Butt whoopin

[MU82]

I think it was out of respect for our ability to score in the blink of an eye.  Hell, against the starters we got hot, and they cooled a bit and we closed it to 12 in a hurry. 

Now their starters lost some focus at the end, but they are more focused/abled than the walk-ons.  You don't want to pull the starters, have us drill 5-threes in a row and then have to bring back in unfocused and now cold starters.

Indeed, many coaches have the attitude, "I'll take out my top players when he takes out his." And because we don't have a bench to speak of, that option wasn't there for either Wojo or Wright.

Still ...

Nova did have a 23-point lead with less than 2 minutes to go.

Maybe Wright had a few bucks on that 12-point spread!

[BallBoy]

Actually we agree that MU is a good offensive team AND that we scored more points against Nova than any other team this year.

What we disagree about is the relevance of our 18-2 run in the final 3:46 that cut a 28 point lead to a 12 point loss. Had we been trailing by 16 or 10 or 4 or tied or up 2 I don't think we close with that kind of run. I think Nova would have been more focused and tried harder. And I think garbage time when a team is down 28 is different than when the margin is 14.

Don't get me wrong, though. I'm glad our guys played to the final whistle. Showed character.

I think it is very relevant for two major reasons
1.  It shows heart.  A lot of teams would have shut it down and lost by more than 30 or kept it in the 20s.  They were able to practices scenarios.  16 point swing over a 4 minute stretch is very good.
2.  Most prognosticators, selection committee members, and analysts don't watch every game so to say well MU only lost by 12 to the number team in the country is different than MU lost by 28.  Losing by 28 to Nova moves into the Bad Losses category. 

[MU82]

Nova 79, X 54.

Another crappy team falls in Philly to overrated Nova.

[fjm]

Nova 79, X 54.

Another crappy team falls in Philly to overrated Nova.

Exactly my thoughts. X NEEDS to fire their coach! Also their seniors need to graduate immediately.

[TSmith34, Inc.]

Chris Mack has NEVER beaten Duke, Kentucky, or NC.  FIRW HIM!~

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Man. Nova held Xavier to 29% shooting from the floor. That's gotta be close to a record low for a Chris Mack team.

Even worse, Myles Davis actually played for X. First game for them at full strength. Davis went 0/5 with a rebound and a turnover in 13 minutes. I expected a little rust from him but not that.

[MU82]

Man. Nova held Xavier to 29% shooting from the floor. That's gotta be close to a record low for a Chris Mack team.

Gotta fire Mack. He's a looser who cant win their.