Put on your red shoes and dance the blues

[tower912]

1.   The officiating in the second half was the most blatant home cooking I have seen in some time.     Just once, I would like to see that work in MU's favor.
2.   JjJ was focused tonight.   Even sprinting back on defense.   
3.   Hero ball was working tonight.   More one-on-one than I think is best, but sometimes.......  Looked great.   
4.   The defense was really solid in the first half.   The switching was as good as it has been at any point all year.   HC, JjJ, Duane, nice.    Sadly, in the second half, any attempt at defense was called a foul.   
5.   Hey, this team can shoot.   
6.   Lots of guys scoring tonight.   
7.   The bad officiating.... forgiven.    The dumb fouls.... forgiven.   (well, maybe not all of the dumb fouls)    The weak defense late..... forgiven.   
8.   Now finish it.    Go out in style on Senior night on Saturday.     Leave no doubt.   

[We R Final Four]

Very few forces by KR.
Only one poor decision by JJ.
Wojo was good tonight. DW was bad so he sat. HC was bad so he sat. Neither Luke or Matt fouled out but we're sitting at the End. Love this team.

[mug644]

 
8.   Now finish it.    Go out in style on Senior night on Saturday.     Leave no doubt.

Good list, Tower. Nothing to add, except that I'll be at the game Saturday. Excited to travel across the country to get back to another senior night!

[AlumKCof93]

If we're off the bubble, then can the watch turn to what we need to do to play Xavier in the first round.  They are a spiritless team.

[GB Warrior]

Really pleased with this team. Best offensive performance of the year, and I actually don't think our D was that bad despite the 84 pts. Officiating had something to do with that.

Xavier is in a free fall. They're not going to miss the tourney, but they are in some real, real trouble. That said, make no mistake about it - this is a quality win in a really tough place to play.

[mileskishnish72]

Re: #1 - have you already forgotten Saturday?

[GGGG]

BTW, I think we saw why Duane didn't play v. Providence.  X's length bothered him tonight.

[Herman Cain]

We really needed this win. Tough place to win and we got it done. JJJ played the way we need him to play .  Lets keep taking it one game at a time.

[nyg]

Very few forces by KR.
Only one poor decision by JJ.
Wojo was good tonight. DW was bad so he sat. HC was bad so he sat. Neither Luke or Matt fouled out but we're sitting at the End. Love this team.

All of above.  Man, Duane and Cheatham were just terrible and Cheatham needs to get out of this thing big time. Slump is almost as bad as Sandy Cohen's
Four on Luke, three on Heldt the pattern continues and they have Patton come Saturday. 

When they shoot like that and have at least one big on floor, MU dangerous.  Big time shots by Hauser, JJJ, KR and the no, no, no, yes shot by Rowsey.  All at very important times of game.

Won't take anything for granted, but a win Saturday would be nice for program.

[brandx]

Very few forces by KR.
Only one poor decision by JJ.
Wojo was good tonight. DW was bad so he sat. HC was bad so he sat. Neither Luke or Matt fouled out but we're sitting at the End. Love this team.

This is the time of year to tighten the rotation. Rowsey, Howard, Hauser, Reinhart, jjj need big minutes. Heldt needs as many minutes as Luke.

This team will only go as far as the offense carries it. DW and HC are liabilities on the offensive end. They should get (few) minutes accordingly.

[GGGG]

I would be happy about this win, but according to bilsu the only reason we won is because of JJJ's great all around game.

[brandx]

All of above.  Man, Duane and Cheatham were just terrible and Cheatham needs to get out of this thing big time. Slump is almost as bad as Sandy Cohen's

HC's offense has become Derrick-esque.

[cheese ball chaser]

HC's offense has become Derrick-esque.

I just wish he would stop turning it over 

[GB Warrior]

HC's offense has become Derrick-esque.

No one needs this offseason more than Cheatham. His confidence is a net negative.

[Anti-Dentite]

Beautiful exhibition of basketball in the second half holding off attempted runs by Xavier. The boys brought it and I give Wojo credit for both preparation and in game coaching.

[GGGG]

Most points ever given up by Xavier at the Cintas Center.  Best shooting game by a X opponent since 2004.

[Newsdreams]

I would be happy about this win, but according to bilsu the only reason we won is because of JJJ's great all around game.

Did he mention we played terrible because  we blew a 17 pt lead and won by 10?

[21rooster]

Great coaching in the second half during the stretch where they just ran the same play five straight times.  Keep doing it until they prove they can stop it.  Big run for MU over that stretch. 

[Mr. Sand-Knit]

3.   Hero ball was working tonight.   More one-on-one than I think is best, but sometimes.......  Looked great. 

Incorrect.  That was by design.  X was switching everything to take away the 3.  So mu was setting multiple ball screen to get gaston or omara on a wing.  Then jjj, katin, riwsey, or howard went to work on the bigger slower defender in iso.  Good move by wojo,  got a ton of layins n fouls in the second half off of it.  Looks like hero ball cause of the iso n dribbling but exactly what we wanted

[Dr. Blackheart]

I expected 9-9 preseason, that is a lock. If MU shoots lights out, it wins. If they share the ball and don't turn it over like tonight, they shoot lights out. Pretty simple formula. More so, despite getting outscored 53-51 in the 2nd, they took care of business on the road with crappy officiating.

[ecompt]

Good list, Tower. Nothing to add, except that I'll be at the game Saturday. Excited to travel across the country to get back to another senior night!

Don't show up at night. We are driving in from Erie for an AFTERNOON game.

[MU82]

3.   Hero ball was working tonight.   More one-on-one than I think is best, but sometimes.......  Looked great. 

Incorrect.  That was by design.  X was switching everything to take away the 3.  So mu was setting multiple ball screen to get gaston or omara on a wing.  Then jjj, katin, riwsey, or howard went to work on the bigger slower defender in iso.  Good move by wojo,  got a ton of layins n fouls in the second half off of it.  Looks like hero ball cause of the iso n dribbling but exactly what we wanted

Agree with this. I was thrilled whenever we could attack Gaston or Macuro 1-on-1.

[GGGG]

3.   Hero ball was working tonight.   More one-on-one than I think is best, but sometimes.......  Looked great. 

Incorrect.  That was by design.  X was switching everything to take away the 3.  So mu was setting multiple ball screen to get gaston or omara on a wing.  Then jjj, katin, riwsey, or howard went to work on the bigger slower defender in iso.  Good move by wojo,  got a ton of layins n fouls in the second half off of it.  Looks like hero ball cause of the iso n dribbling but exactly what we wanted

Exactly.

I went over to the Xavier hoops board and they were bitching about this very same thing.  That the constant switching on screens was causing mismatches that MU exploited.  If you listened to Wojo during the timeout (I know, I know...) he referred to this when he was talking about moving the ball and not driving to the hoop after only one or two passes. 

This is also why this small line up is so good.  Fourth game in a row where MU just came out on fire.  And if you are going to be bad on defense, might as well do it with a team that can light it up right?

And this is what Wojo's teams are going to look like.  They have pretty much abandoned the post and Luke, and are going to use their five as a defender and a rebounder. 

[GB Warrior]

3.   Hero ball was working tonight.   More one-on-one than I think is best, but sometimes.......  Looked great. 

Incorrect.  That was by design.  X was switching everything to take away the 3.  So mu was setting multiple ball screen to get gaston or omara on a wing.  Then jjj, katin, riwsey, or howard went to work on the bigger slower defender in iso.  Good move by wojo,  got a ton of layins n fouls in the second half off of it.  Looks like hero ball cause of the iso n dribbling but exactly what we wanted

Great analysis. KR especially was taking advantage of this matchup, but AR and Howard both used this to get into the lane. Paid big dividends.

[forgetful]

Exactly.

I went over to the Xavier hoops board and they were bitching about this very same thing.  That the constant switching on screens was causing mismatches that MU exploited.  If you listened to Wojo during the timeout (I know, I know...) he referred to this when he was talking about moving the ball and not driving to the hoop after only one or two passes. 

This is also why this small line up is so good.  Fourth game in a row where MU just came out on fire.  And if you are going to be bad on defense, might as well do it with a team that can light it up right?

And this is what Wojo's teams are going to look like.  They have pretty much abandoned the post and Luke, and are going to use their five as a defender and a rebounder.

Agreed, but I think Wojo is going to adapt his offense to his players.  This works great this year (and likely next), because of our shooters.  Last year, we exploited mismatches with Henry. 

He is going to adapt his offense to where he knows he can get a mismatch.  I like that.