17 year old thoughts.

[tower912]

1.  Really enjoyed seeing a game in person
2.  That 17 year old is pretty good.
3.  Apparently, wojo was serious about being disappointed  by the lack of senior leadership.
4.  Hmm, that Heldt kid is progressing.  Didn't I say that earlier today?
5.  Great game, great atmosphere.   Next.

[TSmith34, Inc.]

6. Perfect storm working against X.  Too bad.  No mercy

[LloydsLegs]

Froling Tweet:

Unbelievable game and performance by our team! @HeldtMatt needs credit, he was huge for us tonight!!! 〽️ #heldtasaurusrex #mubb

Love the Matt love.

[DJO's Jaw]

Froling Tweet:

Unbelievable game and performance by our team! @HeldtMatt needs credit, he was huge for us tonight!!! 〽️ #heldtasaurusrex #mubb

Love the Matt love.

My new favorite hashtag

[#UnleashSean]

Called 4 out of 5 of this lineup earlier. Said that we have no hieght.  Lets just score. Lineup is nuts.

[Big Papi]

About time Wojo does something different.  That starting lineup change was needed 2 games ago and it made a huge difference.  The defending and energy was much better with Duane and Heldt starting and playing additional minutes.

Get rid of the 1-3-1, it is played awful.  They all play way too high up.

JJJ must have been awful this week in practice to not get a single minute.

Great game by Howard. 

We need better decision making on some of those shots.  X could have easily got back into this game if a few of theirs had fallen in.

Wojo was in a very huggy mood today.  Duane at the 13 minute mark of the 1st half. Rowsey later on and then Howard at the end.  I wonder if Wojo and JJJ will hug it out in the locker room.

About time we played some defense and had the energy and passion on the court.

Lets keep this going.

[PGsHeroes32]

On to the next one

Need it bad

[tower912]

Anyone else wish they  were watching this game with Ners so they could see his head explode?

[LloydsLegs]

My new favorite hashtag

Can't beat Lloyd Moore's Legs and DJO's Jaw- maybe if we added Merrit's Mustache - helluva a 3 on 3 squad.

[We R Final Four]

Wojo was in a very huggy mood today.  Duane at the 13 minute mark of the 1st half. Rowsey later on and then Howard at the end.  I wonder if Wojo and JJJ will hug it out in the locker room.

Oh--the Heldt hug was the best one.  Wojo then looked at the crowd and raised his arms looking for appreciation for Matt.  Prett cool from a coach--however there was still 8 min left and it was no time for celebrating.

[wadesworld]

About time Wojo does something different.  That starting lineup change was needed 2 games ago and it made a huge difference.  The defending and energy was much better with Duane and Heldt starting and playing additional minutes.

Get rid of the 1-3-1, it is played awful.  They all play way too high up.

JJJ must have been awful this week in practice to not get a single minute.

Great game by Howard. 

We need better decision making on some of those shots.  X could have easily got back into this game if a few of theirs had fallen in.

Wojo was in a very huggy mood today.  Duane at the 13 minute mark of the 1st half. Rowsey later on and then Howard at the end.  I wonder if Wojo and JJJ will hug it out in the locker room.

About time we played some defense and had the energy and passion on the court.

Lets keep this going.

I'm fairly certain we didn't play a single possession in the 1-3-1 defense.

[wadesworld]

Can't beat Lloyd Moore's Legs and DJO's Jaw- maybe if we added Merrit's Mustache - helluva a 3 on 3 squad.

TVDiener

[Big Papi]

I'm fairly certain we didn't play a single possession in the 1-3-1 defense.

End of the first half and gave up an easy bucket.

[wadesworld]

My thoughts on the game?

HELDT YEAH!

[wadesworld]

End of the first half and gave up an easy bucket.

Are you sure it wasn't a 2-3?  I only remember one possession of zone the whole game and it was a 2-3 that we ended up giving a layup on when they overloaded 1 side and Heldt was left trying to guard 2 guys at the basket.

[Loose Cannon]

My thoughts on the game?

HELDT YEAH!

Plus Tax

[Anti-Dentite]

MU played a nice game tonight, some new looks and angles to help free up the 3 point shooting. Good intensity, played hard. Hopefully leads to a nice little late season push.

[Golden Avalanche]

I'm fairly certain we didn't play a single possession in the 1-3-1 defense.

Wojo matched Mack at the end of the first half with it.

[MU82]

Yes, as I watched this I was thinking that there was too much Wojo hugging.

That'll do us in, for sure.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Wojo killed the zone. He clearly reads Paint Touches for all his coaching insights.

[connie]

The opening flurry may have skewed my perception, but the effort seemed to be back as well. 

[tower912]

The defensive intensity was there all night.

[mileskishnish72]

Need some payback with the Johnnies.

[dgies9156]

I'm excited about our win and it leaves us in the hunt for a tournament berth. But.....

1) We won because we were a streaky shooting team at the outset of the halves. Rowsey was on fire in the first half and Howard in the second. We're not going to come even close to Markus having 31 point nights most nights.

2) Xavier had a miserable shooting night. Period. Perhaps that was our defense (I hope so) but it could just be they had a bad night.

3) We feed off NMD momentum, with a sell-out at the BC. That's not going to happen again this year.

4) What's the story with JjJ? Man that one was a head scratcher.

Overall, a fun game to watch and a very good win. But, we have a tough road to slog in the next couple of weeks if we intend to make the NCAAs.

[Dr. Blackheart]

MU at 35 now ahead of X at 37 in Pomeroy.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

MU at 35 now ahead of X at 37 in Pomeroy.

We play to our rank here forward and we dance.

[Jay Bee]

2) Xavier had a miserable shooting night. Period. Perhaps that was our defense (I hope so) but it could just be they had a bad night.

We can look a little deeper at this. Remember, X isn't a good shooting team to begin with and they had their 54.0% eFG% guy Bluiett on the bench.

This was their 7th worst shooting game of the season - so about 25th percentile for them. Miserable? Probably not, for them. Poor? OK.

But, they're an OK 2FG% team, weak 3FG% team... last night, 2FG% wasn't the problem. 55.3% 2FG% for X.

What went south was their 3FG%. 2/17 for 11.8%.

So, I'd call it X missing almost every thing from deep. Probably more to do with them than to do with us. Their 2FG% was way too high -- not good. Their big men ate well scoring the ball inside, and some of that has to do with Luke only playing 12 mins.

Xavier shot 11.8% 3FG% last night. This season, #mubb games shooting worse than 35.7% 3FG%: 3. For Xavier: 14.

They no good shooting 1 ball from 1 distance

[GGGG]

Duane was very good. Didn't shoot or score well but brought it on the defensive end and did well handling the ball with both Rowsey and Howard playing off the ball.

I'd play him big the rest of the year.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Duane was very good. Didn't shoot or score well but brought it on the defensive end and did well handling the ball with both Rowsey and Howard playing off the ball.

I'd play him big the rest of the year.

I liked his defense, and I loved the and 1 he had. But I thought most of the threes he took were out of rhythm and bad attempts. JJJ is better than Duane. I hope he has figured out whatever lesson Wojo needs him to learn so he can play to his potential the rest of the way.

[GGGG]

JJJ is not better than Duane. You don't need offense from that position. They needed a solid defensive guard and Duane fills that role much better than JJJ does.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

JJJ is not better than Duane. You don't need offense from that position. They needed a solid defensive guard and Duane fills that role much better than JJJ does.

I couldn't disagree more. Duane has the worst stats on the team other than Matt and its pretty close. However, he has better bball iq and does what the coach asks him to do. If JJJ could simply follow the coaches' directions, he would be a phenomenal player.

[jsglow]

JJJ is not better than Duane. You don't need offense from that position. They needed a solid defensive guard and Duane fills that role much better than JJJ does.

JjJ is better than Duane, but you are correct that DU fills the needed role much better. Tomato,tomato.

[rocky_warrior]

3) We feed off NMD momentum, with a sell-out at the BC. That's not going to happen again this year.

You are correct in this.  BUT, the Creighton senior day game should be a great environment.  It'd be even better if MU came into it having won 4 straight

[wadesworld]

I couldn't disagree more. Duane has the worst stats on the team other than Matt and its pretty close. However, he has better bball iq and does what the coach asks him to do. If JJJ could simply follow the coaches' directions, he would be a phenomenal player.

That's been the "If" for 3.75 years. At what point is the "If" answered? And, unfortunately, that's a very big "If." If your staff has a game plan and 4 of 5 kids are playing to it while the 5th is off doing his own thing, you might as well scratch whatever that game plan was. Being able to do what you're asked to do is pretty important in determining whether you're a good basketball player. Sure, take the team to the Rec Center and let them jump in with all the random kids playing and JJJ will look like the best player on the team. But without question this team plays far better with Duane on the court than with JJJ on the court.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

That's been the "If" for 3.75 years. At what point is the "If" answered? And, unfortunately, that's a very big "If." If your staff has a game plan and 4 of 5 kids are playing to it while the 5th is off doing his own thing, you might as well scratch whatever that game plan was. Being able to do what you're asked to do is pretty important in determining whether you're a good basketball player. Sure, take the team to the Rec Center and let them jump in with all the random kids playing and JJJ will look like the best player on the team. But without question this team plays far better with Duane on the court than with JJJ on the court.

After he was benched last season, JJJ played locked in the next 7 games. The numbers he was putting up were All-Big East good. I'm hoping this benching has a similar effect.

I question the team playing better with Duane on the floor very much. It has been true for the last two games certainly. But not most of the season. I hope the streak continues or I hope JJJ brings it for his last few games.

[WarriorFan]

Damn it was nice to see some defense from MU in this game.  With the exception of Fisher, who is the basketball equivalent of a sieve (if sieves could foul), the whole team put out their best defensive effort of the season.  I'll take 6 points and 9 boards and good D from Heldt over 12 points and 4 boards and no D from Fisher any day.  Special note to Wilson and Cheatham who guarded much bigger guys with a level of poise and intensity we haven't seen for a while.

[4everwarriors]

After he was benched last season, JJJ played locked in the next 7 games. The numbers he was putting up were All-Big East good. I'm hoping this benching has a similar effect.

I question the team playing better with Duane on the floor very much. It has been true for the last two games certainly. But not most of the season. I hope the streak continues or I hope JJJ brings it for his last few games.

Dat wuz last year, doe. Gotta pad da resume goin' forward. Probably po'ed at Steve for fookin' up his pro chances, hey?

[Phuket MU Fan]

Dat wuz last year, doe. Gotta pad da resume goin' forward. Probably po'ed at Steve for fookin' up his pro chances, hey?

This.  If he's not playing within the system, he rides the bench. It doesn't matter how good he is.

[GoldenDieners32]

Wait hes 17?

[StillAWarrior]

...who is the basketball equivalent of a sieve (if sieves could foul)...

OK, I actually laughed out loud.  Glad I didn't have coffee in my mouth.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Won the three most important factors. Lost the fourth one barely. Recipe for a blowout.

eFG%:
MU: 50.8%
X: 43.6%

TO%:
MU: 13.3%
TO%: 20.9%

OR%:
MU: 39.5%
X: 29.7%

FTR:
MU: 31.3%
X: 34.5%

[naginiF]

This is an awesome tweet

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/833410328339824640

[warriorchick]

This is an awesome tweet

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/833410328339824640

Didn't know Mark married a Xavier alum.

[naginiF]

Didn't know Mark married a Xavier alum.

got it from Matt V's feed - if that's not his son I fell fro the same troll he did.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Xavier has been recruiting my daughter already simply based on PSAT score.  She's only a sophomore and has been inundated with e-mails and post mail and in fact it's the only university so far to reach out to her.

[warriorchick]

Xavier has been recruiting my daughter already simply based on PSAT score.  She's only a sophomore and has been inundated with e-mails and post mail and in fact it's the only university so far to reach out to her.

Must be because of the huge drop in applications after Saturday's loss.

[tower912]

Marquette beat Xavier getting nothing from our seniors.     If those 6 all return, add in Froling,Cain, John, a year older and better Sacar, and a wing guard TBD.........

[MU82]

Marquette beat Xavier getting nothing from our seniors.     If those 6 all return, add in Froling,Cain, John, a year older and better Sacar, and a wing guard TBD.........

I am very high on next season and our program's direction in general.

[HoopsterBC]

I am very high on next season and our program's direction in general.

The direction of the program is going the right direction, lots of positives moving forward particularly having Giannis and the new arena are big positives in selling the
program, I expect a great recruiting class next year.

[wadesworld]

The direction of the program is going the right direction, lots of positives moving forward particularly having Giannis and the new arena are big positives in selling the
program, I expect a great recruiting class next year.

Having Giannis?

[tower912]

I expect a great recruiting class next year.

Well, Bailey is already committed and Joey looks promising.   After the inevitable transfer, a PG sure would be nice.