Confirmation bias night

[tower912]

Everybody had a little something to prove they are right.   Like Wojo decided to have a game where he let Scoop coach.
1. ...being competitive with a team this young is a credit to the coaching staff.
2.  Wojo started man, went zone a lot.     The man wasn't bad.   The zone was pretty good. 
3.  The ball moved very well tonight.    Balanced scoring.
4.  Is Greg a PG?   How much of his struggle with his handle and holding onto the ball is due to his thumb?    Get surgery day 1 after the season over, get healthy, get to work.
5.   No Froling.  More Theo.   Like everything else, it worked tonight.   
To pick some nits....
6.  Transition defense was inconsistent.
7.  Greg looked scared at the point.   
8.  Maybe the stats won't show it, but it felt like SJU was beating MU up on the offensive glass.   
9.  MU had to have it and they got it.    On to Depaul.     Look for me there.   I'll be the middle aged guy in the Marquette swag. 

[Dr. Blackheart]

Had myself a final, long-lasting, 29 year satisfying Bradley Center piss!

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Garbage defense. We let another player score a career high 

Played near our ceiling tonight....and it was without Markus. Bodes well for the rest of the season. Everyone played like upperclassmen today....except Harry.

Without Trimble going out of his mind from deep, this a coast to coast 20+ beatdown.

[drewm88]

Everybody had a little something to prove they are right.   Like Wojo decided to have a game where he let Scoop coach.
1. ...being competitive with a team this young is a credit to the coaching staff.
2.  Wojo started man, went zone a lot.     The man wasn't bad.   The zone was pretty good. 
3.  The ball moved very well tonight.    Balanced scoring.
4.  Is Greg a PG?   How much of his struggle with his handle and holding onto the ball is due to his thumb?    Get surgery day 1 after the season over, get healthy, get to work.
5.   No Froling.  More Theo.   Like everything else, it worked tonight.   
To pick some nits....
6.  Transition defense was inconsistent.
7.  Greg looked scared at the point.   
8.  Maybe the stats won't show it, but it felt like SJU was beating MU up on the offensive glass.   
9.  MU had to have it and they got it.    On to Depaul.     Look for me there.   I'll be the middle aged guy in the Marquette swag.

Rowsey the scorer is great. Tonight we needed Rowsey the playmaker and got it.

Sam asserted himself better than he has in a while.

The whole team stepped up, really.

It's impressive to see how much Theo and Sacar have progressed this year.

It's even more impressive to see how much Matt has progressed in three years.

Transition D was horrible.

I'm sure somebody will provide stats to show I'm wrong, but St. John's has struck me as a team that struggles against the zone, so not sure if it was our zone D or their zone offense that worked for us.

Exactly what we needed tonight. Now don't let down Saturday.

[mileskishnish72]

Interesting stats:
     - 5 guys in double figures again (but not the starters)
     - no one with more than 2 fouls (and Matt with none)

[Vander Blue Man Group]

I will be there on Saturday and am most excited about not having to listen to Dickey announce the game.

[PGsHeroes32]

I keep saying it.

We will be really good next year. So much talent will have more experience.

And we will play with size and defense.

This year...still alive. DePaul isn’t a gimme and Gtown really scares me. But let’s see what happens

[Bo Ryan's Massage Therapist]

Had myself a final, long-lasting, 29 year satisfying Bradley Center piss!

A one hand on the wall due to 6 beers deep kind of piss?

[DegenerateDish]

I think MU got a way with Greg at the point tonight, if that makes sense. Some nights, I don't think that bet will pay off (if he handles the ball like he did tonight).

Sacar can do things on offense that no one else on the roster can do, that showed again at times tonight.

I said this in another thread, but Harry's minutes trend is "interesting".

[Floorslapper]

Rowsey the scorer is great. Tonight we needed Rowsey the playmaker and got it.

Sam asserted himself better than he has in a while.

The whole team stepped up, really.

It's impressive to see how much Theo and Sacar have progressed this year.

It's even more impressive to see how much Matt has progressed in three years.

Transition D was horrible.

I'm sure somebody will provide stats to show I'm wrong, but St. John's has struck me as a team that struggles against the zone, so not sure if it was our zone D or their zone offense that worked for us.

Exactly what we needed tonight. Now don't let down Saturday.

Well, St. John's pretty much was in full control of the game in Queens against our M2M.  Tonight?  We dominated.

Nice not seeing our defense be a sieve and layup line and fouling machine.  St. John's took just 14 FT's tonight.  They took 28 against us at home.  Creigton only took 15 FTs.  The previous game against Seton Hall?  33 FTs Yielded.  Against Providence the game before that? 38 FTs yielded.

Many benefits to the zone and playing defense without Markus and Rowsey together.  Offense flows much better too without our 34% of all shots in conference play, player sidelined.

[PGsHeroes32]

I will be there on Saturday and am most excited about not having to listen to Dickey announce the game.

Almost positive he implied St Johns still had tourney hopes at one point

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Almost positive he implied St Johns still had tourney hopes at one point

Accurate.

[warriorchick]

Had myself a final, long-lasting, 29 year satisfying Bradley Center piss!

Your post belongs in the Emergency Stream thread.

[barfolomew]

Your post belongs in the Emergency Stream thread.

[warriorchick]

Listening to Wojo on Homer and Macs post-game show. I believe it is the first time I have heard him speak after a game where he wasn't hoarse.

[chapman]

I'd say the freshmen were outstanding, but don't want to minimize Rowsey, Hauser, and Anim all having nice games. 

But the freshmen were outstanding.  High IQ players. 

For player development - Anim got garbage minutes as a freshman and took a rare redshirt year as a sophomore.  John couldn't keep himself in the game because of his fouling.  Cain was the last guy off the bench.  Elliott was decent from the beginning, for a freshman.  How's all that coming together these days?

Optimistic that Howard can be successfully re-integrated and further raise the ceiling of this team.  It should only help having someone capable of putting up 52 in a game and the second best ball handler (where the weakness showed at times tonight).  Critical the team doesn't lose the defensive focus or balanced attack we've gotten the past game and a half - that's what has turned the season around.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Almost positive he implied St Johns still had tourney hopes at one point

There are a really interesting case. If they had won out they would have had a top 50 RPI with a top 10 SOS, an 8 game winning streak, and two signature wins better than any that any other bubble team has. That seems like a tournament team. But fair or not, teams with losing conference records usually don't get considered for at large berths. Would have been interesting to see how the committee handled them.

Oh well, much happier with an MU win 

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

Big W. Never really doubt.

This team is better with only one of Markus and Rowsey playing. But having both available is necessary if this team had any prayer of more than a Dayton appearance. Markus looked to be moving pretty well on the bench...hoping for a return in DC on Monday.

2-1 in the next three should do it, but 3-0 would sure be nice. Let’s get it!

[skianth16]

With so much of this team's game being played from behind the 3 point line, seeing guys finishing in the paint and even throwing alley oops is a pretty fun change of pace. Knowing that we're capable of that kind of play has to make gameplanning harder for opposing coaches and should give some added confidence to the freshmen and Sacar heading into a crucial stretch of games.

The Rowsey to Greg alley oop was huge! One of Greg's more memorable highlights this year for sure. Let's see if he can continue to build off tonight's game this weekend.

[GoldenZebra]

I think when Howard comes back it should be a team oriented offense. Its fun to watch one guy go off, but so many guys on our team can score. Rowsey will still chuck shots, and so will Howard, but I think Wojo is figuring out a way to let the guys play that allows multiple players to score, not just riding the hot hand of Rowsey or Howard. If anything, these last two games show the team's ability to adjust and WIN without their top scorer and offensive option.

[Lighthouse 84]

The Rowsey to Greg alley oop was huge! One of Greg's more memorable highlights this year for sure. Let's see if he can continue to build off tonight's game this weekend.

I think that was Sacar to Greg.

[TVDirector]

I think MU got a way with Greg at the point tonight, if that makes sense. Some nights, I don't think that bet will pay off (if he handles the ball like he did tonight).

Sacar can do things on offense that no one else on the roster can do, that showed again at times tonight.

I said this in another thread, but Harry's minutes trend is "interesting".

All season I’ve wondered why so many on this board think Greg has PG talent-
Haven’t seen it all year, and certainly not tonight.
3 possessions with him at point and 2 TOs. 

He’ll be awesome at MU, but not at the 1

[LloydsLegs]

Was not able to watch the game, but box score indicates that we only went 7 deep and they went 6 or 7 deep (7th Guy did not dent the box score).  Good team for us to play when we only 7 players (plus Harry in a pinch I guess). 

[skianth16]

All season I’ve wondered why so many on this board think Greg has PG talent-
Haven’t seen it all year, and certainly not tonight.
3 possessions with him at point and 2 TOs. 

He’ll be awesome at MU, but not at the 1

Unfortunately, I think you're probably right. He just didn't look comfortable in the PG role tonight at all. Some of it might be due to his thumb issues, but I think I'll be more confident next year if we can land an experienced guy to play the 1.

[Herman Cain]

Everybody had a little something to prove they are right.   Like Wojo decided to have a game where he let Scoop coach.
1. ...being competitive with a team this young is a credit to the coaching staff.
2.  Wojo started man, went zone a lot.     The man wasn't bad.   The zone was pretty good. 
3.  The ball moved very well tonight.    Balanced scoring.
4.  Is Greg a PG?   How much of his struggle with his handle and holding onto the ball is due to his thumb?    Get surgery day 1 after the season over, get healthy, get to work.
5.   No Froling.  More Theo.   Like everything else, it worked tonight.   
To pick some nits....
6.  Transition defense was inconsistent.
7.  Greg looked scared at the point.   
8.  Maybe the stats won't show it, but it felt like SJU was beating MU up on the offensive glass.   
9.  MU had to have it and they got it.    On to Depaul.     Look for me there.   I'll be the middle aged guy in the Marquette swag.

I am a big proponent of Greg at the point for next year.  I went to the game and watched him very carefully tonight.  Presently, his hand is clearly an issue, it seems like he is almost playing one handed at times. So in effect, he does not have a true handle right now and his limitations on the change of direction type of plays he can make. Everything is north and south.  In a way he reminds me a bit of how Luke played one handed through the bad shoulder his first season.I think when Greg's hand  is fully healthy he will be very effective running the offense. For now, he is playing an important role on the team ,s a very key player in our stretch run and someone we need on the floor as much as possible.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

Quiet night in here.

[Mr. Sand-Knit]

Much more comfortable with greg at the point than howard.  He has a better handle than howard, has prolly 5 inches on howard and prolly 10 inches in reach on howard.  He is truly pass first oriented and has a good eye for the pass.  Lastly, he is playing with basically a cast on his hand.  From what i have seen he is very very capable at the 1 or 2.  Still hoping for a grad transfer but have a lot of confidence with a healthy elliott at pg next yr.

[Dr. Blackheart]

A one hand on the wall due to 6 beers deep kind of piss?

Hands free.  Peed like a real man!

[WarriorDad]

All season I’ve wondered why so many on this board think Greg has PG talent-
Haven’t seen it all year, and certainly not tonight.
3 possessions with him at point and 2 TOs. 

He’ll be awesome at MU, but not at the 1

He is playing with one hand essentially. 

[mug644]

Hands free.  Peed like a real man!

You have forever skewed how I view that classic and wonderful photo.

[Dr. Blackheart]

Maybe Wojo's best home home victory in four years in terms of coaching (Nova for overall but that was because we got hot). 

• Defensive switches. Man. Zone. Match-up. Hybrid overplaying one side (Synergy hat tip). Ponds 1-11 in the paint. "Defend the paint!"
• We made fun of Tanned Tommy but the length gave us a lot of deflections tonight.
• Students? AWOL
• The Frosh are city ballers and match one turnover with three great plays.
• Seamless Sam.  I keep saying "take over" only to see he already has.
• Last game in the BC for me.  No better way than to end it with a V on Al's Night.  Special.

[AZMarqfan]

I am a big proponent of Greg at the point for next year.  I went to the game and watched him very carefully tonight.  Presently, his hand is clearly an issue, it seems like he is almost playing one handed at times. So in effect, he does not have a true handle right now and his limitations on the change of direction type of plays he can make. Everything is north and south.  In a way he reminds me a bit of how Luke played one handed through the bad shoulder his first season.I think when Greg's hand  is fully healthy he will be very effective running the offense. For now, he is playing an important role on the team ,s a very key player in our stretch run and someone we need on the floor as much as possible.

Quick pat on my own back...about 3 weeks ago I made several points and was told I was wrong (1)Theo, Elliot and Cain should play more for their defense, 2)Elliot should run some point because he actually looks to pass, 3) Heldt and John should play more, 4) less Froling, 5) Howard and Rowsey should play only 6-10 mins together, 6) more zone due to our lack of speed, etc)

Now moving to Herman Cain's post, Elliott looked to be in too much of a hurry tonight.  It reminded me of Wade's 1st year when he was often too fast (aka, out of control) with the ball.  Elliott will get better with more experience. 

I liked tonight how without Rowsey and Howard in the game together, the other players look to shoot or make plays more.  Everyone did a great job moving the ball tonight.  All were aggressive.  Penetration and passing led to open shots.  When Rowsey and Howard are together, the other guys basically sit back and rely on them. 

[cheese ball chaser]

It was so refreshing to see Theo draw in defenders near the paint and then dish it out to an open three shooter. Makes you realize the things we can do if we have a legitimate scoring threat down low.

[1SE]

Listening to Wojo on Homer and Macs post-game show. I believe it is the first time I have heard him speak after a game where he wasn't hoarse.

What does he sound like?

[fjm]

At the game last eve!
Great game, well done by the team.

Thought wojo coached a great game. Theo played his great game!

If we can keep this up, teams will be fairly busy trying to keep up. Cain is now a legit threat from 3. Elliott is also. Sacra doesn't give a shiz anymore, he's going to the hoop and he's confident in it. Theo looked fairly smooth last night.

[muwarrior69]

We go 0-3 the next 3 games. We won because the Johnnies were off their game.

Fair and balanced confirmation bias.

[brewcity77]

Last game in the BC for me.  No better way than to end it with a V on Al's Night.  Special.

Quite possibly my last BC game as well. If so, it was quite the way to go out. Great win in a needed game, made the JumboTron, lots of highlight reel plays, and the W was an early birthday present.

[connie]

I like seeing strong, post up Sam.

[jsglow]

Most complete game we played all year.  On to DePaul.  One at a time.

[🏀]

Hands free.  Peed like a real man!

How do you keep it from resting on the urinal? Yuck!

[warriorchick]

What does he sound like?

Honestly I almost didn't recognize that it was him. Not only was he voice not rough, he was speaking in a very animated and enthusiastic way - not the canned monotone coach speak he normally uses in interviews.

I like this Wojo. I hope we see and hear him a lot more often going forward.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

It was a good game.  They really looked like a team out there which is refreshing to see.  Like the mixing of defenses and better paint protection as well.  This team has such a margin of error on 'O' since we can score in bunches...keep teams in the high 70s/low 80s and we can win a bunch of games.

[Dr. Blackheart]

NM

[4everwarriors]

Hands free.  Peed like a real man!

Maybe ya shoulda just played it safe and squatted on da throne, hey?

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Maybe ya shoulda just played it safe and squatted on da throne, hey?

In the 20+ year history of the Bradley Center, have you ever seen a throne that didn't have a pool of piss on the rim? Don't know that you could call that safe

[4everwarriors]

Piss no matta, hey?

[GGGG]

Big W. Never really doubt.

While I understand what you are saying, I think the sequence at the end of the first half was huge.  STJ had the ball down one with less than a second difference between the shot and game clock.  They took a shot that missed with 10 seconds to go.  We grabbed the rebound and Cain hit a three with the clock running out.

A four point lead was much better than a one point deficit.

[skianth16]

Honestly I almost didn't recognize that it was him. Not only was he voice not rough, he was speaking in a very animated and enthusiastic way - not the canned monotone coach speak he normally uses in interviews.

I like this Wojo. I hope we see and hear him a lot more often going forward.

Animated and enthusiastic are apparently fairly subjective words. He was happy with the win, proud of the effort against Ponds, and offered lots of canned commentary on Markus and the freshmen. Markus is day to day, I care about my players' health, I'm just listening to the doctors, Jamal has gotten better, Jamal is more comfortable shooting... etc.

The thread title is spot on because as I listened, I was disappointed because I wanted to hear a little more about the defensive plan (why we didn't start in zone, for example) and more about his thoughts on playing without his leading scorer. Maybe Homer just ins't a very good interviewer, but I was kinda bummer that we didn't get much out of Wojo. I will say he was more animated than Ben Stein, but I think the general description of him is kind of a stretch.

[Lighthouse 84]

While I understand what you are saying, I think the sequence at the end of the first half was huge.  STJ had the ball down one with less than a second difference between the shot and game clock.  They took a shot that missed with 10 seconds to go.  We grabbed the rebound and Cain hit a three with the clock running out.

A four point lead was much better than a one point deficit.

It was actually a 4 second difference between the shot clock and game clock.  As the Johnnies came down the floor, I was thinking that we may still have enough time for a last shot after their possession.  Thankfully the shot was put up with 10 though, Cain grabbed the board and hit the three.  Definitely a good way to end the half.

[WarriorInNYC]

I thought we were more effective in zone than man, but it was really important to mix the man in.  Especially after putting so much of it on tape, St. John's had to have been preparing a lot for it.  Great job by Wojo.

Thought Theo John had a great game in many ways.

I still don't see Greg as a PG.  Yeah, I know he has the thumb issue, but it doesn't seem to be hindering his shooting (or dunking) a considerable amount.  I'm sure it impacts his handle more than those items, but I'm not convinced that a healthy thumb turns Greg into someone I'm comfortable running the point and trying to break a press.  That said, absolutely love the kid and what he brings to this team.

[jsglow]

While I understand what you are saying, I think the sequence at the end of the first half was huge.  STJ had the ball down one with less than a second difference between the shot and game clock.  They took a shot that missed with 10 seconds to go.  We grabbed the rebound and Cain hit a three with the clock running out.

A four point lead was much better than a one point deficit.

It was ugggee.  Truthfully Sultan, i think the difference was something in the range of 3-5 seconds but your point still stands.  I remember thinking when we missed that free throw that it was going to really suck if we went into the locker room down by 1 or 2.  The timing of the SJU shot wasn't bad and credit to Andrew for his calm run up court and rhythm feed to Cain.

[dw3dw3dw3]

Love the back-down from the wing, fancy footwork, aggressive Sam we saw. Becomes much more of a chess match when he has that game going. Had had mostly been exclusively going to the turn around jumper without much elevation, 6'7' defenders seemed to not really have an issue with that.  Showed a lot with the step-throughs, and creating space for his turnaround with all of his pivoting.  Having an option where the defense has to decide if they want to double team or give up an almost automatic 2 is huge. Found GE for a wide open 3 once on the double.  Running the offense through him also seemed to slow the pace a bit since he is so patient with everything.

I was hoping for the successful GE PG role, but that didn't work, and Wojo couldn't even wait till the TV timeout to put AR back in.  Maybe a summer of work and a healthy thumb will help, not going to be the answer this year though.

[jesmu84]

In the past, I had noticed some of our players - in particular, rowsey - demonstrating hesitancy in making a pass to a player who wasn't Howard or Hauser. Or avoiding the pass if it was a different player and resetting or taking it himself.

Last night, I saw none of that and it was fantastic. Much better for the team

[Spotcheck Billy]

NM

TRADING POST!!!   

[Daniel]

I love our freshmen!  Omg they are good now and will be fabulous players for MU!  They are energetic on both ends and Elliott and Cain cool as dukes shooting in resource spots.  Theo is going to be special.

And always gotta love Matt.  What a worker and he’s a darn good post defender and 10 rebounds last night.  Sweet.

Hauser - this is the way Hauser should play every game.  Take the lead, dominate, score, draw fouls.  He has improved so much over a great freshman year. 

Sacar - wow - so fun to watch now.  You never know what he is going to do with the ball - nightmare for defender. 

When Rowsey distributes the ball - look out. Great things happen.

Fun game t be at last night.    Let’s get a win in Chicago.  Will head to game on Saturday.  Section 112

Go Marquette!

[NickelDimer]

I keep saying it.

We will be really good next year. So much talent will have more experience.

And we will play with size and defense.

This year...still alive. DePaul isn’t a gimme and Gtown really scares me. But let’s see what happens

Aside from the obvious question mark of who will be our reliable PG I completely agree. Next year will be hands down Wojo’s best team and a big part of that is this years freshman class. So impressed with their development

[barfolomew]

Maybe Wojo's best home home victory in four years in terms of coaching (Nova for overall but that was because we got hot). 

• Students? AWOL

Yeah, a few of those TV shots of the student section were cringe-worthy.
They gave Qdoba to first 200 students and I was wondering what they were going to do with all that leftover Qdoba.

[muwarrior69]

Yeah, a few of those TV shots of the student section were cringe-worthy.
They gave Qdoba to first 200 students and I was wondering what they were going to do with all that leftover Qdoba.

Well, none of them have really experienced the excitement of a team that could make a deep run in the NCAA.

[AZWarrior]

Love the back-down from the wing, fancy footwork, aggressive Sam we saw. Becomes much more of a chess match when he has that game going. Had had mostly been exclusively going to the turn around jumper without much elevation, 6'7' defenders seemed to not really have an issue with that.  Showed a lot with the step-throughs, and creating space for his turnaround with all of his pivoting.  Having an option where the defense has to decide if they want to double team or give up an almost automatic 2 is huge. Found GE for a wide open 3 once on the double.  Running the offense through him also seemed to slow the pace a bit since he is so patient with everything.

Agree with all your points on Sam's post game.  I think running plays designed to get the ball to Sam in the low post are just as important as plays to free up Rowsey and Markus for 3s.

[MU82]

Agree with several about the sequence at the end of the first half. I was happy Rowsey went for the 2-for-1, thrilled we stopped the Johnnies and downright giddy when Cain hit that 3. Big difference mentally being up 4 as opposed to down a point or 2.

I love reading all the posts about all of our young players (and even gray-beards like Rowsey) developing after years-past charges of our coaching staff only being capable of "de-movitating" players.

It will be interesting to see how Markus gets integrated back into the rotation, assuming he is healthy enough to do so. It will be a very pleasant "problem" for Wojo.

Gotta take care of business Saturday - and I'm confident we will!

[NickelDimer]

Agree with several about the sequence at the end of the first half. I was happy Rowsey went for the 2-for-1, thrilled we stopped the Johnnies and downright giddy when Cain hit that 3. Big difference mentally being up 4 as opposed to down a point or 2.

I love reading all the posts about all of our young players (and even gray-beards like Rowsey) developing after years-past charges of our coaching staff only being capable of "de-movitating" players.

It will be interesting to see how Markus gets integrated back into the rotation, assuming he is healthy enough to do so. It will be a very pleasant "problem" for Wojo.

Gotta take care of business Saturday - and I'm confident we will!

Not only very interesting but quite possibly the biggest challenge yet for Wojo as a head coach. I know you used the work problem sarcastically, but this will honestly be interesting terrain for him to navigate.

[Floorslapper]

Not only very interesting but quite possibly the biggest challenge yet for Wojo as a head coach. I know you used the work problem sarcastically, but this will honestly be interesting terrain for him to navigate.

Think the challenge is navigated quite easily if we keep winning while Markus is sidelined.  However, in the event Markus happens to be able to go against DePaul, think Wojo needs to present as follows:

There have been times in history when injury clears the way for a different way of doing things.  Brady for Bledsoe.  Dak Prescott for Romo.  Sticking with the hot hand/formula that is working.

Markus, you know I think the world of you as a person and player, and have given you the ultimate green light.  However, at this point in time, I have to go with our senior, Andrew, as primary PG and minute getter.  Need you to be at the ready and at attention as a sixth man.  The team is 100% yours to lead the next two years.  It is simply too challenging for us to succeed defensively with both you and Andrew on the floor simultaneously.  Are you on board with this?

Coaching is largely managing personnel, egos, relationships.  Every coach is dealt with challenging personnel decisions.  Their task?  To make the right decision for the TEAM, while preserving a relationship with a key player that may not like their conclusion.

[Its DJOver]

If Markus is good to go an Saturday, he will see limited minutes, partly because of how well we've played without him, and partly because you don't want to jump right back to 30 mpg following an injury.  That being said, we should be able to win Saturday regardless of how many minutes he plays, if he plays at all.

[Herman Cain]

Honestly I almost didn't recognize that it was him. Not only was he voice not rough, he was speaking in a very animated and enthusiastic way - not the canned monotone coach speak he normally uses in interviews.

I like this Wojo. I hope we see and hear him a lot more often going forward.

If you talk to him in person one on one the way you described is how he talks.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I don't buy for a second a theory that says we are a better team without Markus.

What I might buy is that some of the players (the Big 3) may have had felt the need to carry the load and didn't always trust their teammates on offense. And that those players (Jamal, Theo, Greg, Sacar, Matt) may have had some confidence issues because of it.

So far the team has stepped up beautifully. I hope to see this continue.

Markus will be instrumental if/when we make the postseason (NCAA or NIT). While Big East teams have us scouted with Howard pretty good, I'm not sure that teams from other conferences will be quite as well prepared.

[mu03eng]

Hasn't been noted, but I loved Markus on the bench last night....he was a very active assistant coach during the game, saw him multiple times coaching up Cain and Elliot when they came out on a substitution.

I'm betting Markus doesn't play Saturday, especially given the quick turn around on Monday, comes back against Wojo in limited minutes (15-20 depending on game situation) and assuming no set backs is good to go for the Creighton game.

I am really really really hopeful that Wojo has learned that he should split the two gunners improving his defense and limiting the impact on his offense.

[cheese ball chaser]

Well, none of them have really experienced the excitement of a team that could make a deep run in the NCAA.

Also, we were 0-3 in our previous 3 home games including a blowout loss to Butler

[Mr. Sand-Knit]

Agree with all your points on Sam's post game.  I think running plays designed to get the ball to Sam in the low post are just as important as plays to free up Rowsey and Markus for 3s.

Moreso,  look at Sams shooting percentages vs Howards.  Sam also recognizes a good shot from a bad one.  Hopefully this layoff will get Howard to stop reading his headlines n realize he needs to really work on his defense.  his technique and more importantly his effort on defense is truly horrendous.  As bad as i have seen.  His dribbling anf court vision are also very poor.  I hate to say it but he is kind of a no defense poor shooting percentage chucker at this point in his career.

[Dr. Blackheart]

No mic slapping last night either...

[tower912]

Amused by the notion Wojo has failed the team by playing the two midgets together.  I have studied the defensive matrices and completely get that the team is better defensively when only one is playing.  I've made long posts explaining the why.    But....

To start the year, Wojo went with experience.  Sam, Matt, Andrew, Markus, and Haanif.  Haanif left and was replaced by Sacar.  Wojo worked the frosh in gradually, managing their minutes, responsibilities, and expectations.  Their roles grew gradually.  They had quality minutes and clunkers, like most freshmen.  Andrew and Markus became two of the leading scorers in the Big East.
   Conference season rolled around.  The freshmen continued to have ups and downs.  Teams started figuring out how to neutralize the scorers.  Defensive liabilities got exposed.   The freshmen got their minutes thanks to foul trouble and played adequate defense, but gave only occasional offense.
     I reject the notion that Wojo has been holding this team back.  As recently as the first SJU game, Greg and Jamal gave nothing.  They stepped up last night, to be sure.  And I hope it continues.  We need them all.   But if they stink up a game, don't throw them or Wojo under the bus.  And to actually advocate for benching either a 19 or 20 point scorer is nuts.   And yet here we are. 

   Wojo isn't blind or stupid.   Figuring out how to juggle the limitations of this team is a challenge.  (9 players,  3centers, 3 frosh, two tiny guards who are the leading scorers) The announce team referenced it last night.  Three winnable games away from a likely tourney berth.   Wojo isn't perfect.  But he can learn.   And looking at it objectively, this may be a better coaching job than last year.

[Its DJOver]

Amused by the notion Wojo has failed the team by playing the two midgets together.  I have studied the defensive matrices and completely get that the team is better defensively when only one is playing.  I've made long posts explaining the why.    But....

To start the year, Wojo went with experience.  Sam, Matt, Andrew, Markus, and Haanif.  Haanif left and was replaced by Sacar.  Wojo worked the frosh in gradually, managing their minutes, responsibilities, and expectations.  Their roles grew gradually.  They had quality minutes and clunkers, like most freshmen.  Andrew and Markus became two of the leading scorers in the Big East.
   Conference season rolled around.  The freshmen continued to have ups and downs.  Teams started figuring out how to take neutralize the scorers.  Defensive liabilities got exposed.   The freshmen got their minutes thanks to foul trouble and played adequate defense, but gave only occasional offense.
     I reject the notion that Wojo has been holding this team back.  As recently as the first SJU game, Greg and Jamal gave nothing.  They stepped up last night, to be sure.  And I hope it continues.  We need them all.   But if they stink up a game, don't throw them or Wojo under the bus.  And to actually advocate for benching either a 19 or 20 point scorer is nuts.   And yet here we are. 

   Wojo isn't blind or stupid.   Figuring out how to juggle the limitations of this team is a challenge.  (9 players,  3centers, 3 frosh, two tiny guards who are the leading scorers) The announce team referenced it last night.  Three winnable games away from a likely tourney berth.   Wojo isn't perfect.  But he can learn.  And looking at it objectively, this may be abetter coaching job than last year.

Agree with everything except the last sentence.  If he gets us there, it should be uniNERSally accepted that he did a better coaching job this year than last year.

[GGGG]

Well said tower.

I also think some of the comments regarding Howard's value are a little over the top as well. 

[BrewCity83]

Listening to Wojo on Homer and Macs post-game show. I believe it is the first time I have heard him speak after a game where he wasn't hoarse.

Wojo was on the TV postgame and only sounded a little hoarse, but as they wrapped up, Dickie told him to "go grab yourself a throat lozenge".

[PGsHeroes32]

Aside from the obvious question mark of who will be our reliable PG I completely agree. Next year will be hands down Wojo’s best team and a big part of that is this years freshman class. So impressed with their development

Yup having a reliable PG would be massive and make us a really, really strong team.

That said, I still really like our chances regardless. Would be really disappointing if next years roster is even close to the bubble a year from now

[brewcity77]

It was ugggee.  Truthfully Sultan, i think the difference was something in the range of 3-5 seconds but your point still stands.  I remember thinking when we missed that free throw that it was going to really suck if we went into the locker room down by 1 or 2.  The timing of the SJU shot wasn't bad and credit to Andrew for his calm run up court and rhythm feed to Cain.

Those last two minutes of the first half were really bad. We looked to have a good shot to go into halftime with a double-digit lead, then squandered almost all of it before the buzzer. Pushing it back to 4 was mammoth and made what was a really good half gone bad look respectable.

[burger]

2-1 might and mean might get us to the Dayton line.....

Have to go 3 - 0......or a major run in the tourney.....

2-1 would mean probably either St. John's or DePaul.......