Some Big Ten coaches have a hard time dishing out praise to an opponent after a loss. Others call it like they see it, giving credit where its due.
Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell, one of the earlier candidates for Big Ten coach of the year, never has a problem avoiding excuses and praising opponents when he sees fit. Though he lamented his team’s inability to score in Wednesday’s 60-52 loss to Michigan, its first home loss of the year, he was also quick to point out U-M played a huge role in their struggles.
“I’ve got to give Michigan credit,” he said. “I know how good they are. They’ve been playing great basketball … they were ranked as high as three or four in the country. They’ve got great size and an elite point guard.”
And great length around the basket, he added. Senior center Jon Teske’s offensive struggles continued, but he erased three shots at the rim with second half blocks and altered several others.
“We had a lot of good looks today, and youv’e got to finish some of those to win against an elite team like Michigan,” Pikiell continued, refusing to buy into the “tired team” excuse. “I love our bench. We play game after game after game, so maybe that’s how it is this time of year. I think we’re in really good shape. I just think sometimes the game, the ball doesn’t go in. We haven’t had many of those, especially here. We’ve really shot the ball well.
“But I’ve got to give them credit. They’ve got tremendous length. I think [senior Zavier Simpson] is the best defensive point guard in the league, too. He causes havoc. I think he leads them in steals, has for his career. We turned the ball over a little too much. When we did, they scored on that. Little things here and there, but the ball has to go in the basket at the end of the day to win against Michigan.”
But they “played their tails off,” he added, and Michigan matched the intensity with an outstanding effort minus junior power forward Isaiah Livers. The bench was a big reason why. Little-used sophomore Colin Castleton was a catalyst, and sophomore shooting guard David DeJulius hit big shots, too, during a Michigan run when Rutgers took a nine-point lead early in the second half.
“[Castleton] came in and gave them great minutes,” Pikiell praised. “They’ve got a terrific bench. All of those guys are capable of playing a lot of minutes at a lot of places. He came in and he’s got tremendous length, gave them some good minutes. Brandon Johns the last time he killed us in Madison Square Garden … he came off the bench but doesn’t play a lot [Wednesday]. Austin Davis, the big kid, is shooting 85.7 percent from the floor … phew. That’s a huge percentage.”
Simpson, though, remains the catalyst, and when you’ve got an elite guard who can score 16 himself and set up the weapons around him, Pikiell said, that’s tough to defend.
“He’s an elite passer, he’s got elite shooters around him. You’ve got a 7-2 center that’s a four-year veteran,” Pikiell said. “They’ve got a lot of weapons, and when you’ve got that quarterback that can kind of slice and dice you, nothing’s easy.
“I thought we did a pretty decent job guarding him, different guys, different looks, different screen coverages. At the end of the day, he makes a lot of plays and he does it on both ends of the court. He’s an elite defender, too. He’s a good player … they’re in a good groove now, too.”
Perhaps peaking at the right time once again.
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