutgers basketball team to be competitive on the road…and, as of late, the Scarlet Knights have been that in games at Seton Hall, Providence and, now, at Notre Dame.  Unfortunately, the effort has not been good enough for a win.  Kudos to R-U for jumping out quickly to a big lead in South Bend Wednesday….and a good job on coming back late.  However, two missed foul shots in a two-shot set by the usually dead-on Mike Rosario proved to be a real back-breaker.  I’m not going to kill Rosario on that.  He’s a great foul shooter who helped get R-U back into the game.  But, again, it’s a “dollar short a day late” for the Scarlet Knights.

Pernetti is the next R-U A-D

All reports point to former Rutgers football player and current radio analyst Tim Pernetti being hired as the next athletic director at his alma mater.  It appears that the R-U selection committee has chosen Pernetti, the CBS College Sports t-v executive, over two current a-d’s—Kelly Mehrtens of North Carolina-Wilmington and Mack Rhoades of Akron.  Pernetti certainly has an overall strong resume, highlighted by working many years in the important field of college t-v programming. However, a couple of things are of concern in this selection.  First, Pernetti has no experience as an athletic director and it seems that Rutgers, a BCS school, is taking a risk at a very important time for its troubled athletic department.  Second, Pernetti has such a close personal relationship with Scarlet Knight football coach Greg Schiano that you have to wonder how much control he will have over Schiano.  It’s a legitimate question, particularly when you consider that one of the reasons that former a-d Bob Mulcahy was fired was because of reported questionable practices when it came to bonus payments to Schiano.  

Now it gets interesting

The Rutgers women’s basketball team has done what it had to do in the last three games to remain on the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble—beat three of the Big East’s bottom-feeding teams…Seton Hall, Providence and Cincinnati.  R-U beat the Bearcats 71-52 at home Tuesday night to set up the final two games of the regular season—a tricky road game at St. John’s this weekend, then UConn at home next Monday.  But, all that really matters is that game against the Red Storm at Carnesecca Arena.  Win that one and the Scarlet Knights will be 17-10 (not counting the Division Three win over SUNY-Farmingdale)…good enough to get a NCAA at-large bid regardless of what happens against the Huskies and the Big East Tournament.  

Different day, same result

No one asks how, just if.  And so it goes for the Rutgers men’s basketball team which has lost its fifth straight game, this time a 74-56 Big East home defeat to West Virginia.  Whether it be Providence where the Scarlet Knights fell behind big then fell just short…or Villanova where they played the Wildcats tough late into the second half before losing going away late…or Sunday afternoon where they fell behind the Mountaineers big and got to within four points before losing by double digits…it’s still the same result—another loss.  R-U head coach Fred Hill and Company likes to call this all part of the process—learning how to win.  But who says the process can’t include an occasional win every now and then…like what we’re seeing with a Seton Hall or a St. John’s.  That would be a nice change in the last four regular season games.  But with road games at Notre Dame and Syracuse coming up, it would appear the only chances left would be at home against Providence and USF.  We’ll see.

The drive to the NCAA’s continues

The Rutgers women’s basketball team remains on course for a NCAA Tournament berth with a rather non-descript 55-42 Big East home win over Providence.   Not much to say since beating the Friars is nothing more than a needed win.  So with three regular season games left, the Scarlet Knights are 15-10 overall (not counting the win over Division-Three SUNY-Farmingdale that the selection committee will ignore.)  A home win over Cincinnati and a victory at St. John’s is all R-U needs to keep on the right side of the bubble…acknowledging that the season finale at home to number-one and unbeatable Connecticut will be a loss.

Good effort, same result

The Rutgers men’s basketball team played relatively well at Villanova Thursday night but still lost another Big East game.  The Scarlet Knights guaranteed themselves a losing regular season record with the 82-72 defeat on the Main Line. R-U now is 10-16 overall with five games left…1-12 in league.  Good effort by freshman guard Mike Rosario and senior guard Anthony Farmer who had 19 and 17 points respectively…but it’s still not enough to beat a talented 12th-ranked Wildcat squad.  Next up is another tough Big East matchup this Sunday at home against West Virginia.  It’s now just a matter of waiting for that 10-15 game in the opening round of the league tournament.

On serve

The Rutgers women’s basketball team remains on serve in its drive to secure an NCAA Tournament berth.  The Scarlet Knights now are 15-10 overall (14-10 in the eyes of the Selection Committee when you take away the win over Division-Three SUNY-Farmingdale) following Wednesday night’s Big East 73-58 road win at Seton Hall.  That leaves four regular season games left…and, as I’ve stated before, R-U has to run the table against the Hall, Providence, Cincinnati and at St. John’s in order to solidy its case for an at-large bid before it gets to the inevitable home loss to number-one and undefeated UConn in the regular season finale.  That would give the Knights an 18-12 record (or 17-12) heading into the Big East Tournament…enough to be on the right side of the NCAA bubble, even counting a probable loss in Hartford.

A no-show in College Park

If the Rutgers women’s basketball team makes it to the NCAA Tournament, Sunday’s 67-47 non-conference loss at Maryland shows that the Scarlet Knights stay will be a short-lived one, even with the first two rounds at the RAC.  For all intents and purposes, R-U was never in the game against the Terrapins.  And, offensively, Epiphany Prince continues to take too much upon herself while the team doesn’t seem capable of establishing a second consistent threat…a combination that also doesn’t bode well for the Knights as they head down the home stretch.  So, Rutgers now is 14-10 with five regular season games left…the next three winnable against Seton Hall,  Providence and Cincinnati before two tough games to close out the schedule…at St. John’s and at home to Connecticut.  The game against the Red Storm is looking like the key won.  If the Scarlet Knights beat everyone except UConn, they finish the regular campaign at 17-11 which puts them into the NCAA’s.  However, a loss at Carnesecca Arena, makes it 16-12….and you add in an expected loss in the Big East Tournament and you’re looking at 16-13 which puts Vivian Stringer and Company squarely on the NCAA bubble.

A dollar short a day late

Give the Rutgers basketball team some credit for coming back Saturday night to give Providence a run for its money.  The Scarlet Knights showed some heart by getting to within one point on two different occasions particularly without Mike Rosario who was playing on a bad ankle.  But in the end, they didn’t have enough to overcome a woeful first half that saw them trail the Friars by as many as 20-points…so it just goes down as another 20-points as the season to nowhere continues.  1-11 in theBig East and 10-15 overall with six regular season games left including Thursday night at nationally-ranked Villanova, which should be seething after a loss at West Virginia Friday night.  And the downbeat goes on.

Yawn

Not much to say about a 60-point win over a Division-Three school that doesn’t count in the eyes of the NCAA Tournament selection committee.  So, the Rutgers women’s basketball team beat SUNY-Farmingdale 85-25 before a handful of fans at the RAC.  I’m not sure why Vivian Stringer felt the need to add this come just a week ago…particularly when it came one night after the Pittsburgh home loss.  Maybe it was to get her freshmen some valuable playing time.  Brooklyn Pope, Chelsey Lee, April Sykes and Nikki Speed got, by far and away, the most minutes of their young career as Stringer rested veterans Epiphany Prince, Kia Vaughn, Heather Zurich, Brittany Ray and Rashidat Junaid.  But that’s about all that can be said.  Now, it’s on to nationally-ranked Maryland on Sunday.