Crucial test failed. MU at season crossroads
Written by: noreply@blogger.com (muwarrior92)
Marquette had a golden opportunity tonight to win a key game at home against a quality St. John's club and take a step closer to a NCAA tournament bid. In the process, they would be on their way to possibly another double digit win season in the Big East, a record they have never missed since joining the conference. It would require passing a crucial test against a club that has been iffy on the road this year in the Red Storm. The Warriors failed this test on Al's night and now faces a critical crossroads in their season.
MU found themselves in a similar situation as other games, a solid lead in the second half (7 points) only to watch it whither away in a matter of moments. This time, however, MU couldn't claw back and almost seemed to accept their fate.
It all started to unwind just after the 16:50 mark with MU up 45 to 38. In the next five minutes the Johnnies go on a 15-5 run with no MU timeouts called (there were two tv timeouts in that period). That followed with another run of 7-2 before Buzz called a T.O and the Golden Eagles trailing 60-52 with 9:21 to play. The game was effectively over right there. The Storm pushed the lead to 13 points before MU was able to claw back to within 8 briefly. By the time the game ended, MU had dropped an 80-68 decision and a significant blow to their NCAA tournament hopes.
Another dismal defensive performance as MU gave up 80 points on their home court. A whopping 18 turnovers were committed, the highest in the Buzz Williams era we believe. What's worse, the offensive juggernaut that was the mainstay of MU seems to have disappeared. The third straight game of scoring less than 70 points as MU shot an anemic 22% from beyond the arc and less than 44% overall. The Warriors free throw shooting was about the only thing keeping them in the game.
Box Score (http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=310460269)
Buzz Williams and MU now face a critical crossroads to their season. They are 6-7 in the Big East and 15-11 overall. Their RPI after the loss now sits at 66, below such teams as Michigan, Penn State, Marshall, Dayton and a slew of other teams considered outside of the NCAA tournament discussion. Was tonight the fatal blow for their chances or do they gather themselves and turn it around? They will be favored to win 3 of their final 5 which would leave them with a 9-9 record. It is not inconceivable to see them go 4-1 with a win at Seton Hall, but it's equally not inconceivable to think the team might have given up. I don't think Buzz will let them do that, but the body language in this game was difficult to watch. A few boo birds came out amongst some of the crowd, either as a result of frustration or what might have been perceived as a lack of urgency in such a crucial game.
With a NCAA field of 68 teams, largest in NCAA history and a team that has been largely viewed as "safely in" the field the last month, the latest turn is not good news. A lot of pride and a season can be salvaged over the next five games, beginning with a must win against a tough Seton Hall team at the Bradley Center this weekend. It's do or die time, a loss to the Hall at home would be the final blow. Time to regroup because there is time for nothing else.
http://www.crackedsidewalks.com/2011/02/crucial-test-failed-mu-at-season.html
Sorry, Cracked, but that crossroads has already been crossed. The direction we are going is decidedly south.
Quote from: willie warrior on February 16, 2011, 06:25:24 AM
Sorry, Cracked, but that crossroads has already been crossed. The direction we are going is decidedly south.
I'm not giving up on them yet. They can win 4 of 5, the talent is there.
Quote from: ChicosBailBonds on February 16, 2011, 09:26:07 AM
I'm not giving up on them yet. They can win 4 of 5, the talent is there.
+1
This is the kind of team that could make a surprise BEast tourney run because things are suddenly starting to click with everyone.
Quote from: Skatastrophy on February 16, 2011, 09:33:05 AM
+1
This is the kind of team that could make a surprise BEast tourney run because things are suddenly starting to click with everyone.
WTF??????
Would be better off without a bye?
As it stands now, we play Prov in the first round (we are 11, they are 14).
Winner of this game plays the 7 seed which is now Uconn.
This is the best path to winning 2 versus finishing in the top 8 and getting the bye.
Quote from: ChicosBailBonds on February 16, 2011, 09:26:07 AM
I'm not giving up on them yet. They can win 4 of 5, the talent is there.
Respectfully, where is the talent? I have not seen too much of it on the court. Good talent eventually wins out, that does not seem to be the case here at all. I think we all have hoped the talent is there, but 11 losses already and certainly more to come. The team has some good players, but it has become obvious we do not have enough good ones to win in the BE this year.
Quote from: 79Warrior on February 16, 2011, 07:23:02 PM
Respectfully, where is the talent? I have not seen too much of it on the court. Good talent eventually wins out, that does not seem to be the case here at all. I think we all have hoped the talent is there, but 11 losses already and certainly more to come. The team has some good players, but it has become obvious we do not have enough good ones to win in the BE this year.
Two ways to answer this
1) According to the recruiting services, etc, more talent on this roster(top 100 RSCI guys, 4 star players, etc) than any MU team in several decades. That is if you believe that stuff
or
2) Enough talent to clobber ND by 20+, lead ND by 13 in the second half, lead Louisville by 18 at their place with 5 minutes to go, beat Syracuse, hang with Duke all game, have a late second half lead against UCONN, etc, etc.
It seems to me without talent, the team couldn't pull those things off. The way we lose those leads, IMO, isn't because we are suddenly "out talented" late in the game. It's almost always a few brain cramps, silly turnovers, poor box out, an ole defense, missed free throws, etc. Stuff we were doing just fine the first 30 minutes we've decided not to do in the final ten. I just don't chalk that up to talent, or lack of it.
Point 1 is very subjective, as you know.
As far as point two, ND was without Scott and we shot the three ball lights out. We have not shot the ball that well at all the whole season. As far as hanging with the other teams, so what? We ended up losing. USF is hanging with Pitt tonight and they are 2-11 in conference. What does that mean? The final score is what matters. Talent wins out eventually. We just are not as good as many thought or hoped we were. Our record validates that.
Are we not as good because of talent or something else?
St John's is basically the same team this year as last year but will go the NCAA this year. Difference is coaching staff, desire, etc. Talent the same
Quote from: ChicosBailBonds on February 16, 2011, 09:20:29 PM
Are we not as good because of talent or something else?
St John's is basically the same team this year as last year but will go the NCAA this year. Difference is coaching staff, desire, etc. Talent the same
And a bunch of four year players. You of all people should know the value of senior leadership and year over year development. So no, talent isn't the same, they're better.
I guess I just do not see the talent. Nobody has effectively filled Lazar's shoes. That, to me, is a huge void. He was our go to guy as well as emotional leader. We do not have an effective PG. DJO is a disappointment. We shall see what happens, but I am not optimistic.
As far as coaching goes, we hired a guy with 1 yr of D-1 experience to coach in the toughest conference in the league with hall of fame coaches to boot. Tough spot for any coach, never mind Buzz. He got away with the inexperience because he inherited the three amigos and Lazar. That is all in the past. He clearly is struggling this year.
I guess I just do not see the talent. Nobody has effectively filled Lazar's shoes. That, to me, is a huge void. He was our go to guy as well as emotional leader. We do not have an effective PG. DJO is a disappointment. We shall see what happens, but I am not optimistic.
As far as coaching goes, we hired a guy with 1 yr of D-1 experience to coach in the toughest conference in the league with hall of fame coaches to boot. Tough spot for any coach, never mind Buzz. He got away with the inexperience because he inherited the three amigos and Lazar. That is all in the past. He clearly is struggling this year.
Quote from: 79Warrior on February 16, 2011, 08:01:53 PM
We just are not as good as many thought or hoped we were. Our record validates that.
So you admit that this team failed to live up to your unrealistic expectations and that is Buzz's fault?
Preseason coaches poll had us 8th in the conference with 9 or 10 wins. This is still very possible. If that is what you expected back on January 1, then you would be making none of these comments.
The fault is you for not properly evaluating MU and the BE, not Buzz for not fulfilling your fantasy.
Quote from: mugrad2006 on February 16, 2011, 09:29:27 PM
And a bunch of four year players. You of all people should know the value of senior leadership and year over year development. So no, talent isn't the same, they're better.
Of course, but did they improve that much from juniors to seniors or is it something else? Seems to me if they were all going to improve that much just because they got a year older, they could have saved s lot of money and avoided a coaching change.
Don't get me wrong, I am a strong believer in senior leadership and I have no doubt that with that extra year under all their belts made them better. I do not believe that is the entire recipe, however
Quote from: AnotherMU84 on February 16, 2011, 10:06:01 PM
So you admit that this team failed to live up to your unrealistic expectations and that is Buzz's fault?
Preseason coaches poll had us 8th in the conference with 9 or 10 wins. This is still very possible. If that is what you expected back on January 1, then you would be making none of these comments.
The fault is you for not properly evaluating MU and the BE, not Buzz for not fulfilling your fantasy.
That is if you believe those silly predictions. It's not just about the standings but what one sees with their own eyeballs.
Quote from: ChicosBailBonds on February 16, 2011, 10:19:38 PM
That is if you believe those silly predictions. It's not just about the standings but what one sees with their own eyeballs.
Those silly predictions are good measures of expectations. Then we play the games to see if we meet, beat or fall short of those expectations.
So far in the BE Only
PlusesWins against WVU, ND and Syracuse that were "surprises" (not going as far as saying upsets). Nice comeback against USF
MinusesLouisville and SJU that were "disappointments" (not going to say bad losses).
In the end it all evens out and it sounds like we are largely meeting the coaches expectations. But, are we meeting the fans expectations?
These are the thread titles on the first page:* Worst coached team in the conference. Period
* [Cracked Sidewalks] Crucial test failed. MU at season crossroads
* Awful Performance
* Did I hear booing in the Bradley Center?
* I know why everyone is so upset with this team
* 2010 Recruiting class overrated?
* No More Buycks was right...but...
* Student section was pathetic tonight
* It all stops/starts at the PG position. Period
Thread titles on the second page* NCAA - NO WAY!!!!
* Does Marquette make the NIT?
* Calm down....
* Im usually optimistic...
* This team is regressing before our eyes
* No fire in the belly in this years team
* perhaps the worse game
* Buzz: Read this post, not the rest of this board
* Pretty Obvious Now
* When do NIT tickets go on sale? New
I'm guessing from these titles that most do not see it the way the coaches did. They expected more and instead of admitting they were wrong to expect more, they blame Buzz for not delivering.
I disagree. The coaches spend about 5 minutes filling out a form predicting the finish of the teams in the conference. I've actually witnessed it happening at MU during the Deane admin.
People are putting way too much stock into them to validate a preconceived belief they have.
UPDATE: I spoke to a few of my former colleagues as well as folks I know at some Big Ten, WAC, Pac Ten, Big East and an ACC school this morning....all but one said the same thing. These preseason polls are not treated with any great thought. The coaches are basically pushed into it by their SIDs for media day, sometimes even the SID puts the poll together and the coach just signs off on it.
It's a casual deal and too many people are base lining whether a team met expectations or not on a device (the preseason Big East coaches predictions) that isn't even taken seriously by the very coaches that do it. It's not like they are spending a week and looking at all 16 teams, what recruits they have coming in, who left, how the offseason workouts of each kid at each school is going, etc, etc. There's a reason why St. John's got a 1st place vote...because this stuff isn't that serious. It's a media event, people need to stop using this as the end all be all BASELINE to determine if a team met expectations.
At the end of the day, is MU playing to their potential should be the criteria. If their potential shows they can beat 3 ranked teams and can lead a bunch of others for 85% of the game but can't seal the deal, then use those judgments to determine if they are playing at a level above or below what they are capable of.