Princeton, N.J.—The much-anticipated debut of Rutgers basketball coach Mike Rice showcased what the fans have been waiting for.
The well-documented intensity of the head coach was on full display, as was how it has rubbed off on his players. That mentality led to the Scarlet Knights battling back in a game they trailed early.
After forcing overtime, Rutgers (0–1) were unable to finish the come back with a win, as they fell to Princeton (1–0) at the Jadwin Gym 78–73.
Dan Mavraides’s 26 points were just too much for the Scarlet Knights and when he hit a three pointer with 1:48 left in overtime to put the Tigers up 72–68, it was all but over.
The Scarlet Knights were unable to recover without their senior point guard James Beatty. Beatty (15 points, 5 assists) left with just over two minutes remaining in overtime with leg cramps.
Rutgers spent most of the night playing catch-up. Struggling out of the gates, the Knights were able to chip away at the lead.
“I just think that we were anxious for our first game,” Beatty said. “There was a lot of hype around it given everything that’s changed, so I just think that it was jitters.
“You could tell in the second half, the way we played, all the jitters were gone and we executed, and we almost came out with the win.”
The butterflies led to falling behind early.
Rutgers got down early as Princeton jumped out to a 10–2 lead on a Kareem Maddox put back dunk. After knotting it up at 17–17, the Tigers went on a 13–0 run.
Following a three-and-a-half minute scoring drought, the Scarlet Knights were able to battle back in the in the last 6:30 of the half. They went into half down 44–38 thanks to a Jonathon Mitchell (6 points, 8 rebounds) 12-foot jumper at the buzzer.
Rutgers continued to cut into the lead throughout the second half and took their first lead of the game when Dane Miller followed up his own missed floater to make it 59–58 with just under 6:30 remaining.
Miller had a chance to win the game for the Rutgers as it stayed close the rest of the way.
Inbounding with six seconds remaining, Rice went to his best offensive player in Miller. The 6–7, 215-pound sophomore barreled down the lane for the winning lay-up and was looking for a foul on the attempt.
The problem for Miller, who finished with 14 points, was that he got called for a charging foul.
“I was trying to get Dane [Miller] in open space,” Rice said. “They had two more fouls to give and I said ‘Look Dane, I want you to drop your head and go,’ and he certainly dropped his head and went.
“Unfortunately he went right through somebody.”
As the head coach learns his team and its players, drawing up plays in crunch time is still a work in progress.
“I’m still figuring out as the close games happen, who we should go to and what play to run and what concepts to do,” said Rice.
One of the new players—Mike Poole—is not only new to the coach, but also the program, and already making a name for himself.
Poole was a spark off the bench with 14 points and 5 steals in 24 minutes. And his first collegiate game didn’t phase the freshman.
“It felt like a regular basketball game,” Poole said.
While the team struggled early, the head coach was pleased with his team’s resilience.
“We got smacked a couple of times,” Rice said. “We got punched straight in the jaw and we looked a little glassy eyed, but they had a togetherness, a fight to them that I liked.”
Tune in every Friday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. EST on WRSU-FM as Matt Sugam co-hosts Scarlet Football Fever discussing Rutgers football as well as the N.Y. Jets and Giants.
The well-documented intensity of the head coach was on full display, as was how it has rubbed off on his players. That mentality led to the Scarlet Knights battling back in a game they trailed early.
After forcing overtime, Rutgers (0–1) were unable to finish the come back with a win, as they fell to Princeton (1–0) at the Jadwin Gym 78–73.
Dan Mavraides’s 26 points were just too much for the Scarlet Knights and when he hit a three pointer with 1:48 left in overtime to put the Tigers up 72–68, it was all but over.
The Scarlet Knights were unable to recover without their senior point guard James Beatty. Beatty (15 points, 5 assists) left with just over two minutes remaining in overtime with leg cramps.
Rutgers spent most of the night playing catch-up. Struggling out of the gates, the Knights were able to chip away at the lead.
“I just think that we were anxious for our first game,” Beatty said. “There was a lot of hype around it given everything that’s changed, so I just think that it was jitters.
“You could tell in the second half, the way we played, all the jitters were gone and we executed, and we almost came out with the win.”
The butterflies led to falling behind early.
Rutgers got down early as Princeton jumped out to a 10–2 lead on a Kareem Maddox put back dunk. After knotting it up at 17–17, the Tigers went on a 13–0 run.
Following a three-and-a-half minute scoring drought, the Scarlet Knights were able to battle back in the in the last 6:30 of the half. They went into half down 44–38 thanks to a Jonathon Mitchell (6 points, 8 rebounds) 12-foot jumper at the buzzer.
Rutgers continued to cut into the lead throughout the second half and took their first lead of the game when Dane Miller followed up his own missed floater to make it 59–58 with just under 6:30 remaining.
Miller had a chance to win the game for the Rutgers as it stayed close the rest of the way.
Inbounding with six seconds remaining, Rice went to his best offensive player in Miller. The 6–7, 215-pound sophomore barreled down the lane for the winning lay-up and was looking for a foul on the attempt.
The problem for Miller, who finished with 14 points, was that he got called for a charging foul.
“I was trying to get Dane [Miller] in open space,” Rice said. “They had two more fouls to give and I said ‘Look Dane, I want you to drop your head and go,’ and he certainly dropped his head and went.
“Unfortunately he went right through somebody.”
As the head coach learns his team and its players, drawing up plays in crunch time is still a work in progress.
“I’m still figuring out as the close games happen, who we should go to and what play to run and what concepts to do,” said Rice.
One of the new players—Mike Poole—is not only new to the coach, but also the program, and already making a name for himself.
Poole was a spark off the bench with 14 points and 5 steals in 24 minutes. And his first collegiate game didn’t phase the freshman.
“It felt like a regular basketball game,” Poole said.
While the team struggled early, the head coach was pleased with his team’s resilience.
“We got smacked a couple of times,” Rice said. “We got punched straight in the jaw and we looked a little glassy eyed, but they had a togetherness, a fight to them that I liked.”
Tune in every Friday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. EST on WRSU-FM as Matt Sugam co-hosts Scarlet Football Fever discussing Rutgers football as well as the N.Y. Jets and Giants.
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