Recap: St. John's/Game 33: Villanova
Mar. 11, 2009
New York -- The first half was about as good as it gets defensively for any team, let alone MU, in the Golden Eagles' 74-45 victory over St. John's on Wednesday.
The Red Storm hit just 3 of 22 shots (13.6%) en route to scoring just 10 points in the opening 20 minutes, a new low for a team in the Big East Tournament.
Granted, St. John's isn't terribly talented offensively, but it does have a pair of legitimate scorers in Paris Horne and D.J. Kennedy, and some talent on the inside. But MU was stifling from the outset, never gave the Red Storm any room to breathe, and reaped the benefits of that by basically coasting to an easy victory over the final 30 minutes or so.
Coach Buzz Williams was asked afterward if that first half represented a perfect defensive performance.
"They scored three baskets, so it was relatively close," he said, drawing laughs. "We did a much, much better job."
Wesley Matthews, who led the way offensively with 20 points, said MU's success defensively could be traced to intensity.
"I think it was just the fact that we took them out of what they wanted to do," he said. "St. John's, they're a hard-playing team, and they pride themselves on their intensity and their work, and that's the same thing we pride ourselves on.
"When they played their hand and we played ours, we were just able to take them out of what they wanted to do. We were able to out-work them on both ends of the court, and that's the story."
Williams had pinpointed two specific areas in which MU had to be strong in: transition defense and playing ball screens. In his opinion, the Golden Eagles turned in passing grades in both.
"I think the thing that was best for us -- and we spent a lot of time on it -- St. John's set 88 ball screens on us at Marquette when we played, and yesterday against Georgetown they set 55," he said. "So it was paramount for us to have a chance to win from a team defensive standpoint, that we would have to guard their ball screens and once the shot goes up...we had to block out and make sure we secured the defensive rebound in order to finish the possession.
"The other thing where we struggled over the last four games, we've been giving up an average of 19.5 points in transition. For the game they got (10), so that definitely helps. That will be the story of tomorrow's game, in regards to how many points we can give up or not give up in transition."
-- Williams continued on the transition theme later in his news conference.
"We better get back in transition or they'll score 100 like they did the last time we played them," he said. "And if they score 100, that probably means they're going to shoot a very high percentage, which is why they shot 70.2% in the second half.
"In the first half we were up nine at the 8-minute media time out and we were guarding them. Then it got completely away from us in the second half, and we were out of character offensively but moreso we were out of character defensively.
"I'm not sure how many threes they made. They absolutely whipped us, moreso than any other team in the league."
-- Jimmy Butler continued his strong play with 11 points and nine rebounds (five offensive) in 26 minutes off the bench.
He wasted no time, grabbing an offensive board within the first 10 seconds he was inserted into the game, and it can't be understated how much he's meant to MU over the past six weeks or so.
-- Maurice Acker was again solid, putting up five points, two rebounds, two assists and a steal against one turnover in 27 minutes at the point.
He's doing exactly what MU needs him to do: not turn the ball over, play solid defense and knock down the occasional open shot.
-- How about David Cubillan?
He scored six points -- more than he'd scored in nearly the last three months combined -- and played 25 strong minutes off the bench as part of the crew that helped MU extend its lead with Jerel McNeal on the bench for an extended period with foul trouble.
"You know what? I’m telling you, since the night before we played North Carolina State he has been the best teammate on our team, he’s practiced every single possession like it’s his last, he’s done a great job," said Williams. "He’s continued to get better. The only thing from a playing perspective is, I don’t think it’s best for our team to play two 6-foot-and-under guys at the same time from a matchup perspective, and I don’t think that he can play the point.
"So when ‘Nic went out it almost hurt Cooby more because ‘Nic could play with Cooby. But to play Mo and Cooby, I don’t want to take Jerel out of the game. But I’m grateful that he was able to play and he’s gotten a lot better."
-- On the flip side of that coin is Pat Hazel, who's apparently buried so deep in Williams' doghouse that even walk-on Robert Frozena got the nod ahead of him in garbage time.
Hazel, who's from nearby Queens, now hasn't played in ten of the Golden Eagles' last 12 games, and none of the last seven.
-- Joe Fulce managed just one board to go with three fouls in 13 minutes, while Chris Otule put up zeros across the board in his three minutes of action.
MU could use both, but the early season injuries they suffered left them so far behind the curve it's obvious it's too late for either to catch up now.
Both need strong off-seasons.
-- Dominic James was back on the sideline for the Golden Eagles, and spent the game seated in Williams' chair, doling out advice to Acker and his other teammates.
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http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/41120867.html
Rosiak asking in his blog the rhetorical question about the continued benching of Hazel, leads me to ask Rosiak: Did YOU ask Buzz why Patrick isn't playing? If you did, what was his answer? If you didn't, why not?