After Saturday's almost virtuoso offensive performance against DePaul, many Rutgers fans must be wondering where that type of play has been for the Rutgers men's basketball team all season.
Head coach Fred Hill Jr. has the answer. It's been there all season. The only difference is the result.
"There's no special coaching tricks. That's the same shots we've gotten and out at DePaul, we made," Hill said yesterday after practice in explaining his team's newfound offensive efficiency. "It's the same zone offense, it's the same shots, it's players hopefully getting better, maturing."
Despite the success that the Scarlet Knights had on the offensive end against the Blue Demons, it was still not good enough for a victory.
The Knights turned their offensive potency into a 15-point lead against DePaul, yet ultimately lost the game after a sub-par finish.
That inability to close out victories and play the full 40 minutes has haunted the Knights all season. But, despite the result, Hill did not place any blame on his team for the loss.
"Nothing went wrong," Hill said. "It was a great college game."
Now the Knights come home to take on a much tougher team in Villanova. The Wildcats come into the Louis Brown Athletic Center ranked 18th in the nation and coming off a strong win over conference rival Syracuse at the Carrier Dome.
The strength of the Wildcats comes in their guard play. They are led by Scottie Reynolds, last season's Big East Rookie of the Year. Reynolds hasn't fallen prey to a sophomore slump and has instead improved upon his stellar freshman performance. He is averaging 17.5 points per game and has been proficient from beyond the arc, nailing 39 percent of his threes.
Reynolds and his Villanova teammates' strong play have Hill admitting that this will be a tough matchup for his team.
"They're a team that concerns me because they're so good," Hill said. "Their strength is our weakness. And they're so good off the dribble, they have so many guys that can shoot the basketball."
That means that the Knights will have to bring their A game again on the offensive end. And this year, their offense has been keyed by the play of the much-improved Anthony Farmer.
Farmer has had a strong junior year, averaging a career high 10.4 points per game and a career low 1.6 turnovers. His play has taken another positive turn over the break.
Over the seven games in which he played more than 15 minutes, he played only 11 minutes against Syracuse because he was still recovering from the flu. The Millville, New Jersey native increased his scoring to 12.3 ppg.
But his coach believes that the junior guard has had a strong year altogether, not just a good month.
"I think Anthony has been very, very good all season long," Hill said.
Hill believes that Farmer's improvement stems from his maturation and the experience he's gained leading into his third year on the Banks.
"I think the biggest thing Anthony has done is make much better decisions," Hill said. "I think that's what made Anthony such a consistent reliable player for us so far this year."
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