MU draws first blood . . . wins a laugher over Mt. St. Marys.Written by: noreply@blogger.com (Steve Susina)To the surprise of absolutely no one, Buzz (http://www.gomarquette.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/williams_buzz00.html) made it 4 for 4 in season openers, taking a laugher from the vastly undermanned and short-handed Mountaineers from Mount St. Mary's, 91 - 37.
The final was 91-37, and its hard to see where MU was ever seriously tested in this game--perhaps the biggest test was patience on the offense, as it seemed as if the victory margin could have easily been doubled if Buzz really wanted to turn up the offense.
To give MSM come credit, it would have made a great drinking game (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Newhart) to hear how often "shorthanded," "only 7 scholarship players dressed," or some other variation was mentioned. Still, this was an opponent ranked 267 in the Pomeroy rankings (http://www.kenpom.com/index.php?y=2011) last year--even at full strength they wouldn't have been much of a match. They're used to 50 point losses (as witnessed by their 62 point drubbing by Virginia Tech last year).
All five MU starters scored in the double digits, as did Jamail Jones (http://www.gomarquette.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/jones_jamail00.html) off the bench. The newcomers all received extended time (excluding Juan Anderson (http://www.gomarquette.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/anderson_juan00.html), who was suspended for three games for accepting a free Brewers ticket). Scoring (as expected) was led by DJO (http://www.gomarquette.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/johnsonodom_darius00.html)'s 16 points, Junior Cadougan (http://www.gomarquette.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/cadougan_junior00.html) dished out 10 assists, and Jae Crowder (http://www.gomarquette.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/crowder_jae00.html) led rebounding with 6.
While it was tough to gauge how good the Warriors actually are with this level of opposition, there were some highlights:
- The team hasn't lost a bit of quickness from last year.
- As advertised, Davante Gardner (http://www.gomarquette.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/gardner_davante00.html) has slimmed down and was just as effective inside on the offensive end
- Jones looks to be a solid contributor and part of the rotation.
- Cadougan was much better at running the offense
- We run the break exceptionally well.
And a few things to work on:
- 3 point shooting was an abysmal 4 for 19.
- Mount St. Mary's won far too many offensive rebounds and garnered too many 2nd, 3rd, and even 4th chances.
- The half-court defense still extended too far, resulting in a couple of early open 3 point attempts. MSM missed, but they shouldn't have had the open look.
- Jamil Wilson (http://www.gomarquette.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/wilson_jamil00.html) was on the floor less than any player other than Derrick Wilson. (http://www.gomarquette.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/wilson_derrick00.html)
- Nobody has filled in the Frozena role on last year's team, creating confusion among fans as to who to yell "shoot" at whenever they touch the ball.
On to the next opponent, Norfolk State on Monday.
Links:Coverage in the Milwaukee J/S (http://www.jsonline.com/sports/goldeneagles/133723198.html)Statsheet.com's box score (http://statsheet.com/mcb/games/2011/11/11/mount-st-marys-37-marquette-91)ESPN Coverage (http://espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=313150269)Complete coverage from GoMarquette.com (http://www.gomarquette.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/111211aaa.html)
And related:
MU's announcement on Juan Anderson's Suspension (http://www.gomarquette.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/111111aaa.html)
http://www.crackedsidewalks.com/2011/11/mu-draws-first-blood-wins-laugher-over.html