Cincinnati Enquirer Post Mortem

[real chili 83]

Whine,whine, whine

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/college/xavier/xaviersports/2023/02/15/late-mistakes-cost-no-16-xavier-at-no-11-marquette/69898120007/

[MuggsyB]

Whine,whine, whine

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/college/xavier/xaviersports/2023/02/15/late-mistakes-cost-no-16-xavier-at-no-11-marquette/69898120007/

Cry me a river. 

[BLWarrior91]

Miller is correct in that rebounding and turnovers is how Marquette won.  It certainly wasn’t our shooting…lol.

[mugrad_89]

Whine,whine, whine

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/college/xavier/xaviersports/2023/02/15/late-mistakes-cost-no-16-xavier-at-no-11-marquette/69898120007/

Actually, I thought Miller’s comments were pretty good.

[The Thing]

I think he is discounting the fact that Marquette forced many of those turnovers though.

[TFlegend]

Didn't see much wrong with Miller's comments.  His "they forced 11 turnovers and we gave them 6" comment was probably about right, too. 

[MuggsyB]

Boum was a one man show scoring all over the place but his lack of practice time contributed to his late turnovers?  I'm gonna call b-crape on that one. 

[shoothoops]

At one point MUBB had 17 points off of 15 X turnovers.

The Cincy Enquirer beat writer comes across as thinking any X turnover is unforced, and he is reluctant to creeit MUBB for some of those. MUBB does this to a lot of teams, and, is top 20 nationally at forcing turnovers, and in scoring offense.

[cheebs09]

Add him to the list!

[panda]

Boum was a one man show scoring all over the place but his lack of practice time contributed to his late turnovers?  I'm gonna call b-crape on that one.

That’s a dodds level excuse. Much more probable is that once kunkel fouled out, they lacked a second ball handler to break pressure.

[MuggsyB]

That’s a dodds level excuse. Much more probable is that once kunkel fouled out, they lacked a second ball handler to break pressure.

Great point panda.  The simple truth is Xavier had every opportunity in the first half to have a 20+ point lead while MU was a complete dumpster fire.  They did not rise to the challenge.  Once both teams got into better rhythm in the 2H it was Marquette that got the extra possessions necessary to win the ball game.  They FORCED XU to cough up the ball and got multiple extra shot attempts through will and determination on the O-Glass.  We also dealt with insane moving screens the entire game and they were more pronounced in the 2H.  When XU was in perfect position to win the game, with a 4pt lead late, MU showed tremendous resilience and fight.  Especially in the final minute with the game on the line.  We earned the W, period. 

[panda]

Great point panda.  The simple truth is Xavier had every opportunity in the first half to have a 20+ point lead while MU was a complete dumpster fire.  They did not rise to the challenge.  Once both teams got into better rhythm in the 2H it was Marquette that got the extra possessions necessary to win the ball game.  They FORCED XU to cough up the ball and got multiple extra shot attempts through will and determination on the O-Glass.  We also dealt with insane moving screens the entire game and they were more pronounced in the 2H.  When XU was in perfect position to win the game, with a 4pt lead late, MU showed tremendous resilience and fight.  Especially in the final minute with the game on the line.  We earned the W, period.

100% agree. Significant upgrade in team character from early in the season. I didn’t feel like the game was out of reach at any point last light. We limited mistakes, took smart shots and worked our butts off on the glass/50-50 balls.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Guys, he's just covering for his player. Not everything is a diss of Marquette OK?

[panda]

Guys, he's just covering for his player. Not everything is a diss of Marquette OK?

I’ll do by best to avoid upsetting you in the future..

[MuggsyB]

100% agree. Significant upgrade in team character from early in the season. I didn’t feel like the game was out of reach at any point last light. We limited mistakes, took smart shots and worked our butts off on the glass/50-50 balls.

That 7 turnovers stat is something we would have never seen under the last coach.  I thought we played poorly panda most of the game in our h-c sets.  Lots of dribbling, off balanced shots, and too much ball-stopping.  We never really attacked open spots that were there for the taking and were indecisive.  But the fact that we still managed to essentially turn the ball over only 3 times in the last 37 mins is amazing and was a huge feather in our caps that kept us in the game. 

[GoFastAndWin]

Guys, he's just covering for his player. Not everything is a diss of Marquette OK?

Oso leaving Nunge to disrupt Boum was what caused one of those crucial turnovers. MAYBE helped slightly that Boum missed those three practices as well.

[panda]

That 7 turnovers stat is something we would have never seen under the last coach.  I thought we played poorly panda most of the game in our h-c sets.  Lots of dribbling, off balanced shots, and too much ball-stopping.  We never really attacked open spots that were there for the taking and were indecisive.  But the fact that we still managed to essentially turn the ball over only 3 times in the last 37 mins is amazing and was a huge feather in our caps that kept us in the game.

Nunge inside allows the perimeter defenders to really ramp up ball pressure. He’s good at defending ball screens too. 

[GoFastAndWin]

That 7 turnovers stat is something we would have never seen under the last coach.  I thought we played poorly panda most of the game in our h-c sets.  Lots of dribbling, off balanced shots, and too much ball-stopping.  We never really attacked open spots that were there for the taking and were indecisive.  But the fact that we still managed to essentially turn the ball over only 3 times in the last 37 mins is amazing and was a huge feather in our caps that kept us in the game.

Agree 💯 on not attacking open spots on the floor. So thankful that at the most critical time, Kam wasted no time driving and Omax found that open spot with the follow!

[zcg2013]

Miller always whined at Arizona, and that hasn't stopped here either.

[Slim]

That 7 turnovers stat is something we would have never seen under the last coach.

But, but, but Wojo popped balloons at practice to teach the guys how bad turnovers were. I can’t believe that didn’t help!

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

I saw his post game presser, and he definitely wasn't whining.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Oso leaving Nunge to disrupt Boum was what caused one of those crucial turnovers. MAYBE helped slightly that Boum missed those three practices as well.

Sure. I think the missing practice thing is a bit eye-rolling, but what do you want him to say? Again, he's not going to publicly call out his player.

[Uncle Rico]

This thread encapsulates how hypersensitive fans are to absolute nothingburgers

[Viper]

Good for us Freemantle was out. Maybe a March rubber-match in NYC (btw, BE tourney could be epic!)

[mugrad_89]

Miller always whined at Arizona, and that hasn't stopped here either.

I didn’t like Miller at Arizona, but he’s been great for the Big East.

[RushmoreAcademy]

I agree with a few here that none of this came off as whiny to me.  Not that I ever like to side with Miller but I see nothing of note here.

[real chili 83]

At one point MUBB had 17 points off of 15 X turnovers.

The Cincy Enquirer beat writer comes across as thinking any X turnover is unforced, and he is reluctant to creeit MUBB for some of those. MUBB does this to a lot of teams, and, is top 20 nationally at forcing turnovers, and in scoring offense.

DIS ^^^^^^^^

[79Warrior]

Guys, he's just covering for his player. Not everything is a diss of Marquette OK?

Exactly.

[Lennys Tap]

Most amazing stat of all? We were down 4 at the half and Xavier shot 70% overall and 71% from 3 in the second half. Finding a way to win given those numbers is incredible.

[NCMUFan]

Great other teams underestimate MUs defense.
Let them walk into it blindly.

[MU82]

This thread encapsulates how hypersensitive fans are to absolute nothingburgers

Totally this.

I didn't think Miller sounded whiny at all, and the beat writer pretty much only relayed facts and quoted Miller -- who did credit Marquette with forcing most of the turnovers. Boum not being able to practice did sound "excuse-y," but it's also a fact, and it was Miller answering reporters' questions.

We've all heard coaches and/or athletes whine. On the 1-10 Whine Scale, with 10 being "whiny little b!tch," this would be about a 1.1.

And then there's this Miller quote: "We could not get a defensive rebound." ... which sounds like something the typical Marquette fan has said about 100 times this season! Nice to hear an opposing coach have to say it!!

[TVDirector]

Only the comment about Souley not practicing bugged me-
The dude had an offensive night like no other, but the late TOS were the byproduct of missing practice…. Ummmm

[BCHoopster]

Only the comment about Souley not practicing bugged me-
The dude had an offensive night like no other, but the late TOS were the byproduct of missing practice…. Ummmm

Souley Boum played like the player of the year the whole game except the last minute. He was outstanding. Not sure he is a point guard, showed in the last minute he is not.

[wadesworld]

Souley Boum played like the player of the year the whole game except the last minute. He was outstanding. Not sure he is a point guard, showed in the last minute he is not.

He's averaging 5 assists and 2 turnovers per game this season.  He's a very good point guard.

[MU82]

Only the comment about Souley not practicing bugged me-
The dude had an offensive night like no other, but the late TOS were the byproduct of missing practice…. Ummmm

Fair.

[MuggsyB]

Only the comment about Souley not practicing bugged me-
The dude had an offensive night like no other, but the late TOS were the byproduct of missing practice…. Ummmm

Yes.  That's fair to call out imo. 

[MU90620]

Only the comment about Souley not practicing bugged me-
The dude had an offensive night like no other, but the late TOS were the byproduct of missing practice…. Ummmm

In my experience kids are less focused in games where they miss practice leading up to games. They are just off a bit. However, it is also my experience that kids are always focused during scoring opportunities.  So I could see where missing practice would not impact his scoring, but would impact other more mundane aspects of the game.

[Galway Eagle]

He's averaging 5 assists and 2 turnovers per game this season.  He's a very good point guard.

Just not an end of game point guard.

[tower912]

Miller's presser was fine.    MU did a good job creating turnovers, but Xavier shot themselves in the foot.    Xavier was shorthanded, but they battled.    I did not sense anything derogatory about MU.     He knows he has a good team and knows when they are healthy they will be even better.     He lost a conference road game to a ranked team.    He isn't happy, but he has perspective.   

[Herman Cain]

Coach Miller is consistently very respectful of opponents in press conferences. Interviewing him immediately after what, from the X perspective, was a difficult loss is always going to be hard a thing to do.

It is clear Miller didn't want to throw Boum under the buss for his Big Blunder at end. I respect that.

Very delighted our squad beat a Miller coached team. Battles over the coming years between Shaka and Miller are likely to be much like last night. Hard fought classic rivalry Big East games.

[Dr. Blackheart]

Miller looks like he is enjoying himself being back at Xavier and in the Big East for the first time.

[MuggsyB]

Miller looks like he is enjoying himself being back at Xavier and in the Big East for the first time.

Was he unhappy in Zona?  I think it's reasonable to assume he'll jump at another job. 

[Daniel]

I saw his post game presser, and he definitely wasn't whining.

 Thought he was covering for his player and complimented the Marquette team a couple of times.   And about the turnovers, some were unforced for sure.  So I didn’t see it asps dissing MU at all really.  He lost a game he should have won.

[Uncle Rico]

Thought he was covering for his player and complimented the Marquette team a couple of times.   And about the turnovers, some were unforced for sure.  So I didn’t see it asps dissing MU at all really.  He lost a game he should have won.

Fans want coaches to throw players under the bus or rip them publicly.  It’s bizarre.  Of course, Miller would defend a dude that played on a bum ankle and played incredibly well for the most part.  Like you say, Miller was fine postgame in his comments

[Silent Verbal]

Was he unhappy in Zona?  I think it's reasonable to assume he'll jump at another job.

Miller and Shaka have had very similar career trajectories.  Both left smaller programs for near blue bloods (maybe Texas isn’t quite that, but still) only to realize the grass isn’t always greener.  If Xavier can continue to meet Miller’s price, I could see him being there for a long time.  That would be good for the conference.

[Warrior Code]

Was he unhappy in Zona?  I think it's reasonable to assume he'll jump at another job.

What makes you say this? Sometimes people realize the grass isn't always greener 

[cheebs09]

Miller and Shaka have had very similar career trajectories.  Both left smaller programs for near blue bloods (maybe Texas isn’t quite that, but still) only to realize the grass isn’t always greener.  If Xavier can continue to meet Miller’s price, I could see him being there for a long time.  That would be good for the conference.

Well, that and the fact that Miller was on thin ice with the FBI investigation. I think without that, he’d still be at Arizona.

[Dr. Blackheart]

What makes you say this? Sometimes people realize the grass isn't always greener

Well, he was under investigation and was fired, and supposedly his wife never really liked it out there.  I think he sticks.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I don't know about not practicing in three days leading to the final turnovers, but I think it's completely reasonable to believe that Boum had a great offensive game overall, but playing 40 minutes on a bum ankle with the ball constantly in his hands and Stevie in his grill wore him down and led to him making a few mistakes at the end. I have zero problem with Miller's postgame comments. Hell, he even said that we forced them into 11/17 of the turnovers which I think is about right.

[wadesworld]

Just not an end of game point guard.

He sure was the first time we played them.

[bilsu]

The only crying I see is MUscoopers crying about an article in the opposing team's home newspaper.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Miller looks like he is enjoying himself being back at Xavier and in the Big East for the first time.

He said at Muskie Madness that Cincinnati always felt like home for him and his wife and couldn't wait to get back to Xavier when offered. 

[pbiflyer]

He said at Muskie Madness that Cincinnati always felt like home for him and his wife and couldn't wait to get back to Xavier when offered.

Can anyone be truly happy when they have to attend something called Muskie Madness?

[cheebs09]

Can anyone be truly happy when they have to attend something called Muskie Madness?

As a side note, I love the throwback logo they have been wearing this year.

[pbiflyer]

As a side note, I love the throwback logo they have been wearing this year.

I agree with this analysis.