What if......

[Big Papi]

...….Marquette had been up 37-12 after 12 minutes and then cruised to an 83-64 win?      Still would have been 28 minutes of being outscored by Presbyterian.   

... Wojo had thought Chartouny was a wasted scholarship like so many on this board seemed to after only 3 games?


It is a long season.     Try drinking chamomile tea.

There is no what if. 

We were embarrassed by Indiana who is an average Big 10 team. 
We struggled for 28 minutes against a Big South conference team that only won 11 games last year, is picked to finish 9th in their conference this year and had 2 freshmen starters play extensive minutes.

It's game 4 of a long season but these last 2 games have provided reasons for concern with this team's play, this team's roster makeup and the coach responsible for our general lack of success of 4 plus years.  I am hoping this is just a bump in the road and we look a whole lot better against Kansas.

[tower912]

What if you took the results, final point spreads, and defensive stats from the 3 cupcakes in a vacuum without the turd that was the IU game?

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=401083244
UMBC: 25 pt win, 22% shooting allowed
http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=401083245
Bethune: 33 pt win, 29% shooting allowed
http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=401083246
Presbyterian: 19 pt win, 31% shooting allowed

If we had not played IU yet, the talk would be about how good the defense was, how we were playing better defense against the cupcakes than at any time under Wojo, and as soon as the shooting reverts to the norm, this team is going to be pretty good.    Yeah, we might struggle against IU and Kansas, but there is reason for optimism.   

Sadly, the turd that is the IU game completely overshadows any of that.     MU sucked that night.      And with Kansas looming, it is hard to see anything but the suck. 

[jesmu84]

There is no what if. 

We were embarrassed by Indiana who is an average Big 10 team. 
We struggled for 28 minutes against a Big South conference team that only won 11 games last year, is picked to finish 9th in their conference this year and had 2 freshmen starters play extensive minutes.

It's game 4 of a long season but these last 2 games have provided reasons for concern with this team's play, this team's roster makeup and the coach responsible for our general lack of success of 4 plus years.  I am hoping this is just a bump in the road and we look a whole lot better against Kansas.

How do we know Indiana is an average big ten team? If they win the big ten, does that change anything?

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

How do we know Indiana is an average big ten team? If they win the big ten, does that change anything?

I don't know why any one would assume they are an average B1G team at this point. Preseason they were picked to finish third in the conference and since then they've done nothing to disprove that. They certainly looked like a top 15 team to me when they played them. Could be we just made them look that good but I don't think so. Langford and Morgan are studs, Archie is a helluva coach, and they are getting high level production out of their other true freshmen.

[Loose Cannon]

Presbyterian has outperformed expectations in every D1 game they've played this year and scored triple digits in their D2 games. They will contend for their league title and a NCAA bid. Wouldn't at all surprise me if they stole one from UCLA, Butler, or Dayton on the road and we were lucky it wasn't us.

Tip of the Hat Brew, you were on PC right out the Gate.

[Big Papi]

I don't know why any one would assume they are an average B1G team at this point. Preseason they were picked to finish third in the conference and since then they've done nothing to disprove that. They certainly looked like a top 15 team to me when they played them. Could be we just made them look that good but I don't think so. Langford and Morgan are studs, Archie is a helluva coach, and they are getting high level production out of their other true freshmen.

Yes Archie is a helluva coach.  The problem is we can't say the same about Wojo. 

The problem is I don't think Indiana is nearly as good as Michigan St or Michigan but is as good as Wisconsin. The problem is Indiana was missing 4 players.  The problem is that we were never in the game.  The problem is that their freshmen outplayed our star experienced players.   The problem is that this was supposed to be the year that we were supposed to take a step forward and be a very good team.  The problem is Howard is not a point guard and yet Wojo is running him out there as one and he proceed to turn the ball over 3 times in the first 2 plus minutes of the game and we looked like a bad team.

I pray this was just a bump in the road and we play competitively against Kansas. 

And speaking of Kansas, what is the expectation compared to what should be the expectation?  My expectation before the Indiana game was that we were going to be competitive and have at least a chance to win.  Now it is no way that we can win but can we be competitive for a good portion of the game and can we lose by less than 15 points.

[Boston Warrior]

The team will learn from Indiana and the intensity needed to compete at a high level.

Hopefully, wojo has learned that chart has to be the point...

Marcus can only do it in spurts...

Joey is already getting a feel for high level college basketball.

The next 6 games or so will tell us if they respond quickly or it will be a long season.

I am hopeful they respond quickly with Joey and chart playing more minutes.

[Floorslapper]

Yes Archie is a helluva coach.  The problem is we can't say the same about Wojo.

The problem is I don't think Indiana is nearly as good as Michigan St or Michigan but is as good as Wisconsin. The problem is Indiana was missing 4 players.  The problem is that we were never in the game.  The problem is that their freshmen outplayed our star experienced players.   The problem is that this was supposed to be the year that we were supposed to take a step forward and be a very good team.  The problem is Howard is not a point guard and yet Wojo is running him out there as one and he proceed to turn the ball over 3 times in the first 2 plus minutes of the game and we looked like a bad team.

I pray this was just a bump in the road and we play competitively against Kansas. 

And speaking of Kansas, what is the expectation compared to what should be the expectation?  My expectation before the Indiana game was that we were going to be competitive and have at least a chance to win.  Now it is no way that we can win but can we be competitive for a good portion of the game and can we lose by less than 15 points.

Truth.  The "What if" game is really silly.  For a minute I thought I was going to open the thread and begin an episode of 30 for 30.

[WhiteTrash]

The team will learn from Indiana and the intensity needed to compete at a high level.

Obviously you don't think much of Wojo. Most of the team has been through the Big East and Wojo should be running high intensity practices at this level. Preparation falls on the coach. Miller had his young team ready for major college basketball.

[Boston Warrior]

The first road game against a quality team can be a misstep...

Chart, Joey, Bailey, Morrow haven’t played at that level or in some cases for a year or 2. Howard is playing out of position.

It’s not nessecarily an indictment of Wojo.

It’s how the team responds that will determine if Wojo has the team going in the right direction.

[wadesworld]

Truth.  The "What if" game is really silly.  For a minute I thought I was going to open the thread and begin an episode of 30 for 30.

Says the guy who constantly asks "What if our coach ignored trying to win basketball games and pampered to younger guys who were nowhere near ready to play Big East basketball 5 years ago?"