newjerseynewsroom.com

BY MATT SUGAM

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

PISCATAWAY – For a team oozing with young talent building for a bright future, it’s been a season of instability for Rutgers. Along with flashes of brilliance, they’ve also had frequent spurts of erratic and porous play.

But maybe Rutgers (9-7, 1-2) just need to play against top 10 teams more often. Clearly, that’s when they’ve been at their best.

Of the Scarlet Knights nine wins, only two have come against teams with winning records. And both came against top 10 teams.

“Pleasantly surprised,” head coach Mike Rice said when asked how his team played against the defending national champion. “Am I shocked? No, because I watch them everyday.”

And everyday, there’s inconsistency. Along with the games, it’s in practice and in the weight room.

“Even our strength coach says one day they’re lifting like they’re in the Olympics, the next day it’s like they’ve never seen a weight before,” Rice said. “So it’s just the mentality that young people have. It’s difficult bringing it everyday.”

But if they do, they can compete with anyone in the country. They’ve proven that in the last week and a half.

And in tonight’s 67-60 victory against UConn (12-3, 2-2), they not only defeated a national power, but also shut down one of the nation's top players, Jeremy Lamb.

“He’s [Lamb] not a physical guy. He’s really nonchalant,” Myles Mack (14 points) said. ”He doesn’t like to be bumped, so we bumped him a little bit and threw him off.”

It also frustrated him defensively. Lamb would foul out with 2:43 remaining and his team trailing 58-50.

By then, Rutgers was coasting to its second top 10 upset in a week and a half.

“It’s a pretty good team when we get out of our own way,” Rice said. “When we’re not pouting, we’re not frustrated, when we’re just kind of playing for one another.”

And playing on a big stage has helped. It’s no surprise, considering Rutgers has a host of freshmen that played for powerhouse high schools, most notably, St. Anthony’s products Eli Carter (19 points) and Mack.

“These guys like the big moment,” Rice said. “And they’re not afraid of the big moment.”

And there’s going to be plenty of them in the coming weeks in a loaded Big East. But it still begs the question, where is this team all the time?

The only answer that makes any sense is that they’re a team lacking leadership while relying mainly on freshman without a scholarship senior on the roster.

While the team can’t think about what might have been, and it’s hard to bring down the jubilation after another big win, one can’t help but wonder where this team would be if they played like this on a nightly basis.

“It’s tough because now we know that we can compete with any team in the country,” Mike Poole said.

So how do they come out again the way they did last night against UConn and last week against Florida?

“Prepare. Don’t be content. We can’t be satisfied,” Poole said. “Just got to come out every day knowing what we’re capable of.”

For more Rutgers basketball coverage follow Matt Sugam on Twitter @MattSugam and on Facebook