DumpPaul

[5DollarPitcher]

1. Poop
2. Dump
3. Poop and Dump
4. Turnovers

Burn the film. This is our nadir.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Death
Taxes
Chit the bed vs depaul.

[MuggsyB]

1. Poop
2. Dump
3. Poop and Dump
4. Turnovers

Burn the film. This is our nadir.

LOL.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Kolek is unplayable when he lets a opponent get under his skin.  He's a very intense player and that can lead to brilliant performances or complete disaster. Too much disaster lately.

The offense continues to be great.  The defense has sunk to sub Wojo levels. Never thought that would Jalen under Shaka.

We're still ahead of where I thought we would be this season... but it's a real kick in the nads to climb so high and then fade this hard rather than the other way around

[Daniel]

Kolek is unplayable when he lets a opponent get under his skin.  He's a very intense player and that can lead to brilliant performances or complete disaster. Too much disaster lately.

The offense continues to be great.  The defense has sunk to sub Wojo levels. Never thought that would Jalen under Shaka.

We're still ahead of where I thought we would be this season... but it's a real kick in the nads to climb so high and then fade this hard rather than the other way around

Defense: seem to get beat on presses more often now, and our rim defense has fallen off - Kur not blocking as many shots etc,   But we have had sme good defense - first half tonight was nit that bad.  But it is less effective than a month ago or so

[MU82]

Kolek is unplayable when he lets a opponent get under his skin.  He's a very intense player and that can lead to brilliant performances or complete disaster. Too much disaster lately.

The offense continues to be great.  The defense has sunk to sub Wojo levels. Never thought that would Jalen under Shaka.

We're still ahead of where I thought we would be this season... but it's a real kick in the nads to climb so high and then fade this hard rather than the other way around

Indeed, many of us said before the season that the one thing we hoped to see, regardless of the record, was a team that was better in February than it was in January and better in March than it was in February.

Of course, January was so good that it would have been almost impossible to top it. I refuse to get all mopey about this team.

Also, I think you have a typo in your second paragraph, because I don't think you meant to mention Jalen, whoever that is.

[Dr. Blackheart]

Kolek is unplayable when he lets a opponent get under his skin.  He's a very intense player and that can lead to brilliant performances or complete disaster. Too much disaster lately.

The offense continues to be great.  The defense has sunk to sub Wojo levels. Never thought that would Jalen under Shaka.

We're still ahead of where I thought we would be this season... but it's a real kick in the nads to climb so high and then fade this hard rather than the other way around

Time to start Stevie. His conference Orating is 113, 12 points in 16 minutes tonight, with 3 steals a couple of boards. He is peaking. Kolek needs to find some pine and learn to grow up.

[MUfan12]

Time to start Stevie. His conference Orating is 113, 12 points in 16 minutes tonight, with 3 steals a couple of boards. He is peaking. Kolek needs to find some pine and learn to grow up.

Small sample size, but agree Stevie's role needs to increase. And likely will with Greg hurt.

That said, the thought of him and Morsell trying to break that press Saturday... yikes. They'll need Tyler.

[Dr. Blackheart]

Small sample size, but agree Stevie's role needs to increase. And likely will with Greg hurt.

That said, the thought of him and Morsell trying to break that press Saturday... yikes. They'll need Tyler.

Jalen Terry ate up Tyler tonight. Pooh is much better. Tyler needs a reset. His mind is not in the game. Stevie has earned more minutes as of late, Tyler less.

[jfp61]

The offense from our guards who aren't freshman in the last month.

Morsell- 92.4 Rating, 49.3%eFG, Not drawing FTs
Elliot- 98.4 Rating, 37.5%eFG, 21.4% from three
Kolek- 100.3 Rating, 49%eFG, No longer grabbing boards.

Freshman

Mitchell- 127.1 Rating, unsustainably high stats but play him more to find out.
Jones- 122.8 Rating, 63.3%eFG, 45.% from Three, can't really defend but still needs to play more

[PointWarrior]

Thanks for pointing this out.  The lineup Shaka keeps trotting out is not winning. Elliot since the UConn game has had minimal impact and is not the future of the program. Kolek is Kolek. Meanwhile, the freshman Mitchell and Kam are coming on (and including Joplin). I would rather lose with the future than lose with the present.  The fear is that this slump and lack of playing time for Mitchell, Jones, Joplin may mean undesired transfers....

The offense from our guards who aren't freshman in the last month.

Morsell- 92.4 Rating, 49.3%eFG, Not drawing FTs
Elliot- 98.4 Rating, 37.5%eFG, 21.4% from three
Kolek- 100.3 Rating, 49%eFG, No longer grabbing boards.

Freshman

Mitchell- 127.1 Rating, unsustainably high stats but play him more to find out.
Jones- 122.8 Rating, 63.3%eFG, 45.% from Three, can't really defend but still needs to play more

[brewcity77]

• Wasted opportunity. With so many teams on the 6/7 lines faltering, MU could've become a lock and moved to a 6, instead they fall into a likely 8/9 and are closer to the bubble. Still in, but not safe.
• I do not get lineups with Kam, Elliott, and Jop together. Not even Morsell can call out enough to get those guys in sync on defense.
• Speaking of the guards, Kam, Greg, and Kolek went a combined 1/10 from three with the only make coming from Kam after no doubt was left. They weren't getting nor creating good enough looks.
• Tyler mentioned it in The Golden Breakdown live pod, but man is Kur struggling. Not protecting the rim like he was, too many fouls. He was averaging 22.6 mpg during the January streak, but just 14.9 mpg since the start of February. His ineffectiveness puts too much pressure on the other 4 defenders because he's supposed to be that relief valve.
• So many wasted opportunities all night long. Oso letting 6 first half points go through his hands. Kam taking heat check threes when he wasn't hot. Creating turnovers only to miss bunnies or hand it right back. Even down 17, the chances to come back were there and we failed repeatedly to capitalize.
• This is the first game where I woke up pessimistic about the current season. There have been frustrating losses, but last night we saw a team peaking in March, playing better than they were early on, but it was DePaul and not us. January was great, but even if it's an aberration this should've been a 4-2 stretch, not 2-4. Some unacceptable losses that have me thinking about the transfer portal instead of the next game.

[Hards Alumni]

I'm going to take responsibility for the collapse.

after the loss to UConn on 2/8, I told my FIL that we could and should probably win out.

My bad guys.

[MUfan12]

Your second and fourth points... This is where I need to see some adjustments. That lineup was a disaster in the first half. He moved on quickly, but it was still a bad couple minutes.

In regards to Kur, and Oso for that matter... They need to stop having them chase non-shooters to the perimeter. I get a trap on a screen, late in a possession. But they're out there all the time, away from the basket when they could be clogging up the lane.

[MU82]

• Wasted opportunity. With so many teams on the 6/7 lines faltering, MU could've become a lock and moved to a 6, instead they fall into a likely 8/9 and are closer to the bubble. Still in, but not safe.
• I do not get lineups with Kam, Elliott, and Jop together. Not even Morsell can call out enough to get those guys in sync on defense.
• Speaking of the guards, Kam, Greg, and Kolek went a combined 1/10 from three with the only make coming from Kam after no doubt was left. They weren't getting nor creating good enough looks.
• Tyler mentioned it in The Golden Breakdown live pod, but man is Kur struggling. Not protecting the rim like he was, too many fouls. He was averaging 22.6 mpg during the January streak, but just 14.9 mpg since the start of February. His ineffectiveness puts too much pressure on the other 4 defenders because he's supposed to be that relief valve.
• So many wasted opportunities all night long. Oso letting 6 first half points go through his hands. Kam taking heat check threes when he wasn't hot. Creating turnovers only to miss bunnies or hand it right back. Even down 17, the chances to come back were there and we failed repeatedly to capitalize.
• This is the first game where I woke up pessimistic about the current season. There have been frustrating losses, but last night we saw a team peaking in March, playing better than they were early on, but it was DePaul and not us. January was great, but even if it's an aberration this should've been a 4-2 stretch, not 2-4. Some unacceptable losses that have me thinking about the transfer portal instead of the next game.

Lots of good points, brew.

The bigly optimist in me says, "It was the worst half of the season, it happens, we still can have a March mini-run if Kolek gets right, if Morsell and Lewis play like beasts, if Kam gets hot, if if if."

But I admit it's not quite as easy to convince myself of all that today as it was 18 hours ago.

[MDMU04]

I'm going to take responsibility for the collapse.

after the loss to UConn on 2/8, I told my FIL that we could and should probably win out.

My bad guys.

Well now it’s your duty to go tell him you don’t expect us to win another game this season.

Right the wrong.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

Well now it’s your duty to go tell him you don’t expect us to win another game this season.

Right the wrong.

You’d probably be telling the honest truth both times. Sadly.

[Dr. Blackheart]

Your second and fourth points... This is where I need to see some adjustments. That lineup was a disaster in the first half. He moved on quickly, but it was still a bad couple minutes.

It came down to that 18-2 run. Shaka didn’t have his magic touch with line ups last night. The game was played at way too fast a tempo (fastest BE game). He let the game get away from him. As bad as the play on the floor was, I think the coaching staff was equally sub par.

Any word on Greg? He came back out of the locker room after limping there, but Doc pulled him back a few minutes later for I assume x-rays. Btw, Greg will be honored for Senior Night, so that suggests he won’t return next year to MU.

[Elonsmusk]

Jalen Terry ate up Tyler tonight. Pooh is much better. Tyler needs a reset. His mind is not in the game. Stevie has earned more minutes as of late, Tyler less.

End of the day, this team is only as good as Kolek plays.  He plays well, we are really good.  He doesn't?  We struggle.  Teams have placed all of their defensive emphasis on stopping our pick/roll game, and shutting down Tyler's penetration at all costs.  The easy looks he created for others (Oso, Kur, Elliott, Kam) have diminished.

Stevie has been a bright spot these last two games, but he isn't going to be a better option running PG on this team than Tyler.  Kam should get all of Elliott's minutes if he's out for the remainder.  Mitchell backs up Kolek and if he plays well, Tyler gets more time on the bench.

P.S.  Jalen Terry didn't eat up Tyler.  He's a 31% 3pt shooter who made some 25 foot contested threes.  DePaul was able to force some switches that left Tyler guarding 6'6" 220 David Jones on the block.  TF you think was gonna happen on that action?

P.S.S. - All that aside the real disappointment in last night was that our defense couldn't stem the tide.

[brewcity77]

We need a second creator on offense. Honestly, I think Tyler is better suited to be the second PG rather than the primary option for the entire game. Hopefully Sean Jones can be that guy next year, or they can find someone in the portal to help. I don't think it's Stevie and it's definitely not Kam. Kolek's shooting ability would make him a great second point guard if someone else can initiate the drive, then open him up for shots from the arc or to initiate a secondary drive. There's a reason the best teams have two point guards. We need to find that if we want to be fighting for a protected seed.

[Dr. Blackheart]

End of the day, this team is only as good as Kolek plays.  He plays well, we are really good.  He doesn't?  We struggle.  Teams have placed all of their defensive emphasis on stopping our pick/roll game, and shutting down Tyler's penetration at all costs.  The easy looks he created for others (Oso, Kur, Elliott, Kam) have diminished.

Stevie has been a bright spot these last two games, but he isn't going to be a better option running PG on this team than Tyler.  Kam should get all of Elliott's minutes if he's out for the remainder.  Mitchell backs up Kolek and if he plays well, Tyler gets more time on the bench.

P.S.  Jalen Terry didn't eat up Tyler.  He's a 31% 3pt shooter who made some 25 foot contested threes.  DePaul was able to force some switches that left Tyler guarding 6'6" 220 David Jones on the block.  TF you think was gonna happen on that action?

P.S.S. - All that aside the real disappointment in last night was that our defense couldn't stem the tide.

Your famed eye test fails you. Terry was on Tyler on defense as well as TK was turning it over at will, and Tyler was doing some nice pirouettes on those switches leading to easy back doors. As the Ners’ proclaimed “best PG since Diener”, it would be nice if our floor leader doesn’t throw temper tantrums that affect his play on both ends of the floor and gives fuel to the opponents. And certainly, the best PG should be able to handle a Jalen Terry then.

You are really in spin mode, but this was a stinker. Tyler will grow and mature, but give me Stevie at this point. He has earned those minutes and can certainly handle those defensive switches or on ball defense. Shaka has given Tyler a lot of rope to grow, but at this point in the season, he isn’t earning those minutes.

[BrewCity83]

I really like Stevie's temperament too.  You could see Tyler getting visible frustrated again last night, but Stevie comes in and always has a pleasant, relaxed look and usually a smile.

[Elonsmusk]

Your famed eye test fails you. Terry was on Tyler on defense as well as TK was turning it over at will, and Tyler was doing some nice pirouettes on those switches leading to easy back doors. As the Ners’ proclaimed “best PG since Diener”, it would be nice if our floor leader doesn’t throw temper tantrums that affect his play on both ends of the floor and gives fuel to the opponents. And certainly, the best PG should be able to handle a Jalen Terry then.

You are really in spin mode, but this was a stinker. Tyler will grow and mature, but give me Stevie at this point. He has earned those minutes and can certainly handle those defensive switches or on ball defense. Shaka has given Tyler a lot of rope to grow, but at this point in the season, he isn’t earning those minutes.

Lol. You’re the guy who felt us slowing tempo by two tenths of a second was the reason our play improved earlier this year. You’re analytics obsession fails you frequently.

Hopefully Shaka takes your advice and played Stevie 30 at PG against St Johns and we can see the results.

Ty had a bad game. Not sure if you saw he’s the leader in deflections on this team..a stat Shaka values. The narrative he’s not a good defender is fiction. He also happens to be the Big Easy leader in assists in his first year as a PG at the high major level.

[Dr. Blackheart]

Lol. You’re the guy who felt us slowing tempo by two tenths of a second was the reason our play improved earlier this year. You’re analytics obsession fails you frequently.

Hopefully Shaka takes your advice and played Stevie 30 at PG against St Johns and we can see the results.

Ty had a bad game. Not sure if you saw he’s the leader in deflections on this team..a stat Shaka values. The narrative he’s not a good defender is fiction. He also happens to be the Big Easy leader in assists in his first year as a PG at the high major level.

Your PG expertise is outstanding.

[GoldenEagles03]

We need a second creator on offense. Honestly, I think Tyler is better suited to be the second PG rather than the primary option for the entire game. Hopefully Sean Jones can be that guy next year, or they can find someone in the portal to help. I don't think it's Stevie and it's definitely not Kam. Kolek's shooting ability would make him a great second point guard if someone else can initiate the drive, then open him up for shots from the arc or to initiate a secondary drive. There's a reason the best teams have two point guards. We need to find that if we want to be fighting for a protected seed.

Sean Jones is definitely that guy offensively. No question about it. 

I'm not sure he'll start over Kolek though. The real question is whether his defense will warrant keeping on the floor in the Big East with his diminutive stature.