FanPost

Positive PostGame Prognosis: Rutgers

THEEEEEEYYYYYY'RRRRRRREEEEEEE BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!

There doesn't that feel much better?

Positive_medium

Overall I don't think the Hoyas really did anything different than they have the past couple of games, their shots just fell this game where they hadn't in the past. This game was only a B, B+ out of the Hoyas, but they won where in the past they've lost due to the fact that their outside touch returned. We can definitely play better than we did and we will continue to play better now that the most dangerous weapon in our arsenal has returned. Seeing the ball go through the hoop is huge for a team. Making shots cures a lot of deficiencies. This return to form is most encouraging as hitting shots tends to lead to hitting more shots. If we can return to our normal shooting numbers for the rest of the big east season we're going to get plenty of more wins.

(More positivity after the Jump)

We had great fan support on the road. A quote from the Rutgers message board: "Another big game, another fanbase comes and takes over the RAC. The "Hoya Hoop Club" as it said on their shirts up in 314 controlled the noise from the start. RU was booed coming out of the locker room and the announcement of our starting lineup was drowned out by "LETS GO HOYAS!!!""  Way to go Hoya Blue!

So besides shooting well from 3 and from the free throw line we did several other things well this game. Our offensive rebounding we very good this game. We recovered 44% of our misses in this game. And those offensive rebounds led to 18 second chance points.

We also played solid defense especially in the first half where we had a defensive raitng of 90.9. For the game we held rutgers below their average FG%. Honestly this game wasn't as close as the score shows. Rutgers was incredibly hot in their desperation time so managed to keep the game close, but honestly we took an 8-0 lead and never looked back.

Another refreshing thing to see was our use of the press through out the game. I liked seeing us press and speed the game up. I also liked our use of the match-up zone. These tweaks are very positive signs from the coaching staff.

Overall this was a great game to get our mojo back and get some confidence going forward. The best thing for this team was the chance to get to see the ball go through the hole. Hopefully this win will restore some hope to a cynical fan base going forward.

Player Evaluations:

Austin Freeman: Austin did what we all expected him to do in games. He took over. He had a stretch in the second half where he scored 11 straight points for the Hoyas. He finished with 25 points and more impressively 9 rebounds. He also had 4 assists and a steal. Austin lead the Hoyas in points, rebounds, and assists! Doesn't get any more positive than that. Oh and he had the best defensive rating on the team.

Chris Wright: Chris' shooting touch returned in this game as well going 3-5 from deep. What most impressed me in this game is that despite the shaky start chris buckled down, focused and improved. He had 4 turnovers in the first half, but didn't have a single one in the second half. He also chipped in a block and 2 rebounds to go along with his 15 points.

Jason Clark: Jason did a great job going inside to get his points. It's a testament to the way jason has developed his game. Last year if jason wasn't hitting threes he wasn't scoring. This year jason can drive and cut and get his points around the rim.  Happy Birthday to Jason today the 16th is his birthday along with walk on John Caprio!

Julian Vaughn: Solid workman like game from julian 4 points 5 rebounds 2 assists, 2 blocks Perfect from the FT line. The committee does a good job. 18pts 12 rebounds 4 assists 5 blocks and 3 steals. That's plenty when you have our guards playing like they normally play.

Hollis Thompson: great shooting from 3 and had 8 points in the game. He also had 2 blocks.

Nate Lubick: "going back to Missouri..Nate has 19 assists to only 5 turnovers in 12 games (and over 200 minutes of play)"-alleninxis Nate has been very good. His passing is exceptional and you can really see why he wanted to play for Georgetown. 4 boards 2 steals and 2 assists to go along with 4 points. I think that assist number is low he definitely had more than that.

Henry Sims: had a nice reverse layup of of a Nate Lubick pass. Henry also had a steal.

Markel Starks: Had an outstanding offensive rating of 300! in his limited minutes by going 1-2 from behind the arc.

Jerrelle Benimon:Grabbed an offensive rebound and blocked a shot.

The Hoyas will stay in Jersey to take on the Pirates of Seton Hall. The Pirates are reinvigorated by the return of their star Jeremy Hazell. He returned in the Hall's last game and seemingly hasn't missed a beat scoring 23 points. Need another win here and no game in the big east is easy. I like this match up for the Hoyas. Seton Hall plays a fast game which benefits us. Jason Clark also shut down Hazell last year and pitt did similarly in Hazell's second outing since his return. Seton Hall has a solid Defense(30th) but a poor offense (163rd). Rutgers was just the beginning. These Hoyas are ready to Roll!

Stay Casual, my friends.