WAR ROOM: RHoops + RFootball recruit scoop, Super Bowl picks

Every week, TheKnightReport.Net publisher Richard Schnyderite and his team of Rutgers Athletics experts put together the War Room, a jam-packed article with tons of Scarlet Knights recruiting and team news updates. This format allows die hard Rutgers fans that are subscribers on the site to learn more about their favorite team!

DON'T HAVE TKR PREMIUM? SIGN UP TODAY FOR JUST $9.95/MONTH!

Rutgers Hoops HC Steve Pikiell on his approach defensively in the second half versus the first: “I just think we gave up too many points in transition. I tell our guys all the time you can’t defend the foul line, they got us by a huge number from the free throw line and that really was the difference, 11 extra points from the line. You got to defend these guys without fouling them and it just becomes a huge key, it’s another way to score. When our defense was set I felt pretty good about it, but you have to defend without fouling.”

Pike on how the guys responded without Mawot Mag: “Obviously only had a couple days now to figure things out without Mawot, he’s been a huge part of what we are trying to do. I feel awful for him and the guys love him too. He certainly would have helped us on the backboards today with our defense, but we have to make adjustments. We haven’t had a lot of time to work on some things yet without him, so we have to spend some time over the next couple of weeks getting life adjusted. I did think Oskar came in and gave us some good minutes and then Derek plus our bench is going to be important to us moving forward now that we have Aundre in the starting lineup.”