MUScoop

MUScoop => Hangin' at the Al => Topic started by: goldeneagle91114 on February 07, 2017, 10:27:47 PM

Title: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: goldeneagle91114 on February 07, 2017, 10:27:47 PM
I'll admit, i was on the the whole "what will be be ranked" after the nova game. At that point I thought we would win the next 3 for sure. Hindsight it 20/20 but the more i look at the Crieghton and nova game the more i ask myself if it was just fools gold. This team does not appear to have anything but streaky shooters. And now that teams know to extend the defense and guard the 3point line we're in trouble.

Tonight showed a lot of deficiencies and i'm not sure they can be fixed this year. I'll respect the process, and assume that wojo will work to plug the giant holes. But until then, people of the board need temper expectations... this team, IS NOT, a tournament team. Winning 4 of 6 it too large of an order for a team this weak.

Just the way it is. I still think we're 2 years out from the tourney assuming wojo continues to recruit as well as he has.
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: TAMU, Knower of Ball on February 07, 2017, 10:49:04 PM
I wouldn't call it lipstick on a pig. I would call it a team with a high ceiling and low floor. Some nights you are going to get gold, other nights you're going to get crap.

I actually didn't think tonight was a crap performance. Butler had a good defensive strategy and employed it well. One or two more breaks go our way and we win.
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: GoldenDieners32 on February 07, 2017, 10:51:00 PM
I wouldn't call it lipstick on a pig. I would call it a team with a high ceiling and low floor. Some nights you are going to get gold, other nights you're going to get crap.

I actually didn't think tonight was a crap performance. Butler had a good defensive strategy and employed it well. One or two more breaks go our way and we win.
We need to realize are shots aren't going to fall every night so we will have to play hard defense and take it to the hoop on the offensive end. Also some guys took dumb shots really early in the shot clock, i was getting very frustrated
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: wadesworld on February 07, 2017, 10:55:43 PM
It was lipstick on a pig and I bought in as well. We caught Creighton in their first game without their All American point guard and we caught the defending national champion on a night where they shot 6 for 34 from 3 and still only won by 2. Other than that? Not much to get overly excited about. Wins at home against not great Seton Hall and Georgetown teams, on a neutral court against a not great Vandy team, solid win at a not great Georgia team, losses to bad teams in Providence and St. John's, and home losses to 2 good teams whose best players were out for literally half the game (Butler and Wisconsin). Fact of the matter is this team just isn't great.
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: 79Warrior on February 07, 2017, 11:15:30 PM
It was lipstick on a pig and I bought in as well. We caught Creighton in their first game without their All American point guard and we caught the defending national champion on a night where they shot 6 for 34 from 3 and still only won by 2. Other than that? Not much to get overly excited about. Wins at home against not great Seton Hall and Georgetown teams, on a neutral court against a not great Vandy team, solid win at a not great Georgia team, losses to bad teams in Providence and St. John's, and home losses to 2 good teams whose best players were out for literally half the game (Butler and Wisconsin). Fact of the matter is this team just isn't great.

We have lost three of our last 4 games. Who is calling Providence and SJU bad? Glass houses.
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: muguru on February 07, 2017, 11:18:03 PM
I wouldn't call it lipstick on a pig. I would call it a team with a high ceiling and low floor. Some nights you are going to get gold, other nights you're going to get crap.

I actually didn't think tonight was a crap performance. Butler had a good defensive strategy and employed it well. One or two more breaks go our way and we win.

Hey, the kids played hard, and gave it their best, right?? Come on, it's about winning basketball games. I feared it then, and it's coming to fruition now, beating Nova was the worst thing to happen to this team..lost 3-4 since then. they were content with that win being their season highlight. they acted like they had just won the National championship. Wish they would have just acted like they had been there before.
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: GE911 on February 07, 2017, 11:19:04 PM
We have lost three of our last 4 games. Who is calling Providence and SJU bad? Glass houses.


A bad team can lose to another bad team. Us vs prov. And us vs SJU are perfect examples.
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: buckchuckler on February 07, 2017, 11:25:28 PM
It was lipstick on a pig and I bought in as well. We caught Creighton in their first game without their All American point guard and we caught the defending national champion on a night where they shot 6 for 34 from 3 and still only won by 2. Other than that? Not much to get overly excited about. Wins at home against not great Seton Hall and Georgetown teams, on a neutral court against a not great Vandy team, solid win at a not great Georgia team, losses to bad teams in Providence and St. John's, and home losses to 2 good teams whose best players were out for literally half the game (Butler and Wisconsin). Fact of the matter is this team just isn't great.

Yup.  Agree completely.  Pretty average team that happened to have a great week.
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: ecompt on February 08, 2017, 12:15:34 AM
We need to realize are shots aren't going to fall every night so we will have to play hard defense and take it to the hoop on the offensive end. Also some guys took dumb shots really early in the shot clock, i was getting very frustrated

Thing is, when our shots don't fall we have no one on this team who can create his own shot. Howard is too small to do it and I fear Hauser will never do it in this league. Great 3-point shooter but simply cannot do anything else.
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: wadesworld on February 08, 2017, 06:21:33 AM
We have lost three of our last 4 games. Who is calling Providence and SJU bad? Glass houses.

I call St. John's and Providence bad.
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: TAMU, Knower of Ball on February 08, 2017, 07:54:32 AM
Hey, the kids played hard, and gave it their best, right?? Come on, it's about winning basketball games. I feared it then, and it's coming to fruition now, beating Nova was the worst thing to happen to this team..lost 3-4 since then. they were content with that win being their season highlight. they acted like they had just won the National championship. Wish they would have just acted like they had been there before.

Yes. Too much celebrating is why we lost 3 of the last 4.  ::)

Can't act like you've been there before if you've never been there before. Upset wins against #1 teams don't happen often. Even more rarely in that dramatic of a fashion. Its ok to enjoy it.
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: 4everwarriors on February 08, 2017, 08:15:57 AM
Go to da state fair and you'll see great lookin' pigs. Go to da BC and the pig is pedestrian, ai na?
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: JamilJaeJamailJrJuan on February 08, 2017, 09:07:28 AM
It was lipstick on a pig and I bought in as well. We caught Creighton in their first game without their All American point guard and we caught the defending national champion on a night where they shot 6 for 34 from 3 and still only won by 2. Other than that? Not much to get overly excited about. Wins at home against not great Seton Hall and Georgetown teams, on a neutral court against a not great Vandy team, solid win at a not great Georgia team, losses to bad teams in Providence and St. John's, and home losses to 2 good teams whose best players were out for literally half the game (Butler and Wisconsin). Fact of the matter is this team just isn't great.

True, but the last 10-12 at large NCAA teams aren't great either.  They will all have warts.  Especially this year. It is still there for the taking.
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: wadesworld on February 08, 2017, 09:10:42 AM
True, but neither is the last 10-12 at large NCAA teams.  Especially this year.

Agreed.  We still have a chance.  But we aren't good enough to just roll out the ball and play.  Need to move the ball (this is where our problem was on offense, it wasn't Butler running us off the 3 point line, it was that we made it easy on Butler to do so...every time we felt we needed a basket it was "Get the ball to Rowsey/Reinhardt/Howard, set a high ball screen, and watch them try to take on both the on ball defender and the screen defender by himself") and fine the open shooter and limit the open looks we give our opponents.  If we play hero ball we aren't an NCAA Tournament team because we won't be getting to 9 or 10 BE wins.  If we play within ourselves there are no games we can't win left.  But with how inconsistent this team has been, I struggle to see us stringing together wins.
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: Lennys Tap on February 08, 2017, 09:16:51 AM
It was lipstick on a pig and I bought in as well. We caught Creighton in their first game without their All American point guard and we caught the defending national champion on a night where they shot 6 for 34 from 3 and still only won by 2. Other than that? Not much to get overly excited about. Wins at home against not great Seton Hall and Georgetown teams, on a neutral court against a not great Vandy team, solid win at a not great Georgia team, losses to bad teams in Providence and St. John's, and home losses to 2 good teams whose best players were out for literally half the game (Butler and Wisconsin). Fact of the matter is this team just isn't great.

This is (sadly) an accurate appraisal of this year's team. We're very good offensively when our shots fall (which is usually) and awful defensively unless the other team has a really bad shooting night (see Villanova).
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: JamilJaeJamailJrJuan on February 08, 2017, 09:19:21 AM
Agreed.  We still have a chance.  But we aren't good enough to just roll out the ball and play.  Need to move the ball (this is where our problem was on offense, it wasn't Butler running us off the 3 point line, it was that we made it easy on Butler to do so...every time we felt we needed a basket it was "Get the ball to Rowsey/Reinhardt/Howard, set a high ball screen, and watch them try to take on both the on ball defender and the screen defender by himself") and fine the open shooter and limit the open looks we give our opponents.  If we play hero ball we aren't an NCAA Tournament team because we won't be getting to 9 or 10 BE wins.  If we play within ourselves there are no games we can't win left.  But with how inconsistent this team has been, I struggle to see us stringing together wins.

Completely agreed.  Our ball movement last night was piss poor. Butler, coming off two losses, and having a week to prepare, had a great game plan for us.  I dont recall our offense looking that of whack in a couple months.  We didn't react well to them pushing us off the line.  Thank god Luke had a big game or it would have been much uglier.  If we can mix Luke playing like a beast and good outside shooting, we'd be very tough to beat. Unfortunately, we haven't gotten both in many games all year.
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: GoldenDieners32 on February 08, 2017, 09:22:53 AM
Agreed.  We still have a chance.  But we aren't good enough to just roll out the ball and play.  Need to move the ball (this is where our problem was on offense, it wasn't Butler running us off the 3 point line, it was that we made it easy on Butler to do so...every time we felt we needed a basket it was "Get the ball to Rowsey/Reinhardt/Howard, set a high ball screen, and watch them try to take on both the on ball defender and the screen defender by himself") and fine the open shooter and limit the open looks we give our opponents.  If we play hero ball we aren't an NCAA Tournament team because we won't be getting to 9 or 10 BE wins.  If we play within ourselves there are no games we can't win left.  But with how inconsistent this team has been, I struggle to see us stringing together wins.
Totally agree with you, we can win if we make the extra pass maybe throw a couple ball fakes in there and take it to the rim. Run our offense and create offense from our defense
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: Hubert Davis on February 08, 2017, 10:37:15 AM
Look, I would LOVE for Marquette to make the tournament. That would be huge. But look at it this way... ya'll keep saying there are "opportunities" and it's still there for the taking. Weak bubble, etc. Yes, yes and yes. I agree. But we've had nothing but opportunities all season!!! Wojo can't win the big games. He lost two games to two bad teams after the enormous upset of Nova. Bad! Then you have a key home game vs. a VERY beatable Butler team and they can't get it done. The guy doesn't have the juice yet and his teams sure as hell don't. It's sad. Absolutely no toughness.
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: goldeneagle91114 on February 08, 2017, 10:53:48 AM
Look, I would LOVE for Marquette to make the tournament. That would be huge. But look at it this way... ya'll keep saying there are "opportunities" and it's still there for the taking. Weak bubble, etc. Yes, yes and yes. I agree. But we've had nothing but opportunities all season!!! Wojo can't win the big games. He lost two games to two bad teams after the enormous upset of Nova. Bad! Then you have a key home game vs. a VERY beatable Butler team and they can't get it done. The guy doesn't have the juice yet and his teams sure as hell don't. It's sad. Absolutely no toughness.

Completely agree with this. I think once Same and Howard become upperclassman they will display the toughness it takes to win consistently in the Big East. Until then, let stop talking about the bubble and our slim chances of making the tournament and just watch our young players develop. In addition Wojo will recruit more great talent, we all know hes capable of doing this.. However, he also needs to find a "defensive coordinator" for an assistant and start to preach X's and O's.
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: JamilJaeJamailJrJuan on February 08, 2017, 10:55:04 AM
Completely agree with this. I think once Same and Howard become upperclassman they will display the toughness it takes to win consistently in the Big East. Until then, let stop talking about the bubble and our slim chances of making the tournament and just watch our young players develop. In addition Wojo will recruit more great talent, we all know hes capable of doing this.. However, he also needs to find a "defensive coordinator" for an assistant and start to preach X's and O's.

You can think that all you want, but the bottom line is, its completely inaccurate. 
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: TSmith34, Inc. on February 08, 2017, 10:56:58 AM
Wojo can't win the big games.
Other than this being completely and totally wrong, you are so right.  I mean, beating #1?  Not a big game!  Beating #7 on the road?  Not a big game!  There is no arguing with your logic sir!
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: Marcus92 on February 08, 2017, 11:01:54 AM
Fact of the matter is this team just isn't great.

There's a big, big difference between a "pig" and "great." This is a good team — quite likely one of the 5 best teams in the Big East, which is one of the 3 toughest conferences in the country. They are a great offensive team, last night's performance notwithstanding. Defensively, they're very mediocre.

If we can improve from 10th two years ago to 7th last season to 5th this year (along with an NCAA invitation), I like where we're headed.
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: goldeneagle91114 on February 08, 2017, 11:08:06 AM
You can think that all you want, but the bottom line is, its completely inaccurate.

the team needs to with 3 or 4 of the next 6 to make the tournament. They are more likely to go 1 and 5 down the stretch.

Xavier is good and i don't see us beating them
We needed 100 points to beat Creighton the game after they lost Watson, they are much better now
Georgetown is not the team we faced at the beginning of Big East Play
We have lost to providence... at home
St. Johns beat us handily because they are more athletic

Please explain where you think 3 or 4 wins will come from.
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: RJax55 on February 08, 2017, 11:11:58 AM
There's a big, big difference between a "pig" and "great." This is a good team — quite likely one of the 5 best teams in the Big East, which is one of the 3 toughest conferences in the country. They are a great offensive team, last night's performance notwithstanding. Defensively, they're very mediocre.

If we can improve from 10th two years ago to 7th last season to 5th this year (along with an NCAA invitation), I like where we're headed.

I don't know. Good? Looking like average at best. And, no, this team is not mediocre defensively. They are bad.

The next 6 games are big for Wojo. If he goes 2-4 down the stretch (very possible) and finishes 8-10, is that progress?
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: Golden Avalanche on February 08, 2017, 11:12:44 AM
This place continues to provide me with the good laughs. Watching the mood swing of the last 18 days has been great entertainment. Thank you all for the generosity.
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: goldeneagle91114 on February 08, 2017, 11:18:39 AM
This place continues to provide me with the good laughs. Watching the mood swing of the last 18 days has been great entertainment. Thank you all for the generosity.

go 5 and 3 to start league play and beat Creighton and Nova and i would expect people to be really excited (especially considering we have have beat Hall the first time, and not lost to Butler on the road, had the potential to be 7 and 1)

go 1 and 4 against the bottom half of the conference after the start mentioned above and i can see why people are pissed.

We appear to be headed in the wrong direction. like a 1-5 the rest of the way, direction.
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: JamilJaeJamailJrJuan on February 08, 2017, 11:22:01 AM
the team needs to with 3 or 4 of the next 6 to make the tournament. They are more likely to go 1 and 5 down the stretch.

Xavier is good and i don't see us beating them
We needed 100 points to beat Creighton the game after they lost Watson, they are much better now
Georgetown is not the team we faced at the beginning of Big East Play
We have lost to providence... at home
St. Johns beat us handily because they are more athletic

Please explain where you think 3 or 4 wins will come from.

I don't know right now.  But I think we just as easily go 4-2 as 2-4, and I think 3-3 is likely.  And, because I pay close attention to the bubble because I am CBB junkie, I am well aware of how weak the bubble is.  Even after our loss last night, all the prognosticators who have updated STILL have us in the field.  Obviously we'll fall out if we go 2-4 or worse, but I honestly think we'll have a shot at Dayton at 9-9, and perhaps be safe from the first 4 in Dayton if we win some games in the BET. 

If I had to guess to on the next 6, I'd say: L @ Gtown, L vs. X, W vs. SJU, W @ PC, L @ X, W vs. Creighton. (Man will this place be hell if we drop our next 2)..  Most every game is a 50/50 shot from here on out, outside of SJU who I think we handle on our home court.  Thing we have going for us is Luke seems to have turned a corner, and we're going to shoot better than we did last nights in most games, and we still almost beat the 2nd best team in the BE. 

Don't get me wrong, I am as frustrated as you are. We were in excellent shape following the Nova game, and we've given 90% of that goodwill back, but I will continue to say, that win is like gold.  So long as we get to 9-9, we got a shot.  Right now, I don't blame you for thinking 9-9 is going to be tough.     

go 5 and 3 to start league play and beat Creighton and Nova and i would expect people to be really excited (especially considering we have have beat Hall the first time, and not lost to Butler on the road, had the potential to be 7 and 1)

go 1 and 4 against the bottom half of the conference after the start mentioned above and i can see why people are pissed.

We appear to be headed in the wrong direction. like a 1-5 the rest of the way, direction.

It was 1-3 since Nova (really 1-2 versus the "bottom" because in no way is Butler bottom of the conference)..
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: Marcus92 on February 08, 2017, 12:59:07 PM
I don't know. Good? Looking like average at best. And, no, this team is not mediocre defensively. They are bad.

The next 6 games are big for Wojo. If he goes 2-4 down the stretch (very possible) and finishes 8-10, is that progress?

MU is 19th in the country in points per game (82.9) and FG% (48.7), both good for 2nd in the Big East. We're 1st nationally in 3-point percentage (42.4) and 6th in FT% (78.0). According to Ken Pomeroy, we're 6th in effective field goal percentage (57.4) and 9th in adjusted offensive efficiency (121.9).

All of those statistics are in the 94th percentile of the NCAA's 351 Division I teams. If that's not the definition of a great offensive team, I don't know what is.

Similarly, KenPom ranks Marquette 166th for adjusted defensive efficiency (104.9), which is pretty much exactly at the 50th percentile — in other words, mediocre (defined as "of only ordinary or moderate quality; neither good nor bad; barely adequate").

We'll see how we finish down the stretch. My advice is not to overreact to recent poor performances, the same way fans should have tempered their optimism following great performances against Creighton and Villanova. That's called recency bias, and doesn't necessarily reflect the current reality or predict the future with any accuracy.
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: 79Warrior on February 08, 2017, 01:23:10 PM
I call St. John's and Providence bad.

Pretty sure they feel the same way about us.
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: TAMU, Knower of Ball on February 08, 2017, 01:51:17 PM
We appear to be headed in the wrong direction. like a 1-5 the rest of the way, direction.

When will fans learn that there is no such thing as direction? Each game is a new test. It doesn't matter how you played the game before.
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: wadesworld on February 08, 2017, 01:57:55 PM
When will fans learn that there is no such thing as direction? Each game is a new test. It doesn't matter how you played the game before.

Momentum is a huge thing in sports.
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: Golden Avalanche on February 08, 2017, 02:21:30 PM
Momentum is a huge thing in sports.

Considering Marquette lost three of four games after gaining momentum beating Creighton and Nova, it may not be that huge when dealing with college kids.
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: GoldenDieners32 on February 08, 2017, 02:39:29 PM
Are players have to want to win. It hasn't looked like we want to win. Also we need to play with the same energy we had against Creighton and Nova except against every team
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: wadesworld on February 08, 2017, 02:55:43 PM
Considering Marquette lost three of four games after gaining momentum beating Creighton and Nova, it may not be that huge when dealing with college kids.

Momentum tends to change.  Marquette got some momentum by taking advantage of the fact that Creighton was dealing with a major change to their lineup.  They then went on and beat Nova and celebrated like they were going to go on and just put the jersey on and win games.  Hangover game against Providence and it's been all down hill since.
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: frozena pizza on February 08, 2017, 03:00:17 PM
I'm getting a bit tired of people saying that our guys aren't playing hard and have no heart.  I would bet that these kids are passionate about winning and working very hard every day trying to win every game.  The problem is that the other team wants it just as much and desire alone gets you nothing.  In fact I think sometimes they want it so bad it can lead to stupid fouls or ill-advised shots because they are being overly aggressive.  With experience comes poise and learning to stick to a game plan even under pressure.
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: wadesworld on February 08, 2017, 03:03:34 PM
I'm getting a bit tired of people saying that our guys aren't playing hard and have no heart.  I would bet that these kids are passionate about winning and working very hard every day trying to win every game.  The problem is that the other team wants it just as much and desire alone gets you nothing.  In fact I think sometimes they want it so bad it can lead to stupid fouls or ill-advised shots because they are being overly aggressive.  With experience comes poise and learning to stick to a game plan even under pressure.

Exactly.  It's not a lack of want.  It's a lack of knowing how.  And until you get experience doing it consistently, it's going to be an uphill battle to do so.
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: CTWarrior on February 08, 2017, 03:09:55 PM
I'm getting a bit tired of people saying that our guys aren't playing hard and have no heart.  I would bet that these kids are passionate about winning and working very hard every day trying to win every game.  The problem is that the other team wants it just as much and desire alone gets you nothing.  In fact I think sometimes they want it so bad it can lead to stupid fouls or ill-advised shots because they are being overly aggressive.  With experience comes poise and learning to stick to a game plan even under pressure.

I agree.  With the amigos and under Buzz we usually had guys who were quick and strong.  Because of that they got more than their share of 50/50 balls, tough rebounds, etc.  Our current guys are neither particularly nor particularly big and strong.  I think what sometimes looks like indifference is really just lack of physical tools.
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: TAMU, Knower of Ball on February 08, 2017, 03:10:33 PM
Momentum is a huge thing in sports.

In individual games yes. Not over a series of games.
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: keefe on February 08, 2017, 03:16:57 PM
Maybe this is not our year.
Everyone wants it to be.
Did we expect to be in the Dance?
I was hopeful but measured in my expectations.
Overall we are better than three years ago.
Could it be better if we had hired Smart?
Reality is a fickle beast.
Everything hinges on the Big East Tournament.
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: wadesworld on February 08, 2017, 03:19:53 PM
Maybe this is not our year.
Everyone wants it to be.
Did we expect to be in the Dance?
I was hopeful but measured in my expectations.
Overall we are better than three years ago.
Could it be better if we had hired Smart?
Reality is a fickle beast.
Everything hinges on the Big East Tournament.

The guy who took a former coach's team to an NCAA Tournament his first year and is now 10-14 at Texas?
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: JamilJaeJamailJrJuan on February 08, 2017, 03:25:33 PM
We are not to the point to where everything hinges on the BE tournament.  In fact, we could drop the next two (@GT and vs. X), and everything STILL wouldn't hinge on the BE tournament (yet). 
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: keefe on February 08, 2017, 03:29:02 PM
The guy who took a former coach's team to an NCAA Tournament his first year and is now 10-14 at Texas?

You misread what I wrote.
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: Badgerhater on February 08, 2017, 03:40:42 PM
If the team does not finish .500 in conference it does not deserve to go anywhere.  The only caveat is if MU goes 8-10 and wins two in the tourney, then it has a shot at the last four in.
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: GoldenDieners32 on February 08, 2017, 09:08:20 PM
I agree.  With the amigos and under Buzz we usually had guys who were quick and strong.  Because of that they got more than their share of 50/50 balls, tough rebounds, etc.  Our current guys are neither particularly nor particularly big and strong.  I think what sometimes looks like indifference is really just lack of physical tools.
We need to be able to grab those 50/50 balls
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: GoldenDieners32 on February 08, 2017, 09:08:38 PM
If the team does not finish .500 in conference it does not deserve to go anywhere.  The only caveat is if MU goes 8-10 and wins two in the tourney, then it has a shot at the last four in.
Bubble is too weak
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: GGGG on February 08, 2017, 09:24:52 PM
Momentum tends to change.  Marquette got some momentum by taking advantage of the fact that Creighton was dealing with a major change to their lineup.  They then went on and beat Nova and celebrated like they were going to go on and just put the jersey on and win games.  Hangover game against Providence and it's been all down hill since.


Saying "momentum is a huge thing in sports" but that "it tends to change" are kinda incompatible statements.

If it is a huge thing one would think it doesn't change so easily.
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: wadesworld on February 08, 2017, 10:49:29 PM

Saying "momentum is a huge thing in sports" but that "it tends to change" are kinda incompatible statements.

If it is a huge thing one would think it doesn't change so easily.

That's exactly what momentum is.  Once something gets moving in one direction, it catches speed quickly.  Of course if a team starts 4-0 that doesn't mean momentum has started and look out, they're not losing all year.

Take UCONN's 2011 last National Title.  17-2 (positive momentum) to start the year.  Run into a tough stretch and lose 7 out of 11 games (negative momentum) to close out the regular season.  Get a nice "fix me" game against DePaul to open the BE Tournament and bam, 11 straight wins to win the BET and National Title.

Take the Bucks.  2-10 since opening the season 20-18.  Sorry, but I don't think the Bucks are giving up 72 points in a half to a bad 76ers team without their 2 best offensive players if they're playing the way they were for the first 30 games of the season.  They have some horrible momentum going right now.

Look at the Packers year.  4-2 to 4-6 to 10-6.

Teams get in funks.  Teams get hot.  One game can shift momentum and take you from a horrible rut to a great run.  Or vice versa.  That's what momentum is, and it happens in sports all the time.
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: Lennys Tap on February 08, 2017, 11:56:20 PM
MU is 19th in the country in points per game (82.9) and FG% (48.7), both good for 2nd in the Big East. We're 1st nationally in 3-point percentage (42.4) and 6th in FT% (78.0). According to Ken Pomeroy, we're 6th in effective field goal percentage (57.4) and 9th in adjusted offensive efficiency (121.9).

All of those statistics are in the 94th percentile of the NCAA's 351 Division I teams. If that's not the definition of a great offensive team, I don't know what is.

Similarly, KenPom ranks Marquette 166th for adjusted defensive efficiency (104.9), which is pretty much exactly at the 50th percentile — in other words, mediocre (defined as "of only ordinary or moderate quality; neither good nor bad; barely adequate").


Counting all 351 division 1 teams in your analysis is silly. The 150 or so "cupcake teams" need to be taken out of the equation for any real conclusions to be drawn.

19th out of 200 "non cupcakes" is very good. 166th out of the same 200 is very bad, far from mediocre.

Very good and very bad. That's Marquette this year.
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: wadesworld on February 09, 2017, 12:02:30 AM
Counting all 351 division 1 teams in your analysis is silly. The 150 or so "cupcake teams" need to be taken out of the equation for any real conclusions to be drawn.

19th out of 200 "non cupcakes" is very good. 166th out of the same 200 is very bad, far from mediocre.

Very good and very bad. That's Marquette this year.

Why? The cupcakes are playing other like cupcakes more often than not. If we played UWM's schedule our defensive numbers would skyrocket.
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: Stretchdeltsig on February 09, 2017, 07:34:54 AM
My thinking is changing about the Big East.  It is a very toxic conference with the teams killing each other.  Perhaps Marquette should play in an easier conference like the Big Ten.  Most of the Big Ten teams are a joke this year. 
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: TAMU, Knower of Ball on February 09, 2017, 08:49:07 AM
That's exactly what momentum is.  Once something gets moving in one direction, it catches speed quickly.  Of course if a team starts 4-0 that doesn't mean momentum has started and look out, they're not losing all year.

Take UCONN's 2011 last National Title.  17-2 (positive momentum) to start the year.  Run into a tough stretch and lose 7 out of 11 games (negative momentum) to close out the regular season.  Get a nice "fix me" game against DePaul to open the BE Tournament and bam, 11 straight wins to win the BET and National Title.

Take the Bucks.  2-10 since opening the season 20-18.  Sorry, but I don't think the Bucks are giving up 72 points in a half to a bad 76ers team without their 2 best offensive players if they're playing the way they were for the first 30 games of the season.  They have some horrible momentum going right now.

Look at the Packers year.  4-2 to 4-6 to 10-6.

Teams get in funks.  Teams get hot.  One game can shift momentum and take you from a horrible rut to a great run.  Or vice versa.  That's what momentum is, and it happens in sports all the time.

For every example you find there are ten examples where a team had "great momentum" but still played like crap in the next game. Or a team was on a skid but played like worldbeaters in the next one. Really momentum is just a word that people use to try to explain when a team had a string of games near their ceiling or a string of games near their floor.

As you are known to say, the most important game is the next one. And the least important game is any that came before it.
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: Golden Avalanche on February 09, 2017, 10:14:21 AM
For every example you find there are ten examples where a team had "great momentum" but still played like crap in the next game. Or a team was on a skid but played like worldbeaters in the next one. Really momentum is just a word that people use to try to explain when a team had a string of games near their ceiling or a string of games near their floor.

As you are known to say, the most important game is the next one. And the least important game is any that came before it.

This.

The feeling around Scoop recently is people are twisting and turning trying to find ways to explain this Marquette team. It's simple: they're a classic NCAA bubble team who can beat any team in the conference on a good night or lose to any team in the conference on a bad night (excluding DePaul, you know, since the Demons suck).
Title: Re: Lipstick on a pig
Post by: Lennys Tap on February 09, 2017, 10:36:45 AM
Why? The cupcakes are playing other like cupcakes more often than not. If we played UWM's schedule our defensive numbers would skyrocket.

We are the 64th ranked team (defensively) out of 75 power 6 conference teams. Among high D1 teams, we aren't mediocre - we're awful. Skewing the numbers with cupcakes gives a false impression.